Crocheting a toddler mini cardigan

We are having an increasing number of requests of late from some of the ladies who would like to hand knit or hand crochet items for their kids, ranging from yet-to-be-born, to babies, little toddlers to young school-going kids.

In Edith's case, her crochet feats are always meant for her little gal.

Not content with the shrug she previously crocheted, she decided that a mini cardigan is a must-have for her little one as the center that she goes to often blast the air-con at low temperatures.

• must provide ample cover for the shoulders
• short-sleeved
• a slip-on; no fasteners as her gal likes to fiddle with buttons or zips
• the pattern has to be 'upsized' to fit her little gal
• and in pink yarn! (Her little gal personally insisted for it.) 

So this is the project she chose.


Once she understood how the double leaf pattern is being worked -- I charted the symbols so that she could understand exactly how the written instructions are being deciphered, it was an easy task.

Further modifications

1. Pattern upsizing / refittingEdith also needed to re-scale the pattern so that the final measurements can fit her little gal. The original pattern was meant for girls up to 2 years old. This meant not just re-working the width but more importantly, the shoulder area needs to be re-fitted.

Normally, this is an easy task that the ladies can handle on their own with relative experience. But in this case, it was made more challenging as the pattern is in written instructions.

Once I have walked Edith through the concept (and that includes actually walking through the first 2 lines of the pattern's instructions so that she understands how the re-fitting was done), she was able to go home and modify the pattern on her own!

2. Back neck modificationEdith felt that the back neck of the original pattern was a little too low. So we short-rowed the back neck to create a higher neckline. She was quite pleased with the final result.

3. Broad edging all aroundWe also added an all around broad edging (it wasn't called for in the original pattern) as we wanted to create a more modern, stylistic feel. This included the sleeve openings too.

Isn't it pretty? Let's give Edith a huge round of applause!

This is the almost finished version. I can imagine Edith wearing the adult version of it for a crocheted mother-daughter version!

That would be such a cool thing to do!

Now who's saying that crochet or knitted garments can't be worn in Singapore's weather? I certainly do not believe in that! *grin* Sharing is sexy