knitpicky.

November 18, 2009 1:01 PM

does anyone know where i can get the knitting pattern for this?

i'd like to knit something for my very pregnant friend and she came across the above baby bag/sock and absolutely loved it. it's definitely doable with my skill level but i will need the pattern instructions to create the opening properly. hope me, obi-wan! help me knit her something she will love for her new baby!

posted by violetk to sports, hobbies, & recreation (16 comments total)

I'm pretty sure there's nothing special going on with the opening; it looks as if the tube is just pulled higher in the back. I think you could modify one of the bajillion market bag patterns and leave off the strap.
posted by runningwithscissors at 1:13 PM on November 18, 2009

Although runningwithscissors might be correct, it looks more to me like they did the equivalent of turning the heel in making a sock. If that's the case, you can probably follow directions in any sock-making pattern.

IANAK, but my wife is and I've written patterns for her in the past.
posted by JMOZ at 1:39 PM on November 18, 2009

Not quite the same but here is one on Etsy. (You can buy the pattern as a pdf). Here's a free pattern; although I can't quite get past the fake baby....

I found these on Ravelry by searching "baby bunting."
posted by mcroft at 1:39 PM on November 18, 2009

Oh! A friend of mine just faved something like this yesterday on Ravelry. If you're on Ravelry, look up Button-Up Baby Wrap by Kimberly Wood -- it looks like this and it's a free download on Rav.
posted by pised at 1:39 PM on November 18, 2009

That kind of squicks me out. Have you checked out
Or even Craftster?
posted by mokeydraws at 1:40 PM on November 18, 2009

i disagree. if i thought that was all there was too it, i would have done that. the top/opening is similar in shape to that of a mummy sleeping bag.
posted by violetk at 1:42 PM on November 18, 2009

oops…preview. i meant i disagreed with runningwithscissors.
posted by violetk at 1:45 PM on November 18, 2009

I'm seeing a few patterns on Ravelry that may work, though none of them are identical to what you posted. I searched for "baby cocoon" and "baby sack" and here are a few patterns that came up:

Button-Up Baby Wrap
Baby Cocoon Pea Pod and Egg (pattern for sale here)
Cub Cuddler
Baby Pea Pod (pattern for sale here)

Note that you have to have an account (free) and be logged in to look at stuff on Ravelry.
posted by kitty teeth at 1:46 PM on November 18, 2009

Okay, I know this is crocheted and looks nothing like what is in the picture you posted, but I feel like I have to throw this out there just in case: Cappy the Cape Cod Lobsta Cocoon or Bunting and Hat
posted by kitty teeth at 1:52 PM on November 18, 2009

I was coming in to post the same like to Etsy that mcroft suggested, and to tell you that picture made my ovaries hurt - so effing cute!
posted by ersatzkat at 2:17 PM on November 18, 2009

I'm not having any luck finding a pattern, but if I were to fake it I would knit in the round until it's long enough for the front, then bind off about a third of the stitches and knit the rest back and forth, reducing by a few stitches here and there as you go. Sew together the few stitches you have left at the top and crochet around the opening to give it the right shape.

That said, I don't think I'd put a baby in something like this. I'd be afraid it would slip up over the baby's face, and tiny little fingers and toes would definitely get caught in something that loosely knit.
posted by Dojie at 2:56 PM on November 18, 2009

I'm with JMOZ. It looks like a sock where they turned the heel and then bound-off. Except the bottom doesn't look like the typical toe decreases, more like hat decreases.
You could possibly do this "bottom up" (toe-up like a sock, or top-down like a hat), much like you would a toe-up ankle sock, except with shaping like a hat instead of toes at the bottom. CO a few stitches in the round and do increases until it's the desired circumference, then knit even until you want to start the "hood" part. Then separate the stitches like you would for the instep in a sock, but once you've joined them back with the "hood" (heel) stitches, bind off loosely. The sewn stretchy bind-off would probably be best.
To do it top down, do it like a top-down ankle sock, except instead of the typical triangle-ish toe decreases, do decreases like you would for a knitted cap (k x sts, k2tog, repeat til end of round; k 1 row even; k x-1 sts, k2 tog, repeat til end of round, etc.).

I also agree with Dojie that I would not put this on a baby other than to take pictures. It looks too tight and knitted with that bumpy, uneven yarn would make a lot of places for fingers and toes to get trapped. The patterns listed above seem like better, more wearable alternatives, though.
posted by ishotjr at 4:28 PM on November 18, 2009

Oh, if you do make it, and you do it top-down, make sure to use a really loose, stretchy cast-on method.
posted by ishotjr at 4:29 PM on November 18, 2009

Huh. It's cute enough alright, and swaddling is a popular parenting thing, or so I hear. But I wonder, how are you supposed to get the baby in and out?

Anyway, I have a fair amount of experience in reverse engineering knitting patterns for my own devices. I don't see evidence of a heel having been turned at the back of the baby's head. The stitches seem to be marching in a tidy horizontal line right to the top.

Here's how I would recreate this:

1. Cast on the full number of stitches needed (inches around x gauge)

2. Knit in the round until you get to shoulder height.

3. Cast off the front number of stitches. To get the right visual proportions, you should be casting off about 1/3rd of your stitches.

4. Continue knitting back and forth in stockinette (knit the RS, purl the WS) until it's tall enough. DO NOT CAST OFF.

5. Use kitchener stitch to graft together the live stitches at the top. At the bottom, thread the yarn end through all the cast on stitches and draw it together tightly, drawstring-style (as you would do at the top of a basic hat).

6. Crochet a simple edge around the.... err... "face hole" for want of a better technical term.
posted by ErikaB at 7:23 PM on November 18, 2009 [1 favorite]

Actually, after thinking about it and studying it a little bit more, I'm now convinced that the bottom is at least 6" longer than shown, and just a plain open tube.

That's how you get the baby in, but it's been carefully folded back for the photograph.
posted by ErikaB at 7:59 PM on November 18, 2009

Searching for "baby cocoon" brought me to this free pattern, which could be modified to include more short rows to make the top more "hooded" to accommodate a baby's noggin.
posted by illenion at 8:32 PM on November 18, 2009