What a baby yarn needs
Machine washable. This is the one that is not negotiable. A gift that has to be hand-washed is a gift that gets washed once, shrinks, and goes in a drawer. Superwash merino, cotton, and merino-acrylic-nylon blends all go through a cold, gentle cycle; untreated wool does not. The superwash guide explains what the treatment does.
Soft against skin. Merino, cotton and the finer blends. Not mohair, not a brushed alpaca, not anything with a halo — the fibers shed and end up where a baby's hands go. Tweed neps and slubs are fine on a blanket and scratchy on a collar.
Smooth and plied. A plied yarn with a firm twist wears better through the washing machine and shows a stitch pattern more clearly than a single, and it does not pill where a car seat strap rubs. Most baby yarns are plied for this reason.
Light to medium weight. DK and sport for garments, which keep a baby warm without stiffness; worsted for blankets, where the extra thickness is welcome and the knitting goes faster. Fingering for a christening shawl or an heirloom cardigan, if you have the time.
Lines we stock for babies
The baby yarn shelf is the set of lines we would put in a baby gift. Among them:
- HiKoo Simplicity (DK, superwash merino with acrylic and nylon, 117 yd/50 g). The workhorse: cheap enough for a blanket, soft enough for a cardigan, machine washable and dryable, in a wide range of clear colors.
- Ewe Ewe Ewe So Sporty (sport, 100% superwash merino, 145 yd/50 g) and Wooly Worsted (worsted, 95 yd/50 g). All-merino, machine washable, and the sport weight is the one for a newborn cardigan.
- Plymouth Worsted Merino Superwash (worsted, 218 yd/100 g). The blanket yarn — four or five skeins for a crib blanket — and a good hard-wearing toddler sweater.
- Malabrigo Rios (worsted, superwash merino, 210 yd/100 g). Hand-dyed depth of color in a machine-washable yarn, for the blanket that is meant to be kept.
- Blue Sky Fibers Organic Cotton (worsted, 150 yd/100 g). For a summer baby or a family that would rather not have wool; heavier than merino, so a blanket takes more skeins.
- Zitron Feinheit (fingering, organic superwash merino, 393 yd/100 g). The heirloom yarn: a christening shawl or a fine cardigan, still machine washable.
- Sirdar Snuggly 100% Cotton (DK, 116 yd/50 g). Small balls, low price, for a cotton hat or bootees.
West Yorkshire Spinners Pure DK is on the same shelf and is a lovely soft wool, but it is hand wash — choose it for a gift to a knitter, not to a new parent.
How much yarn
| Project | Size | DK or sport | Worsted |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cardigan | Newborn to 6 months | 300–400 yd | 250–350 yd |
| Cardigan | 6–18 months | 400–550 yd | 350–450 yd |
| Cardigan | 2–4 years | 550–750 yd | 450–600 yd |
| Hat | Newborn to toddler | 60–120 yd | 50–100 yd |
| Bootees, pair | 50–80 yd | — | |
| Blanket | 30 × 36" | 1,100–1,300 yd | 850–1,000 yd |
The blanket guide has larger sizes and the arithmetic from your own swatch. Round up, and for a blanket add a skein: the dye lot is matched across an order, and a blanket is where a mismatch shows.
Safe to wear
Keep closures simple: buttons sewn on with doubled thread and checked, or none at all. Avoid long ties, drawstrings and loose fringe. Knit a dense enough fabric that small fingers cannot go through it — this is one argument for going down a needle size on a baby garment — and wash the finished piece before it is given, so it arrives soft and any loose dye is gone.
Choosing colors
The Color Board puts colorways from different lines side by side, which is the easiest way to pick a main color and a contrast for stripes or a border before buying either.