For Baby, With Love From Molly - Part 1

This past July, while on summer vacation with my husband, we woke up one morning to the most exciting news -- we're having a baby! After repeatedly gazing at those magic words on the pregnancy test and marveling at the life that we created, my next thought was "OMG, I get to crochet baby clothes! We need to go to the yarn store NOW!" A true crochet addict, through and through.

A sneaky little outtake from our photoshoot of the Cape Cod Color Block Tank pattern that launched this summer!

Over these four months I have been secretly, and then not so secretly, making items for baby, and I'm excited to finally share my projects with you. In the beginning, I stuck with gender-neutral designs and colors, so I'll be sharing those in this post. At 15 weeks, we found out our baby is a little boy and I was able to start looking for patterns specifically for him. I am a very picky crocheter (and clothing shopper), so finding patterns I really liked for a little boy was not the easiest challenge. If you have a baby boy in your life, keep an eye out for the upcoming Part 2 of this post which will give you some good ideas for stylish things to crochet for him!

Pattern: Baby Shorts with Suspenders by Mon Petit Violon

Yarn: 2 hanks of Universal Yarn's Cotton Supreme DK in Seafoam

Size: 3-6 months

This was the very first item I made for the baby, and although this picture looks like it's blue, this yarn (my absolute favorite!) is much more of a mint green. I had loved Vita from Mon Petit Violon's patterns for quite a while pre-pregnancy, so she was an obvious choice for my first foray into handmade tiny clothes. This pattern was really straight-forward and easy to understand, and it was delightful to see how quickly baby clothes work up. (You might recall this image from my baby announcement on Instagram!) I made this in a size 3-6 months since it will be the summertime when our boy is that age. Can't you imagine those adorable chubby legs sticking out from those ribbed leg holes? I think a white onesie underneath will complete the look perfectly! One note: this pattern does not have snaps or buttons at the bottom seam, so it will require taking it off from the suspender buttons and pulling it down for any diaper change.

Pattern: Call the Midwife Blanket by Little Monkeys Crochet (free!)

Yarn: 5 hanks of Universal Yarn's Cotton Supreme DK in Ecru

I have made several of these beautiful blankets as gifts for friend's babies in the past, so it felt extra special to finally be making one for my own. If you don't know the backstory, this vintage blanket was in an episode of the British TV show Call the Midwife (one of my favorite shows!), and a smart viewer decided to figure out the pattern and share it on her blog. So helpful! I usually make this blanket in Caron Simply Soft (100% acrylic, but without the scratchiness!) but decided to take it up a notch and go for my favorite super soft 100% cotton yarn. The Caron yarn is worsted and this is DK like the pattern calls for, which gave the blanket an even lighter, heirloom quality. I considered trying out one of the fancy trim modifications I have seen around for this blanket, but in the end, the traditional shell edge won out. I'm excited to keep this as something to be passed down to my (fingers crossed!) grandchildren.

Pattern: Baby Swaddle/Cocoon by Land of Knots

Yarn: 3 skeins of Berroco Comfort in Ash Grey

Size: Newborn to 3 months

This was one of those frivolous creations where you know the baby won't stay small enough to use it for more than just a few months but you make it anyway because it's so darn cute! The construction of this cocoon was fun, and the cables made it a really engaging project. My two modifications were to keep the space between the hood and flap about 10 rows less than the pattern called for (it was looking like way too much space to me, although once all the edging was done I could see it would have been fine longer as well), and I didn't include the pom. The cocoon is long and not very wide, but without a baby to put in it I can't tell yet if that will be limiting for its use. A stuffed bunny will have to suffice until baby comes! 

Pattern: Baby Romper/Onesie by Tree Studio Shop

Yarn: 2 cakes of Appalachian Baby Design's Cotton Sport, Undyed

Size: 3-6 months

I was down the rabbit hole in an extensive search on Etsy for crochet baby patterns when I stumbled upon this amazing find -- a crocheted onesie? Uhm, yes please! What further sealed the deal was that it called for sport weight yarn, and for over a year I have been dying to have a reason to purchase Appalachian Baby Design's Cotton Sport. I am always looking for a good cotton yarn, and this one didn't disappoint. It's like a cross between Lily Sugar 'n' Cream and Universal Yarn's Cotton Supreme -- it has the stiffness and durability of the former, along with the softness and drape of the latter. This well-written pattern was a delight, and the only modification I made was to change the shell and v-stitch pattern repeats to just v-stitches all the way through. At this point in my baby crochet adventures I had just found out I was having a boy, and I noticed using the v-stitches on their own gave it a slightly more masculine feel. I made this in a size 3-6 months since it will be summer when he's that age, and I can tell it will be a great lightweight piece for when it's warm out. For as long as I have imagined having children, I have been excited about sewing heart-shaped buttons on all their clothes. I'm really happy I got to start that tradition early with this onesie! Also, yay for both top and bottom buttons for easy clothing and diaper changes!

Stay tuned for Part 2 of this post, where I'll tell you all about the boy clothes I've been crocheting, and a special post about what I crocheted when I was convinced it was a little girl in there. Until then, I would love to hear which of these is your favorite! Are you dying over those baby shorts? Or cooing at that cozy blanket? Feel free to share some of your favorite baby crochet patterns below, the more the merrier!