Kids Collection 2021 by Making Stories

KIDS COLLECTION 2021

kids collection 2021

CO N T E N T S

a joyful hello!

treasured ‑ cowl

a note on sizing

cuddle ‑ blanket

grow ‑ socks

rebel ‑ mittens

take flight ‑ balloon

embrace ‑ sweater

joy ‑ cardigan

warmth ‑ hat

kids collection 2021

G R OW

design hanna lisa haferkamp yarn woolly mammoth fibre co.

Socks are one of my all-time favorite things to knit, and baby (or kid) socks are so quick to whip up ‒ and extremely cute to boot ‒ that they’re my favorite gift knit for a new arrival on this earth. The three variations of the Grow socks all follow the same template: you start with the toe, work your way up to a certain point in the foot, add a German Short-Row heel (magic, I tell you!), continue up the leg and end with a cuff with a really stretchy bind-off. The difference lies in the details, however: variation 1 is plain stockinette sailing with contrasting heels, cuffs and toes, variation 2 introduces a simple geometric lace pattern to the leg of the sock, and variation 3 uses 2x2 ribbing and little stripes for an extra-snuggly fit and a sporty look. All of them are perfect for a mini-skein set or for using up odds and ends of fingering weight yarn that you have in your stash!

kids collection 2021

TA K E F L I G H T

design claire walls yarn garthenor

While it’s lovely to have gorgeous knitwear to dress our little ones in, I wanted to design something they could grow up with, not grow out of ! With its simple but eye-catching colourwork, Take Flight brings a little whimsy to any kid’s room, and the sweet basket is the perfect spot for special items, be it a beloved teddy bear, or as they get older, a secret candy stash for when the parents aren’t looking. Hopefully the sight of it gently floating in their room will help them drift off to a dreamless sleep, but unfortunately, we can’t promise that! Worked top down and in the round, Take Flight features simple shaping that is completed in the stockinette sections. The colourwork section is a simple, six stitch repeat and uses only two colours at a time, making it a great project for first-time colourwork knitters.

kids collection 2021

J OY

design hanna lisa haferkamp yarn de rerum natura

I love a good cardigan for our little one: it’s the perfect layering piece, can be quickly (well, as quickly as dressing a baby goes…) thrown on if the mornings are still cool and taken off at the playground when it’s no longer needed. It’s also such a great piece for kids as you can still see cute onesies or T-shirts underneath it - I’m always sad if I have to cover up a favorite patterned onesie with a pullover! Joy features a scaled-down cable pattern running down the sleeves, fake seams at the side of the body and inside of the sleeves to break up the stockinette fabric, and a continuous buttonband/neckline/hem that is worked at the very end (one my favorite techniques!) and gives you the option to space out your buttons as you like.

kids collection 2021

TREASURED

design claire walls yarn john arbon textiles

When the weather turns chilly and your little one could do with a little extra warmth, this cowl is the perfect thing to pop over their head. Twisted rib flows down the folded collar and shoulders to create a snug fit that will protect against the blusteriest of days. Treasured is knit top down, beginning in the round with the shoulders shaped using raglan increases. Once the yoke is completed, the back and sleeve stitches are put on hold while the front is worked flat and shaped with decreases to create a gentle point. Stitches are then picked up along each of the decrease edges and the held stitches are put back on the needles. You continue in the round once more, finishing the cowl with an edge of twisted rib.

kids collection 2021

CUDDLE

design claire walls yarn o-wool

Blankets are perfect for your little one to snuggle up with and make fantastic gifts that can be kept and passed down for years to come. For this pattern, I was inspired to create something that was both visually appealing and soothing to knit. One of the things I struggle with when it comes to knitting blankets is having lots of stitches to either cast on or bind off. Sometimes both! I wanted to limit these as much as possible, which led me to play around with the direction of the knitting and the construction you see in the pattern. Cuddle begins with a garter tab cast on and traditional triangle shaping; that means only two stitches are cast on! Once we reach the required width, we continue increasing at the centre of the blanket and decreasing at the outside, giving us a lovely straight edge and adding length to our blanket. The final stage is to work the top corners separately, decreasing at either edge until only one stitch remains. To complement the flow of the construction I chose to keep the stitch patterns simple yet visually compelling. Garter stitch is a must for me with baby blankets, being both comforting to knit and snuggle into. Nestled between the garter sections is a simple slip stitch pattern that gives the effect of colourwork without the complication of working more than one colour at a time. It also acts as a bridge between the changes in colours, softening the transitions.

kids collection 2021

REBEL

design hanna lisa haferkamp yarn de rerum natura

How is it that mittens just mysteriously never stay on our kid’s hands? Sigh. I try to be okay with that - after all, there’s so much to explore and play with and touch and feel! So this is a mitten pattern for when those little rebels need a little warmth for their hands, before promptly casting them off again to continue playing. I decided to make a “seamless” mitten version: you cast on the tip of one mitten, work through the body and cuff before binding off to just a few stitches which you then use for an i-cord. You work said i-cord to the desired length, then you cast on the rest of the stitches for the cuff and work your way up the mitten to the very top. Seamlessly! You can of course always omit the i-cord, bind off the full mitten and work up a second one, should you not want them attached to each other. All sizes except for the newborn size are designed with an afterthought thumb.

kids collection 2021

E M B R AC E

design claire walls yarn bc garn

With its easy to follow shaping and simple colourwork, Embrace is the perfect first caston for your little one. I designed this sweater to be both beginner and experienced knitter friendly. It is swift and enjoyable to knit with just the right amount of techniques and details to keep you challenged and engaged. It is knit seamlessly and top down, beginning with a ribbed collar and moving into a little short-row shaping and an increased yoke. Once the yoke has been shaped, a few rows of simple colourwork transition us to the main colour, where you can relax with some soothing stockinette. The body is finished with a little more colourwork and a twisted rib hem. The sleeves are gently shaped and end with a folded cuff in twisted rib, perfect for not only keeping the kids warm, but for a little more space for those growing limbs.

kids collection 2021

WA R M T H

design hanna lisa haferkamp yarn john arbon textiles

The Warmth hat originated from one of my all-time favorite hats for Aurin: a very dear friend of mine from Finland gifted it to us after they were born, and they lived in it their first winter. It had an all-over textured pattern, fit super well and was topped off with a pompom. Yes, I’m biased, but I still think they were the world’s cutest baby in it! Warmth was designed with those features in mind, and I wanted to add in a few more that I thought would make it really fun to knit. This is why it features an intuitive, easy-to-memorise stitch pattern and increase lines that continue right down into the ribbing. It’s worked top down – my new favorite hat construction! – which means you can try it on as you knit to determine the right hat length for your baby.

kids collection 2021

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