One Hour No Sew Baby Cardigan Free Knitting Pattern

This free baby cardigan knitting pattern is aimed at knitters who don’t like sewing up. The cardigan can be knit in 1-2 hours depending on your speed, and there is no sewing up at the end! Yay!

The cardigan can be knit in two sizes – newborn and premature. Simply swap the knitting needle sizes depending on how big you would like to knit the cardigan.

Please read on to find out further details about this quick to knit no sew baby cardigan, and to get the free knitting pattern.

This article may contain affiliate links.

Materials needed to knit the no sew baby cardigan

To make the cute and easy to knit no sew baby cardigan, you will need around 50g of chunky thickness yarn. The cardigan in the photo was knit from Hayfield Baby Blossom Chunky. This is a self patterning yarn which is nice and soft. I love working with this because the colour changes keep things fun and interesting.

Instead of chunky yarn, you could knit 2 strands of dk thickness yarn held together. This is an awesome way to use up some of your yarn stash!

The little cardigan is knit flat. For a small newborn/preemie size, use 6 and 6.5mm needles. For a cardigan which is more of a 0-3m size, use 7 and 8mm needles. The cardigan shown was knit with the smaller size needles.

You will also need a button to finish your cardigan, a pair of scissors and a needle for sewing up.

Knitting pattern for fast to knit no sew baby cardigan

Ok so here is the free knitting pattern to knit the no sew baby cardigan. As you may have guessed, it is knit from the top down, and the shaping is done using kfb and k2tog techniques.

I have written the pattern row by row, as this is how I like to work. I find it easier to tick off each row as I go along as my mind starts to wander sometimes and I don’t know where I am.

Abbreviations:

K – knit
P – purl
Kfb – knit into the front and back of the same stitch, thus increasing by 1
K2tog – knit 2 stitches together
Yo – yarn over (worked by bringing the yarn over to the front of the needle as if to purl, but then the next stitch will be a k. This is an increase used to form the buttonhole).

Knitting Pattern:

On 6 or 7mm needles, cast on 28 stitches.

Note that row 1 is the wrong side. Please see end of instructions for further explanation of casting off stitches.

Work the following row by row instructions.

K
K1, kfb, k24, kfb, k1 (30)
K
Change to 6.5 or 8mm needles. K6, (kfb x 2), k2, (kfb x 2), k6, (kfb x 2), k2, (kfb x 2), k6 (38)
K3, p to last 3 stitches, k3
K7, (kfb x 2), k4, (kfb x 2), k8, (kfb x 2), k4, (kfb x 2), k7 (46)
K3, p to last 3 stitches, k3
K8, (kfb x 2), k6, (kfb x 2), k10, (kfb x 2), k6, (kfb x 2), k8 (54)
K3, p to last 3 stitches, k3
K9, (kfb x 2), k8, (kfb x 2), k12, (kfb x 2), k8, (kfb x 2), k9 (62)
K3, p to last 3 stitches, k3
K10, (kfb x 2), k10, (kfb x 2), k14, (kfb x 2), k10, (kfb x 2), k10 (70)
K3, p9, k14, p18, k14, p9, k3
K2tog, yo, k9, kfb, k13, kfb, k18, kfb, k13, kfb, k11 (74)
K3, p10, cast off 14 knit wise, p18, cast off 14 knit wise, p10, k3 (46)
K, thus joining the piece together and creating the sleeves
K3, p to last 3 stitches, k3
K
K3, p to last 3 stitches, k3
K
K3, p to last 3 stitches, k3
K
K3, p to last 3 stitches, k3
K
K3, p to last 3 stitches, k3
*K2, kfb*; rep from * to last stitch, k1 ( 61 )
K3, p to last 3 stitches, k3
K
K3, p to last 3 stitches, k3
K
K3, p to last 3 stitches, k3
K
K
K
K
Cast off knit wise

Sew in loose ends.

Sew on a button.

Note: When working row 15, you will be casting off stitches. Do this by casting off only the k stitches. So purl 10, leave those stitches alone. K1, cast off the next stitch and so forth.