6‑Month Cabled Baby Sweater — ColorSpun Pure Cotton DK

Top‑quality, washable cotton pullover with a central cable panel — warm for cooler days yet breathable for sensitive baby skin. Written to be knitted flat in pieces and seamed (easy to adapt to seamless methods if you prefer).

Finished measurements

• Chest (circumference): 18 in / 46 cm
• Body length (shoulder to hem): 8.5 in / 21.5 cm
• Sleeve length (shoulder to cuff): 7.5 in / 19 cm

Yarn

• ColorSpun Pure Cotton DK (recommended) — Imperial & Metric per skein: 50 g / 125 m (1.76 oz / 137 yds)
• Quantity: approx 3 skeins (150 g / 375 m ≈ 410 yds) — allow a little extra for long cables, borders, or accidental tension differences.

Needles & notions

• Rib and small sections: 3.75 mm (US 5 / UK 9)
• Main body: 4.00 mm (US 6 / UK 8)
• Use straights or circulars (for flat pieces) and a set of double points (or small circular) for small circumferences if you prefer.
• Notions: cable needle (or spare dpn), stitch markers, tapestry needle, waste yarn or holders for sleeves, stitch holders/pins, measuring tape.

Gauge

22 sts × 28 rows = 4 in / 10 cm in stockinette using 4.0 mm needles after blocking. IMPORTANT: Check your gauge — cotton can relax after blocking; adjust needle size if necessary.

Abbreviations

• CO = cast on
• k = knit
• p = purl
• st(s) = stitch(es)
• RS = right side
• WS = wrong side
• k2tog = knit 2 together
• ssk = slip, slip, knit (left‑slant decrease)
• BO = bind off
• C4F = slip next 2 sts to cable needle and hold in FRONT, k2 from left needle, then k2 from cable needle
• C4B = slip next 2 sts to cable needle and hold in BACK, k2 from left needle, then k2 from cable needle

Cable pattern (center front panel)

This cable is written over 8 sts. Work the cable in the centre of the front panel so it is symmetrical. Repeat the 8‑row pattern for the length of the panel.

Cable panel (8 sts)
Row 1 (RS): k4, p4
Row 2 (WS): k4, p4
Row 3 (RS): C4B, p4
Row 4 (WS): k4, p4
Row 5 (RS): k4, p4
Row 6 (WS): k4, p4
Row 7 (RS): C4F, p4
Row 8 (WS): k4, p4
Repeat these 8 rows.

Notes on layout

The sweater is worked in pieces: back, two front panels (left and right) and two sleeves. Front pieces each contain half the cable panel so place the 8‑st cable centered on the join of the two front pieces (work cable on one front as written and mirror on the other by reversing cable crossings if desired). The pattern below places a full 8‑st cable on one single front piece (so cast on counts accomodate the cable centered per front).

Stitch counts (key numbers)

These counts are set to match the finished chest of 46 cm at the given gauge.

• Total body circumference target: approx 104 sts (this gives ~47 cm at gauge 22 sts/10 cm)
• Back piece: CO 52 sts
• Each front piece: CO 26 sts (right + left = 52 sts; front total 52 sts + back 52 sts = 104 sts)
• Sleeves: CO 52 sts each (finished sleeve circumference ~24 cm)

Back (worked flat)

1. Using 3.75 mm needles CO 52 sts.
2. Work 1x1 rib (k1, p1) for 6 rows (about 1.5 cm) for hem.
3. Change to 4.0 mm needles. Work in stockinette (RS: k; WS: p) until piece measures 14 cm from cast‑on edge (measured at center back), ending on a WS row.
4. Armhole shaping: BO 3 sts at beg of next 2 rows (3 sts each side). — 46 sts remain.
5. Then work 3 rows even. Next decrease at each armhole edge 1 st every RS row 3 times: (ssk at beg of row; k2tog at end of row) — after 3 decreases each side you will have 40 sts.
6. Work until armhole height measures 8 cm from the bind‑off row (or until total back length from cast‑on is 22.5 cm). End on WS.
7. Shoulder shaping: BO 6 sts at beg of next 4 rows (2 times each shoulder) OR BO 10 sts twice leaving a center neck — see assembly note for neck finishing. If you prefer a shaped neckline, BO center 10 sts and finish each shoulder separately: BO 6, 4 (or BO 8 then 2) — choose even numbering that matches your front shoulders.

Left Front (worked flat)

1. Using 3.75 mm needles CO 26 sts.
2. Work 1x1 rib for 6 rows to match back hem.
3. Change to 4.0 mm needles. Set up as: 4 sts selvedge / 8 sts cable panel / 14 sts stockinette. (This places the 8‑st cable centered toward the CF edge; if you prefer the cable centered across both fronts as one full cable, do cast on a matching mirrored front and work cable across the center join.)
4. Work cable pattern across the 8 sts as given; maintain stockinette for other sts. Continue until the piece measures 14 cm from cast‑on edge, ending on a WS row.
5. Armhole shaping: BO 3 sts at outer edge (same side as back shaping) ONCE. Then decrease 1 st at armhole edge (ssk or k2tog depending on edge) every RS row 3 times. Keep cable pattern centered on the front edge; you may need to adjust the distribution of plain sts as you decrease.
6. Neck shaping: When piece measures approximately 20 cm from cast‑on (or 2.5 cm before shoulder shaping), begin neck shaping: On RS rows, work to last 6 sts, BO 6 sts once for neck edge, then continue shaping shoulders to match back: BO 6 sts twice (or BO 10 then 6 depending on back). Ensure shoulder height matches back.

Right Front

Work as left front, reversing neck shaping (i.e., neck BO on the other side). If you prefer, mirror cable crossings to make symmetrical appearance: swap C4F↔C4B in the cable rows.

Sleeves (worked flat, then seamed)

1. Using 3.75 mm needles CO 52 sts.
2. Work 1x1 rib for 6 rows (cuff), then change to 4.0 mm needles.
3. Work stockinette, increasing 1 st at each end every 8th row 3 times (or until you reach approx 52–56 sts depending on desired sleeve ease). Example: after increases you might have 58 sts — keep numbers even for seaming.
4. Work until sleeve length from cast‑on measures 17 cm (or desired length to underarm), ending on WS.
5. Sleeve cap: BO 3 sts at beg of next 2 rows; then decrease 1 st each side every RS row 4 times, then every 4th row 4 times, until approx 20 sts remain; BO remaining sts. (Adjust shaping to match back and front armhole depths — fit as you go.)

Assembly

1. Block pieces lightly to measurements (cotton relaxes — wet block and pin to size if you like).
2. Seam shoulders using mattress stitch; align fronts to back carefully so cable lines meet along center if you worked mirrored cables.
3. Set in sleeves matching notches (use pins) and seam sleeves into armholes.
4. Seam side and sleeve seams.
5. Neckband: With 3.75 mm needles pick up and knit stitches evenly around neckline (pick up approximately 2 sts for every 3 rows — aim for a neat, stretchy pickup; in practice you will pick up about 60–70 sts depending on how you shaped neck). Work 1x1 rib for 1.5–2 cm, then BO loosely in rib pattern.
6. Weave in ends and block gently again to settle stitches.

Optional finishing touches

• Add a small folded garter edge at hem by slipping first stitch of every row for a neat border.
• Add a few rows of garter or seed stitch while working the front pieces to frame the cable if you want more definition.
• Use buttons at shoulder and make the neckband shallower if you prefer an opening for dressing — pick up more sts and BO a small buttonband on one front instead of a closed pullover neck.

Troubleshooting & tips

• Always swatch in the stitch pattern and block your swatch. Cotton will usually relax and grow a little after blocking — remeasure gauge after blocking and adjust needle size if necessary.
• Cable tension: When crossing stitches, keep stitches fairly loose so the cable doesn’t pull the whole front in; block gently to open the cable definition.
• If your cable panel ends up sitting slightly off centre after shaping, you can unpick a few rows and shift where you start the cable so it sits visually centred at the CF after assembly.
• When picking up stitches for neckband, pick up slightly loosely and BO loosely to keep neck comfortable for baby.

Sizing adjustments

To make the sweater larger/smaller: change needle size by one step and/or add/subtract repeats of the cable (8 sts) and corresponding plain stitches in the fronts and adjust cast‑on counts by multiples of 8 sts for symmetry. Recalculate sleeves proportionally.

Support & credits

Pattern created for ColorSpun Pure Cotton DK. For website and support: purljam.verde.uk. For help email: team@verde.uk. Share progress at socials: #purljam

Enjoy knitting — keep a relaxed gauge and happy cables!

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