Mr B just doesn’t get it. He casually mentioned the other day that there’d been a couple of due baby announcements in his office and within seconds I was on Ravelry, searching for the cutest babywear I could find. I adore baby knits, but I just don’t have enough babies to knit for so any chance I get is going to be seized. Does he not realise that telling a knitter that baby clothes might be needed is like telling me that Thorntons have free chocolate for one day only? It’s also making me desperately broody, but I think I’ll draw the line at producing more offspring in order to have a reason to knit more baby clothes… 
The problem is, I have no idea whether they will be boy babies or girl babies. I want to knit pretty girlie things or cute boyish things and ideally not be limited to neutral colours and styles that would suit either.
So I’ve sorted out a few favourites for now, and I might just hedge my bets and knit a few boyish and a few girlie things and wait to see if there is any more news about what they’re likely to be. The thing is, I was desperate to know whether I was having a pink or blue baby, so it’s hard for me to understand why anyone would want a surprise. But then I hate surprises as a rule, anyway, so maybe that’s just me.
Firstly, wouldn’t the Cargo trousers look adorable with the baby Hoodie for a little boy? I have some All Seasons Cotton in my stash in pale blue which would work for both patterns, and I could just stick a teeny pompom on the top of the hood for added cuteness. I don’t get to put pompoms on anything my boys have these days, as they’re old enough to have an opinion about what they wear, sadly… 
Alternatively, there’s the cute hat option. A couple of these are fairly unisex, and I just adore Buzzbee from Wee Woolly Toppers (middle row, on the right), which would do for any baby that needed a warm noggin.
Finally, a few adorable cardigans. I’m very tempted by A Cardigan for Merry (the green one), and knitting it in that colour would do for either a boy or a girl.
Are there any really gorgeous patterns I’ve missed that I should know about? (Please don’t suggest the Baby Surprise Jacket because the idea of knitting something completely in garter stitch doesn’t appeal to me at all.) I think my mind is almost made up, but just in case…
oooh. I love baby knitting too. A Cardigan for Merry is fab – as are most of the Wee Woolly Toppers hats – I have made nearly all of them now! The Oz Vest from Natural Knits for babies and mum’s by Louisa Harding is a favourite of mine – anything with buttons on the shoulders seems to go down well. I’ve knit it for a girl and a boy – and I’ve made it stripy too. There are a couple of cute kimono style jackets in there too. Then there is the Dragon Skin wrap from Interweave holiday 2007 – a gorgeous, interesting, girlie pattern. There are always Sartjee’s booties for a super fast knit – maybe to match a hat – but depending on the arrival dates for the babies I guess they might not need woolly hats!
I absolutely get it and I’m always knitting when anyone I vaguely know is having a baby. Imagine my joy at finding out that I’m going to be an auntie in April. I’ve not put my needles down since!
There are some great patterns at http://www.garnstudio.com/index_lang.php, some of which are absolutely gorgeous!
Shame you don’t know if there’s a gilr due, as Anouk: http://www.knitty.com/ISSUEspring04/PATTanouk.html is just a beautiful thing! The Cardigan for Merry (if you did it in purple or something it would do a boy or a girl wouldn’t it?) is very lovely…in fact you just jogged my memory, I bookmarked that as a thing to knit way back when I was preg!
I found the BSJ arms were too short on Alex (I think he may be part orangutan) but it was quite a fun knit all the same, despite the garter stitch.
I’m pregnant with no. 3 – another girl – at the moment so I’ve got a few baby things in my queue. Here’s a few:
http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/b13-17-dress-bonnet-socks-and-duck
http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/helena-2
http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/kanoko-pants
http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/baby-bubble-smock-in-panda-silk
http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/lucille-3
I have a Jaeger Baby booklet with some great patterns in, I’m knitting a tiny wrap cardie in sock yarn from it at the moment. I also have some older books by British companies – Patons, Sirdar and Peter Pan that have some lovely designs. Goodness knows how many I’ll get around to though.
Last time around I made a few pairs of the stay-on booties (the ones with the welts on the foot part) in sock yarn leftovers and they were great. Also a pair of scratch mitts from about 7g of sock yarn – I did a short row toe/heel and just knitted up from that for a while before doing a tiny ribbed section to finish.
It is so great when new babies are arriving I am with you go on knit theGREEN ONE it could be for either and I am going to be a great aunt in April there is already the shawl done by the great granny so it is to the cute wee boy knit’s for me
I love the hat with the green stalk on it, and the green cardigan. I’ve never done any baby knitting lol. Maybe i should, i keep saying i want some more ‘fast’ projects’.
mmmm, i love those cargo pants. while i’m not normally attacked by the babyknits bug, those pants always make me wish someone i knew was having a baby. the cardigan for merry is awesome, and would be a great unisex item. your idea of starting one in a gender-neutral color is good, especially if you’re itching to cast on. the few baby things i have made for others i did more gender nuetral because our family was always handing things down, and i figure if people are planning on having more than one child, garments will get more use if the design and color work for boys and girls.
I love A Cardigan for Merry. So, so cute, and so easily unisex without being bland.
Knitting for babies is fabulous.
Those are so cute!
With Samantha, you want to make sure you have the revised edition of the pattern… I had some trouble, e-mailed the designer, and she sent me the new-and-improved, error-free version. Made a huge difference.
The only others I can recommend are “Baby Yours” and “Baby Mine” from Stephanie Pearl- McPhee aka The Yarn Harlot. Her friend was having a baby and so she designed a boy cardi and a girl cardi, so she’d be prepared either way. They’re lovely, and have enough knitterly details to satisfy anyone. I’m sure you can easily find them on Ravely, or on her blog-site, which I notice is on your blog-roll. Happy baby knitting!!!