Incy Wincy Spider needed a cardigan. It is autumn, after all, and even imaginary spiders feel the cold.

This is a top-down seamless raglan cardigan for children aged 1 to 11 years, worked in two shades of DK. Orange for the body, black for the legs. The spider is the cardigan. The legs are sewn on at the end. There is also a pocket.

It is a confident beginner pattern, which means it is manageable for someone who has knitted a hat or two and wants to try their first top-down seamless garment. There are no complicated techniques, no intarsia, and nothing that requires you to work with more than one yarn at a time. Six sizes, all written out in full.

Incy Wincy is an excellent make for Halloween, a very good excuse to start a new project in September, and a practical orange cardigan for the rest of autumn once the 31st has been and gone.

Worked in one piece from the neck down with no seaming and no intarsia. Raglan increases are worked through the yoke. Sleeves are picked up and worked in the round. The button band is picked up and worked at the end. The spider body is the cardigan itself, and the legs are sewn on after finishing, so there is nothing fiddly to manage while you are knitting.

Designed by Jane Burns, with 18 years of experience creating exclusive knitting and crochet patterns for babies and children.

Yarn Willow & Lark Ramble, 100% superwash wool, DK, 50g / 125m / 136yds per ball.

Yarn A, Horizon Orange (112): 3 (4: 5: 5: 6: 8) balls. Yarn B, Black (109): 1 ball all sizes.

Any DK weight yarn at the correct gauge is a suitable substitute. For help choosing yarn for a baby or child’s project, see the blog post linked below.

Needles: 3.25mm circular needles, 60-80cm. 4mm circular needles, 60-80cm. 3.25mm DPNs or 60-80cm circular for Magic Loop.

Also needed: 4 stitch markers, scrap yarn or stitch holders, 3.5mm crochet hook, 5 x 2cm black buttons, darning needle.

Tension: 22 stitches and 30 rows per 10 x 10cm over stocking stitch using 4mm needles.

Sizes: 1-2, 2-3, 4-5, 6-7, 8-9, and 10-11 years.

Finished chest: 60 (64: 69.5: 73: 77: 82) cm / 23.75 (25.25: 27.25: 28.75: 30.25: 32.5) in

Finished length: 32 (34: 38: 41: 46: 50) cm / 12.5 (13.25: 15: 16: 18: 19.5) in

Sleeve length: 18.5 (21: 24.5: 27: 28: 31) cm / 7.25 (8.25: 9.5: 10.5: 11: 12.25) in

Skill level: Confident beginner.

This pattern uses five 2cm black buttons and is not suitable for children under 36 months without supervision.

The pattern is available to buy in the Jane Burns shop.

For a guide to choosing yarn for babies and children’s projects, see the blog.

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1 https://shop.janeburns.co.uk/products/incy-wincy-spider-c... 2 https://janeburns.co.uk/knitting-for-babies-and-how-to-ge... 3 https://jane-burns-designs.kit.com/413556a207