Free Kids Summer Knitting Patterns for Straight Needles

Summer Walk Sweaters & Vests / Slipovers (age 2 – 11 years)

Knit long sleeve or sleeveless crew neck and v-neck sweaters with this versatile free pattern.

The entire pattern instructions are for straight needles, even the neckbands, which is unusual.

The tops are knit in purl 5, knit 1 rib which gives a nice texture and helps give a good fit.

All 4 tops use the same basic pattern for the back and the front, with variations mainly at the top of the front depending on whether you want a round neck or v-neck.

Then you knit 2 sleeve pieces for a sweater, or pick up stitches around the armholes and knit rib edges if you’re knitting the sleeveless version.

Designed for LoveCrafts own affordable Paintbox Simply DK yarn which comes in a whole rainbow of over 70 shades, you could use any DK yarn to knit this.

You’ll need a free LoveCrafts account to download this free pattern:

Fish Jumpers (age 1 – 10 years)

Seaside themed knits are lovely for summer. This striped sweater pattern has 2 variations – one with plain fish motifs across the bottom, and the other with stripes on the top half and fish blowing bubbles on the bottom half. You can also choose whether to have matching fish on the sleeves or not.

There’s just 1 basic fish motif chart to follow throughout. If you’re making the bubbles version, you embroider these as french knots at the end.

One interesting design feature is that half the stripes are knit in garter stitch which adds texture & makes them pop. You need to remember to switch from size 4mm to 3.75mm needles for each garter stripe though which is a bit of a faff!

The sweater also has a 3 button band across one shoulder, so between this and the colour work there’s plenty to keep intermediate knitters interested.

Designed by Sian Brown for Wool Warehouse’s own Yarnsmiths Create DK acrylic yarn, you could also use any standard DK yarn that knits to 22×28 gauge.

Sian also has a cute anchor stripes patchwork sweater pattern available for the same age range (1-10 years).

Spot the Tee T Shirt (age 3 months – 8 years)

This cute top available in baby & small child sizes is knit in 2 simple T shapes for the front and back.

You start at the bottom with garter stitch edging, then switch to your main colour and knit stockinette until the armholes.

Then just cast on stitches at the start of the next 2 rows to turn your rectangle into a T shape.

For extra cuteness, knit a little square to make a pocket. Simply sew it to the front at the end.

Now the pattern does use a circular needle or DPNs for adding the neck and sleeve garter stitch edges at the end.

But you can use straight needles instead by just leaving seaming one shoulder and the sides until after you do the edging instead of before. See my guide on knitting neckbands with straight needles instead of in the round for more info.

This pattern uses Universal Yarn Bamboo Pop, a breathable cotton and bamboo mix perfect for Summer. It comes in lots of solid colours & prints.

The mix they used to get the cool confetti effect shown in the picture is now discontinued, but you can still get a multicoloured look by using one of the current variegated shades.

You could also substitute other sport or lighter DK yarns. Baby DK yarns should work well.

Child Puff Sleeve Tee (age newborn – 14 years)

This modern puff sleeve t shirt looks like a knit in the round pattern but isn’t! It’s so chic, I’d love one in my size 🙂

Designed by Amanda Morse, it’s available in a whopping 12 sizes so you can knit this cute tee for babies to teens.

The pattern says you need a circular needle, but it’s actually knit the traditional way in 4 separate pieces. So you can use straight needles if you like.

The only part you need a circular for is the neckband right at the end, and you can avoid that by only seaming one shoulder – see my guide here.

The pattern instructions are quite concise: for example you’re not told what decrease method to use, or how to seam pieces together. But if you’re an experienced knitter, this makes a nice summer knitting project.

The pattern uses Knitpicks Vividie cotton, which although worsted weight Amanda found knits up like DK. Because this pattern uses 4mm needles (standard for DK) and has a gauge not miles off DK (22×32 vs standard 22×28), DK yarns may work well here too.

Amanda kindly shares this pattern & many others for free on her Knit in the Womb site.

Arrow Lace Tank Top (age 2 – 14 years)

Knit this pretty top for toddlers to teens. Perfect for warm weather or as a light layer over a T shirt.

You knit the front and back as 2 identical pieces.

If you want to try your hand at knitting lace, this is a nice introductory project. Both lace patterns are described in written instructions and charts, to suit all knitters.

The main arrow pattern only has 2 rows of lace knitting over a 5 stitch repeat.

The upper garter stitch eyelets only has a lace pattern on every 6th row.

This pattern calls for Premier Yarns Cotton Sprout DK cotton, available in over 40 shades. Since this has almost standard DK gauge (21×28 rather than 22×28 on 4mm needles), you should be able to use any DK yarn for this.

Once again, the pattern uses a circular needle or DPNs to add the garter stitch neck and sleeve edging at the end.

But you can avoid this & keep using your straight needles by simply seaming one shoulder and the sides after the edging instead of before. See my knitting necks with straight needles guide for step by step instructions.

Kid’s Hooded Cardi (age 1 – 12 years)

This longline open hooded cardigan is handy to throw on when kids get chilly. You can easily adjust the length to knit a shorter hoodie too.

Designed for Premier Yarns Colorfusion DK self striping yarn, you get a striking multicoloured effect without any of the complexity of colour work.

But this cardi would look cute knit in a plain colour too. And any DK yarn should work well here, once it has the standard 22×28 gauge. But you may need to use 4mm needles instead of 3.75 – use the size needles your ball band recommends.

This cardigan is all purl stitch which is quite unusual. But if you prefer a stockinette cardi, just make the wrong side the right side instead!

Knit in pieces, you make the back first, then 2 pieces for the front and then 2 more for the drop sleeves.

Then after seaming the shoulders, you pick up stitches all around the neck and knit a final piece for the hood.

The final step is to knit the ribbed edging and you do need a long circular needle for this. But that’s only because there are so many stitches. You still knit the rib back and forth in rows. If you’ve never used a circular needle to do this, see my step by step video and guide here.

You pick up stitches all the way up one side of the front, all around the hood and then down the other side of the front. Then just knit 8 rows of rib, bind off & you’re all done.