Knit cute kids’ summer clothes with these free patterns all knit in the round – no seaming needed yay!
Tip: most pattern instructions say you need both a circular needle (for the main body) and shorter DPNs for smaller bits like sleeves & the neck. But you can avoid DPNs by using a long circular with the magic loop technique – watch my beginners video here.
Table of Contents
Gefion Eyelet Yoke T-shirt (Age 2-10 & Adults)
- 4 Sizes: 2-10 years, finished chest 59-84 cm
- Yarn Weight: 4 ply / fingering
- Needles: 3mm main & 2.5mm for rib
This gorgeous free tee pattern also comes in Adult sizes (called Kastellet), so you can knit matching tops for you & your mini me.
Knit top down in the round, the eye catching eyelets are just a simple yarn over & k2tog repeat done every 8th round. Otherwise it’s simple stockinette all the way.
Designed for Filcolana’s Merci, a super soft merino & cotton mix – I regret only buying 1 ball on my holidays! Here’s a list of close match fingering yarns.
Elena Colourwork Yoke Tee (Age 4-10)
- 5 Sizes: 2-10 years, finished chest 25-33 inches
- Yarn Weight: DK
- Needles: 4mm (US 6) main & 3.5mm (US 4) for rib
This cute colourwork t-shirt is knit top down in the round. The pretty yoke pattern chart is an 8 stitch repeat over just 12 rounds.
You could also skip the colourwork completely and this becomes an easy knit t-shirt template pattern you can use time after time.
This pattern uses Berroco Vintage DK yarn, which knits to standard 22 x 28 gauge, so you could also knit this with any standard DK yarn.
Narrow Striped Kids T-Shirt (Age 2-12)
- 6 Sizes: 2-12 years, finished chest 62-83cm
- Yarn Weight: 4ply/fingering
- Needles: 3mm
This unisex t-shirt pattern is knit in the round from the bottom up as 3 separate pieces (body & 2 sleeves) and then all 3 pieces are joined together before knitting the raglan decreases in the round.
The narrow 2 round stripes have a nice fancy texture which is super simple to knit: do 1 round in stockinette as usual & then the other in k1p1 rib stitch – that’s it!
There’s a bit of complexity shaping the neck near the end so I’d call this an intermediate pattern.
Designed for Sandnes Garn’s Mandarin Petit cotton, this pattern also works with several of their alpaca and wool yarns. Or YarnSub lists plenty of close substitute cotton yarns.
Ruffled Summer Top (Age 6 mths – 9 & Teens/Adults)
- 6 Sizes: 6-12 months to 7-9 years, to fit chest 17-19 to 27-29 inches
- Yarn Weight: DK
- Needles: 4mm (US 6)
This versatile kids’ pattern can be a top, tunic or dress with the length easily adjustable by just knitting more rounds. Plus it also comes in 32 and 34 inch chest sizes for teens & slim adults.
Knit top down in the round, it starts with 12 rounds of rib for a good fit at the neck. Then it’s all stockinette until adding the ruffles at the edges.
They look fancy, but you simply knit into the front and back of every stitch on the 2nd last round – easy peasy!
The pattern photos show it knit in a multicoloured print yarn, but it would look lovely in a plain shade or you could add your own stripes.
Suggested gauges for both cotton & wool are included in the pattern, and most DK yarns should work well here.
You’ll need either a free LoveCrafts or Ravelry account to download this free pattern, shared generously for free by the late designer Elena Nodel.
The Ruffle Dress (Newborn to 10 years)
- 9 Sizes: 0-3 mths to 8-10 years, finished chest 15.5 to 25.5 inches
- Yarn Weight: Worsted/aran for dress, sock/fingering/4ply for ruffles
- Needles: 4.5mm (US 7) for dress, 5mm (US 8) for ruffles, 3.75mm (US 5) for neck.
Speaking of ruffles, how cute is this dress? Not just for babies, you can knit it for girls up to age 10.
You first knit the basic dress top down in the round with worsted or aran yarn so it knits up quickly. It’s all stockinette, except for purl rounds marking where each ruffle goes.
Then you add the ruffles in finer yarn at the end by simply picking up and knitting stitches in all the purl bumps. Great for stashbusting!
Designed by Claire Gentry, the pattern also includes matching bloomers for babies and toddlers. Plus she has separate free patterns for a ruffle top, skirt and trousers!
You’ll need a free Ravelry account to download these free patterns.
Shades of Summer Dress (3 months to 6 years)
- 7 Sizes: 3-6 mths to 5-6 years, to fit chest 15-16 to 24-25 inches
- Yarn Weight: DK cotton, size up if using wool
- Needles: 4mm (US 6) for top bodice, 3.5mm (US 4) for rest of dress
This adorable summer dress looks really fancy, especially with the main part knit in self striping yarn.
It’s a seamless top down construction, with the top part knit in textured seed/moss stitch and the rest is mainly simple stockinette.
You add a frill at the bottom for extra fun by knitting into the front and back of every stitch to double your stitch count. But you could also skip this part and just finish after the garter stitch edge to keep things simple.
Note if using cotton it’s recommended to single crochet around the neck and armholes at the end to stop them getting loose over time. If you don’t know how to crochet, you could reinforce the edges by picking up and knitting stitches around the neck and armholes, and then binding off all stitches in the next round instead.
You’ll need a free Ravelry or LoveCrafts account to download this pattern.
This is another pattern by the late great designer Elena Nodel. Her large collection of lovely patterns for both adults & children are still available, and there’s a special half price sale in July to mark her birthday.
Pullover and Pants Set (4-8 years)
- 3 Sizes: 4, 6 & 8 years, finished chest 26-29.5 inches, finished hip 21-25.5 inches
- Yarn Weight: DK
- Needles: 4mm (US 6) main stockinette, 3.75mm (US 5) for garter stitches edges
Knit cute co-ords with this matching top & trousers pattern. It’s rare to see patterns for knitted trousers, and they look so comfy for summer days.
The t-shirt is knit from the top down, starting with a garter stitch neckline, then switching to stockinette with increases to make the yoke. Then you divide for the body and sleeves & it’s all simple stockinette until 4 rounds of garter stitch to finish.
For the trousers, you knit each leg separately in the round from the bottom up leaving the stitches on holders and then join them both together to knit the top part in the round. The only sewing at the end is a short seam between the legs and then turning down the waistband.
There’s no need to worry about soft knitted trousers sliding down! They’ve a clever drawstring waist. You knit a long length of 2 stitch i-cord and thread it through your folded waistband.
This pattern is designed for Lion Brand’s Mandala Baby yarn cakes which come in several self striping shades so you don’t have to think about colour changes at all. This affordable acrylic easy care yarn is machine wash AND dry which is unusual.
YarnSub lists several other self striping yarns here that are close matches and most DK yarns should work well for this as the gauge of 21 stitches and 32 rounds is not that far off the standard DK gauge of 22 x 28.
You’ll need a free Lion Brand account to download this pattern.
I hope you like these cute kids knitting patterns. If you’d like to make some but don’t know how to knit in the round, check out my beginners’ guide here. Or see my straight needles summer kids patterns round-up here.
