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Lille Crispin by Rachel Søgaard is a a classic baby and children’s cardigan that can easily be used for both girls and boys.
Filcolana is a Danish yarn brand that publishes many free patterns every year. Lille Crispin was part of their Circus-themed collection from January 2022. Here, the designer implemented the circus theme in a slightly more subtle way by using a repeating harlequin texture throughout.
Filcolana publish many of their patterns in many languages. This pattern is available in Danish, English, German, Norwegian, and Swedish.
I decided to knit this cardigan for my own daughter. In the photos she is just 1.5 years old, but I chose to knit the size 2 to ensure she could get the most wear out of it. You knit the cardigan flat and top down. The raglan sleeves are easy to shape and fit. After knitting the body, you knit the sleeves and then the buttonband. Since the body is knit flat, I got used to creating the harlequin pattern by working both the right and wrong sides. However, I kept flipping the piece over to check my work on the right side. Since the sleeves are worked in the round, I found that I was able to work much more quickly. Nevertheless, I could easily memorize the six stitch, twelve row repeat.
I knit this cardigan with yarn from my stash. Years ago I bought some Knitting for Olive Merino in the Flamingo colourway for a custom hat. The Lucy Hat by Carina Spencer left me with quite a bit leftover yarn. Since I didn’t have kids at the time, I wasn’t routinely using up small yardages in kids’ garments. However, having my own daughter gave me the perfect way to use up this dusty rose fingering weight yarn! Although Knitting for Olive Merino is a 100% merino wool yarn, I find that it doesn’t feel as soft as some other purely merino yarns. Thankfully, though, the yarn is also more hard-wearing and pill-resistant to other merino yarns.
I got gauge using the pattern repeat with 3.25 mm needles, and used 2.75 mm needles for the ribbing. Since I regularly have a loose gauge, I surprised myself by requiring slightly larger needles than recommended in the pattern. Fit isn’t so much a concern with kids clothes, though. I normally knit items slightly larger than their age requires so that they have the longest time available to actually wear the knit!
I started knitting this cardigan on July 8 in 2025. In just over six weeks, I cast off the hem ribbing. A few more days had me finishing the buttonband and sewing the buttons. Not bad for knitting a whole garment during maternity leave! Unfortunately this pattern only includes four sizes, aged 3 months to 2 years. I would have loved to knit this in a larger size for my older child too!
I asked my older child to help me choose the buttons for this cardigan from my stash. He told me that I had to use these heart-shaped buttons, because, “Hearts mean love.” My own heart melted.
Get the free Lille Crispin pattern by Rachel Søgaard on Ravelry.
