A friend of mine asked me to make her this
Hooded Coat Extension pattern, but it had been made by adjusting a different pattern for a hooded scarf, so I did a little searching to see if there were any other existing patterns, but the only one I found looked too different, so I decided to make my own.
To clarify what this is, when you wear you baby carrier on your front during the winter, if you can't button up your coat around your baby, this extender attaches to the existing buttons to keep baby warm.
I started by knitting up a small patch to work out my gauge, then measured out the width I wanted the extender to be and the space between the buttons. I also wanted the top to be more narrow then the bottom so it fitted comfortably around the shape of baby.
I found
these buttons on Etsy which closely matched the coat buttons, and used the coat to work out the best positioning for them.
I wasn't sure how to do the hood, so I incorporated the method used in this
Hooded Baby Poncho pattern, which worked really well, although if I made another one I would probably make the hood a little bigger (baby is about 3 months old so will fit now, but by the end of winter it will probably be a little snug).
The whole thing was really quick to knit up and took me two evenings to finish. I am very pleased with how it turned out, and super proud of myself for writing my own pattern.
So here is the pattern I came up with:
You'll need: Moda Vera Monkey super Bulky Acrylic in Pink and 10mm needles
Gauge: 10 stitches (stockinette) = 4.25inches
Pattern:
(Starting at base of extender)
Cast on 42 stitches
1. Knit rows 1-4 (garter stitch)
2. Knit 42
3. K5, P32, K5
4. Repeat 2 & 3 until piece measures 8 inches
5. K2, YO, K2tog, K38 (adding first button hole)
6. K5, P32, K5
7. K5, K2TOG, K28, SSK, K5
8. K5, P30, K5
9. K40
10. Repeat 8 & 9 until piece measures 12.5 inches
11. K2, YO, K2tog, K36
12. K5, P30, K5
13. K5, K2tog, K26, SSK, K5
14. K5, P28, K5
15. K5, K2tog, K24, SSK, K5
16. K5, P26, K5
17. K5, K2tog, K22, SSK, K5
18. K5, P24, K5
19. K5, K2tog, K20, SSK, K5
20. K5, P22, K5
21. K32
22. Repeat 20 & 21 until piece measures 17 inches
23. K2, YO, K2tog, K28
24. K5, P22, K5
25. K5, (K2tog x 5), K2, (SSK x 5), K5
26. K5, P12, K5
27. K5, (M1, K2 x 6), K5
28. K4, P20, K4
29. K28
30. K3, P22, K3
31. K28
32. K2, P24, K2
33. K28
34. Repeat 32 & 33 until hood section measures 8 inches [for 0-3 months, longer to make bigger hood]
35. 3 needle bind off; Move 14 stitches onto each needle, use a third needle to Knit 1 stitch from each needle together. Make sure that the seam side is inside the hood.
For the pocket:
Cast on 13
Knit rib for 3 rows
Knit stockinette for 8 inches
Knit rib for 3 rows
Bind off
Sew the pocket onto the extender, you may need to pin it into place when wearing over your baby carrier (not with a baby in!) so you can make sure it is a comfortable position to put your hands in.
Please feel free to share/use this pattern, but please link back to this page.
Oh and in case you were wondering, my 'baby' is
Oswald the Owl!
