# Peach Ombre Hooded Baby Cardigan Free Crochet Pattern
There’s something about an ombre that just makes people go “ooooh.” This baby cardigan melts from warm peach at the yoke through soft light peach into creamy vanilla at the hem — no fancy colorwork, just three yarn colors changed at the right rows. Add a cozy hood, three little wooden buttons, and a top-down raglan construction with zero seaming, and you’ve got the cardigan every new parent wants in the gift bag.
Top-down raglans are my favorite way to make baby sweaters because you can try them on as you go (or hold them up to a reluctant stuffed bear — we’ve all been there). The yoke, body, sleeves, and hood are all worked in half double crochet, so the whole thing is one soothing stitch from start to finish.
What You’ll Need
- Worsted weight yarn (category 4), approximately 420 yards total:
- Peach: approximately 150 yards (yoke)
- Light peach: approximately 150 yards (mid-body and sleeves)
- Cream: approximately 120 yards (hem, cuffs, hood)
- H/8 (5.0 mm) crochet hook
- 3 wooden buttons, approximately 5/8 inch (16 mm)
- Tapestry needle, stitch markers, scissors, sewing needle and thread for buttons
Finished size:
- 6–12 months. Chest 20.5 inches
- Length 12 inches
- Sleeve length 7.5 inches
Gauge:
- 14 half double crochet x 10 rows = 4 inches
The Pattern
Yoke
Ombre plan: work the yoke in peach, the mid-body and sleeves in light peach, and the hem, cuffs, and hood in cream.
Ch 54.
Row 1: Hdc in 3rd ch from hook and in each ch across. Turn. (52 hdc)
**Raglan setup —
Row 2:** Ch 2, hdc in next 8 sts (right front), (hdc, ch 1, hdc) in next st (corner 1), hdc in next 8 sts (sleeve), (hdc, ch 1, hdc) in next st (corner 2), hdc in next 16 sts (back), (hdc, ch 1, hdc) in next st (corner 3), hdc in next 8 sts (sleeve), (hdc, ch 1, hdc) in next st (corner 4), hdc in next 8 sts (left front). Turn. Place a marker in each ch-1 corner space. (60 sts)
Rows 3–11: Ch 2, hdc in each st across, working (hdc, ch 1, hdc) in each marked corner space. Turn, moving the markers up. Each row adds 8 sts: row 3 = 68, row 4 = 76, row 5 = 84, row 6 = 92, row 7 = 100, row 8 = 108, row 9 = 116, row 10 = 124, row 11 = 132 sts.
At row 11 the panels measure: fronts 18 sts each, sleeves 18 sts each, back 28 sts (including corner stitches).
Divide for Body and Sleeves
Row 12: Ch 2, hdc across the right front (18 sts), ch 4 for the underarm, skip the next 20 sts (sleeve plus corner sts), hdc across the back (28 sts), ch 4, skip the next 20 sts, hdc across the left front (18 sts). Turn. (72 sts)
Body
Rows 13–22 (light peach): Ch 2, hdc in each st across. Turn. (72 sts)
Rows 23–30 (cream): Change to cream. Ch 2, hdc in each st across. Turn. (72 sts)
Hem edging: Ch 1, (sc in next st, ch 2, sk 1 st) across the bottom edge for a gentle picot-ish finish. Fasten off.
Button Bands
Left band (button side): Join peach yarn at the bottom of the left front edge. Ch 1, sc evenly up the front edge (about 36 sts). Fasten off.
Right band (buttonhole side): Join peach yarn at the top of the right front edge. Ch 1, sc down the front edge, working 3 buttonholes evenly spaced: (sc in next 8 sts, ch 2, sk 2 sts) 3 times, then sc to the bottom. On the next row, sc across, working 2 sc in each ch-2 space. Fasten off. Sew the 3 wooden buttons to the left band opposite the buttonholes.
Sleeves (Make 2)
Join light peach yarn at an underarm.
Rnd 1: Ch 2, hdc in each st around the armhole (20 skipped sts + 4 chain sts = 24 sts). Join. (24 hdc)
Rnds 2–7: Ch 2, hdc in each st around. Join. (24 hdc)
Rnd 8: Ch 2, (hdc in next 4 sts, hdc2tog) 4 times. Join. (20 hdc)
Rnds 9–13: Ch 2, hdc in each st around. Join. (20 hdc)
Rnd 14: Ch 2, (hdc in next 3 sts, hdc2tog) 4 times. Join. (16 hdc)
Rnds 15–16 (cream cuff): Change to cream. Ch 1, sc in each st around. Join. (16 sc)
Fasten off. Repeat for the second sleeve.
Hood
Join cream yarn at the right front neck edge.
Row 1: Ch 2, hdc evenly across the neckline (44 sts). Turn. (44 hdc)
Rows 2–16: Ch 2, hdc in each st across. Turn. (44 hdc)
Row 17: Ch 2, (hdc in next 9 sts, hdc2tog) 4 times. Turn. (40 hdc)
Fold the hood in half with right sides together and whip stitch the back seam closed. Turn right side out and weave in all ends.
Sophie’s Tips
- Change ombre colors at the end of a row for the cleanest transition line — no joggy edges.
- Count your raglan panels after row 5; catching a missed corner increase early saves the whole yoke.
- Sew buttons on with thread doubled, and give each one a good tug test — babies are surprisingly strong.
Soft, snuggly, and impossibly giftable. Happy crocheting!
