# Soft Pink Floral Baby Cardigan Free Crochet Pattern
There is nothing — and I mean nothing — sweeter than a tiny cardigan in the softest blush pink, dotted with little crocheted daisies. This is the cardigan I make when I want a gift that says “I spent real love on this” without spending three weeks on it. The top-down raglan construction means no seaming puzzles, and the little flowers are the perfect evening-in-front-of-the-TV finishing touch.
It works up quickly in half double crochet, which gives the fabric a lovely dense warmth — perfect for layering over onesies on chilly mornings. The daisy buttons echo the flower appliques, and honestly, the whole thing just makes people smile. Let’s make one.
What You’ll Need
- Worsted weight yarn (category 4): approximately 250 yards soft pink (main color)
- Small amounts of worsted weight yarn in white and yellow (flowers), and green (leaves)
- US H-8 / 5.0 mm crochet hook
- Yarn needle, scissors, at least 4 stitch markers
- 4 small daisy or flower buttons, approximately 15 mm
Gauge:
- 14 hdc x 10 rows = 4 inches. Swatch and block — baby garments live or die by gauge
Finished size:
- Size 0–6 months
- Finished chest circumference (buttoned): approximately 17 inches
- Finished length (back neck to hem): approximately 8.5 inches
- Sleeve length (underarm to cuff): approximately 5 inches
The Pattern
Special Stitches
Half double crochet two together (hdc2tog): Yarn over, insert hook in next stitch, pull up a loop (3 loops on hook), yarn over, insert hook in following stitch, pull up a loop (5 loops on hook), yarn over, pull through all 5 loops.
Daisy flower: With white, make a magic ring. [Chain 2, 2 dc, chain 2, slip stitch into ring] 5 times for 5 petals. Fasten off. Center: With yellow, magic ring, 6 sc, join. Sew the center onto the petals. Make 5 daisies.
Leaf: With green, chain 7. Sc in 2nd chain from hook, hdc in next, dc in next 2, hdc in next, sc in last, slip stitch back along the other side to the start. Fasten off. Make 5.
Notes: The turning chain (chain 1, turn) starts every row and does not count as a stitch.
Yoke
With soft pink, chain 37.
Row 1 (RS): Hdc in 2nd chain from hook and in each chain across. (36 hdc)
Raglan setup: Mark stitches 6, 14, 23, and 31 as seam stitches. Sections: Right Front = sts 1–5, Right Sleeve = sts 7–13, Back = sts 15–22, Left Sleeve = sts 24–30, Left Front = sts 32–36. (5 + 1 + 7 + 1 + 8 + 1 + 7 + 1 + 5 = 36)
Rows 2–7 (increase rows): Chain 1, turn. Hdc across to 1 stitch before the first seam stitch, 2 hdc in next stitch, hdc in seam stitch (move marker up), 2 hdc in next stitch; repeat at each seam point; hdc to end. (44, 52, 60, 68, 76, 84 hdc)
Checkpoint: After Row 7, each front is 11 stitches, each sleeve is 19 stitches, and the back is 20 stitches (plus 4 seam stitches = 84). Yoke depth is about 3.5 inches.
Divide for Body and Sleeves
Row 8: Hdc across the 11 Right Front stitches. Skip the next seam stitch. Place the 19 Right Sleeve stitches plus the 2 flanking seam stitches on a holder (21 sts held). Chain 2 for the underarm bridge. Hdc across the 20 Back stitches. Skip the next seam stitch. Place the 19 Left Sleeve stitches plus 2 flanking seam stitches on a holder (21 sts held). Chain 2. Hdc across the 11 Left Front stitches. (46 sts)
Body
Rows 9–24: Chain 1, turn. Hdc in each stitch across. (46 hdc each row)
Work until the body measures about 5 inches from the underarm — the whole piece should be roughly 8.5 inches from the back neck to the hem. Fasten off.
Sleeves (make 2)
Return the 21 held stitches to your hook and pick up 2 across the underarm bridge = 23 stitches. Join pink with a slip stitch at the underarm.
Rounds 1–8: Chain 1, hdc in each stitch around, join with a slip stitch. (23 hdc)
Round 9 (decrease): Chain 1, hdc2tog, hdc around to last 2 stitches, hdc2tog, join. (21 hdc)
Round 10: Chain 1, sc in each stitch around, join. Fasten off. (21 sc)
Button Bands
Left band: With right side facing, attach pink at the bottom left hem. Sc evenly up the front edge (about 40 sc).
Rows 1–2: Chain 1, turn, sc across.
Row 3: Slip stitch across. Fasten off.
Right band (buttonholes): With right side facing, attach pink at the top right neck edge. Sc evenly down (about 40 sc).
Row 1: Chain 1, turn, sc across.
Row 2: Chain 1, turn. Sc in first 3, (chain 2, skip 2, sc in next 7) 3 times, chain 2, skip 2, sc in last 3. (4 buttonholes)
Row 3: Chain 1, turn. Sc in each stitch and 2 sc in each chain-2 space. (40 sc) Fasten off.
Flowers and Finishing
Weave in all ends and block lightly. Sew the 4 daisy buttons to the left band to match the buttonholes. Arrange the 5 crocheted daisies across the two front panels — I like three on the left front and two on the right — with a leaf tucked under each. Sew them on securely (babies grab everything!).
Sophie’s Tips
- Sew the applique flowers on with extra stitches and buried knots — little fingers will test every single one.
- The top-down construction means you can hold the yoke up to a onesie to check the fit as you go.
- Make the whole cardigan in cream and use pink flowers for a sweet inverted version.
This is the one that gets kept in the memory box, friends. Happy hooking!
