Increasing a pattern size

[hcknits]

I have a pattern for a baby sweater that's 6 month size. I'd like to make it in a 12 month size. I'm wondering how to increase it. I'd call myself a long-time beginner (mostly baby blankets). This is my first baby sweater.

I knit slightly tighter than the gauge. The yarn I'm using doesn't specify a weight, but it says 50 grams. It's similar to yarns I've used on other baby projects, so it's fairly lightweight, but I know there are thinner yarns.

The pattern says to use sport weight yarn (100 grams, 355 ounces) and size 5 and 6 needles (for different sections). Any help is appreciated (even if it's to find a new pattern!). But I've already made the blanket, and ideally, I'd like to make the matching sweater. Thank you so much!

[suzeeq]

If you can match the yarn in the blanket to a heavier yarn and use size 8 and 9 needles, that will work. Or use the sport weight with a size 7 and 8 needle, sometimes that works, especially if you're a tight knitter. If we knew a little more about the pattern (do you have a link to it or a picture?) we could advise you a little better. For instance, if it's a top down raglan, you can just keep doing the increase rows until the back sts measure half the finished chest size you need. That's the easiest to adjust, but if it's not that style, then there's more that needs to be done.

[Becky Morgan]

There are a couple of ways to do this.
You could use larger yarn, but you want to match the blanket.
You could use a larger needle and a slightly looser gauge. The limit on that will be whether the work still looks good at a larger size. In this case, you might be able to go up one needle size and get what you need. Here, look at the size charts on this site:
http://www.bevscountrycottage.com/baby-sweaters.html

If you don't like the look of the bigger gauge, you can do the math and bump up the size. If you can find a sweater done in similar yarn and see how many stitches a 12-month size uses, you can try that on your pattern.

[hcknits]

Thank you! I hoped that it might be as simple as increasing the needle size and maybe using two strands of yarn.

The blanket actually indicated size 10.5 needles and two strands of yarn, so the pattern for the blanket is much bigger. I'm happy to increase the needle size and double the yarn for the sweater, if it seems like that would work.

I'll include a picture of the sweater and blanket. The pattern breaks the sweater down into separate sections, so I'm guessing that it's not a top-down style. Remember, this is my first sweater

Thanks again for your help and the quick responses!

[Becky Morgan]

Ooh, pretty!

Try one size bigger on the needles. I doubt you'll have to work with two strands. A little too big is better than too small on kids' clothes, of course!