DIY: The Legend of Baby Link Hat and Tunic and Free Pattern by Joanna Rankin

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The Legend of Baby Link Hat and Tunic was a custom order for a new baby. It was a fun knit and a great place to start for a knitter new to garments. The tunic is a sample of different techniques to learn: set in sleeves, a peplum, and intarsia.

The hat is a quick knit as it has a few rows of ribbing and then a decreasing pattern that ends in a point. It is an easy travel project or something to make while watching TV. Although it is a vital part of the Link costume, it also is a functional stand-alone baby hat.

The tunic starts with a provisional cast on edge at the waist. You then knit in the round from bottom up to the armpit, when the piece divides at the armholes. There is a lighter green panel of intarsia knitting in the v-neck. The only tricky part was the back placket overlap, which I struggled with understanding the instructions. This is likely because I’ve never made a placket, but once we figured out that we had to pick up on the already existing stitches, there were no more issues.

As recommended, I used US 7 – 4.5 mm needles, to make the recommended three month size. At the time of these photos, Kenji was approximately four months old and the tunic fit him perfectly. He is large for his age and often wears clothes older than his true age. Thankfully, knits are stretchy so you will have some fit wiggle room!

We used a machine-washable yarn from our stash to knit the Baby Link hat and tunic. The hat and tunic body used Garnstudio DROPS Big Merino in Forest Green, while the sleeves and intarsia v used Olive. The belt used a double-knitting technique (which we used on our Frida Heabands) and we used a brown yarn from our stash. The belt buckle used yet another technique, this time crochet with a chain stitch design.

As you can see, we made the hat, tunic and belt only. We omitted the pants, booties, and the quiver for baby bottle. Although Joanna Rankin’s pattern is adorable, the baby receiving this gift didn’t need the additional pieces of the outfit.

Get the free Legend of Baby Link Hat and Tunic Pattern by Joanna Rankin on Ravelry here.

Check out some of our other baby knits:

• Trio of Hats Beanie
• Trio of Hats Pixie
• Bayside Beanie
• Garter Ear Flap Hat