A light cardigan is a knitted long-sleeve top that buttons or snaps all the way down the front. It goes over a short-sleeve bodysuit or a sleepsuit as a middle layer, when one cotton layer is too cool.
Because the front opens all the way, nothing goes over your baby's head. Coming in from a cool street to a warm shop or car, you can unbutton it in seconds.
- For ages0–3years
- You'll need2–3per size
- Wear it below20°C68°F
When to use one
On mild days, cool mornings and in drafty rooms, when your baby needs one more layer over a long-sleeve bodysuit or a sleepsuit. On colder walks it goes under a light jacket, or inside a stroller footmuff.
Skip it in a warm room, where one cotton layer is enough.
Cardigan or pullover sweater?
Both add a knitted middle layer over a bodysuit, but only one opens down the front.
Cardigan
It opens flat, so a newborn can lie on it while you bring the arms through one at a time.
Pullover sweater
It goes on over the head, and a knitted neck stretches less than a T-shirt neck. Until about six months, while the head is big and your baby cannot hold it steady, that is a struggle. After that, either works. A sweatshirt is the same idea in cotton jersey.
Cotton, merino wool, or acrylic knit
The yarn decides how warm the cardigan is, how it breathes, and how you wash it.
Cotton knit
The everyday one, for mild days and warm homes.
- Good: Regular machine wash
- Good: Rarely too warm indoors
- Not good: Less warmth for its weight
Merino wool
Fine, soft sheep's wool. The warmer one, for cool days and drafty rooms.
- Good: More warmth for its weight
- Good: Stays warm when damp
- Not good: Wool wash, dried flat
Acrylic and blends
Common in hand-knitted gifts. Acrylic is a synthetic yarn, and for a newborn, wool or cotton cardigans are the usual pick.
- Good: Easy machine wash
- Not good: Breathes less than cotton or wool
Why some wool itches and merino does not
Many parents remember a wool sweater that scratched. Whether wool prickles depends on how thick each fiber is.
What touches your baby's skin
Fibers drawn to one scale
A hair from your head
50–100 µm
Here for scale.
Coarse wool
over 30 µm
Thick and stiff, so the ends press into the skin. That is the prickle.
Fine merino
under 22 µm
So thin that the ends bend over when they touch the skin.
A micron (µm) is a thousandth of a millimeter. Superfine merino is under 18.5 µm, softer still.
How to choose a cardigan
1. Secure buttons or backed snaps
A loose button is small enough to swallow, so give each one a tug before the first wear. Snaps need a strip of woven cotton tape behind them, or the metal can tear out of the knit. Skip ribbons at the neck, because a ribbon can wrap around it.
- Good: Buttons stay firm after a tug
- Good: Cotton tape behind the snaps
- Not good: Ribbon ties at the neck
2. A close, smooth knit inside
Turn a sleeve inside out and look at the stitch. A close knit lets the hand slide through, and open, lacy holes catch fingers.
- Good: Close, even stitch in the sleeve
- Good: A fingertip slides without catching
- Not good: Lacy holes a fingertip fits into
3. A flat, hoodless neckline
A cardigan often goes under a coat or a stroller harness, so the neck should lie flat. A hood bunches up behind the head of a young baby.
- Good: Plain V-neck or round neck
- Good: Flat under a coat or harness
- Not good: A hood bunched behind the neck
How to put it on
For a newborn, unbutton the cardigan and lay it flat on the changing mat, inside up. Lay your baby on it with the shoulders at the collar. Reach into the cuff from the outside, take your baby's hand and draw it gently through the sleeve.
Once your baby can sit with support, do it on your lap, one arm at a time from the cuff end. Fasten the buttons from the bottom up, so the two sides line up.
Washing wool and knit cardigans
Turn every cardigan inside out before washing, so the outside does not rub into little fuzz balls (pilling). Cotton and acrylic ones go in a normal 30°C (86°F) machine wash. Wool needs gentler care, because heat and rubbing make it mat and shrink. That goes for every wool knit: cardigans, warm wool socks and winter hats.
The care label says whether the wool can go in the machine. Machine-washable (superwash) wool goes on the wool or delicate cycle, at up to 30°C (86°F) and a low spin. Hand-wash wool soaks for 10 minutes in lukewarm water at 30°C (86°F), then rinses in cool water, with no rubbing or wringing.
Most everyday detergents contain enzymes that break down wool, so use a mild wool detergent. Leave out fabric softener, which coats the yarn and makes it pill more. Press the water out in a dry towel, pull the cardigan back into shape, and dry it flat in the shade, away from radiators. Never hang wet knitwear: the weight of the water stretches it. Fuzz balls under the arms pick off by hand once it is dry.
Questions parents ask
Do newborns need cardigans, and how many should I buy?
Yes, two or three, so one can be worn while another is in the wash. Two wool or cotton cardigans belong in a newborn's first clothes.
Can my baby wear a cardigan in the car seat?
Yes, a thin or medium knit that fits close. A flat knit does not squash in a crash the way a puffy coat does, so the straps stay snug. Check that you cannot pinch a fold of strap at the collarbone. Or buckle your baby in first and put the cardigan on backward over the straps, like a little blanket.
Can a baby sleep in a cardigan?
No. Cardigans, sweaters and hooded tops come off before sleep, so your baby does not get too hot. A sleep bag over a bodysuit or sleepsuit keeps the warmth steady, with no extra layer or buttons on the chest.
Can newborns wear wool, or is it too itchy?
Yes, fine merino or cashmere. Coarse wool prickles. For skin with eczema, cotton is the usual first choice. Fine merino is much softer than ordinary wool, and it suits many babies with eczema too. Try one piece first, and go back to cotton if the skin turns red or itchy.
What is the difference between a cardigan, a sweater, and a jumper?
A cardigan opens down the front, with buttons or snaps. In the US, sweater is the word for any knitted top, buttoned or pulled over the head. In the UK and Australia a pullover is a jumper, while in the US a baby jumper is a bouncing seat.
What is a matinee jacket?
The traditional British and Irish name for a newborn cardigan. It usually buttons high on the chest and flares out a little over a sleepsuit, so it does not bunch around the legs.
