DEGEN For Purl Soho: City Block Sweater + Vintage Taxi Booties
This pattern double-whammy was born in the spirit of our hometown, New York City. And who better to capture its hustle and bustle than the spunky, surprising, and super-NYC knitwear designer, Lindsay Degen?

Lindsay created her City Block Sweater and Vintage Taxi Booties as an ode to glorious Big Apple moxie, as well as to the unfettered nature of babies. Simple intarsia stripes and checks make colorful splashes in these roomy and practical garments, giving babies full freedom of expression!

Both patterns use Purl Soho’s Pocket Posy mini skeins, and the sweater also requires four Posy full-size skeins. Both yarns are a kid-proof blend of superwash merino, cashmere and nylon that also happen to be beautifully hand dyed and machine-washable, too!

You don’t need any big-city know-how to knit these little gems. The City Block Sweater works up in simple flat pieces with easy blocks of color along the way, and the whole thing is seamed together at the end. The Vintage Taxi Booties are knit in one top-down piece with double-yarn soles for super squish and I-cord laces for staying put.

Thank you, Lindsay, for your pluck and spirit, and to knitters… Wherever your little ones may roam, may they be like New Yorkers, brave and bold!
Yarn lovers, if you adore the yarn used in this project, you’ll love exploring all of our other yarn collections! Discover over 45 thoughtfully designed yarns in nearly every natural fiber and in every spectacular color you can imagine. Only available here at Purl Soho’s online yarn store, where every skein is created with care and your creativity in mind!

Designed for Purl Soho by Lindsay Degen.
Materials

SWEATER
- Main Color (MC): 3 (3, 3, 4, 4) skeins of Purl Soho’s Posy, 75% superwash merino, 15% cashmere, and 10% nylon. Each skein is approximately 159 yards/50grams; approximately 360 (395, 440, 500, 585) total yards required. We used the color Mourning Dove for one sample and Black Cherry for the other.
- Contrast Color 1 (CC1): 1 skein of Posy, 75% superwash merino, 15% cashmere, and 10% nylon. Each skein is approximately 159 yards/50 grams; approximately 30 (30, 35, 35, 40) total yards required. We used Sour Gooseberry for the Mourning Dove Sample and Azalea Glow for the Black Cherry one.
- Contrast Color 2 (CC2): 1 skein of Posy. Approximately 20 (20, 25, 25, 30) total yards required. We used Marigold Orange for the Mourning Dove sample and Lilac Mist for the Black Cherry one.
- US 2, 24-inch circular needles or long straight needles
- Stitch markers
- Stitch holders or scrap yarn
- Intarsia bobbins (optional)
- Please Note: The City Block Sweater and Vintage Taxi Booties patterns are no longer available for purchase. For assistance, please contact us at customerservice@purlsoho.com.
BOOTIES
- Color A: 1 skein of Purl Soho’s Posy, 75% superwash merino, 15% cashmere, and 10% nylon. Each skein is approximately 159 yards/50 grams; approximately 65 (70, 85) yards required.
- Colors B, C, and D: 1 skein of Posy for each color. Approximately 35 (35, 40) yards of Color B, 15 (15, 25) yards of Color C, and 35 (35, 45) yards of Color D required.
- A set of US 2 double pointed needles
- Stitch markers
- Please Note: The City Block Sweater and Vintage Taxi Booties patterns are no longer available for purchase. For assistance, please contact us at customerservice@purlsoho.com.
Gauge
27 stitches and 35 rows = 4 inches in stockinette stitch
Sizes
SWEATER
3 months (6 months, 12 months, 18 months, 24 months)
Finished Chest Circumference: 18½ (20, 22, 23½, 25½) inches
Finished Body Length From Bottom Edge To Underarm: 5½ (5½, 6, 6¼, 7¼) inches
Finished Body Length From Bottom Edge To Top Of Shoulder: 11½ (11¾, 12½, 13, 14¼) inches
Finished Sleeve Length: 5½ (5¾, 6¼, 6¾, 7¾) inches
Samples: The sweaters pictured here are sizes 6 months (in Mourning Dove) and 12 months (in Black Cherry)
BOOTIES
Newborn–3 months (6–9 months, 12 months)
3½ (3¾, 4) inches foot length
Sample: The booties pictured here are size 6–9 months.
Patterns
Please Note: The City Block Sweater and Vintage Taxi Booties patterns are no longer available for purchase. For assistance, please contact us at customerservice@purlsoho.com.

Looking for more inspiration? Explore all of our free knitting patterns and knitting tutorials, buy one of our many knitting kits and yarn bundles, and shop for beautiful yarn. We have over 35 gorgeous natural fiber yarns in 100’s of magnificent colors, designed to bring integrity, beauty, and joy to your next knitting project and only available at Purl Soho!
Hi! I am knitting this pattern and I am up to the SHAPE LEFT NECKLINE part.
In the Double Decrease Row 2 right side directions say to knit to the last 5 stitches, knit 3 together (knit 3 tog) , knit 1.
Shouldn’t that be knit 1?
5 stitches, knit 3 together leaves 2?
Can you just confirm?
Thanks
Hi Chris,
Thank you so much for letting us know about this typo in the pattern! Yes, the row should end with knit 2. We have fixed the error and you can download an updated version either from Ravelry or your Purl Soho account!
Best,
Julianna
Hi! What level of difficulty = the booties? Is it possible to knit them with circulars instead of double pointed needles?
Hi Molly,
Thanks for writing in! We don’t rate the difficulty of our patterns because we want people to feel free to try things that are “too hard” for them; we want to encourage people to discover that learning new techniques enriches the process of making; and we don’t want to put people in a box that says, “You can make this but not this.” However, I’m happy to describe the techniques you will need to use! These booties involve knitting and purling both in the round and flat, as well as short rows, picking up stitches, and kitchener stitch. Although it is technically possible to modify the pattern to use a circular needle method like Magic Loop, it’s quite tricky and I wouldn’t recommend it, especially since some sections of the pattern rely on knitting only the stitches on one double pointed needle. Even if it isn’t your favorite method for working in the round, DPNs really are the way to go for these tiny booties!
I hope that helps!
Julianna
Hi,
I have made this for my son and it turned out great. I have all the materials to make this again, but he is now 4 yrs old. If I doubled the 24 months pattern numbers , would the pattern fit a 4 year old? Or would that be huge? Any advise on how to adjust the pattern to fit him would be great. Thanks!
Marnie
Hi Marnie,
Thanks for reaching out! I am so glad to hear that you enjoyed this pattern! I believe doubling it should work fine! You can double check and compare his measurements to what it would measure in at doubled and see of you need to make any adjustments from there!
Please let us know how this turns out!
All the best,
Gianna
Hi, just finishing this sweater. It’s looking good. I had an issue with the instructions for shaping the sleeve cap. The decrease rows say k2, p2tog, knit to last 4, ssk, k2, and then wrong side is p2, ssp purl to last 4, p2tog, p2. The only way I could get the sleeve to look as it does in the photos was to switch the order of the slip stitch and 2together on both right and wrong sides. When the pattern calls for double decrease rows, it’s listed as I switched it to, so maybe it’s an error in the instructions?
Bought more yarn to knit this one again. Very cute design.