Coat for a smaller size than specified

Hey, fellow knitting experts,

I have a question: I have a knitting pattern for a coat designed for a 4-year-old. But the child I’m knitting for is only 2.5 years old—so by next fall/winter, they’ll still be a long way from that size (they currently wear size 98) and would then be the “3-year-old” in the pattern.

What do you think:
could I use the existing pattern without any complicated conversions and “simply” use smaller needles? Instead of size 5 needles, maybe size 4? Then the whole piece would be smaller…
or would you advise against it?

Best regards, Ellen

Hi Ellen,
welcome to our forum.
It would probably be best if you contacted the author of the pattern directly. Good luck.

Hello, and thanks for the tip.
Unfortunately, it’s a published pattern from Lana Grossa. I guess I’ll have to ask them then.
Thanks very much, Ellen

Hi SammyLee,

I’d rather go through the trouble of converting the measurements.
Only use a smaller needle size if you’re knitting loosely anyway or if you’re using yarn suitable for that needle size.

But maybe it’s not such a big deal to just use the specified measurements.
Kids grow, after all.