Unembellished Baby Jacket
While posting time has been limited, knitting time hasn't been as bad. John and I spent New Years in Ann Arbor with my family, and I spent some of my free time working on the Circles Stroller Jacket from Itty Bitty Nursery
by Susan B. Anderson.
Pretty simple, eh? Simple, but a delight to knit up because the Blue Sky Alpaca's Organic Cotton is simply the nicest cotton yarn I've ever put my hands on. It's so soft it's like knitting with silk! If you wanted to make someone's baby a special garment out of a luxury fiber, this stuff definitely has that kind of feel, while still retaining the washability of cotton. Perhaps the only drawback is that it only comes in "natural" colors, which, depending on the baby, can be a bad thing. So far, Z isn't too hard on her light colored clothing...
This sweater called for 3 skeins of the yarn and I made the largest size (supposedly 12-18 months, but I don't think it's going to work quite that long for Z), and I definitely used enough of the third skein to say that the yarn estimates were on target. Even if I had made a smaller size, I suspect that three would have been required. The hood soaks up more yarn than you might think it would.
This little sweater has a nice construction process, the back and two fronts are knit flat and a three needle bind-off is used to attach the pieces together. Then you pick up and knit the sleeves on. The hood is put on in a similarly simple way, making it the sort of garment that can be worked on in a car or on a couch, depending on your needs.
It's not finished, yet. I have a custom-sized zipper on the way from The Zipper Stop (an easily affordable luxury) and I still have to embellish it with the fun circles that drew my eye to the project in the first place. So not only do my knitting needles get a nice work out, I get to play with my crochet hooks and sewing machine as well. This will be the first time I've ever tried to put in a zipper with a machine -- and only my second zipper insertion ever!
Lovely little jacket! And you're not actually stuck with the natural colors - Blue Sky Alpacas "Dyed Cotton" is exactly the same yarn, just dyed in a whole pile of really yummy colors.
I know you can do a great job on the zipper. Bonne Marie has a great zipper post, and I did one too awhile back. Let me know if you want a link.
Blue Sky's regular cotton feels and knits exactly the same, but is dyed in a variety of colors. I did a baby sweater in the same yarn as yours--it is beautiful, but I did find the weight and lack of elasticity made it a little hard to work.
The sweater is precious! You may be pleasantly surprised how long it fits Sweet Z though. Someone gave me a sweater for my daughter in a 6 month size and she wore it for two *years*! Because babies thin out as they grow, there is a nice time/size warp you can take advantage of sometimes. Other times they fit wonderfully in the store and by the time they get home, the pants are already up to their ankles. Probably depends on how much you need something to fit, right?
Hello,
I like the sweater. I am in the process of making a cardigan baby sweater for a co-worker of mine who is expecting. I seem to have a problem with the instruction of shaping the back of the sweater when it says for the next two rows bind off 17 stitches, and I assume that it means the first row bind off 17 stitches and knit to the end turning the work and binding off the other 17 stitches. It is my first sweater and I am nervous.
Baste the zipper in really carefully, and then do the machine stitching from the back. You could also use coloured thread in the bobbin to match the decorations you're going to add. The sweater looks great and thanks for the recommendations on the yarn.
Gillian
I find the nicest result for zipper insertion on a handknit is to "install" the zipper to 2 pieces of ribbon, then hand or machine sew the ribbon to the sweater.
You can also use a finished piece of bias fold fabric as your base. This gives you the creative leeway to pick some really cute little prints and add them into the mix as a trim detail.
Lin
That's a darling sweater! I'd never get the embrodery done, LOL. And probably not even the zipper. It looks like a good pattern that you can use and embellish with your own ideas. Machine knitters often use that construction pattern and knit the sleeves from the top down. Did you knit the sleeves in the round or flat? That's the one disadvantage to the machine!
I actually like it plain and simple. It's so beautiful that way.
A belated "Happy New Year" to the entire family!