Z: January 2008 Archives

I never would have guessed before I had a baby that I would have enjoyed knitting baby wear.  I am not sure whether I am enjoying it so much because I'm a product knitter and knitting small things gives me the pleasure of having a complete creation or because there's nothing quite as sweet as seeing something I have knit on a small, beautiful baby with a big smile.  Like all things, no doubt it is a little of both.



Here's the finished jacket -- it's hard to get a good picture of a garment with a hood;  hoods add a garment part in a third direction and I wasn't able to find a good way to really show it off the way I wanted to.  But, hopefully, this picture shows how all the elements play together -- along with some of my wonky circles.

I was surprised how much I liked the last detail elements of the garment.  I didn't think the zipper pull would do much for me until I put it on the jacket.  Nothing like an up close photo to make it clear just how wonky some of those circles are.  However, I have a feeling that on a three dimensional very cute baby, that bit of wonkiness won't be so obvious.  (To make the D&D analogy... small sweater makes saving throw vs. baby with charisma of 18+.... oohh! sweater loses that die roll...)

The other extremely sweet little detail was the top loops attached to the point of the hood.  All these loops are made a little differently from the circles on the jacket.  When I first read about the construction, I thought it would be fussy and a little bit annoying to make, but it actually turned out to be easier (for me) than those circles.  Essentially the rings are just yarn-wrapped I-cords.  Something I might have to remember for the future!

But what truly makes this jacket super cute is the little girl who is going to get to wear it this spring.  It is a tad big for her right now (which is what I was striving for  -- I didn't line it, so it will fit well over another layering piece), but it looks so soft and comfy, I almost want to knit an adult sized one for myself.  And I just love seeing her smiling little face surrounded by that hood.  It makes all that embellishing time completely worthwhile.

For anyone thinking about making this garment (the Circles Stroller Jacket from Itty Bitty Nursery), it is lovely and easy and a chance to let your creative side roam as much as you want it to.  It would make a lovely special baby gift  for a friend who appreciates hand knits, and it really doesn't take all that much time even with all the embellishing.  The Blue Sky Alpacas Organic Cotton is a treat to knit with and soft as silk against baby skin without all the special handling needs (I still wouldn't put this garment through an aggressive machine wash cycle, but I'm thinking it would do just fine on the delicate cycle in both the washer and dryer). 

However, I did find a couple of minor errors in the pattern (probably just due to the fact that I have an early edition of the book and there's no errata that I could find posted yet), so you will want to read through carefully before starting to make sure that everything makes sense to you before you get started.    None of the errors are terribly serious, but they could be irritating if you're in a hurry.

I didn't make too many changes to the construction.  However, I handled the hood edging differently than the pattern stated.  I worked the edging as I knitted up the hood rather than knitting the edging and attaching it to the hood later.  I hate seaming and I thought that it would just add bulk in a place that didn't need any extra bulk.