Any pattern with "easy"in the title is a shoe-in with me, especially when it's written by Joelle Hoverson. With the arrival of my sweet nephew, it became very important to knit him something to keep him warm this fall, and this little pattern from More Last-Minute Knitted Gifts was an instant choice! I love knitting for babies - the projects whip along so quickly, and you get that shot of gratification at seeing something so sweet & cute fly right off the needles.
Particulars:
Pattern - Easy Baby Cardigan, from More Last-Minute Knitted Gifts
Yarn - Elann Superwash Worsted, Espresso, 2 balls
Buttons - Thrifted plastic from the button jar
Notes/Modifications - I've been working hard at using stash yarn, and did a little maneuvering to make this yarn fit the pattern. Since this yarn is worsted rather than aran weight, I knit the 9 month size of the sweater. It ended up somewhere between a 3 and 6 month size. I think I could have blocked it a bit more aggressively to get more size, but didn't want to push my luck. (Especially since I finished it the night before the baby shower, and was praying the darn thing would dry in time!)
The construction of the sweater is very interesting. It is knit all in one piece - cast on at the bottom of the back, more stitches added for the sleeves on each side, bound off on either end to finish the sleeves, and the whole thing is folded in half, and stitched up the side! I hadn't done this kind of thing before, and it was very interesting. I love that the pattern is written to have either seed stitch or garter stitch edging. I chose to do garter - it seemed more masculine, somehow. However, if I knit this pattern again, I would definitely insert buttonholes into the bands. Pushing a button through the knitting seemed like a bit of a nuisance, especially for a non-knitter, who's not used to "reading" stitches.
I was very impressed at how lovely this yarn felt after blocking! It was so soft and squishy, a perfect baby gift kind of yarn. And superwash is a big plus. I purchased a bag of this yarn a while ago when Elann was having a bag sale, and expected to use 3-4 balls for this project. Surprisingly, I finished it with only two! I'm not sure what I'll do with the rest... perhaps Liam needs a new winter sweater?
cuteness!!!! very nice and I love the color. will have to put this pattern on the to knit list
Posted by: colleen | October 09, 2010 at 04:21 AM
Adorable! Good use of your stash :)
Posted by: Andrea | October 11, 2010 at 05:08 AM
Oh that is a very sweet little knit.
Posted by: Rebecca | October 12, 2010 at 02:38 AM