Sunday, September 18, 2005

Sideways knit baby sweater

Actually, the official name of the pattern, now that I check in the book is "Baby's Pure and Simple Pullover." Hah! How ironic. Actually, the look is very simple, and the pattern doesn't involve any fancy lace stitches or intarsia or anything. But still, buttonholes, cable cast-ons, and switching needles every row hardly counts as "simple" in my book. Although in my book, "simple" pretty much only involves knitting, purling, and simple increases and decreases. Anyway, it's done, and I was finally able to get my camera phone to cooperate. Please forgive the picture quality:


Completed sweater


Detail of the buttons

Here're the deets:

Pattern
: "Baby's Pure and Simple Pullover" from p. 150 of Weekend Knitting, by Melanie Falick
Yarn: 2 skeins of King Tut Cotton in color 1130
Needles: 1 pair of US size 5 bamboo Clover 24" circulars; one set of US size 2 bamboo Clover dpns
Notions: 3 large buttons, 1 small button, 4" of ribbon 1.5" wide, yarn needle, sewing needle, thread
Required skills: casting on, casting off, knitting, purling, picking up stitches, cable cast-on, yarn over, knit 2 together, changing needles mid-row
Started: late March, 2005
Finished: September 16, 2005 (yes, I was distracted by other projects during that time)

Mods
: The pattern doesn't call for dpns, but I already had some, and I thought it would be easier to use a small dpn than the recommended circular needle for the 4 stitches of edging. Also, it was my idea to add the bit of ribbon under the buttons. I thought that it would make them easier to sew on securely, since the fabric is quite stretchy and the yarn splits easily.

Comments
: I actually really liked the pattern, but switching needles every row made it a little hard to get up momentum, so it was slow going at times. Also, having so many needles sticking out made this impractical for train knitting, which is really the majority of my knitting time. There weren't too many errors in the pattern, but there were a couple spots where it was a little ambiguous (e.g. which needle size to use). The fourth buttonhole (the one on the neckband) is considerable smaller than the other 3, unless perhaps you were to knit the neckband using the number 5's instead of the 2's (ah, hindsight). Overall, I really like the final look of the sweater. I might make another one, but only for a baby I was very close to. It would be cool to try to adapt this pattern to an adult size.

Wrist Warmer Update: Yesterday they were finally given to Jessie as a birthday present, and she loved them. Yay! Mishmish was right, it looks like they will have to be pried off her hands before bed every night. I'll try to get some pictures of her modeling them. Meanwhile, I now have several request for other pairs, including some for Mishmish, one of my co-workers, and a few for holiday gifts. And Jessie and Mishmish, very fun birthday party, by the way--totally worth driving through pouring rain to get to!

So what's next? Well, I'll continue slogging along with the merino lace cardigan. But I also want to try a felted bag, and I've had several requests for more of those wrist warmers. I also need to get started on some holiday knitting (which will include socks, hats, wrist warmers, and maybe a bag--but I'm not telling you what's for whom!) I have no desire at this point to pick up my drop stitch ribbon shawl, but maybe I will after I've knit a few more pairs of wrist warmers and am starting to get sick of that pattern. And sitting there in my knitting basket, taunting me, is the other shade of laceweight merino I bought at Morehouse, just waiting to be turned into my first real lace shawl. Clearly, I won't be idle, so stay tuned!

AND THE BIGGEST NEWS OF ALL: Taz's niece was finally born, just last night!!! So big congrats and love and hugs to the new mother and father, as well as to Taz's mom who is now a grandma for the first time. I can't wait to see pictures and meet the little one in person!

4 comments:

Zarzuela said...

Yay for finishing the baby sweater! It looks great. Glad to hear the new baby and all are doing well. :) Sounds like you have lots of projects ahead of you.

Jessica
http://zarzuela.blogspot.com

Anonymous said...

Love the sweater! I've made Pure and Simple patterns before and thing they do a great job. That might just be a nice thing to knit for my newest niece. Thanks

Anonymous said...

Me encanta el jersey! ha quedado precioso...dios nos libre de los patrones "simples" yo ya he tenido algĂșn disgusto con alguno, jeje

Anonymous said...

Wow, I'm dumbfounded at the beauty! I always knew you were capable of making v., v. nice things, BUT THIS SWEATER IS WORTH HAVING A BABY FOR!

When I have babies will you be their Tita Bryna?