Baby Mania, Take One

The first of three staff babies arrived on November 21, so I decided it was time to finally seam the jacket and get it to little Harper. It's a good thing I knit the 3-6 month size rather than the newborn size, because who knows how fast she's already grown.



Against my nature, I went for a contrasting button this time. I think it's one of those things that people will either love or hate, and I'm hoping Harper's mommy loves it. My thinking was that purple and yellow are opposites on the color wheel, but this yarn is more on the pink side of purple than the blue side, so I chose a lime green.


This photo is truer to color than the other two.

I loved working with this yarn. It's hand-dyed by Nancy, owner of Woven Art. It's plied, so I found it easier to work with than a single like Malabrigo, but it's much softer than most other plied yarns I have worked with. And I love the semisolid color. AND it comes in 560-yard skeins that are quite reasonably priced. I have enough yarn left over to make these mittens and a matching cowl.



I think my seaming skills have improved. I used mattress stitch to seam up the sides, of course. The jacket is knit all in one piece, so the underarms had to be seamed, and this presented a bit of a problem. I haven't taken a seaming class, and I didn't know the right technique. The underarm seams on my baby kimono turned out horribly, and I wanted to get it right this time. I consulted The Knitting Answer Book by Margaret Radcliffe. On page 311, it shows how to sew together the shoulder of a sweater. I used this same technique, since the stitches were laying the same way as they would be for a shoulder seam. This Berroco Knit Bits video shows the technique. It's a little bulky, but at least it's not wonky.

I'm almost done with the first part of the Christmas gift knitting, the part that has to be shipped out to Small Children. Shhh! Don't tell.

And in the spirit of Christmas, I leave you with another a capella performance, this time from the Spartan Dischords.



Yarn
Woven Art Montana in Lavender

Needles
Size 8, 5 mm and size 6, 4 mm (I-cord button loop)

Pattern
Ribbed Baby Jacket by Debbie Bliss

Cold Sheep Knitdown
679 yards