Seed Stitch Baby Sweater

So, here is another contribution to the baby sweater box.

I'm kind of designing on the fly. Seems to work OK since the sweaters are so small, mistakes don't take too much time to pull back and re-do.

I designed this one, but sort of didn't . I started with a seed stitch border, and thought I would move to some sort of slip stitch pattern. I tried a few, and didn't like how the variegated yarn looked in the patterns. So, I just went with the seed stitch flow. When I got to the yoke I went with stripes with a garter stripe. I liked the way it looked on the last project.  I'm pretty happy with the final product.

Now, I'm not designing a gansey the same way.

I've been thinking a lot about how I like basket weave patterns. I had some cotton/acrylic from before 2000; enough for a baby sweater, but not enough for much else. So I started off with some basket weave.

Then I needed a new skein and remembered that the orange cotton/acrylic had come in two types, one plain and the other with chunks of otherness.

Since I didn't do the calculations, I reworked the neck twice and the button bands three times. Finally got it where I wanted.

I could have stayed with basket weave, but thought that the change in yarn type would look unintentional.  So, I made a little border and changed to a different knit purl pattern. I picked another for the sleeves.

When I started the second, I noticed the first had a mistake, so it has to be pulled back and worked again.

Oops.

Baby Time

A long time ago I did technical support for a group of sales people. My team had many young adults busy not only selling, but getting married and having babies. Since I could not tell that the men were expecting, I simply made a box of baby sweaters and when congratulation were in order the fellows had a choice of gift.

My daughter just asked if the box still existed. She is not expecting, but apparently she finds herself in a similar situation, and would like a box of baby sweaters to give to friends and co-workers herself. 

What fabulous timing, as I am towards the end of my worsted weight saga and left with some substantial odd balls. Just perfect for baby things. 

So, the slipper replacement project is on the back burner and the yarns that won't make an adult garment are out. 

This one is Beribboned Eyelets by Rowena Hill. I've made this one several times before and it is a great pattern. It is made from oddballs of a cotton/rayon yarn called Brilla. It is an OK yarn, but I have not liked how the multi-color balls have worked. Using it for the garter stripes and edging seems to be pretty good. 

I'm working on another with the same yarns using seed stitch. I'm planning a garter stripe yoke. Maybe it will be ready to see next week. 

Funky Bootie Slippers

As considered last week, August looks to be a month of small projects.

First, some slippers for me. We we moved back into our home I notices that the new porcelain floors were pretty hard and cold. I find now in the summer I'm wearing my sandals inside more that before for the cushion. So, I felt that some felted woolies for my feet would be a good idea.

I decided to try the Drops snow slippers pattern. The pattern looked easy. I could get the gauge with two strands of worsted. I gathered some oddballs and dug in. I used my kitchen scale to decide where the half way point of each skein so that I would have about the same amount for the second bootie. That worked well. The slippers worked up quickly with the double stranding. I was surprised how much yarn they consumed - about 260 grams.

Two cycles in the washer and they shrunk down to size. I really like the thickness and bulk of the finished fabric. What I don't like is the shape of the toe. The shape creates a bump on the top and bottom of the toe that won't felt out. Not good.

Still, not a bust. I think I'll sew on the button and then eventually donate this pair. I've selected some more yarn to work another set but when we get to the decrease 1 each side I'll work in the round and then finish the toe like a sock. I'll also cast on with a provisional method so that I can graft the back together instead of sewing and lose the bulk of that seam as well.

But that project is now on hold. My daughter asked for some baby sweaters. Not for her, but for her friends. She went to several weddings last year and now there are babies on the way. Funny how that works.

In between all of that, I'm about finished with the reknits for the TKGA project. Later this week I'll print out the pages I had to rewrite and check them all again. Then next week, maybe I'll do it again as I did such a poor job the first time.