Apparently everyone is pregnant and due this summer. There must be something in the water, and just in case there is, I think I’ll stick with beer! The great thing about this, aside from excited new parents welcoming a baby into the world, is that this gives me the chance to knit sweet little baby gifts for my friends which is a ton of fun. Baby-sized sweaters have basically the same construction as adult-sized items but use less yarn and knit up much faster, so it’s pretty close to instant satisfaction. There’s also something about a handmade gift that’s really special for folks who appreciate the work that goes into them. This is the first round of gifts which have already been given to the recipient, so I figure I’m okay to blog about them and won’t spoil any surprises.
Designer: Ranee Mueller
Needles: US 4 (3.5 mm)
Yarn: Lion Brand Cotton Ease in, “Maize”
Ravelry Project Link
It’s a really simple stitch pattern and works up so quickly. The original pattern had a square of stockinette in the center, but I opted to just do the whole blanket in pattern. I used just about three whole skeins of yarn which is a basic cotton/acrylic blend which makes it great for use for baby knits. Durable, washes well, still pretty soft. It stretched out MUCH larger than anticipated since it’s lace, but it really looks great and will make a wonderful summer blanket for a summer baby. Plus, the parents have opted not to know the gender of their child, so yellow is a nice, neutral color.
Designer: Tanis Lavallee
Needles: US 4 (5 mm)
Yarn: Kangaroo Dyer Franklin Hand Dyed in, “Fried Green Tomatoes”
Ravelry Project Link
Knit in under a week! Super fast knit and I didn’t even use a whole skein of sock yarn. I made a small modification and flipped the cables on one side of the cardigan so they’d mirror the otherside (right twist instead of left twist). The size I knit was 6-12 month, but it came out at more like a newborn-6 month size. Next time, I’ll have to go up a size. Still, a really cute and easy cardigan to knit! I definitely prefer knitting baby items in fingering weight yarn instead of worsted or DK – babies are so small that a bulky sweater just doesn’t work out, and for a summer baby, a lighter cardigan is defintiely best.
