Wednesday, October 16, 2013

Baby Items


My first sewing-for-baby project was this nightgown from an old tshirt. I used the pattern from this website. 

Took me longer to put together the pattern pieces than to actually see the gown, and so I planned on making a few more, but never did. Baby E wore this one time; it was a little short for her. I'll definitely keep this pattern in mind for gift sewing. 


Next up in sewing-for-baby: flannel blankets. Used the tutorial found here and flannel from Joanns. These were super easy, and we've been using them all the time. The flannel is nicely absorbant of baby drool--these are great for tummy time. If you can buy the flannel during a sale, these could be a very inexpensive but useful gift. 


Newborn baby pants were next up. Used this pattern and Hawaiian print fabric leftover from when I made pj pants for the family 3 years ago. Baby E never actually wore any of these! I made one more pair out of an old shirt that she wore once, but I dress her mostly in one-piece footie outfits (so much easier). These were fun to make, and turned out cute, but just not useful for us. 

Tuesday, October 8, 2013

FO: Round Blanket


Pattern: Round or Pinwheel Blanket (ravelry project page)
Yarn: Tahki Cotton Classic in "dark jade" and "linen white"

Like the last project, another throwback baby blanket worked in the round knit for a friend--this one for my dear friend Miko's 3rd son who was born in February. This pattern was really easy, and I love the result--simple and clean looking. 


For the edge, I worked about 6 rows of seed stitch in green then a couple rows in white, then did an attached I-cord bind off. 

I'm not usually a big fan of knitting with cotton, but this yarn is the exception. And it washes well, so a natural choice for baby items. 

Monday, October 7, 2013

FO: Undercover Blanket


Pattern: Undercover (ravelry project page)
Yarn: Knit Picks Swish Worsted in "peapod"

Another throwback FO. Knit this blanket for my friend Kari's second baby who was born at the end of December last year. Simple pattern, easy to memorize. I especially love square blankets that are knit in the round--not having to turn my work/purl on wrong side rows makes it seem faster.


Sunday, October 6, 2013

FO: Pumpkin Hat


Pattern: improvised
Yarn: Malabrigo Rios in "glazed carrot" and some worsted superwash that I dyed green years ago
Size: Infant 

Now that I have a baby, time to revisit pumpkin hats! This first one is on its way to a sweet baby in New York. A replica is on the needles for Baby E. 

After this, turkey leg hat???

Thursday, October 3, 2013

FO: Baby Yours (aka Tedious Gray)


Pattern: Baby Yours (ravelry project page)
Yarn: Socks that Rock Mediumweight in "every day gray"
6 month size 

Made this sweater last fall for a coworker's baby. Pleased with the results. But man! This sweater was tedious. First, trouble with gauge swatch not matching gauge of actual sweater (negative reinforcement for gauge swatching). To decrease seaming, I picked up stitches for the sleeves and worked down to the cuff. Not pleased with the way the garter stitch above and below the cable puckers. 

If I make this again, I would changed the checkerboard stitch to stockinette or seed stitch. I'd work the body in one piece to eliminate seaming. And I'd work to eliminate the puckering at the cable top/bottom. 

The yarn was great--hope to work with it again soon. 

Wednesday, October 2, 2013

Let's do this!!

Its been almost 11 months since my last post. I'm a bit too busy with baby to craft much these days, but I can blog from my phone while nursing, and I've got about a year's worth of projects to talk about. 

Why I'm not knitting much these days:


Baby E, 1 month old