What started out as this measly swatch and crude drawing is now this!
After many struggles with the neckline and subsequent cutting and reknitting (twice), I finally managed to end up with a sweater that I'm happy about! I think it does look pretty much like my original drawing, too, other than the neck being a roll-neck instead of ribbed crewneck.
Can you not love stockinette in Cotton Fleece?
This was my first try at something out of Elizabeth Zimmerman's books. I used the Seamless Raglan "pattern" from Knitting Without Tears. I used my desired finished chest size (20") and my gauge to calculate how many stitches to cast on, and knit in the round to the underarms. The sleeves are 33% of the body stitches, knit up from the cuffs to the underarms. At that point, some stitches are left on holders for grafting in the armpits, and the rest of the body and sleeves are joined and then decreased to make raglan seams up to the neck. EZ has instructions to raise up the back of the sweater, and then the neck is knit on. Now that I've done it once, it won't be so bad to do more of them, but figuring it all out this first time was less than trivial and required much button-punching on my calculator. I'm beyond excited that after all that math I actually ended up with something that resembled a baby sweater!
I made a hat to match:
It's just a basic folded-ribbed brim hat with stripes to match the sweater, and spiral decreases at the top. Quick and cute! I can only hope that it fits the baby at a time that at least overlaps the time that the sweater fits...
Here are the details, probably more than anyone cares to know, but I want to have a record of my notes here:
Hat:
Pattern: Basic baby hat with folded ribbed brim, stockinette body, and spiral decreases
Yarn: Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece (80% cotton, 20% merino wool, 215yd/100g) in Driftwood and Black
Yarn used: 46g total
Needles: US5/3.75mm DPNs
Gauge: 5.5 st/in
Notes: 84 stitches, 1x1 ribbing for 3.5", stockinette until 5.5" from bottom (folded), spiral decrease 7x12 stitches.
Sweater:
Pattern: Seamless Raglan, by Elizabeth Zimmerman, from Knitting Without Tears
Yarn: Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece (80% cotton, 20% merino wool, 215yd/100g) in Driftwood and Black
Yarn used: 118g total
Needles: US5/3.75mm circular and DPNs
Gauge: 5.25 st/in on US5 circular, 5.5 st/in on US5 DPNs
Notes:
Measurements:
Chest: 20"
Sleeves: ~6.5" diameter at bicep, 10" from top of raglan at shoulder
Sweater length: Front 10.5", back 11"
Body:
CO 105 stitches
1x1 rib for 1"
Stockinette until 6.5" total
8 stitches on holder each side armpit
Sleeves:
CO 28 stitches
1x1 rib for 1"
Stockinette until 6" total, increasing every 7 rows up to 36 stitches then even to end
8 stitches on holder at armpits
Raglan decreases:
k2tog, k2, ssk at each seam every other row until 10 sts remain on sleeves, then do back shaping per EZ's instructions.
Neck:
1x1 ribbing for ~1/2", then stockinette for 1/2" to make the roll.
Comments (8)
It turned out great! Obstacles overcome -- hurray!
Posted by Pam | August 17, 2007 1:13 PM
Posted on August 17, 2007 13:13
Very nice! Lucky little baby! :)
Posted by Zonda | August 17, 2007 1:53 PM
Posted on August 17, 2007 13:53
What a handsome sweater and hat. That will be a very lucky baby indeed!
Posted by Opal | August 17, 2007 7:01 PM
Posted on August 17, 2007 19:01
Very cute!
Posted by lisa | August 18, 2007 9:01 AM
Posted on August 18, 2007 09:01
Very nice! Lucky baby, that's nicer than the stuff you find in stores. And it comes with love.
Posted by Batty | August 18, 2007 12:01 PM
Posted on August 18, 2007 12:01
Both look awesome and the color combo works so well.
Posted by bufanditas | August 19, 2007 5:09 AM
Posted on August 19, 2007 05:09
That is going to look very sweet on a lucky baby!
Posted by tiennie | August 19, 2007 7:42 PM
Posted on August 19, 2007 19:42
Sweater and Hat are awesome! I love the color combination and WOW what a perfect match with the striping!
And Thanks for the details...always nice to know what yarn etc is used for such a great sweater....
Blogless Diane
Posted by Diane | August 25, 2007 4:06 AM
Posted on August 25, 2007 04:06