FO Friday: Striped Baby Hoodie

 

Pattern:

Easy Baby Cardigan by Diane Soucy

Yarn:

Knit Picks Comfy Worsted in bison (3 skeins), light blue (less than 1 skein), and honeydew (way less than 1 skein)

Modifications:

To avoid grafting, I started at the top of the hood with Judy’s Magic Cast-On, flipped it over, worked across a purl row, and then used magic loop to continue the purl row across the opposite side. This made the top totally seamless, so hopefully it will be more comfy for a little newborn baby head.

The pattern calls for a garter stitch edging and i-cord ties to close. I worked one selvedge stitch at either side and then picked up stitches at the end for 2×2 ribbed buttonband, worked on size 4 needles (to accommodate the difference in gauge, I picked up every stitch around the neckline). I found perfect buttons on Etsy, from Tessa Ann. I also worked the bottom in 2×2 ribbing on size 4 needles, increasing once every 7 stitches this time to accommodate the difference in gauge.

As written, the pattern goes straight from the hood into the body. I was concerned that it would stretch out there and not fit properly (since babies tend to have rather rounded shoulders and not much in the way of necks), so I added a stabilizing neckband, which I adapted from a post on the Yarn Harlot’s blog as follows: I ended the hood after a knit row. Then I used a crochet hook to work a loose row of single crochet into the purl bumps of the previous row. Put last loop on the needle and started next knit row by k2tog this loop with the first stitch.

I used my favorite raglan increase method: *knit to one stitch before marker, knit into right side of stitch below first stitch on left needle, then knit stitch on left needle and drop it off needle, slip marker, knit next stitch, then knit into the left side of the stitch two rows below first stitch on right needle, repeat from *

The pattern is worked in a solid color, but I added some sporty little stripes.  

Time to complete:

About a month.

The verdict:

This was a gift for a co-worker of my husband. I am told that it was quite a hit!

Also, I loved this yarn. It gets a bit fuzzy as you’re knitting, but it feels like cashmere, knits like wool, and is machine washable. Doesn’t feel like cotton yarn at all. I think I’ve found my go-to yarn for baby knitting!

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