Bits and Bobs

I have been trying to dedicate myself to stashbusting here lately. I know, I know, stashbusting is the stated goal of every obsessed knitter and how many of us actually do it?? But I am really trying to be good!

I have several yarns that are either too small of an amount to knit much with or are of lesser quality that were purchased in weaker moments. As luck would have it, we will have a few new babies here in the DownTown family in the coming months, so I thought I would whip up a few baby hats. Of course, first comes the swatching!

The ever-popular Owls - and so cute in this pumpkin orange color.

Leaves - I am loving this for bottom trim instead of ribbing.

My pattern book calls this pattern "Blossoms," but I am calling it
"Balloons" - makes it sound more boy-friendly.

The thing about these stitch patterns is that the gauge is different from the 2x2 rib or stockinette that I would want to pair them with. To avoid funny-looking, bulgy hats, I took two different gauges (one for the pattern itself and one for the rib for the Owls and Balloons and one for the stockinette for the Leaves), and did a simple increase or decrease row between the two to try and get the same size.

Owl Hat - size 3-6 month
I'm opting to embroider eyes to avoid any button choking hazards.

Poppy Hat
I am guessing size 1-3 years?


Balloon Hat - size 6-12 months.

All these hats were knit using KnitPicks Swish Worsted that I ordered last year - I was thinking I would knit socks, so I only ordered two skeins of each color. Really - who am I kidding? Socks are a nightmare for me - I NEVER get around to knitting the second one and I know it. That means that this yarn has been sitting around for a while now (after being frogged multiple times) waiting for a project. These baby hats were just the thing. Stash-busting accomplished!

Green Poppy Hat

I was in the mood for a quick project this weekend, so I dug around in my stash, found some old yarn that needed to be used up, and cast on for a Poppy hat. I was drawn to this hat by it's cute, retro style. I modified the pattern slightly by knitting 4 short rows (two at 5 sts from the end, and two at 10 sts from the end) and by not picking up any sts along the edge for the ribbing.

By not picking up any sts for the ribbing, I ended up with a little hole on either side of the hat where the edges come together. I am planning to find a cute flower accessory to pin on, and that hole be the perfect place to put it.

I was supremely lazy, and failed to do any sort of effective swatching, so what I intended to knit as an adult hat turned out decidedly baby-sized (I'm guessing 6-month-ish?).

Even so, I'm keeping it for myself, and adding it to the FBC (Future Baby Collection).

Henry's Hedgehog Bibs

We seem to be in the midst of a mini baby boom right now. Our friends are procreating left and right - which means lots of baby knitting for me! I started a sweater for baby Henry back in January, but grew bored with the project. Since he is a Spring baby, a sweater probably wouldn't be the best gift anyway, so I set out to find something new.

At Yuzawaya (only my favorite yarn store in the whole world - and I'm not exaggerating about that whole world bit), I found 100% cotton yarn on sale for 98 yen per skein. Even though my stash is taking over closets in our apartment, I knew I couldn't pass up such a great deal. I bought 10 skeins in white, grey, aqua and pink. The yarn is fine, super soft and all the colors are pastels - perfect for baby knitting.

I imagined a onesie-type knit, but for a boy decided to go for overalls. I completely improvised this project, so I just took a shot in the dark and started knitting.

Here is the final project:

The straps are 8 sts wide garter stitch, knit at the same time using two balls of yarn. I put in three button holes so that this outfit can grow with baby Henry all summer.

The bibs ended up pretty wide - I just eyeballed the whole thing size-wise, and to be honest, the number of sts cast on to connect the front and back bibs was based more on how many sts I needed to fill the needle for knitting in the round, and less on actual baby proportions.

To fix this problem I used elastic cord, threaded through the ribs at the top, to gather the top, and then tied the ends together at the back. It's not the most professional solution, but it does add a little more adjustability, for when Henry gets bigger.

I may not have any children myself, but I have watched enough nieces and nephews to know the importance of diaper access. I knit the legs flat, and then picked up sts along the inside to knit a ribbed edge, sewed on a few snaps, and - voila - it's just like a store-bought onesie.

The finishing touch was a decorative patch (found at the 100 yen store). The blue flower picks up the grey yarn nicely without being too matchy-matchy, and the hedgehog is whimsical - perfect for a little boy.

Little Sister Dress - Update

I finished this dress (in progress here)- all that is left is to find cute buttons for the shoulder. I am hoping that it will turn into a grow-with-me type of outfit - it should fit as a dress for a toddler and grow into a tunic up to 7 or 8. Heck - the thing would probably fit me if the arm holes were a little bigger.

Top

I knit this little sweater using a heavily modified version of the Easy Baby Cardigan pattern. I put the opening on the shoulder to make a little snap open for baby's head, and then joined to knit in the round. Believe it or not, this sweater only took 1 skein of yarn!

I used Premier Yarns Serenity sock weight, self striping yarn, with ivory trim. The yarn is a wool, bamboo, nylon mix. I got the yarn at Joann's when I was back in the US over Golden Week. I started this project on the plane back to Tokyo, and finished about a week later. Progress was facilitated by Michael's long working hours!

Close up of the puff-sleeve. I was pretty proud of it.

I will be sending this beauty off to our friends Anhtuan and Anne, who are expecting their first baby together!

Little Sister Dress - In Progress

This is a true Japanese creation - I started casting on while riding the Shinkansen to Kyoto (ripping it out several times), and continued working on it under the cherry blossoms at Hanami. (this picture - note the ubiquitous blue tarp).

The light blue yarn is from a yarn shop I found in Kamakura, and the brown is some leftover wool from our Lodenwelke trip in Austria (also used on my Wool Baby Jacket).

Wool Baby Jacket

This is the first project that I started for ME. It is also the first project I completed in Japan.

I love this wool, purchased at a Lodenwelke in Austria, and I decided it would make a great little unisex jacket for a future Downie (as my mom likes to call her future grandchildren). I used a really simple 5 square pattern (knit 5 squares - a big one for the back, and then 2 for the front, and two for the arms). I used a 3-needle cast-off to attach the back to the front panels, and then picked up stitches for the arms. The neckline, front, and wrists are in garter stitch, and the rest is in seed stitch.

I've purchased some wooden buttons, but haven't put them on yet. I'm playing with waiting for a Downie to make his or her arrival before putting on buttons, or just biting the bullet and getting fun colorful buttons. The hope is that this jacket will "grow" and could be used as a cardigan for a 2-3 year old as well.

Easy Top-Down Baby Sweater

This is the first top-down baby sweater I knit, and it was a blast. Not only is top-down the ONLY way to knit sweaters, this one is the perfect base to make all sorts of modifications. I used this pattern, which I found on Ravelry.

I knit this using inexpensive synthetic yarn from the 100 ￥ Shop. It took about 5.5 small skeins, and a few days of diligent knitting. I knit this up right after the move to Japan, so I wasn't working yet (which explains how fast it went).

This sweater might look familiar - I blogged about it on my Japan blog here. I ended up ironing a cute whale patch onto the front, and sending it to my niece, Celia, for her first Christmas.