Category Archives: sweater

Wishful Knitting: More Baby Girl Sweaters

Posted on by
5

I am sooooo close to finishing PB’s second Sporty cardigan that I’m already dreaming of my next cast on.  I seem to be really energized knitting for cute baby girl clothes. I pulled up my stash on Ravelry and perused what I have. I know that it will have to be sport or DK weight. Those kinds of projects work up quickly but also make a nice light fabric. And because babies are messy and get changed a lot…the sweater needs to be easy on and off, not to mention easy cleaning. I created a Ravelry search and came up with the following options

  • Leksak by Yarn Madness. This is a tunic with long sleeves and a nice open front. And the neckline doesn’t look horrible for big headed babies.
  • POP! baby cardigan by Rachel Atkinson. This is a garter yoked cardigan similar to my Gidday Baby but without eyelets and in more comprehensive sizing.
  • Little Renee by Tiaga Hilliard Designs. This is a top down caridgen with a lace panel on the back. It’s a little adventurous for my knitting time and brain power but it’s drop dead gorgeous!

I think I may stash dive and pull out yarn and let the colors speak to me and tell me what pattern to pick next!!

Happy Knitting!!

Whoosh Went The Sleeves

Posted on by
5

I have been binge watching old 90s and 2000s television cop shows after the kids go to bed. And thanks to Psych and Diagnosis Murder I managed to knit the crap out of some sleeves!

I weighed my remaining yarn after finishing the button bands on PB’s second sporty cardigan. And I KNEW I didn’t have enough to make decent sleeves. So I considered my options and I decided to extend the garter ridges from the yoke into the sleeves. Then I took the remainder of my two colors and split them into two even sets by weight. One for each sleeve.

img_5390

I was kinda tired and just winging it. After six garter ridges with associated decreases I thought it looked good (and I was tired of purling, to be honest). This was of course not having any idea how far my striped colors would get me. So I knit the two colors until I ran out of each color. What resulted….well, elbow length sleeves at best.

I thought about ripping back and adding more garter ridges to make full sleeves but I honestly didn’t want to think about burning precious knitting time redoing it. This sweater will look perfectly adorable over long sleeves peaking out or just as elbow length sleeves. Kids get sleeves really grubby anyway…I’m just saving myself laundry duty!

Happy Knitting!!

Then Come The Button Bands

Posted on by
2

In pretty quick succession I managed to add the button bands to PB’s second sporty cardigan.

img_5278

I was eminently pleased to finish both bands with a decent amount of the lighter color left. As a knitter I am still working on making my button bands better and perfect my picked up stitches. This sweater may not be my best outing. But it’s done and they match and PB will never ever notice.

Plus I’m kinda hoping blocking does me some good with this 1×1 rib by evening it out and stretching it so the sweater doesn’t pull in. I know from the first sweater that I have a decent shot at this. For this second sweater I made more button holes and put them closer together. I’m hoping this makes for more customization in this sweater on a growing wiggling baby.

The only thing is that that my top two button holes aren’t as evenly spaced as the rest. I’m going to call this an unintentional design feature and roll with it, lol.

Happy Knitting!!

 

Body Work Done

Posted on by
1

PB’s second Sporty Cardigan is complete down through the body and bottom ribbed band.

I think the stripes turned out very nicely. I carried the yarn up one side of the sweater so I didn’t have that many ends left hanging out. And I’m happy but not over confident with the amount of yarn I have left over. We will have to see how the button bands go….

Happy Knitting!!

FO Friday: Gidday Baby Sweater

Posted on by
5

PB’s Gidday Baby Sweater has been done and sitting for quite awhile. I just couldn’t muster the gumption to dig out and sew on buttons. Well after a couple of poop-splosions this week I was running out of sweaters for PB. So here is her finished Gidday Baby.

I found some nice neutral semi-transparent buttons in the right size in my button stash. Which is impressive because my button stash is minimal at best. Are they the best buttons for this sweater….no. But do they look okay and make a perfectly serviceable sweater…..yes!

I made some mods in order to shoot for knitting a 12 month sized sweater. I’m not sure if I exactly made it 12 month sized but it’s big enough for PB to wear. So I’m taking that as a win and running with it. My Ravelry details can be found here with a brief description of my mods.

Now do I dare start a true 12 month sweater for PB? And if so what should it be???

Happy Knitting!!

Stripes For PB’s Sporty Cardigan #2

Posted on by
6

My second Sporty Cardigan is moving slowly along. I’m working my way down the body working in two row stripes.

I am kind of digging how tonal the yarn looks within each stripe color. I didn’t get to see while I was knitting the first Sporty Cardigan.

I may very well be playing Yarn Chicken with this sweater. I’m too scared to weigh my remaining yarn or even measure the body of this sweater. Honestly…I have no clue where I am at in this sweater, I just keep knitting neat little stripes. I’m torn between just knitting until I run out and figure it out then. Or, doing some measuring and math to figure out if I need to dig out more coordinating sport weight yarn.

Maybe PB just needs a short sleeve cardigan??? Or I need to put my big girl panties on and just be a good knitter and figure this out.

Happy Knitting!!

WIP Wednesday: PB’s Sporty Cardigan #2

Posted on by
3

Well even after my greatest attempt to screw this up, I made it through the raglan increases on PB’s second Sporty Cardigan.

With this second attempt I didn’t even count my stitches in the various sections when I divided for the sleeves. I just put all the stitches between the markers on holders and figured I can fudge any extra or missing stitches later. I’m the boss remember?  The Knit Picks Comfy sport is definitely a little rounder yarn than the Frabjous Fibers sport. But honestly I don’t care, this will be cute a sheep’s nose regardless!

I’ve started striping in the Frabjous Fibers yarns. I plan to knit the body to pattern and then add the button bands. The sleeves….well they will be determined by how yarn I have left in what colors, lol. But this should be a great satisfying “use up most of the yarn” kind of sweater!

Happy Knitting!!

Oh Yarn Balls

Posted on by
11

You guys….baby brain and sleep deprivation are a real thing. I’m back to work (and I take PB with me) and I feel like I run ALL DAY LONG. I am happy with my choice but boy is it a different way to work. It definitely has it ups and downs. I have found myself doing the silliest things.

Case in point….PB’s Sporty Cardigan #2….I picked this up and merrily knitted during a nap. I thought I knew where where I was but that was a bald faced lie. I started doing my increases on the wrong side of the work. And after three garter bumps my issue became apparent. I literally exclaimed “Oh Yarn Balls” to the bewilderment of my hubby.

I took a deep breath and told myself I was the boss of my knitting. I knew that this would bother me and I really needed to fix it. So I pulled out some fingering waste yarn and put in a lifeline where the work was correct. And then….I ripped out the needles and frogged.

I was totally racing the clock of PB’s naptime. But I managed to get all the needles back in the stitches without too much headache before PB woke up.

I was quite pleased with myself and I know I’ll be happier with the finished product. I’m just mad I lost an ENTIRE nap time worths of progress on this baby sweater to a stupid sleep deprived mistake. I literally ended back right where I started. I guess the silver lining is that even when crazy tired I can still read my knitting….after a few row anyway, lol

Happy Knitting!!

 

Cast On: PB’s Sporty Cardigan #2

Posted on by
4

Since I seem to be on a roll with baby sweaters and finishing the knitting on the Gidday Baby….I decided to cast on another Sporty Cardigan in the next size up.

I have enough of the Frabjous Fibers Messenger Kit from the first Sporty Cardigan to work another one….with a little extra yarn added that is. I pulled some Knit Picks Comfy sport from my deep stash to use. It’s not the same fiber content as the Frabjous kit but given this is a baby sweater and that I really don’t care I’m rolling with it.

I worked the collar ribbing in the Frabjous kit yarn and I think I’m gonna use the Comfy Sport in Lady Slipper to work the entire yoke. And for the body and the sleeves I will stripe the Frabjous Fibers and see how far I can get. I may have to finagle this one a bit but it will be an adventure!

Happy Knitting!!

A Sweater…Minus The Buttons

Posted on by
8

PB’s Gidday Baby sweater is all done but the buttons.

I need to give this thing a good bath and blocking. It’s not going to solve my obvious sleeve tension issues but it will even out the body stitches and give a nice fresh smell. The sleeves didn’t turn out as long as I thought and I probably should have extended them. But I was kinda over knitting them and bracelet length are okay for babies right?

I need to dig out some buttons as well. I’m really not sure what kind or color I’m looking for. I may just hit the fabric store and browse until something strikes my fancy.

Happy Knitting!!