Thursday, February 08, 2007

Baby Gift

There have been several families at church that have been blessed with new babies. I'm a little late with a some of the gifts, so I considered giving something store bought, but John convinced me to knit something as I usually do. I'm glad I did, because this vest was a lot of fun to make.

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Pattern: Oz Vest from Natural Knits for Babies and Moms by Louisa Harding
Yarn: Lion Brand Wool (less than 2 balls), worsted weight, 100% wool
Color: 123 Sage
Needles: US 4 and US 5
Size: Up to 6 months
Time to knit: One weekend

I didn't use the recommended weight yarn (DK) for this project, so I had to play around with the needle size and the cast on stitches. I ended up casting on the number of stitches (45) recommended for the newborn size, but working the length for the 6 month size. I used the smallest needles I could manage with worsted weight yarn without it becoming too difficult to work with. The results were just what I was hoping for.

This was the first time I have used the Lion Brand Wool yarn. I liked it and will use it again. The price is right and it's sold at a store that is closer to my house than any of the "local" yarn shops.

The vest is knitted in two pieces: front and back. It's easy enough for a beginner. The most difficult skill would perhaps be picking up stitches along the neckline and armholes. There is some seaming of course, but not too much because it's such a small project.

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The buttons on the shoulder insure that this vest will be easy to put on and take off. I robbed these buttons from an old shirt of mine that doesn't fit well anymore and isn't in good enough shape to give away. Recycling is a good thing.

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The garter stitch rows are left unsewn to create a vent. It's a nice detail.

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The next two baby gifts I need to make will be for girls. I'm currently working on a cute little dress from the same book this vest is from.

15 comments:

  1. Very, very sweet! Love the color, too. I'm going to post a photo of my latest baby gift, as well. It is also a non-traditional baby color.....

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  2. So, so cute but not too babish. Nice work.

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  3. precious! i'd wear that if it were in my size :o)

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  4. That's so cute Tracey. Lion Wool is really nice and squishy, huh! Perfect color too! Not too babyish.

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  5. What a great little vest. I just bought that book a few weeks ago. I like the wrap sweater and plan on making a few.

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  6. That's so cute! I bet the dress will be adorable, too.

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  7. Anonymous4:54 PM

    Great work! That is going to make a wonderful gift : )

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  8. What a cute vest! I like vests on kids, especially kindergarten age kids, they're just too cute!

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  9. I love little boys in "little man" type clothes. Adorable!

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  10. Anonymous1:23 PM

    That's a great vest! Love the pattern and you did lovely work, as always.

    I think that would be a great pattern for some handspun!

    Enjoyed the fishing photos :)

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  11. Cute! I've not thought about vests as gifts for little ones. Such a good idea and much easier to get onto the child than a sweater!

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  12. Anonymous10:08 PM

    What a lovely little sweater vest. In fact, seeing yours has inspired me to make one of my very own -- which also means you've inspired me to buy the book. :-)

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Thank you for commenting!
~Tracy

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