gumdrops

October 27, 2014





Hello.  Here I am again with more baby sweaters, all in stripes using leftover bits of yarn.  Again!  I've got this thing for stripes right now, and rather than ignore it, I'm just going along with it and knitting stripes, stripes and more stripes.  Sigh.  Remember when I raided my stash and made baby cardigan kits?  I took 3 kits with me on a recent trip and had a nice time making something useful out of something that that been hanging out for way too long in my stash.  Yay!  When I got home I went through grandmother's button box looking for matching buttons.  For the gray sweater I had my heart set on red, but the only red ones were these vintage mismatched ones.  I placed them on the button band and knew right away that they were just right, in fact, that they don't match makes it more endearing somehow.  I found some mismatched vintage shell buttons for the yellow and green sweater.  The yellow buttons were new and purchased to match the yellow stripes in the sleeves when I ran out of gray.  I usually make size 12 mos. as I think this size will get the most wear.  Also, one year olds are smiling and engaging, calling attention to themselves, sitting up, usually walking, so they can really show off that sweater!

You may wonder why I'm making so many baby sweaters.  First, I love using up odd bits from the stash.  Second, it's fun to knit projects quickly that always turn out cute no matter what, but mostly, I am determined that every new baby in my circle of friends is going to get a sweater from me.  The one with the red buttons is going to Maui, upcountry where the weather is chilly, to my best friend's, friend's first grandchild.  The yellow one is going to my son's high school sweetheart's sister.  The pink and yellow one will sit in my gift drawer until it's finds a recipient, but I don't think it will be too long.  My son is at that age where his friends are getting married.  I get kind of misty eyed when I think about it.  All these kids I've know since they were in grade school, some even nursery school, now 11 years out of high school, and they are still in contact with each other.  Occasionally we'll see these kids and they are always so nice to my husband and me.  I remember when they were wearing baby sweaters, sob!










This is size 12 mos.

I really loved the idea of using mismatched vintage button from grandmother's button box.

I work from little bits and pieces of leftover yarn. 

I have a few knitting tips:  

1. Between the ribbing and stripes, work one row stockinette in the rib color before beginning the rib (when knitting the cuffs) or finishing the rib (when knitting the collar).   This extra row of stockinette in the rib color will make a neater looking transition.  You do not need to do this row of stockinette for the button band.

2. When picking up stitches for the button band, pick up 3 stitches for every four.  It will lay nice and flat.  

3. Make your button band first, then place your buttons where you want them, mark their placement, then knit the buttonhole band.  

4. When mixing yarns, make sure they have the same care and the same weight.  Remember to use machine washable wool or cotton for baby items.

Even though I've shared these free pattern links many times, I always pick up a few new readers so I will add the pattern links again.  All are free downloads and most are sized 3 mos. to 2 years.  Print out all these patterns and keep them in your pattern library.  Gather up your machine washable oddballs and put them in a zip lock bag with the patterns.  You're all set for some great travel projects, and of course, a most welcome gift.  FYI, the yarn used is a combo of machine washable Rowan Wool Cotton, Rowan Pure Wool DK, Tahki Cotton Classic, and Cascade Superwash DK. 

For fingering weight or sport weight I like the
Baby's Raglan, No Seams by Carole Barenys
 
For DK weight yarn you can use
the Fuss Free Baby Cardigan by Louise Tilbrook
or the Basic Raglan Baby Cardigan by Keya Kuhn

With worsted weight try the
Little Coffee Bean by Elizabeth Smith

Here's one for aran weight:
Rainbow Cardigan by Clara Falk

Read about my Gumdrops on Ravelry.
For fingering weight or sport weight I like the
Baby's Raglan, No Seams by Carole Barenys
 
For DK weight yarn you can use
the Fuss Free Baby Cardigan by Louise Tilbrook
or the Basic Raglan Baby Cardigan by Keya Kuhn
With worsted weight try the
Little Coffee Bean by Elizabeth Smith

Here's one for aran weight:
Rainbow Cardigan by Clara Falk
- See more at: http://knitionary.blogspot.com/2014/08/more-kits-baby-style-all-free-all-good.html#.dpuf

I cast on for another while watching the San Francisco Giants WIN
game 5 of the World Series.  MadBum was pitching, man I love that guy!







For fingering weight or sport weight I like the
Baby's Raglan, No Seams by Carole Barenys
 
For DK weight yarn you can use
the Fuss Free Baby Cardigan by Louise Tilbrook
or the Basic Raglan Baby Cardigan by Keya Kuhn
With worsted weight try the
Little Coffee Bean by Elizabeth Smith

Here's one for aran weight:
Rainbow Cardigan by Clara Falk
- See more at: http://knitionary.blogspot.com/2014/08/more-kits-baby-style-all-free-all-good.html#.dpuf
Carol, a reader sent in this photo of scrappy cardis she made for her twin grandsons, Hugo and Xavier.  Adorbs times two!

Even more stripes!  I've just finished week 3 of my Kaffe KAL.  Even if you aren't participating right now,
you can still download the free patterns and have them on hand for when you DO want to knit it!
It's going to be beautiful.  Click HERE  to download the patterns for weeks 1-3.


Happy knitting!  See you soon with more knitting, more parties!


Follow 
Knitionary

For fingering weight or sport weight I like the
Baby's Raglan, No Seams by Carole Barenys
 
For DK weight yarn you can use
the Fuss Free Baby Cardigan by Louise Tilbrook
or the Basic Raglan Baby Cardigan by Keya Kuhn
With worsted weight try the
Little Coffee Bean by Elizabeth Smith

Here's one for aran weight:
Rainbow Cardigan by Clara Falk
- See more at: http://knitionary.blogspot.com/2014/08/more-kits-baby-style-all-free-all-good.html#.dpuf

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16 Comments

  1. How generous, and what a wonderful use of leftover yarn! They don't look like something made with scraps, they look polished and put together. I love them, and great tips!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you. It's amazing how pretty they all seem to turn out with just little bits of mismatched yarn. I'm really happy with them.

      Delete
  2. Delightful colour combinations - now all I need is someone's baby to knit for!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Oh what adorable cardigans, makes me want to knit some more up for people. I love the color combos too and stripes are one of my favourite things to knit.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Has me started thinking about those two skeins of Cotton Classic in my stash. Thank you so much for the pattern suggestions and the tips, Kristin. So very useful. Chloe

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. 2 skeins of cotton sounds like enough for a baby sweater, and if not you can just add some little bit from you stash!

      Delete
  5. Oh, they are all adorable. I may knit one just for fun.
    Carole

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Carole you should! I'll let you raid my stash if yours isn't big enough!

      Delete
  6. What lovely little cardigans! And what a lovely thing to knit these little gifts! The lucky recipients are going to love them :)

    ReplyDelete
  7. Wow, these sweaters are so darling! My absolute favorite is the one with the red mismatched buttons. They look good enough to eat!

    ReplyDelete
  8. These are just darling! Very pretty stripes

    ReplyDelete
  9. What a lovely, happy bunch of sweaters! Your sense of color pairings is just great. I also like your idea of making kits for these easy, satisfying travel projects.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Kristen looking at those sweaters simply makes me happy! And how kind u r so distribute them far and wide among your social network. Awesome.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Cindi! They are so fun and addictive to knit!

      Delete

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