11 months ago my partner and I welcomed our first baby and like any expectant mother/knitter I was eager to wrap him up in lovingly hand-made knits. Here are three items that he has been wearing non-stop this winter.
The Anker Sweater
Granted this is not the most original pattern choice. We’ve all seen it a thousand times online but nonetheless I do really love how simple yet stylish this design is. I wasn’t 100% decided on this specific pattern but I knew from the get-go I wanted to use Sandnes Garn Merinoull. It is incredibly soft and machine washable, a great option for baby knits. Anker and Merinoull happen to be a perfect match, so I didn’t need to look any further.
With Toby being a spring baby, I decided to knit the size 6 to 9 months so he could wear it over the autumn and winter. I was also concerned that the seemingly narrow neckline would be difficult to pass over a newborn head.
I didn’t bother swatching as I didn’t mind small differences in measurements. Turns out my gauge was pretty on point and I only used under two balls of Merinoull instead of the three recommended by the pattern**.
The proportion and fit of this jumper are lovely. Being a small baby Toby only recently grew out of it. The neckline may seem narrow but the ribbed yoke is in fact quite stretchy. That being said it wouldn’t be my go-to knit for a newborn but for a 6 months + it is certainly appropriate. It looked very cute with so many of his outfits that I am now about to CO another one. This time I am using Terrazzo by Scheepjes and I will definitely swatch as Terrazzo is ever so slightly finer than Merinoull.
I am also very pleased with how well the Merinoull handled its multiple visits to the washing machine. Toby wore this jumper a lot and as any baby would, rolled around, crawled, and stained it again and again. Despite all this it is still going strong and I’ve only had to shave it once to remove the bobbles.
** Since knitting this Anker, Petite Knit has updated the pattern and changed the recommended yardages. The original yardage for the size 6 to 9 months corresponded to 3 balls of Merinoull, the current yardage corresponds to 4 balls.
The Sandoval Hat
As cold weather kicked in back in the Autumn, I was pestering myself that Toby didn’t have any beanies to wear. Then I remembered that I was in fact a knitter and that I could whip one up in no time (baby brain hello). I decided to use some Pom Pom Wool leftover from another project and found this simple beanie pattern to go with it.
I knitted the toddler size so he will hopefully be able to wear it next winter too. I’ve also made a slightly longer brim as I felt it suited the design better. With only one ball and half of Pom Pom Wool left over I didn’t quite have enough yarn to finish the beanie. We were out of stock of that specific colourway so instead I used some leftover Genmou which I doubled up to reach the gauge. The colours are so similar that if it wasn’t for the lack of pom poms the difference would be barely noticeable.
The Simple Baby Booties
These booties are very quick and easy to knit, and come in four sizes ranging from 0 to 24 months. A great option for a last minute present or, if like me, you’re in urgent need of slippers for your little one. You first knit the sole and then pick up the stitches for the foot. The foot is then worked in the round with a series of decreases. The cuff is knitted last. My gauge is a little bit tighter than suggested – 19 sts over 10cm instead of 18. I didn’t think it would matter too much due to Toby’s small size but in the end I found the booties could have done with being a little roomier. Instead of going up a needle size, I will adapt the pattern for his next pair so the booties fit him better. I may even apply some Sock Stop on the sole so he can use them to walk around the house.
For this pair I used some scraps of Soft Donegal but it would also work very well with Gilliatt.
I hope this inspired some of you for next project. If you like what you’ve read you can browse all our YAK team projects by clicking here.
Until Next Time… Happy Knitting!
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