Oh the Places You Will Go - Dr. Suess

My DH and I went to sit just outside Disneyland yesterday.  We awaited our daughter and husband who were visiting Disneyland and, alas, we were blocked out until next week so we could only stay on the other side of the magical kingdom..  But since we love to people watch we sought out a sunny outdoor table at La Brea Bakery just at the end of Downtown Disney and drank our coffee as we waited.

Naturally I never travel anywhere empty handed and after the first sip of coffee I opened my ample purse and pulled out a nearly finished baby sweater.

I wish you could feel this yarn.  It's a hand painted one that came from Yarnbox in one of those surprise packages that's so exciting.  The hat is a helmet that doesn't show especially well here, but considering that we are heading into fall, this outfit will be warm and the hat will be large enough to fit well for the whole next year.  It's a free Paton pattern  that works up quickly.

As I was sitting in the sun and knitting to pass the time, I thought of the places these baby sweaters have been before finally finding a home on a little one.  Perhaps one day this child will return to Disneyland with no knowledge that one of his first sweaters preceded him there.  I never go to a meeting without my yarn, nor do I bowl each week without not only my current project but two or three finished pieces  to show the women I bowl with.  This portable hobby is the absolute best for whittling away wait time between frames, at the doctor's office, waiting to pick up grandkids at school - you name it.

I thought I'd comment on this particular style of sweater.  I call it the "Grow with Me" and it's  my own invention.  It will fit anyone from 6 months to well over a year.  See those vertical lines in the bodice?  They are an every other row "make-one" stitch that resembles a flat picot.  Worked every five stitches this allows the bodice to vent open as baby grows.

The second trick is that the sweater starts at the back of the waist where I cast on enough stitches to cover approximately 13 inches of width.  I knit an inch and a half of 2x2 rib with picot holes every five stitches  just after the last the rib is finished.  Now I am intent on using this important band as the width regulator for the entire sweater.  I really want a 10" back width (vents closed flat) for this sweater so when I switch into my back, I need to reduce evenly, keeping the picot holes that will lead to the vent lines as my guides.  Once achieved, I knit up and over the shoulders to the waist in front.  I finish the bodice with picot holes at the end of the vent lines and another 2x2 inch and a half rib to match the back.  Get out stitch holders for the two front sides and you are ready to capture the top of the sweater for later knitting.

This is really an odd way to knit a sweater, but by starting at the middle of the back you have control over the flare of the skirt and the venting in front and back.  This is the time to put in the sleeves, while the front and back are open.  I hate trying to inset a sleeve, so I'd much rather pick up the stitches along the armhole opening.  Be sure you understand your gauge so that you have a sufficient number of stitches on your needle before knitting the sleeve.  I added some vents near the cuff just to keep the theme going, but if you wanted to, you could add them right from the top on down.  Some babies have chubby little arms.

The intent of the sweater is to have it grow wider as baby increases in girth, but remember those picot holes just before the 2x2 rib?  These are for an I-cord to close the waist on the smaller baby.  After the arms are done, you will pick up along the front and back edges of the rib and add a second set of picot holes through which the I-cord can be threaded as the baby grows taller.  You have now given the Grow With Me sweater an inch and a half of waist length.

Remember that the 2x2 rib in the back was 13 inches wide before dropping to 10 inches for the back?  When you pick up, you are going back to 13 inches in the back.  This fullness expands as the baby does.  The vents open in the bodice and the back of the sweater adds another 3 inches.  The waist line drops an inch and a half, and now your sweater goes from a six month size to at least a 1 year or more.  It makes knitting a sweater very useful for a longer period of time.

Length, of course, needs not to be too long for the very small baby, probably 11 inches altogether, but the hemline hits at just under the top of the thighs and ends up on the hip before the sweater is outgrown completely.  The second waistline makes it look  fine too.  I might add that you should make a generous cuff on the arms so that you can make adjustments to fit in that area as well.

When you are considering fit for a baby sweater, let your mind think outside of the box.  Look at a size chart for babies and that's how you'll know what size to aim for.  But it also allows you to see where simple adjustments can add the inches you need to put the sweater into both sizes.

Come back again and see what's going on.  My mind is currently percolating a long snuggle sack that can be converted into a dress for a little girl.  All I know for sure right now is that it needs to be A-line with a detachable bottom...hmmm. Well when I work this out, I'll let you know.  Hugs to you and your projects too.  Pat