February Baby Sweater! It had to happen, of course, and it had to be in a pretty, bright pink! I knit this in Spud and Chloe Sweater, color 'Popsicle' which is a deep pinkish red color most closely resembling a popsicle, you see. It was so very tricky to photograph that I wish I had knit it in a different color entirely - like 'Lake'. Sigh. I love 'Lake'. And ooohhh, 'Lilac'. That's gorgeous. I actually love most of the Spud and Chloe colors but I'm still undecided on the yarn itself. It picks up lint very easily and doesn't wear quite as well as I'd like. Jury's still out.
This was actually my first Elizabeth Zimmerman pattern to knit (I think?) and here's why: I don't actually care much for her designs. She's terribly clever and witty and innovative, but most of the projects just don't appeal to me. I have always had a soft spot for the February Baby Sweater however, which is in Knitter's Almanac.
So here are some pattern notes that I wish I could have found before starting.
- Knitting this sweater in worsted weight yarn on US 7 (yoke) and US 8 (lace chart/body) exactly as written will yield a sweater that fits a 6-12 month old baby. This fits my 17 pound daughter now but is roomy enough that it will fit for another few months.
- The only part of the pattern that tripped me up was the casting on sleeves for the body. Zimmerman writes this as 4x7 so I cast on 28 stitches under ONE arm. This is wrong. Cast on only 14 under EACH arm. I think that could have been written more clearly.
- I also knit the sleeves in the round and picked up the stitches for the body to make it entirely seamless.
- I really intended to use buttons all the way down but I just plain forgot to knit buttonholes after the yoke was completed! No problem - more room for her chubby belly.
I had many false starts with this cardigan, due to Elizabeth's devil-may-care approach to sizing, but in the end, I really love it. It's just very polished and charming.
