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Subtle Stripes Hat

Baby Landon is finally wearing one of his new hand-knit hats! I especially love how soft this hat is and the barely there tone-on-tone stripe pattern. The key is to pick two colors that are hardly different from each other, whether it's this ivory combination or shades of gray would be great too. This hat knits up quickly and I was happy to learn a new ribbing edge and also practice the technique that prevents the stripes from jogging at the seam.

Pattern is for a small newborn size, but you can increase the size by using a thicker yarn with larger needles or increasing stitches by a multiple of 6. I used the Debbie Bliss baby cashmerino yarn with US 5 needles (since I am a tight knitter).

CO 60 sts on US #5 with Color 1
Join in the round, careful not to twist the stitches.

Start with Twin Rib:
Multiple of 6
Row 1: *k3, p3*
Row 2: *k1, p1*
Continue in this pattern for 10 rows or about 1.25"

Now to start the stripe pattern making sure to click here and use this technique as you knit around.

Pattern:
Color 2:
Row 1 +2: K all
Color 1:
Row 3, 4 + 5: K all

Once the hat is approximately 4.5" from cast-on edge, start to decrease while continuing the stripe pattern:
Row 1: *K10, K2TOG* (55 sts)
Row 2: K all
Row 3: *K9, K2TOG* (50 sts)
Row 4: K all
Row 5: *K8, K2TOG* (45 sts)
Row 6: K all
Row 7: *K7, K2TOG* (40 sts)
Row 8: K all
Row 9: *K6, K2TOG* (35 sts)
Row 10: K all
Row 11: *K5, K2TOG* (30 sts)
Row 12: K all
Row 13: *K4, K2TOG* (25 sts)
Row 14: K all
Row 15: *K3, K2TOG* (20 sts)
Row 16: *K2, K2TOG* (15 sts)
Row 17: *K1, K2TOG* (10 sts)

Pull yarn through remaining stitches and pull tight. Cut yarn and weave in all ends.

Baby Landon

Finally after 42 weeks of waiting, baby Landon made his big appearance. Luckily labor was quick at just over two hours and he was happy and healthy! We are adjusting to our new role as parents and I finally feel like I may have a moment to knit again in the near future.

The thing is, I'm not sure how great these hand-knit items are for babies. I mean, he poops or throws up on just about everything at least once and something as delicate as a hand-knit may not be up for the abuse. I'm afraid to even get him near most of the knit items I've made as I don't want to be stuck hand-washing and not all of them are meant for the washing machine.

SO... if you're making a gift for a baby, here are a few tips:

~ Make sure you use yarn that is machine washable, and virtually indestructible. Read the label closely as it should also be able to go into the dryer, even if it has to be on low. Hand-washing is just too much work with a new baby and no one is going to take the time to do it with all the other laundry and cleaning that piles up.

~ Use a yarn that is SUPER soft! I can't get over how velvety smooth and perfect my baby's skin is and the last thing I'm going to do it put on a scratchy knit item. The only hats I'd put on him are cashmere merino blends, or something equally soft. The organic cotton blanket is very soft also. If you're going to splurge on a nice lush yarn, this would be the item.

~ Even though it's taboo, I'd suggest using knots to secure your ends. Again, it just makes it stronger and more likely to hold up to the washing demands of babies. You don't want to have to worry about the ends unweaving each time it's washed and then starting to unravel – your piece will look shabby and possibly come apart.

I'll certainly be rethinking some of my hand-knit gift items and tailoring them more to the realistic, and messy, demands of a baby rather than my idealistic concept of baby items I had before!

Fair Isle Baby Hat

Yes, another baby hat for the baby that doesn't want to come out! I figure a hat a day will keep me distracted until the time comes. This one is from Purl Bee and can be found here.

I used US 5 needles with some extra Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino yarn. Because the needles were thicker than the original pattern, I CO 84 sts to start and then started with a K2, P2 ribbing. After 8 rows, I started the pattern as specified but just used one color. I left off the very last part of the pattern as the hat was getting too tall.

Next hat... simple stripes!

Seed Stitch Border Hat

I've made a little hat to match the asymmetrical sweater in the last post with the same Debbie Bliss Aran Cashmerino yarn. It's simple, quick and easy and Coco was happy to model since the baby has yet to arrive one week past his due date!

For the hat:
YARN: Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran, 2 colors. Less than 1 ball each.
NEEDLES: US 8 Circular needles and US 8 DPN (or whatever)
ADDITIONAL: Marker for start of round, needle to weave in ends

CO 54 sts with the trim color from the sweater using the cable cast-on method.
Join in the round being careful not to twist the stitches.
Rows 1-4: Seed stitch, *K1, P1* round and round. It helps to place a marker at the start to count.
Row 5: Knit all
Row 6: Switch to second color. K all sts until piece measures about 3.5"-3.75"

Begin to decrease once hat is desired lenth:
Decrease Row 1: *K7, K2TOG*
Decrease Row 2: K all
Decrease Row 3: *K6, K2TOG*
Decrease Row 4: K all
Decrease Row 5: *K5, K2TOG*
Decrease Row 6: K all
Decrease Row 7: *K4, K2TOG*
Decrease Row 8: K all
Decrease Row 9: *K3, K2TOG*
Decrease Row 10: K all
Decrease Row 11: *K2, K2TOG*
Decrease Row 12: K all
Decrease Row 13: *K1, K2TOG*

To finish, thread yarn through remaining stitches and pull tight. Weave in all ends.

Asymmetrical Baby Sweater

This little baby sweater is still a work in progress (it needs the two buttons sewn on) but is almost done! And just in time for baby too as he has yet to make his appearance even though he is officially a day late.

The pattern was fun and fairly easy to follow, although a couple parts took a bit to work out. I just loved the asymmetry of this design, so it was worth it. I wish I had made the sleeves a little longer so make sure to check yours if you try knitting this.

I used Debbie Bliss Cashmerino for both colors and it has a very soft and cozy feel. I couldn't deal with knitting the sleeves on double-pointed needles so ended up just going back and forth and then seaming them down the bottom. I think the outcome would have been much nicer had they been knit in the round.

Find the free pattern here:
http://fpea.blogspot.com/2007/01/free-pattern-friday-mossy-jacket.html

Next up... a matching hat with a light green seed stitch border at the bottom and the darker green for the remainder of the hat in stockinette stitch!

Purl Bee: Chevron Baby Blanket

As mentioned in the Spring newsletter, I had wanted to make this Chevron Baby Blanket that I had seen on the Purl Bee's website. It turned out to be such a fun and easy pattern, perfect for spacing out while watching tv as the 2-row pattern is easily memorized.

The only problem I had was constantly running out of yarn and having to buy more and more which made the colors, and the order of the colors, a bit haphazard. I love the colors featured on the Purl Bee and if I made this again would use something more in that range.

Check the free pattern out here:
http://www.purlbee.com/chevron-baby-blanket/