Friday, February 15, 2013

Knitting a child's jumper

This has probably been the most ambitious project which I have undertaken (and finished) for a woman in the office who is due to have a baby. The whole jumper is knitted with basic double knitting wool and size 8 (4mm) needles for the main body and size 10 (3.5mm) for the initial ribbing.

Starting with the ribbing on the back it then moves into a basic four row pattern which is repeated throughout the back (and sleeves). The pattern is set on 9 stitches repeated along the row, with rows 1 and 3 different and rows 2 and 4 plain purl. It gives a pretty effect and is fairly forgiving if you make small errors in following the pattern. Just don't do what I did and miss a pattern row out and end up having to  pull out a good 3 inches of work.
The patterning on the back, same on the sleeves

The front was a bit daunting to start with, being made up of four different patterns in the same row, each one lasting a different number of rows before repeating. The biggest problem was the pattern being incorrect for the basic cable which begins the cable work. I won't bore you with the details (something about slipping stitches and putting the wool behind or in front for the next two) but it meant that I had to pull the work out three times before finally getting it right, purely by trial and error. Even for a free pattern that's a bit lame.

The cable work on the front of the jumper
The other aspect of interest was the fact that sleeves are knitted straight onto the jumper, rather than being done separately and sewn on later. I was concerned initially that the weight of the body would make the sleeves a little loose and pull too much, but alas it wasn't to be.

There's also only one side sewn up on the neck line, not that you can see it very well in these pics. The right hand side is secured by two buttons. I guess either because it makes it easier to fit over baby's head or because the person who designed the pattern hated sewing up and wanted any way round doing it.

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