Garter Stitch Baby

My first Baby Surprise Jacket. appropriately knit for a friend's first child.

Pattern: Baby Surprise Jacket, from The Opinionated Knitter

(I used the pattern along with Dawn Adcock's notes.)

Designer: Elizabeth Zimmermann

Yarn: Sublime Extra Fine Merino Wool DK 063 Taffeta (light), 066 Myrtle (medium), 067 Sloe Berry (dark) - one ball each.

Needles: 4.0 mm (6 US)

Tension: 22 stitches per 10 cm (4")

This jacket is so famous I felt I HAD to knit one. Now that I have knit one I can see what all the fuss is about - it is so much fun to make. It goes from this amorphous shape to a lovely jacket with only two shoulder seams. EZ instructions were a challenge (but as you can see I got help from Dawn Adcock). Rather than just diving in to this project it was important for me to read and try to understand EZ's pattern. But once I started to understand the sweater was done before I knew it.

The choice of Sublime Extra Fine Merino was wonderful. I love the stitch definition and luxurious softness of the yarn.

I also made my first custom label (with the help of Grumerina, a.k.a. Kathy Veeza). Not the best picture, but you get the idea.


I complemented this pattern with Saartje's Bootees.

These lovelies knit up very quickly with what I had left over from the Baby Surprise Jacket. They are so cute!

And after all is said and done, here is what I have left over!

Note: My last post was November 17, 2007! I am still recovering from my computer crash and have rebuilt my system. Now I just have to put it all in the new chassis and, at last, recover the files from my previous hard drive. Well, I am back and it won't be so long again before I make another post.