A work in progress

A work in progress
Originally uploaded by redmag

I feel like I've been working on this forever!
I haven’t I just ran out of wool just before going away last week and then while I was away I couldn’t find anymore - despite visiting 3 stores! So after a mad dash to Lincraft during the week its back on track!

It's hopefully going to a blue version of the little hooded jackets in the top right hand corner of the pattern book.

Already I know that I'm not going to make this one again - firstly, its a European pattern from 1973 and well....21st century babies – mine in particular – seem to be a lot larger than the age recommendations they had for this one (it was ages not dimensions which is a bit frustrating although to be fair I tend to dive into things and there might dimensions somewhere in the back that I missed)……….there was quite a bit of unravelling and making everything larger.

Secondly, for some reason it requires me to knit with two balls of 4 ply - which smacks of writing a pattern just to use a particular wool - it probably could have been knitted in a thicker ply which would have suited me as baby wool is expensive and doesn’t come in a very exciting range of colours.

Lastly the jacket has too many parts - the sleeves and the front and back yokes could have been knitted as one piece and the bottom of the coat could have been one part too! It would have been a much neater piece - less casting one and off, less ends to work in and less sewing up at the end and less bulky seemed bits – I really don’t like seams.

I do love the way it looks but I think next time (and there will need to be a next time in the near future as even with my modifications this isn’t going to fit for too long) I might use this an inspiration and just work up my own design.

P.S Don't you just love the face of the little boy on the left - such joy!