Finished: Baby Placket-Neck Pullover
The Specs:
Pattern: Child's Placket-Neck Pullover from "Last Minute Knitted Gifts", by Joelle Hoverson. Errata here.
Yarn: Handwork Cora
Skeins: a little over two balls in Caribbean Sand
Needles: Size 7 circs
Start to finish: May 24 - June 3
For: the spawn of Stephanie
The (lack of) details:
You may have noticed that I chose not to embellish. When it came down to it I realized that, given the amount of time I had to work with, I had a far greater chance of making the sweater look royally weird than knitting something wickedly cool. So I've tucked all your fabulous ideas away in my brain for the next time I find myself confronted with a baby sweater. Remind me to ask you guys for advice next time I need a Halloween costume.
Buttons:
The buttons are vintage navy ceramic from the thrift store. What you can't tell from the picture is that the circles on them are just the tiniest bit glittery. Every boy needs a little sparkle, right?
Mods:
The only thing I changed was to add buttonholes. The original pattern calls for beads as buttons and you're just supposed to push them through the seed stitch band. I thought this was a little cheesy, so I added a couple as I went. I ended up leaving off the third button since I got to the end of the sweater a little sooner than I had anticipated, but I think it looks ok. If anyone asks, it's deliberate, ok?
Notes:
A lovely fast pattern to knit, though it is not, as the book claims, a four-to-six hour project (unless you happen to be a crazy-fast knitter). Still, it's five bazillion times faster to knit than Trellis.
Final Verdict: It’s a winner! The mummy brigade at the shower gave it the thumbs up.
Comments
The sweater turned out great, Elli!
And I love the (fabric?) background you have there...too cute!
Posted by: caitlyn | June 5, 2006 11:36 PM
That came out very well. I like the simplicity. It does look very boyish. I'm sure he will get a lot of use out of it.
Posted by: Jessica | June 5, 2006 11:37 PM
Lovely! I love all of your finished knits--they look so professional.
Posted by: Meredith | June 5, 2006 11:39 PM
Awesome.. the thumbs up from the mummy brigade is definitely a good thing. But why wouldn't they give any of your knits a thumbs down? And the third button.. you left it out because you were looking out for his health! The baby's gotta breathe right? ;)
Posted by: Angela | June 6, 2006 1:08 AM
Cute, very cute! I've seen that pullover all over the blogs. I made one this weekend. Such a great pattern and glad to know Mom likes it.
Love the gnomes fabric, btw!
Posted by: MJ | June 6, 2006 1:29 AM
it looks fantastic! Nice and plain which will make sure the parents will dress their baby in it as often as it deserves.
Posted by: Julia | June 6, 2006 1:59 AM
Wow, this is so absolutely cute! You did a fantastic job with this pullover, and the buttons fit just perfectly!
Posted by: Dipsy D. | June 6, 2006 2:44 AM
It's beautiful, Elli, and it looks practical too! :-)
Posted by: terhi | June 6, 2006 3:21 AM
If you hadn't said anything, I would have believed that button band was deliberate until the day I die. That said, it's absolutely adorable! I love the buttons. I'm making a note to myself to make one of these for my boss(!).
Posted by: Kim | June 6, 2006 8:17 AM
CUTE! With THREE pregnant women in my life at the moment I may have to make one of these!
Posted by: allison | June 6, 2006 9:27 AM
actually I think its even better without embellishment, nice and simple and keeps the focus on the baby!
Posted by: Diana | June 6, 2006 9:27 AM
It's SOOO cute! Now I know what to expect if I ever start popping out little blighters (your words, not mine)...
Posted by: rae | June 6, 2006 9:28 AM
That sweater is way too adorable...and I love how simple it is. Good job on the buttons too. (BTW, *anything* is a faster knit than Trellis:)
Posted by: allison | June 6, 2006 9:59 AM
Very nice! I like the simplicity.
Posted by: Robyn | June 6, 2006 10:26 AM
SO cute! I really like the buttons. I have the hardest time finding buttons I really like.
Posted by: Sarah | June 6, 2006 1:36 PM
Cute sweater! I love the buttons, they add such nice contrast without hogging all the attention.
Posted by: Steph | June 6, 2006 4:39 PM
Really adorable! It didn't need any embellishment at all, it's just perfect!
Posted by: hege | June 6, 2006 4:46 PM
How charming! I think the unique buttons add the perfect accent to the simple design. Plus, I think babies look best in simple garments. I, too, love your gnome fabric-- do you have any plans for that yet?
Posted by: Yuki | June 6, 2006 7:42 PM
Awww, that turned out so nice.
Posted by: Erin | June 7, 2006 4:16 AM
It looks great and I'm sure it'll look even better on the baby :)
Posted by: empress | June 8, 2006 12:11 AM
It looks great!! I love it's simplicity. I bet he'll get a lot of wear out of it.
Posted by: Julia | June 8, 2006 4:18 PM
What a perfect sweater for a baby boy! I love the color and the cute buttons!
Posted by: Amber | June 9, 2006 1:58 AM
I'm glad I'm not the only one who thought Trellis took a little long for a baby gift.
This sweater looks great. Classic.
Posted by: Theresa | June 9, 2006 6:49 PM
So pretty. I just finished the one I was making for the Dulaan Project and you're right...it took me a lot longer than the 4-6 hours the author says.
Thanks for the button tip.
Posted by: isel | June 14, 2006 7:30 AM
That background fabric is absolutely fabulous! Love the sweater, too, of course. I have one on the needles in a variegated blue/yellow/green colorway, but I just haven't been able to get much done on it.
Posted by: Jodi H | June 19, 2006 6:11 PM