Origami

I finished knitting the BSJ last night.  I held off on the seaming so I could show you the “surprise” part of Baby Surprise Jacket.

The BSJ is essentially a garter stitch rectangle with some increases and decreases that make it look like some sort of ray* rippling across the ocean floor.  Here is the wrong side:

And the right side:

Then, a little folding, and you see the sweater: This project seems very Japanese.  The cut of the cardigan is stark and simple, and the folding is reminiscent of origami.  The seam (still to be sewn) is along the top of the sleeve.

Notice that there are buttonholes on both sides of the cardigan opening.  You’re supposed to sew buttons over one set of buttonholes.  I gather that this was a common strategy back when one didn’t know whether a baby would be a boy or a girl, and when people actually remembered the “proper” button placement for each sex.  I don’t think that matters so much now.  I went ahead and knit all the buttonholes to help me sew them on in the exact right place.

I considered skipping the buttonholes and knitting an i-cord edging with ties at the neck (as with the Tulips Baby Cardigan) … but in the end, I decided to knit it exactly as written the first time.  I’m sure I’ll modify something the next time I knit this.  The down side of this decision is that I need to go button shopping before I can finish the project.

Yarn Review: This yarn is Lorna’s Laces Shepherd Worsted (100% superwash wool).  The colors did not stripe or pool in this pattern, which is what I wanted.  It should be machine-washable, which is what Baby Alice’s mother wanted.  The quality of the yarn seemed above average but didn’t blow me away.  Each of the 2 skeins I used had a knot in it, and each one had a section or two where the yarn wasn’t spun at the same twist rate as the rest.

*The Harlot called it a manta ray