Baby! Sweater!

Most people get excited about shopping for new babies, but this feeling is next-level for knitters who get to KNIT for new babies. I was thrilled to hear that my friends down the street are expecting. And even better, the baby is due in early February, so it will DEFINITELY need a wool sweater RIGHT AWAY. Wheee!

After a bit of consideration, I decided to go with the classic BSJ. The parents' favorite colors are purple and green, and I wanted to include both. I thought about stripes for a while, but then I fixated on a gradient look. Luckily, I found a gradient set of fingering weight mini-skeins that pretty much fade from purple to green. This photo is not great (taken indoors, at night) but you can also click over to the shop photo for another look:

I wanted this to fit a newborn, so I followed the standard BSJ instructions that call for 160 stitches cast on at 6 st/in. I used each mini skein for 30 garter ridges and simply switched. No fading necessary. The yarn cakes were super adorable - like brightly colored cupcakes:

This knit up so beautifully. I was reminded of how soothing garter stitch can be, especially with a painterly yarn.

You can see all four yarns most clearly on the back:

I decided to add an i-cord bindoff to the final edge, which becomes the edge of the button band area. I am especially pleased with how this came out and will add it to every BSJ I knit henceforth!

The finished sweater weighs about 66 grams. I have about 37 grams of yarn remaining (in unequal amounts). Not enough for another sweater, but enough for this and that. If only I were still knitting squares for a sock yarn blanket... For now, I'll just admire them in this beautiful bowl.

This sweater is definitely newborn sized. For a larger sweater, use thicker yarn (I've made several in sport weight) or consult the ABC-SJ pattern for adult, baby, and child sizing.