The most adorable baby sweater ever

 

Knitting for babies is one of my greatest knitting joys. The clothes are adorable and they work up quickly. When a knitter knows a baby whose parents are A+ Appreciators of Handknits, it just doesn't get any better. Happily, I am currently in this situation!

Baby Isaac was born last February, and I knit him a newborn-size BSJ before he was born (you might remember this):

Then he grew, and needed another cozy sweater in mid-spring, early in the pandemic time:

His moms are daily walkers (the family also includes a dog) and baby is always dressed for the weather. My texts contain a steady stream of Isaac modeling his knitwear, so I know the sweaters are loved and used. Naturally, he needed a new sweater for fall.

The moms and I had a Zoom consult and I showed them the wonders of Ravelry. It didn't take them long to gravitate toward this pattern: Elevenses. This is a Grandpa-type sweater, similar in many ways to the Gramps pattern. But it's new - Elevenses was published in February 2020, while Gramps has been around since 2011. I've knit Gramps before (twice, actually - once for a baby and once for a teenager) and was eager to compare the two.

Friends, in an Old Man Baby Sweater Pattern Smackdown, the winner is Elevenses. Hands down.

This pattern is exceptionally well-written and edited. I think the pockets are better designed. Instead of knitting them separately and patching them on, you slip stitches to hold at the top of the pocket and then cast them on again to work the moss stitch pattern. Later, you knit the held stitches downward to become the inside of the pocket, and sew seams at the side and bottom. I didn't take a progress photo that shows this clearly, but you can kind of see what's happening in this one:

The elbow patches are also worked in moss stitch. In Gramps, they are knit separately and sewn on. I ended up not sewing them on to the baby version I made, because it made the fabric too thick and stiff. Moss stitch is a brilliant way to "signal" the elbow patch without making the sweater less comfortable. 

The shawl collar is worked with German short rows, which are by far my favorite type of short row - the easiest to work and the most elegant. The pattern includes a tutorial for this technique. If you don't know it, this could be a great skill builder project.

The only negative about this pattern is that it only goes up to age 10. I think S1 would like one for herself!

I chose Cascade 220 Superwash for this sweater so it would be easily machine-washable. I made the 12-month size and used under 2 balls. That makes it affordable and practical, in addition to being adorable! The buttons are plastic (because, machine washable) from JoAnn.

The whole family loves Isaac's new sweater. I'll definitely be knitting this again!