Sunday, April 22, 2012

Yellow Dress

Friends of ours are due to have their first child at the beginning of May. When they found out in December or January that it would be a girl, I decided that it would be a perfect opportunity to try knitting a gift for their little girl.  I found this pattern and liked it because it is all knit in one piece, therefore minimizing the amount of seaming that is necessary at the end.  I am quite pleased with the final product.  I should have taken a picture before I blocked and seamed it, because I didn't know how I would manage to get it to lay flat.  It's amazing how much stockinette rolls in on itself.  I was very pleased with how well blocking worked and will not be afraid to make more things that need blocking.  I am still not a big fan of seaming things, but I am pleased with finally learning how to do mattress stitch, which makes an invisible seam that is not too bulky.  I was able to give the gift at the baby shower yesterday, and I think it was appreciated :)  It's nice to be crafty, as I have never really known how to make things by hand before.  It's also nice when they come out looking like what they are supposed to.  I did make a few mistakes on this piece, but being my first clothing item, and being for a baby, I think they are forgivable mistakes.  I will pay better attention to the pattern while I am knitting in the future and make sure that I measure things precisely.  I think this ended up being about 2-3 inches longer than it probably should have been.  I think by the time it fits the baby in the arms and body, it may still be a bit longer than you would like, but it is a wrap, so I guess as long as the ties can be tied it should fit for a while.

Here is the inside.  One of the mistakes I made was not increasing on every row on the left side of the cross over.  The tie should have been sewn to the point a couple of inches lower than it is, but then it wouldn't have lined up with the tie on the right cross over.  Not a huge deal really, but not perfect.


I like the ties in the back.  I think that I would maybe make them another 4 or 5 inches longer then maybe the dress would be functional for a little longer.  Oh well, it was a learning experience, and I am sure it will be a nice keepsake for the new parents.


Since I finished this, I also knit up some little thumbless mitts for the baby as well. I didn't get a photo of them, but they are super easy to make and I think pretty functional. I also FINALLY knit up a pretty hat for myself with the KnitPicks baby alpaca yarn that Jay got me for my birthday. I think I will be looking for excuses to wear it, even though it's too warm for it. It is so soft and I love the pattern, and the yarn was really great to work with. I am hoping to get Jay to take a picture of it soon and I will share it.

2 comments:

Unknown said...

Wow! That is awesome!

Angela said...

Thanks :)