Surprise!
I don't know anyone who's going to have a baby, but I really wanted to knit the Yarntini sportweight yarn that Siow Chin had given me last Christmas, and thought this ingenious pattern would let the yarn do all the stripy work. I couldn't put down the knitting because I wanted to see how it was constructed. Such a fun knit, especially with this squishy yarn in such cool colors for a baby.
Pattern: Baby Surprise Jacket from Elizabeth Zimmermann's The Opinionated Knitter
Yarn: Yarntini sportweight in Cherry Cordial, one hank
No modifications, since I couldn't tell where the pattern was taking me until midway into knitting. I knit this with 3.5 mm needles and ended up with a cardi that was 16 inches from cuff to cuff, almost 10 inches from top to bottom, and 8.5 inches wide under the arms. The cardi weighed 125 grams, but there was 48 grams left from a hank that was supposed to weigh 142 grams. Bonus yarn! There was enough to make a baby hat or booties, but of course I made something for myself. :-)
Knit from the basic mitt pattern in Ann Budd's Handy Book of Patterns, on 3.25mm needles.
Life is so much less exciting ever since I got an electronic scale. No more guessing if I'll have enough yarn, and for matchy mitts to boot! (Just eight grams left, heh)
Such radically different stripes. The BSJ had a stitch count of anywhere from 90 to 200 stitches, and my mitts are 36 stitches around the cuff. I'll be ready if the weather cools down again, and the next birth announcement I get had better be for a girl!
The baby surprise jacket is gorgeous! Congratulations! And the your mitts are really pretty too, they look really confortable. Love the yarn you used.
Posted by: Valerie | Tuesday, 13 February 2007 at 12:53 AM
Okay, this is a dangerous thing to say, but you make me want to have a baby girl NOW! That's how much I love the jacket ;)
Of course, the mitt is gorgeous too.
Posted by: yuvee | Tuesday, 13 February 2007 at 12:54 AM
Sooo cute! That's another thing to put on my "things to make for people who are having babies" list. That only took one skein of yarn?
Posted by: yaiAnn | Tuesday, 13 February 2007 at 01:17 AM
The Baby Surprise is a really good showpiece for the Yarntini yarn. Great knitting Joy! It looks fabulous!
Posted by: nova | Tuesday, 13 February 2007 at 01:36 AM
Oh how cute! And the mitts are really pretty too. (My first reaction to the word surprise and that sweet little cardi was that you're gonna have a baby. :-))
Posted by: terhi | Tuesday, 13 February 2007 at 01:40 AM
too bad I'm on a yarn diet else I'd be running to get somma dat yarn!
Posted by: deborah | Tuesday, 13 February 2007 at 01:45 AM
that is such a well chosen pattern for a variegated yarn. It's just beautiful, and the combination of pinks or reds with brown is a new favorite of mine. Very nice.
Posted by: Marie | Tuesday, 13 February 2007 at 01:56 AM
Those both look incredible. I love the differences in striping, and those are *fabulous* baby colors.
Posted by: Amy | Tuesday, 13 February 2007 at 02:02 AM
Adorable baby surprise!! Yarntini is new yarn to me...
I'm heading to yarntini.net to have a look (even though I am knitting from stash..it can't hurt to look!)
Posted by: Pat | Tuesday, 13 February 2007 at 02:21 AM
Lovely! Sock Mom Alison is going to have a baby girl ... you can gift her with this! (Just a thought!)
Posted by: Agnes | Tuesday, 13 February 2007 at 02:25 AM
Cute! I love using every last bit of a ball of yarn.
Posted by: Jessica | Tuesday, 13 February 2007 at 02:56 AM
how pretty! it even looks squishy in your photos ;)
and great mitts too ... it's fun to see how the yarn striped with different stitch counts.
Posted by: gray la gran | Tuesday, 13 February 2007 at 04:02 AM
Love it, love the stripes, love the pink, love the squishy-looking fabric! That yarn has really good yardage!
Posted by: Peggy | Tuesday, 13 February 2007 at 04:08 AM
Oh my, I'm drooling. That is SO gorgeous! Love the gloves too :)
I've never tried Yarntini but I need to now.. especially since I AM having a girl in mid-June! Must. Stop. Drooling.
Posted by: Carrie | Tuesday, 13 February 2007 at 04:25 AM
It's wonderfull this pattern and very surprising. It's the first time I see such model of knitting. Magnifique :)
Posted by: Patou | Tuesday, 13 February 2007 at 05:13 AM
The BSJ is GORGEOUS!!! Simply stunning...It's now on my list of things to make!! :)
The mitts are very cool as well.
Posted by: Kai | Tuesday, 13 February 2007 at 05:29 AM
Both the narrow stripes of the baby surprise and the wide stripes of the mitts are beautiful!
Posted by: grumperina | Tuesday, 13 February 2007 at 08:59 AM
Love the baby surprise! I keep seeing this around blogland, but yours is one of the nicest! Great mitts, too.
Posted by: Leslie | Tuesday, 13 February 2007 at 09:01 AM
What a cute jacket, it looks almost like candy canes! Cute mitts, too.
Posted by: Knittypants | Tuesday, 13 February 2007 at 10:15 AM
Love the stripes, love the baby surprise and love the mitts. You are a tactful knitter.
Posted by: handknit168 | Tuesday, 13 February 2007 at 10:41 AM
That is the cutiest little jacket! I've been coveting the Yantini self-striping yarn. It looks so scrumptious!
Posted by: Marie | Tuesday, 13 February 2007 at 11:59 AM
It's just beautiful!!!
Posted by: Maryann | Tuesday, 13 February 2007 at 12:18 PM
wow! now that's really interesting. Very neat trick. Both FO looks great!
Posted by: laruay | Tuesday, 13 February 2007 at 01:38 PM
Absolutely beautiful!
Posted by: Oiyi | Tuesday, 13 February 2007 at 04:45 PM
The jacket is beautiful. I love the mittens too. It's funny how the same yarn can look so different depending on the project.
Posted by: Robin | Tuesday, 13 February 2007 at 09:16 PM