Baby Cardigan

Many moons ago, when kid1 was on the way and I still filled with lovely illusions, I was convinced that every child should be welcomed to the world with a special present. For kid1 it was a blanket - designed with love, knit with joy and devotion during countless hours.

We used it exactly once.

During the photoshoot at the hospital.

Well. Two years later, with kid2 on the way, my illusions had been reduced considerably. Of course she, too, should have a woolly welcome present, but this time perhaps something that we might actually use in real life.

Of course, I had agreed with my prince not to buy any new clothes during her first year. After all, we still had stacks of clothing left over from kid1, and as long as she couldn't actually complain about the rather strong blue bias of her wardrobe, she'd just have to do without all the bowsrufflespinklace stuff.

Anyone catch the keyword in the previous paragraph? That's right: "buy". No one said anything about knitting. And since I just so happened to have a few balls of baby pink yarn in the stash, the plan was obvious: it would be a baby cardigan.

And since I didn't have a pattern in mind that I really liked (and am chronically incapable of following patterns to the letter anyway) I fired up my trusty Excel and designed my personal perfect baby cardigan. Not in newborn size, but a little bigger, so she'd be able to wear it for more than two weeks.

The knitting process was fairly standard:

- knit the first sleeve
- give it a test wash
- measure it
- discover that actual measurements only bear a passing resemblance to expected measurements
- curse softly while recalculating Excel spreadsheet
- knit second first sleeve
- give it a test wash
- measure it
- discover that actual measurements now closely but not exactly resemble expected measurements
- curse not quite so softly while reopening Excel
- decide that it's a freaking baby sweater and it doesn't have to fit to the millimeter
- knit the rest of the cardigan
- sew it up
- throw it in the laundry with the rest of the baby clothes
- discover that a soft pink and a load of blue/green/brown laundry may not be an ideal combination
- decide that the pink was way too kitschy, anyway, and what I really wanted was a delicate lilac hue
- discover that the buttons I'd bought weeks ago absolutely do not go with the new colour
- realise that today is Saturday and the baby's arrival is booked for next Tuesday (yay 21st century and planned c-sections), oh, and also Monday's a holiday
- PANIC
- hurry to the tiny village store to acquire some buttons that aren't exactly what I wanted, but at least don't clash with the rest of the cardigan
- sew on buttons
- pretend that's the way it was supposed to come out from the beginning
- enjoy the result:

Look at this lovely and delicate and snuggly and pretty thing! (The baby's pretty okay, too, I think) And in the last four months we've already gotten quite a lot of use out of it, so: Success!

Yarn: Lang Yarns Baby Cotton
Pattern: my own design
Size: about 3 - 6 months