Surprise Jacket Knit-along

And one last minute BSJ for a surprise baby boy!

2009-12-05T10:34:00.001-08:00

I was convinced my entire pregnancy I was having a girl. I would have bet my yarn on it! I even had my mother knitting a pink baby blanket. Then surprise: It's a boy!!! So I did a very rushed last minute BSJ in blue. Of course by the time I got it finished it didn't really fit anymore. sigh (a knitters lament)

BSJ Mania

2009-07-06T16:46:00.001-07:00

Here are three more BSJs I recently finished. I have to stop myself--all my other knitting is suffering. However, I do have one more that is almost finished that I will post soon. I knit it for my brand new baby boy!

Waiting til the snow

2008-08-10T16:06:00.000-07:00

I did finish a couple of months ago, but have just now re-took the picture. I just need to sew it & put on buttons. I would just love to make this out of wool!! I will probably wait til it really gets cold to actually finish. Thank you for this knit along, it helped me and encouraged me that I could make another one!!

Really, truly, finished!

2008-07-12T08:50:00.000-07:00

Sometimes Wal Mart comes thru! Found awesome bags of buttons in all kinds of colors for very cheap. So my first BSJ is done. I have to say I am a little proud of myself as this was the first time I ever sewed buttons and it came out perfectly.

I'm Done!

2008-07-09T00:08:00.000-07:00

I have to say, the adult version I made for my 18yo (it fits ME!) was LOT more knitting than the smaller version! It took me FOR ever, but I love how it turned out.

How is everyone doing? I'm going to start #3!

2008-06-20T18:07:00.000-07:00

My soon-to-be 18yo wants one too He wanted the colors in my "Merlin" yarn, so I dyed up a bunch of coordinating Full Belly Farm organic...and started.

It will be wee!

2008-05-21T06:26:00.000-07:00

Well I haven't finished seaming but it is basically done. This was so much fun and amazingly satisfying. I am already planning another one! It came out fairly small--I used size 4 needles. I think this would be perfect for 9 to 12 months.

Done with Number 2!

2008-04-30T20:07:00.000-07:00

Finished it an hour or so ago! I have to say, it looks nicer in person. It's not quite as contrast-y, and Graydon looks very handsome in it :D

Jacket #2 in Progress

2008-04-24T12:25:00.000-07:00

Here is my second one in progress. It seems to be going well!

2008-04-16T13:11:00.000-07:00

I am going to go for it! This is my second try at dyeing yarn for my son Graydon. First time, I included some red and he did't like it. He says his favorite colors are grey, black, silver, gold, and bronze. I'm not sure I love this combo. but he says he does! Now to find the time to do another one before April 26th...

It's finished.

2008-04-07T13:06:00.000-07:00

As much as I hate finish work the baby that my BSJ is intended for will be here any time now. So, I had to finish up. I did use the 3-needle bind off for the arms, and decided not to add a collar. I do have the idea that an old fashioned crocheted lace collar would make a wonderful addition, but realistically this child would be in college before I got around to doing that!

The buttons I used were hand made by a New Hampshire craftsman. They are pewter, and have the Tree of Life on them. I'm going to steam block this a bit, as it's a bit more rumply than the last on I made with machined yarn, but after that it's ready to wrap and gift.

I think I'm going back

2008-04-07T00:30:00.000-07:00

The jacket currently looks like this, before I pull out the last 33 rows!
I'm not happy with the M1 sections, so I'll go back to row 47 and try a different way of increasing this time.

Finally!

2008-04-06T21:52:00.000-07:00

I am free of the pink curse! My kid has announced that her favorite color is now light light light light light light light green. Not pink. Which I am thrilled about because I am sick of the pink. however, it leaves me with a mostly finished jacket for her... in pink.

I've made a mistake

2008-04-06T14:44:00.000-07:00

Hi, I began knitting my first bsj this weekend. It's for my daughter's first baby, due in June.
I have just got to row 80, where you work on the centre 90 stitches - but I have only 80 stitches. I distinctly remember increasing 10 stitches in row 57, but pulled a couple of rows out around there and must have lost the increases by mistake.
I can see that it's going to make the jacket smaller, but I don't know if it's in a critical place. I'm knitting 5 stitches to 1 inch, so it was going to be large for a newborn anyway....
So, advice please from people who have a finished article. Do I go back to row 57 or carry on regardless?
And I thought it was going so well.....
Pippa

I'm thinking of doing another one!

2008-04-04T20:48:00.000-07:00

Graydon would really like one for his birthday (April 26) and he's basically the same size as Rowan, just with longer arms. I have a lot of other knitting to do--but maybe I can do it since I know what I'm doing now? His favorite color is grey. He said he'd like it 'mostly grey'. What can I do with that?!

I think I'm going to run out of yarn

2008-04-02T10:35:00.001-07:00

I'm wanting to pick up my jacket and try again, but looking at the yarn, I think I'm running short, for sure. I guess I could just add a solid color for the rest?

She Loves It!

2008-04-01T18:35:00.000-07:00

I'm done, I'm DONE!

2008-04-01T14:35:00.000-07:00

Hooray! I can hardly believe I am done. This took me so much longer than I ever thought it would! My daughter's birthday was on the 24th, but being that it was the day after Easter, and also that I had not made time to order a few little gifts until too late, she was persuaded to wait until today to have her celebration...so I got a little reprieve, thank goodness. I just finished this about 1/2 hour ago--her party is in 1/2 hour! I really like how it turned out, I'll make sure to get a photo of her in it too.

Where is everyone?? I feel like I am talking to myself ;)

Getting Close!

2008-03-30T15:55:00.000-07:00

Getting so close! I'm going out button shopping in a few minutes. I am working on lengthening the arms, then it's seaming the shoulder, adding buttons, and I think I'm done!! I wonder if there's a way to add some fullness to the sleeve though, I might work on that. What's the best way to seam garter?

Done with the Knitting

2008-03-29T08:06:00.000-07:00

Sorry I haven't posted in a bit, I actually misplaced the camera, and didn't want to post with out photos.

In the title I said I was done with the knitting, but really I may add a collar. I was thinking of lengthening the sleeves, but for a spring baby, I think shorter sleeves will be fine.

I bought some pewter tree of life buttons at the LYS. They were hand made by a local craftsman, so I thought they would be a nice addition.

I thought I was going to be cutting it close with the amount of yarn I had spun, but I have enough left over that I might even squeeze in a pair of booties, if I finish the blanket I have been working on and can get to them before the baby is born!

don't know if this is coming too late, but for anyone working on the BSJ (not the adult version), someone has posted pattern notes that shouls help with when to stop increasing/decreasing, etc.

Oh, and Amy, I am the same Brian from Tomten KAL- where I will finally post an FO today!

I'm here, really.

2008-03-28T15:14:00.000-07:00

I'm sorry I haven't posted anything, just had baby & changed what I was going to do. I'll have pics eventually.
Thanks so much for letting me be a part of this kal. It has helped to read where others had problems and the answers.
All the sweaters are beautiful, I hope to catch up soon (17 dec. down, 3 to go).
Ciao.

Updated photos

2008-03-27T10:24:00.001-07:00

I tried it on my girl by pinning the sleeves at the top. they're a little snug, but i think they're going to get a little more width from the trim? not sure how this works as this is very different from the Baby Pattern here.

Anyway, going with 2" at the neck seems to be ideal. it fits very well and the intended recipient is already very excited. she keeps thanking me for making it for her, which urges the knitter to continue at breakneck speed!

so off to knit!

2008-03-26T15:56:00.000-07:00

Here's mine so far. I just have to get it as long as I want it now (couple more inches?) and then pick up stitches all the way around. I am mostly wondering now about when to add a hood? And I still don't understand about those increases/decreases but I hope it will become more obvious when I get to it.

Neck Shaping

2008-03-26T09:29:00.001-07:00

Ok. I'm following the adult pattern. It says to put 3" of stitches on waste yarn. this will be the depth of the neck opening. That seems like a lot, considering I'm doing this in a size 5T.

When I did the baby surprise jacket, it was 1". That fits my 5 year old well, though it's close to being too snug at the neck. Considering that the adult pattern has you go back and add some more rows all around, plus the fact that I want to add a collar or hood, I'm thinking to do 2" instead of 3".

has anyone done this yet?

This is the 2nd time i've gotten stymied by EZ's use of inches instead of stitch counts. the last time i was eventually able to figure out the percentage she was talking about - so i'm going back to the pattern to see if i can calculate it. but i thought i'd ask if anyone's done that already before i dive in.

Cold Feet

2008-03-24T19:06:00.000-07:00

I stopped at the neck shaping part because I had to work on other things, plus I wanted to give you all a chance to catch up :)

Well, I sat down with it today and think I might have messed it up. Are there two sections of the jacket that you put onto waste yarn?

I'm skeered to continue.

HELP. Question for people who have finished or done one before!

2008-03-24T16:38:00.000-07:00

Ok, I'm doing pretty well. I have the 3" of stitches saved on pieces of wool and am still increasing. I have a question about this section:

"Mark stitches at the inner corners of the neck and at the outer corners of the center-fronts and Purl these single stitches on the "wrong" side. On the right side, work a double-DECrease at the inner corners (...) and a double INCrease at the outer corners."

How many rows is she talking about doing this double decrease and double increase?

"increase one stitch at the beginning of each of these endless rows (how many is she talking about? Is she just meaning 2 rows in this section--one right side and one wrong side?) to make the neck fit well.

"after two ridges (two MORE? right?) make 7 buttonholes, evenly spaced along the appropriate edge. Work 4-5 ridges and cast off in purl on the right side (doing the increases and decreases this whole time? I'm really confused on how many rows she wants you to do those double decreases and increases???)"

Which side?

2008-03-24T08:56:00.001-07:00

Making great progress on the Surprise Jacket. This is the end of one skein of yarn, plus 2 stripes of a matching near-solid. I have assembled the jacket "inside out" for this photo, because I am trying to decide which side I like best. the "right side" can be seen in the back of the jacket - the stripes of the near-solid are clearly delineated. The "wrong side" is shown on the sleeves and front, in the garter stitch it makes a more gentle transition from the variegated to the near-solid. I'm leaning towards that, but I'm not sure. Luckily I have all the time in the world to decide. What do you think?

My progress so far

2008-03-21T08:58:00.000-07:00

I am really enjoying knitting this, so far. lol We'll see how much I enjoy it when it gets toward the end! For the first time in a long time, I actually have 3 different projects going at once, so I can switch back and forth if/when I get bored of something.
So, here I am, not quite finished with my decreases. I have done 2 yarn changes so far.

And here is a close up of the corner to see the colors a little better.

Finished the decreases

2008-03-20T20:18:00.000-07:00

Am I going to make it?!? I can't tell if it's going to be the right size...wait and see, I guess.

How Many??

2008-03-19T05:57:00.000-07:00

At first I thought I understood but now think I may be wrong. How many ridges and stitches should you have on your needle before you start the increases?

Thanks--Amy

I'm at the neck now

2008-03-18T11:41:00.001-07:00

I knit a lot last night, working out some frustrations. The result is I'm at the point where I need to do the neck shaping. Picture later!

Hi!

2008-03-18T07:42:00.001-07:00

Hi everyone! Thanks for letting me join in.

I had already started on my BSJ when I heard from Marnie about this KAL. So, I do have a bit of a head start. Here's a little history, though:

I'm making a new born size for a friend who is expecting her second child. She already has a little boy, and will be having a girl. The mom to be does not like traditional girl colors, but since I am making the new born size I thought it was important to have some gender identifying color.

I am a novice spinner, having just started to learn in November, and this is the first project that I have spun the yarn specifically for. I picked a hand painted superwah-merino roving that had pinks, cranberry, grey, and a deep green. (I got it here) I then seperated the roving into different color sections and spun up two different yarns from it.

This is the pink girly colored yarn, but sorry I never took a picture of the other before I got to work. The yarn is fingering weight, and I am using size 3 needles to get 6 sts to the inch.

Here is the BSJ starting to take shape. The colors are not exactly true in this photo. The first stripe starts out with a light bubble-gum pink, moves into a deep cranberry, and then goes back to bubble-gum. The second stripe is a blend of deep green and cranberry with hints of grey.

I have actually knitted more than this, but since you all are just getting started I will share more of my progress pictures later.

Thanks for letting me join in!

Brian

Slow Starting

2008-03-17T10:18:00.001-07:00

I've wound my yarn into cakes. I'm slow starting out, as I have a couple of things I need to finish first. I'll cast on tonight. In the meantime, I made a small color change. This is my main yarn:

The color is Malayan Orchid and if you can't see well it has pinks, deep pinks, reds, browns, and natural in it. I have one skein of natural and I was thinking to ad a little brown, too. I have a partial skein of Chocolate, which is a mix of browns, some of which are found in the Malayan Orchid, some which are not.

They look nice together. But I also found a skein of Mountain Colors Rosehip. The yarn is the same.

I feel like the red keeps it warm and rosy, and since I have a full skein of the red I won't need to add the natural, which, since I intend this to be a spring jacket, will help with the filth factor.

So that's what I'm doing. I'm going with the Rosehip and the Malayan Orchid. I haven't even looked at the math yet. I think I should swatch.

Well, here I go

2008-03-17T09:58:00.001-07:00

I am casting on, but I wanted to check my math with some others. I am making the sweater for Kyra, she wears about a 24 months in most clothing. My gauge is 4spi. My [K] is 16. Is that about in the ballpark with everyone else?

I am doing the same long tail cast-on I have always done. Morwenna, what kind of cast-on do you usually do? It sounded like long tail was new to you, so I am wondering if I am thinking of something else.

And yes, I am probably over-thinking this, as I tend to do. lol

I need a little help...

2008-03-16T10:59:00.000-07:00

...Got the long-tail cast on (yay me!), but now I am questioning the double decreases? I have done a few rows to check if I am doing it right and I can't tell. I have the markers placed at 2 X [K] from each end. When I am approaching the marker each 2nd row, I knit to 3 before the marker, slip 1, k2tog, then psso. Then I slip my marker, kint 1, then do the sl. 1, k2tog, psso. Is that at all right? I am confused by the 'keep one stitch constant' thing.

Also, I read somewhere that EZ said 'no ends to weave in'. Is that because you are to felt your ends together when you change, or is there some magic going on that I am not getting??

Is this looking right?

2008-03-16T09:15:00.000-07:00

I'm at the point where I'm done with the double-decreases. I've only perused the pattern once and love the mindless knitting this pattern affords. I know with EZ patters, it's all about unwavering faith as you blindly knit on...but sometimes I need to know before I get too far along, ya know?

The Most Excellent Wiki

2008-03-16T05:23:00.001-07:00

Here is the wiki which shows the jacket unassembled, gives some notes on striping, cuffs, casting on, etc.

hey you people!

2008-03-15T20:22:00.000-07:00

i've been literally sitting on my hands to stop myself from casting on since we agreed to start on monday... and you people are casting on already? when i had a school weekend this weekend and could have seriously dived into this thing?

i'm trying not to feel put out!

A note on decreasing

2008-03-15T17:47:00.000-07:00

I'm just pointing this out because I had to think about it.
To keep your marked stitch constant, knit to the stitch before the marked stitch. Slip that stitch, then knit the marked stitch and the one after it together, and pass the slipped stitch over. Transfer the stitch marker to the new stitch that's on the needle (the one that you just passed the ss over).

Well, I'm all cast-on!

2008-03-15T16:50:00.000-07:00

I realized, as I was digging through my yarn bag, that I have a full ball and a quarter of Morwenna's "Elements" on Uraguay single-ply! So that's going to be my main yarn, with lots of brights and browns thrown in. Because I LOVE stripes.
I'm doing a few different things this go-round.
First, I'm following the directions for cast-on this time, and made sure to do long-tail cast on. This is so you can knit up stitches to lengthen the sleeves, and you won't be able to detect the join at all.
Second, I'm placing markers every [K] stitches. This is mainly because I hate counting stitches, especially when I'm watching TV while knitting. So this way, I know I'm done with my decreases when I've eliminated the markers on either side of my decrease-mark stitch. Then, when I do my increases, I'll just keep adding in markers after I increase [K] stitches on either side of the marked stitch. Does that make sense? It'll be a hell of a lot easier than having to count hundreds of stitches every time, and the markers will coincide with the Key Number.
And now I'm going to try to catch up on LOST while I knit - abc.com has all the seasons up on their player right now!

Figuring out the math

2008-03-15T07:28:00.000-07:00

I thought it might be helpful to have a post for figuring the math on our pattern. It says to use a sweater and measure it's width. Well, first I need to decide on my needles, and then figure my gauge on those. I am thinking I will use 9s this time, but I usually use 8s, so yeah, I think I will do a gauge swatch.
Back to the measurement....it says that the [K] is 1/3 of the body width (not circumference). So when measuring the width of the sweater, is it just across the front (or back), and not all the way around? I am thinking it is all the way around, because it says "If the width is 18", 21" or 24", you are in luck" But I want to make sure.

The pattern has landed!

2008-03-13T11:14:00.000-07:00

I have it in my hot little hands and excited to start. I need to finalize a yarn choice first. I was going to use some rainbow yarn that I had messed up on, but maybe I would like to use up something else instead. Hmmm....

Some Photos of a Previously Completed Surprise Jacket

2008-03-13T10:54:00.000-07:00

I tried to post this in a comment but it didn't work.

I made this surprise jacket following the Baby pattern in the Opinionated Knitter, using Elsbeth Lavold cotton patine on size US 5s. the only modification I made was to cast on the increased number of stitches after the cuff shaping. I wanted to pick up and knit sleeves down from this point, but i haven't done that yet.

here it is on my son, 6 months old at the time:

it's little long for him, but fits well. the sleeve length is great for a crawling baby, the width since i left out shaping is a bit extreme.

here's the same sweater on my 4.5 year old:

the sleeves fit her well as short sleeves, and the sweater fits her as a close-fitting sweater that hits right at her natural waist. perfect for ballet class.

Question on Cuff Shaping?

2008-03-13T06:53:00.000-07:00

Is the cuff shaping necessary? It seems like some of the finished BSJs I have seen definitely appear to have straight unshaped sleeves. Any blogging on this topic is much appreciated.

So as soon as I saw this blog I immediately ripped out the three rows of the February Baby Sweater that had been languishing in the bottom of my project bag and used the same yarn to cast on a BSJ. I'm so excited!

Waiting impatiently......

2008-03-11T17:56:00.000-07:00

I am so eager to start this! But I don't even have my pattern yet. I am itching to knit something, so I cast on for a small soaker for one of my clients. She is a doula client, and is due the end of April. I am making a little soaker, and will make a matching pair of booties for her baby girl.
Tap, tap, tapping my foot......

Here's a better picture

2008-03-11T15:04:00.000-07:00

I am still learning how to photograph purples! I do think the Marr Haven is thicker than the Targhee. The yardage is 210 vs. the targhee at 230, and it does feel a little thicker to me. I do want something somewhat heavier than a sweater though. It's very chilly through May here--especially mornings and evenings, and I am also hoping it will still fit her in the Fall. I know some people don't like the 'work' that it takes to move it across the needles, but I don't mind it at all. If you use slippery needles like Addis, that helps...plus I think I just have strong hands from all the knitting and wringing out of yarn!

Blues and Purples

2008-03-10T18:09:00.000-07:00

Here's mine. Blues, purples, lavender, etc. on Marr Haven merino rambouillet. The idea was to dye some solid colors to go along--purple, blue, etc. I have 4 skeins of this, how many more do you guys think I'd need? It's 210 yards each... Is the Marr Haven going to be too thick though? I also did some targhee at the same time.

A variety of warmth

2008-03-10T17:00:00.001-07:00

This is the yarn I am planning on making Kyra's jacket out of. From left to right I have Zen String Sugar magnolia on Sutra, BFL of mine dyed by Morwenna, and then Zen String Dahlia, again on Sutra. The Sutra and BFL are similar in feel and weight. The brown in back is Cascade 220 in Camel, because I think I may like some solid in the jacket. All of the yarn was hanging around in my stash, so this is a good opportunity to use it up. I haven't decided whether I am going to make it on 8s or 9s.

Maylayan Orchid

2008-03-09T07:47:00.000-07:00

Here's my yarn. 2ply Targhee dyed by Morwenna. I have 690 yards of it. I also have 230 yards of Chocolate. some of the browns in that appear in the Maylayan Orchid, and it coordinates nicely. I'm thinking I might need one skein of natural, too. Garter sure uses a lot of yarn.

Not sure what to do here, off to check Ravelry for yardages used.

Morwenna says...

2008-03-08T17:48:00.003-08:00

"What yarn are you all using? I was considering Marr Haven or Targhee--I actually like how the Marr Haven dyes better, but it is a tad bit thicker than targhee. I was thinking of doing purple, lavender, blue, etc on one yarn, then solids of some of those colors. Think that would look good? My almost 9yo is such a Purple Girl."

(this was morwenna's comment to my welcome, i gave it it's own post.)

Welcome!

2008-03-08T13:04:00.001-08:00

We're planning to kick off March 17, but you can join whenever you want and knit whenever you want! Email kal.mj at curlypurly dot com if you want to join us!