STOP TEASING. OK, I WILL.

For the last few months I've been showing teasing shots of a selection of things that were being done for a wonderful friend's impending launch into motherhood. I've not shown the full finished pieces, because I wanted to wait till Cari had received her parcel and had seen it first, and not on the internet. But now I can - Cari's cybershower should be in full swing, the parcel has landed, and the goods can now be shown and described. I've had some wonderful, wonderful feedback from people about the clothes - those who have seen the pieces in real life, and those who have seen what's on Cari's blog, and I feel for once that I need to properly explain where each piece comes from and how it was made. I know I don't do that enough, and I'm going to try harder to explain things.

I'm really proud of this set - It is sewed beautifully (am I allowed to say that of my own work?), using gorgeous materials, and the sweater is something I essentially made up as I went, and as my first foray into custom knitting, I'm very excited about the finished product.

Let's start with the jumper. I wanted to do something stripey, and I wanted to use wool I had in my stash already. I had some Blue Sky Alpaca/silk in a grey and very light blue that I've been wanting to combine for ages, so based the sweater around that. 3/4 of the way through the second sleeve, I ran out of that wool, having already added another wool to the mix to lengthened it out, and without a nice convenient stockist near me, hunted through the stash for something which would work. A nice ball of Eki Riva Baby Alpaca 4ply had my name on it. I ran out of wool again, but knew I could get more, so continued with that selection for the arms. (actually I worked my way through quite a number of possibilities, none of which looked right, until I eventually found the Eki Riva which I knew I had in a box, but couldn't for the life of me find despite upturning every box numerous times). The wool is used double to try and match the thickness of the Blue Sky. It doesn't, it's actually much thicker and tighter, but works nicely as a thickness contrast. The whole thing was knit on 2.5mm Addi circulars. It took a long time - way longer than I would normally spend on a baby sweater, but heck, it's worth it and I loved knitting it....The pattern is based very, very loosely on a raglan cardigan pattern in Erika Knight's Simple Knits For Cherished Babies. I amended stitch counts etc to make it a sweater instead, and changed the neck ribbing. I also got scared the neck opening wouldn't be big enough (I've made that mistake before) so made buttonholes down the left hand shoulder seam with additional ribbing. 2 buttons are fixed in place, and the other 3 are working buttons.

Now let's talk about the clothes. This is another set the same as I did back over New Years - same pattern from one of my japanese craft books (there's photos and links to a few relevant things in this post in this link including the pattern book). The kimono top is cotton, and an Aranzi Aranzo printed fabric (by the way, the service and friendliness of these people is excellent). I love these fabrics, and having bought a load last year, I've been waiting for the perfect moment to use them. Cari's baby and my own baby will be decked out in them. I french seamed each seam except the armholes - how I love french seams. Such a simple, neat finish, and I've said this before, but the perfect seam for baby clothes. 2 dark grey pearlised buttons on a ribbon loop hold it together, along with a ribbon tie inside. The pants just tickle me whenever I make them. They're gorgeous. A great antithesis to rugged 'skate' clothes in the shops. The material is top quality wool suiting with a hint of lycra in it from Tessuti's. It's soft, and stretchy, and should hold up to great wear. The little blue pinstripe works well with the other blues. The elastic in the legs can be taken out and it becomes a little pair of trousers if the idea of bloomers and bonnets doesn't fit.

The pattern for these is incredibly put together. There's simple patterns, and then there's simple patterns which just come together well and hold their shape and have had thought put into them - the cut is just right, the process of putting them together is just right. Having just finished another top (completely different pattern) that was 'simple' I can say it was the worst pattern for a top I've ever followed and rough - I'd have to modify it to make it neat and elegant (I'm talking about the Burda pyjama pattern now - the bottoms are the best bottom pattern ever, but the top - nahhh. Needs more work). Every moment of making these Kimono tops up has been joy - and perhaps that is because they are so tiny and small and elegant in their own right. I am itching to make my own baby these clothes - I already have piles (oh stop with the piles would you!!) of combinations, and special white fabrics picked out (it's a summer baby) and coordinating wools for jumpers......

Comments

[Norma]

It's all just wonderful, Alison!

[carole]

Wow, really gorgeous work, all of it!! I wish I'd had such a crafty friend when my wee ones were born!

[vegasandvenice]

Oh so completely wonderful! You are definitely allowed to say that it is beautifully sewn!!

[Jo]

Wow! I am impressed. The jumper story had me laughing with running out and doubling up - done that myself. And that little kimono top in that fabric - gorgeous. I have noticed that somehow manufacturers think the skater look is appropriate for a new born. I have an idea for your next baby project - matching mother/child outfits so that you can both go out together to something like, hmmm, I know, the Logies. Only saw the pictures in the paper of the not so smart Hewitt family, but oh my!

[Robyn]

Yes, you're allowed to say your own stuff is lovely. I mean what better compliment than to receive something from someone who would want it themselves. (Wait, does that make sense? I hope so. :0))
Anyways, I, too, think the sweater and jumper are lovely works of craftmanship.
I hope you are doing well. Piles are good things, in my opinion. There's semi-organization involved. Also, sometimes I click on a link in one of your posts, but the link is dead, as was the case today with Cari's link. Maybe there's something wrong with my internet connection?
Okay, sorry long post. Hope you have a good day.

[kaarin]

Your fantastic work has given me a sudden desire to become a seamstress! :-) Love how it appears simple and beautiful. Good work!

[joyce]

just beautiful Alison!

[joleen]

good job! you SHOULD be proud of yourself!

[Julia]

Oh, that sweater! And the shirt! TOO CUTE!

[erin scissorhands]

wow! those clothes are ADORABLE! i love that dear little sweater with the buttons! everything looks great.

[eireann]

So, so lovely. You've got great style.

[hillary]

gorgeous!

[tracy]

absolutely gorgeous work!! all lovely...

[logtar]

That is a wonderful blogger gesture!

[sarah]

quite simply divine can't wait to see what you come up with for petite 6.5...

[karen.b]

Absolutely gorgeous alison ! cari's baby is a lucky boy :o)
have a wonderful Mom's Day !

[larissa]

Super lovely. Gorgeous. Ever since I saw those pants you made a while ago, I've been dreaming of these for Binx. He's getting almost too big to wear them, and I'm going to try to wing the pattern using a slightly different one I have. They are so inspiring. And the sweater you made is delicious, and quite an accomplishment.

[molly]

those outfits are beautiful. I love classic baby clothes like these. such a good idea to add the buttons to the sweater--putting them over the head of a babe can be very difficult. Everything looks wonderful. I can't wait to see the other things you make for your baby. Where is the kimono pattern from?

[Meg]

Simply gorgeous.

[eleanor]

Hi, just discovered your blog, so haven't read much yet, but so far, v.v. stylish. Will definitely read more. I followed link to Japanese pattern book, and it took me to Japanese Amazon, funnily enough all in Japanese! Do you have the translated title and authors?? I'm REALLY keen to get hold of a copy. Thanks!

[anjo]

That is the most gorgeous bebe set ever! I am such a fan of your blog/your craftiness. Very inspiring (thanks!).