A Finish! Baby Kimono for Niece

June 11, 2009January 30, 2012 KateLeave a comment

So, I’ve finished the world’s most beautiful baby kimono for the world’s most beautiful niece-to-be. See the baby kimono in a less symmetrical state here. Like Brooke’s kimono, I finished this one with a single crochet edging–this time in heather Suss Love (a kind of light gray-green). This yarn is amazingly soft, perfect for baby clothes.

Sorry for the murky photo. Here’s a close-up of the crochet edging:

Here’s a slightly more detailed close-up of the button closure:

The pearlized plastic buttons are just flowery enough to suggest femininity without being too girly. They also go really well with the neutral colors. I think my brother and SIL will love it.

What’s next, Auntie Kate?

Update 01/25/11: Sadly, Suss Love yarn has now been discontinued.

WIP: Baby Kimono for Niece

May 23, 2009May 6, 2011 KateLeave a comment

Ever since I found out this past February that I’m going to be an aunt, all I can think about is what I’m going to make for the little tyke. OK, yeah, yeah, I hope the baby’s healthy and all that… And, yeah, I hope my sister-in-law has a healthy and relatively uneventful pregnancy… But the real questions are: what to knit? what to stitch?

I’m particularly excited since this is my first outing as an aunt, and, since I’m the family spinster and I have only one sibling (brother Bill), I’m not likely to have a lot of children in my life to shower with painstakingly crafted handmade gifts. We found out recently that the baby’s going to be a little girl due at the end of September/early October. My SIL put it perfectly: “I can’t wait to meet her!”

To the left, we have the latest WIP: “Baby Kimono” by Kristin Spurkland from the Summer 2005 Interweave Knits “Baby Gifts” section (the pattern is also available for free from Knitting Daily). Although I don’t usually like to repeat patterns, you can see another version I made for my cousin’s baby here.

The yarn I used is ivory Suss Love, an incredibly soft 100% tactel nylon yarn that feels like cashmere (I swear!) but is washable. The pattern is worked all in one piece and I only have two halves of the two sleeves left to work. The pink stitch holder is holding the stitches for the right sleeve and my circular needles (Size 4, if you’re curious, and Size 4 if you’re not) are holding the stitches for the left. Since the entire piece is worked in garter stitch, the safety pin is marking the “wrong side” (the inside of the garment).

Update 01/25/11: Sadly, Suss Love has now been discontinued.

A Kimono Jacket for Brooke

June 13, 2007September 27, 2014 KateLeave a comment

As a follow-up to my previous posts about catching up on knitting for the family, I present these slightly murky photos of the kimono jacket I made for my new first-cousin-once-removed, Brooke Ellen Same-Last-Name-as-Yours-Truly. She was born last December 28th, but last weekend’s wedding was the first chance I got to see her father since her birth so I gave it to him then. Here’s a super-cute picture of my cousin, his son, and Brooke when she was just born.

Pardon the poor quality of the photos. I took them on my cell phone while propping up the jacket on a suitcase in the back of my car.

I used ivory Suss Cotton for the main color and trimmed it with a single crochet edging in willow Suss Cotton. I love sage green for baby clothes. The original Kristin Spurkland pattern, from the Summer 2005 Interweave Knits “Baby Gifts” section, didn’t call for any edging, but I really think it adds the perfect finish. Here’s a detailed look at the matching sage green ribbon closure:

The ribbon is a simple grosgrain with an ivory dashed stripe woven through the middle. This was a very simple pattern to follow (all garter stitch and all in one piece!) with very little seaming. Highly recommended for those of us knitters who dislike sewing.

Update, June 2009: an online version of “Baby Kimono” by Kristin Spurkland is available through Knitting Daily as part of their “7 Free Baby Knitting Patterns.”