Saturday, April 28, 2007

EZ Baby Surprise Jacket

I've spent the past week working on an Elizabeth Zimmermann Baby Surprise Jacket, for a cousin's baby shower. I knit like a maniac for days because I couldn't wait to see how this ingenious design was going to work. The sweater is knit entirely in garter stitch, in one flat piece. The finished knitting looks like this:


A little bit of folding, and it starts to look like a garment:



Fold a bit more, sew up the shoulder seams, and you get this adorable sweater:



I'll definitely be making more of these.

Pattern: Babies Garter-Stitch Surprise Jacket, from Elizabeth Zimmermann's Knitting Workshop.
Yarn: Socks that Rock heavyweight superwash merino in the Barney Rubble colorway, 7 oz/350 yds. The sweater used all but a few yards of the skein. This yarn was a great choice for a baby garment -- beautiful colors, very soft, and machine washable.
Gauge: 5 sts per inch on size 6 needles.
Modifications: My only variation was using a slightly heavier yarn than the pattern called for, 5 sts per inch instead of 6. This first time around, I couldn't envision the finished product enough to even think about changing it. Next time, though, I think I'll put the buttonholes one ridge closer to the edge of the jacket.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

That's so cute! I love the color you chose.

Kessa said...

Oh, how cute! Great colors!

Unknown said...

that's adorable! i've heard of that sweater before, but this is the first time i've actually seen it.

Sarah Ditum said...

It's a real "ah!" moment when you show how the baby surprise jacket takes shape when you fold it - now I finally understand the name. It's a gorgeous finished product too. I love the way the variegated yarn works with the jacket's structure.

Anonymous said...

I love this little jacket! I was looking around online for samples and just love yours! I may have to make this my next project.