5 Hours? Try 9
I've known about the 5-Hour Baby Sweater pattern for years. I've never tried to knit it. The knitting teacher at the Stitches From The Heart Store, Nancy, has knit hundreds of these sweaters for babies in hospitals. Everytime I walk into the shop, Nancy is knitting one of these sweaters with donated yarn, unless she's helping a student with a stitch or pattern. Nancy has added some fancy twists, turns and bobbles to the basic pattern.
I finally decided to see if I could knit this little baby sweater in five hours, just like the pattern boasts. It took me about 9 hours, size 10 needles, 1 skein (220 yards) of Ella Rae Classic Wool, #108 in a pea green color. All I need to do is block it and add buttons.
I really like how the yoke is increased and has a semi-circle look to it. I'm sure we could modify this pattern for a woman's size sweater. I've seen so many patterns lately for top-down sweaters. Have you seen one that mimics this circular yoke?
Labels: yarny stuff
posted by Ellen Bloom @ 12:13 PM
14 Comments:
Duuuuuuuude. This was my first pattern when I started knitting (although, for some reason, I remember the yoke being more holely). It took me, like, nine WEEKS to finish!
Hi Ellen,
I've made this pattern many times. You'll get your time down to 5 hours after you memorize the pattern. It's the perfect baby gift because it doesn't take that long to knit, you can use any type of yarn, also you can size it up or down just by changing the size of your needles.
The green color you used looks great. This could be for either a boy or a girl. Congrads!
Judy
Bakersfield
I have made this pattern with Michaels "beautiful" yarn with size 10 needles- it ended up fitting a six year old.
Can you indicate your gauge,
and the width of the sweater?
I may try the pattern again.
Anne
Hi Anne,
My gauge: 4 sts. per inch; 6 rows per inch. The width of the sweater, about one inch below the yoke is 11 inches across, or 22 inches around.
I'm hoping this will fit a 6-month old. I'll let you know.
Ellen B.
Hmmm. I've been contemplating what my First Ever Sweater should be, and now I have another choice.
Ellen, I'm just amazed that you switch between crochet and knitting like it's no big thing!
I've never knit it, nor do I have any ideas about an adult version. Just want to say it looks beautiful!
Super cute! Love it. I think I'll take a shot at it in a few weeks when I finish up my current knitting to do list.
It's darling. May have to hunt up a baby who needs a sweater and make one! I love the markers as fasteners - they look like diaper pins, and it is really silly and cute. But if you have to add buttons, that will undoubtedly look great too! :-)
I love making this sweater! Yours looks great!
I recall this pattern being made top down with increases at the yoke.
I have better luck knitting from the bottom up- using E. Z.'s pattern.
Because I knit loose- I use alpaca fingerwieght on #4 needles in garter stitch.
If you can conjure up an adult pattern I would definitely try it- because I always wanted to knit one for myself!
Anne
Adorable!
ellen,
i have an adult version of this that is super cute. i could bring you a copy to weho snb this week, if you want. :)
karyn
www.knitting101.blogspot.com
I love this pattern too. I especially love the variety of colors being used to knit them. It looks beautiful in pea green, very classic. Reading around the net, it seems this pattern has quite a history among knitters. Most knitters seem to have received a handwritten, typewriter written or a photocopy of the pattern from someone who had been making this sweater for years and who had received a copy of it in a similar way. Like my Mom, who received a typwritten copy of this pattern in the 1970s from a co-worker. My Mom has been knitting these sweaters ever since. I made a few in the 1980s. And at some point in the late 1980s, while looking through the tons of old pattern books that my Mom has from the 1960s, I came across this pattern and it included patterns for a matching bonnet, booties and overalls. I immediately made 2 pairs of overalls. One in apple green for my cousin's baby and one in teddy bear gold. They were adorable. As a matter of fact I made the gold pair to put away for my future children, but I gave them to a friend to who I showed them. She begged for them and she had a baby and I had no immediate plans for one, so. . . I never got around to making a pair or two for my own kids. Boo hoo! And now that I have the time to knit more, of course, I can't find the pattern. I discovered my Mom is missing some of her knitting books from the 1960s. She still has about 3/4 of a ton of 1960s knitting books, just not the one with this pattern. Anyway love your sweater! *:)
Love the sweater, its going to be my next project. Would love to have the adult pattern, have looked for it on the internet, but can't find one like the baby sweater. I knit and crochet love them both.
Barb
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