Scary Presents

I made a baby cardigan for Ben and Carol’s second baby last week. Baby number one got a cardigan and two vests, so I feel a bit mean only making a single item for baby number two.

Unfortunately, by the time I discovered the date that baby two was to arrive, I only had four knitting days to come up with a knitted gift. I needed something quick.I decided to buy a new pattern

Most of the baby clothes patterns I have use 4ply yarn, and with only four weekdays to produce a garment, I knew it wouldn’t happen in time if I used 4ply.

I’d heard good things about patterns from Tot Toppers and decided to give one of them a try. I selected the Henry Cardigan. What appealed to me was the fact it used 10ply yarn (American “worsted weight”) and that it was a basic top-down raglan. What could be quicker?

Now all I had to do was select some yarn.

I’d been checking out Schoppel Wolle Reggae Ombre 10ply at the yarn shop and this was the perfect opportunity to try it. At $14.50 per ball it was a bit too pricey to make an adult garment, but I was happy to pay for the two balls needed for the Henry Cardigan.

 

The colours were so bright and warm, and the yarn is incredibly plush and squishy. I was convinced it would look great. Even the bright blue and yellow in the yarn looked great against the red and green when I bought it. It just looked so bright and cheerful.

And this is the result.

I honestly don’t know if I like it that much.

Ben seemed really happy with it, but all I could see were the frustrations I had when knitting it.

The pattern wasn’t great. Little things that make a pattern clear were missing. There were no page numbers on what ended up being a 4 page pattern due to a lot of huge pictures that were pretty but not useful as construction guides. Also, there was no mention of the necessary stitch holder in the list of requirements – just slightly odd instructions about putting stitches “to hold” (rather than on stitch-holder).

There was no explanation of the increases that should be used to replicate the garmnet in the pictures. Just “left increase” and “right increase”. I ended up using a lifted increase which did the job in the end, but it frustrated me to have to try several variations because the pattern didn’t give any guidance.

Also the pockets and sleeves just didn’t seem to work. The pockets were gaping and baggy and the sleeves tapered weirdly. Given that babies have arms like sausages, I’m not sure that tapering down to a cuff is needed.

Overall I’d say the pattern was ok. The skill level needed to complete it isn’t that high, but I think a beginner would struggle with lack of direction. It wasn’t terrible but I wouldn’t recommend it particularly.

As for the yarn -,it was lovely to knit with. It’s plush and soft and smooth – but the colours look a lot more jarring once knitted up than they did on the ball. I’d like to use the yarn again, just in a different colour.

I’m really conflicted about this tiny cardigan. The parents of the recipient thought it was great – but I was kind of underwhelmed with the result.

Have you ever made something as a gift and not been entirely pleased with it – but still given it anyway? Is it enough that the recipient likes it – or should the maker like it as well?