The 12 Baby Jumpers of 2018

I don't know about you, my fellow knitters, but I have a lovely collection of one or two balls of DK yarns in my collection and think now is a perfect time for enjoying a colour exercise.

I decided on a 3 month old size, raglan jumper, with stripes as the perfect opportunity to play with colour. I remember my babies growing out of the first side very quickly and having many nearly new clothes to share with other new moms of my acquaintance. The bigger size also works for the cooler weather. They are 18 inches around and 10 inches in length.

Previously I knit 12 hats to colour play. This time the project is grandly titled as above, (imagine the sound of trumpets) "The 12 DK Baby Jumpers of 2018". If I needed additional motivation there is also the fact that many new babies arrive in our neighbourhood this summer.

It fascinates me how the moms to be know if they are having a "boy or a child" as my mother used to say. It makes for a completely different kind of anticipation on the part of the family. I noticed too, the little ones on the way are mostly boys.

There are tons of super cute patterns for little girls, especially from Sirdar, but not so much for little boys. One of the many reasons I like Sandnes yarns and patterns from Norway is their gender equality

For my first 3 attempts I used Cascade Cherub, a yarn optimistically rated as a DK.  I found one of white and 3 others in a sort of bottle green. I achieved a tension of 24 stitches to 4 inches.

I added Marks and Kattens Clown sock yarn. A lively variegated, speckled mix of 40% wool, 45%cotton and 15% nylon and measuring 190 meters per 50 grams.

The front and back have no neck shaping at all and are finished with a roll collar cast off in a very stretchy way, in order to avoid adding a button opening. We used to call this style "a bagel collar" back in the 80's.

Even after making 3 jumpers I still have 12 grams remaining. By my calculation therefore:
190 meters divided by 50 grams = 3.8 meters per gram.
50 grams minus 12.8 = 37.2 grams to make the stripes in 3 jumpers.
so each jumper used: 37.2 divided by 3 = 12.4 grams of yarn per jumper or
12.4 grams times 3.8 meters = 47.12 meters per jumper
so... I have sufficient Clown sock yarn left to make another jumper... pretty exciting news should I choose to make another jumper with the remainder, leading me to ask:
How many grams or meters of yarn are left after a knitter makes a typical pair of ladies size 9 socks out of the also typical 100 gram ball?

A Sweet Beach Bag Companion.

Funny Rainbow is another warm weather offering by Katia of sunny Spain. It comes as a substantial roll of yarn in soft colours, mixing tweed and shade change, with generous mileage.

A tweedy, colour repeat, all cotton yarn, Funny Rainbow has 630 meters/150 grams per roll. Doing the math means there are a stunning 210 meters per 50 grams, ample material to make a summer top or accessory. So one roll could equal almost 6 balls of cotton DK going by the meters.

There is a full colour leaflet accompanying the yarn featuring 3 designs, 2 knit and 1 crochet. All patterns are explained in 6 languages. Clear diagrams are also included for all designs, so for example, this making up diagram, clearly shows dimensions as well as how to fold and sew the crochet  shawl to create sleeves, quite ingenious.

Kim worked the crochet design, making it more airy by putting the shells in the chain space. She found it quite enjoyable, telling me she doesn't really crochet. I rather think she did a wonderful job.

I especially like it when there is a diagram of the stitch pattern, which I find is a more universally understood language, especially in crochet. There is often an opportunity for confusion between American and British terminology. The Katia company provides a tutorial for us, to clear up any mystery in this regard.

The shells in my samples are worked into the top of one of the (double) crochet stitches. First I tried some linen yarn.

Then some cotton yarn, and although it looks ok, I think Funny Rainbow makes a more interesting and pleasing fabric. The alternating shells form an zig-zag appearance that gives the softly changing yarn colours the right amount of structure and flow.

I also made this sample in some Bravo DK. Here the motion of the shells is unclear because of the  definite colour changes and furry texture of the acrylic yarn. It certainly is not as lacy.

One of my most favourite strategies in crochet is to make the beginning chain to the desired measurement plus about 15 cm more. Then I work the first row, stopping when I have achieved the desired width. I work away on the project, returning to the beginning chain once everything is going smoothly to unpick the surplus chain stitches. I learned this tip from the book "Modular Crochet" by Judith Copeland back in 1978. I am so happy to find it once again in print through Dover editions.