Baby Surprise Jacket

Project details (on ravelry)Pattern: Baby Surprise Jacket by Elizabeth Zimmermann (from The Opinionated Knitter)Size: baby sizedYarn: Red Heart Ltd. Super Saver Multi (0984 Sh. Dusk), 1.5 skeins (~360 yards)Needles: US 8 (5mm) bamboo 24" circularsButtons: Planes, Trains, AutomobilesTotal cost: $4.25 (yarn) + $1.80 (buttons) = $6.05Start date: 03 Aug 2008Finish date: 14 Aug 2008This was a fun project. My sister is expecting a boy sometime this week or next, so I thought I'd knit something up for him. I'd seen this pattern knit up elsewhere and liked the idea behind it. Elizabeth Zimmermann designed this when she found out she was going to be a grandmother. It is knit in one single piece. It is entirely knit stitches (no purl at all) and gets its shape from decreases and increases. It is folded just so and the edges at the top of the arms are sewn together. It took some figuring out this time, but the next go around will be a lot easier. I know that I have said that I wouldn't ever use acrylic yarn, but I thought that it would be easier to clean and would survive at least as long as the child could physically wear it. I thought I would try a multicolor yarn, as well, to add some variation. I found it interesting how the colors would align in the piece. There are some spots where it looks solid, but others where every row alternates between shades. It is obvious in the photo above as well as in this detail of the collar.I want to try this again, but with different yarn and at different sizes. The circular needles I was using were really short. A length of even 8 more inches (32") would have been better as the stitches were really tight together on the needles. There are other projects in The Opinionated Knitter that I'm going to do first, but we're thinking of doing these for my sister's other boys for Christmas.