Baby Surprise!

No, there isn’t another baby coming here. (The thought makes me want to faint!) I’ve knit another Baby Surprise Jacket, the classic pattern by knitting genius Elizabeth Zimmermann.

Here it is off the needles:

A big blog of a thing

A big blog of a thing

And after a fold and seaming the shoulders, here is the finished jacket:

A sweet little baby sweater

A sweet little baby sweater

Amazing, isn’t it? The style might not be to everyone’s taste, but the pattern is such genius. I honestly think that every knitter should make at least one, just to experience the crazy things you can do with knitting.

The yarn is Araucania Ulmo Multi in the enchantingly named colourway 709. It took about 320 yards, and I figure it is about a 6-9 month size, possibly bigger. I did the increases as yo,k1,yo just to be different. And the buttons are “Counting Sheep” from Dress It Up.

Buttons, garter stitch, and yarn over holes.

Buttons, garter stitch, and yarn over holes.

The pattern itself is available in several places. You can order the ABC Surprise Jacket (adult, baby, child) pattern directly from Schoolhouse Press for US$12+shipping (in my opinion this is the best version of the pattern since it has line by line directions rather than the “pithy” directions in the other sources). The pattern for just the baby version can be found in the books Opinionated Knitter and The Knitter’s Almanac, among other places.

Now that I’ve knit the Baby Surprise Jacket twice, I’m not sure I would knit it again. It is really cool to turn a knitted blob into a little sweater, but the miles of garter stitch are just plain boring! 😉

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5 Responses to Baby Surprise!

  1. Autumn says:

    Those buttons are adorable! What with my newfound knitting confidence totally attributable to socks, I want to knit a BSJ in a toddler size for Owlet. I find the construction fascinating.

  2. Very sweet and I just love the sheepy buttons.

  3. Genevieve says:

    I love the little buttons and I think I’ll try that pattern next time I need a baby sweater, looks interesting,

  4. Darlene says:

    Oh I love how the sweater turned out. I really need to get that pattern.

  5. Anna says:

    I’ve always wanted to knit one, but I’m too cheap to buy a book for just one (knitting) pattern.