Time-Warp Tuesday

There are a thousand things I could be blogging about (and a thousand other things I SHOULD be doing, particularly as I may be having a baby any day now), but so very few of them have pictures available, so I've decided to start a new segment just for Tuesdays - looking back in time at projects that haven't been blogged about yet.

For instance, the Eleanor Baby Romper:

It was a test-knit for Kate Boswick (she's on Ravelry).  The romper is knitted entirely in one piece from the top down - no seams!  There are, however, lots of buttons.

                                                     

So many buttons . . .   This is adorable, but entirely impractical when trying to dress the squirming one-year-old.  I am now given to understand that there is a product known as 'snap tape' that vastly simplifies applying multiple closures - instead of trying to line up and sew on, say 12 buttons or 24 snap halves, you just sew on two strips of tape with the snaps already attached, and then if you're so inclined, you can sew on a bushel of buttons over it.  I found out about it here.

More buttons up top:

I had Peter Rabbit buttons that I desperately wanted to use on something.

The yarn is Cascade 220 superwash sport, which is lovely and soft and washable, but at the loose gauge this is knit in, pilled up horrendously with one wearing as the small child scooted across the carpet.

(Yes, this is kind of an excuse to post lots of pictures of my son.  That's what you're here to see anyway, isn't it?)

So if I were to make this again, I would probably substitute a heavier yarn worked at the same gauge or a sturdier sport-weight.  I should mention that the Cascade 220 sport works up fine in a tighter gauge - Silas' mittens are holding up great so far.  Other mods I would make would be to lengthen the legs a bit and possibly shorten the arms, and add some short-rows to the bottom - there wasn't much wiggle room for the diaper.  And definitely snaps on the bottom instead of buttons.

                                                           

Love the cables running down the arms and the body to the legs - hard to see in these pictures.  I finished the romper right at the designer's deadline, so Ryan ended up taking the pictures at nine o'clock at night.  Cranky baby up two hours past his bedtime + terrible indoor lighting = not the greatest pics in the world, but we managed.  Now the romper is tucked away for the next baby (due in two weeks!), for those nights when I absolutely must dress him in a warm, snuggly handknit.  Ryan flatly refuses to deal with all those buttons.

I should knit more for my little men, but the time commitment required compared to the relatively short length of time that they remain the right size to wear it is daunting.  Making things as test-knits gives me the extra impetus that I need, as well as inspiring me to finish things quickly enough that they can wear them before they outgrow them.

If you're interested in test-knitting (or -crocheting), there are at least two groups on Ravelry that are always recruiting.