This is the project I have had on needles since November. I am using 3ply sapphire blue cashmere that was lightly twisted for me. In the future I think I might stick to tighter twisted yarn for lace sweaters but overall I’m not unhappy with the yarn. It’s so soft and half the price of other cashmere out there on the retail market.

I have about halfway done. I stopped to knit three x-mas pressies and all the baby items you have seen here. Everything has been pretty clear. I noticed the diamond stitch pattern was typed wrong in the pattern but earlier in my pattern book it gives stitch patterns again. The pattern is knit from bottom back up through the body, over shoulders and back down the front all in one piece! When done I will only have two seams to finished and then I have to pick up stitches for the collar and sleeve edges. A funny thing about this pattern so far is that the neck area has no selvedge, it’s just raw lace edges. I did not put any in because to take out a full pattern repeat would take up allot of the small area the sleeve is knit on. I hope the pick up stitches of the collar will work out well with this area. I guess this is the problems a new knitter has. I just try to be gutsy, use my sense of logic and knit away! Being scared of your knitting only leaves it on needles longer than need be.

This bonnet is part of a matching set that goes with a baby cardigan. Comming out of the same 1941 Monarch magazine as the booties done earlier this month, they match pretty well. Bonnet ties closed with silk ribbon. Though I am no expert at ribbon work, I basically learned how to tie ribbon like this from vintage “Ribbon Art” magazines. There is reproduction book on this subject called Old-Fashioned Ribbon Art . I reccomend them highly to learn how to accent vintage garments with ribbon and lace.

Yarn Used: 3 ply pink 100% cashmere hand twisted from 1 ply cashmere from ColormartUK for me. Bonnet took roughly a little less than one 50g ball of cashmere.

Gauge & Needle Size: 8 stitches per inch on size 2 needles.

Time Spent Knitting: I believe this took about a week working off and on mostly evenings during the busy holiday season.

New Skills Learned: I had never made a scalloped edge on a knit item before. I love it so much. It is such a delicate accent. Basically it is just a row of yo holes. Then you fold and seam across that line of yo holes. Bonnet was done on two needles then seamed up the back. From the shape of the bonnet before seaming, I had no idea what I would get as a finished project. Every new item I make I learn more and more about how garments are constructed.

Frusterations or changes / clarification made to pattern: Decreases again were done on the exact edge of a row. I did a perfect job of seaming though. That decrease edge is one of the spiral decreases at the back crown of the bonnet.

Though I am still young and am waiting to have a baby for a while, I am still hopelessly attracted to cute little vintage baby items. (Yes, call me crazy) The nostalgic feeling these little clothes give is so cozy. I rationalize that I will have more time now to knit these things up then years down the road when pregnant. When I found endlessly wonderful baby knits in a 1941 Monarch baby pattern magazine, how could I resist? I also have a penchant for luxury. Cashmere gives these vintage baby clothes heirloom quality, liable to be passed down through generations. (Well, I can hope at least!) I trimmed this off with cream colored silk ribbon that I bought spools of once. I sewed a zig zag stitch on the edge to give it some accent color. I have quite the ribbon fetish lately thinking of all the ways it can accent knit garments.

Yarn Used: 3 ply pink 100% cashmere hand twisted from 1 ply cashmere from ColormartUK for me. Booties took roughly a little less than one 50g ball of cashmere.

Gauge & Needle Size: 8 stitches per inch on size 2 needles.

Time Spent Knitting: Each bootie took a day. I roughly estimate about 5 hours each.

New Skills Learned: I have never made a sock or bootie ever. This was a great introduction. Bootie is knit on two needles. You basically knit down to the ankle, turn work knitting back and forth in the center of the bootie. This turned area becomes the top part of the foot. You then pick up stitches along the sides of this long middle part working down the sides of the foot. When done you seam down the back.

Frusterations or changes / clarification made to pattern: I acutally had no big problems with this pattern. I do wish the decreases made in the heal were not done at the very edge of the row. This made seaming a little more frusterating. Perhaps my next bootie project I can modify this area in the pattern.