A little vest for Baby C

I love any excuse to play with my button collection so when I finished this little vest for Baby C I reached for the button jar to look for some buttons for the shoulder seam.



For once I was able to find buttons which were just right. Usually when I look for buttons to finish a project, either I don't have enough of the same sort or they are not the right colour and then I have to visit the shops to buy yet more buttons.



Having found the buttons, it was time to block the vest. Back in the day when I learnt to knit I had never heard of blocking and when I finished a garment I used to iron/press it. (Do I hear cries of shock and horror?) Now, thanks to reading knitting blogs I know better and block all my knitting projects which gives them a much better finish. Ironing simply flattens all the stitches. In case there is anyone who doesn't know what blocking is (and I think I am probably the last knitter alive who didn't know), it involves pinning the garment to a flat surface while shaping it and then spraying it with water (lots of water). Leave it to dry and the end result is a beautifully smooth garment which looks as if it has been pressed but all the stitches have remained plump and don't look flattened.

As you can see below, the two top pictures are pre-blocking and the bottom picture is post-blocking. See how much flatter the neck sits and the whole garment has a much smoother look. I was concerned that the armholes were a little small so I stretched them slightly while pinning them down and now they look much better.

 

To finish the vest, I added a row of cross-stitches around the neck and armholes. I am not sure that these add anything to the vest, but will let mum Melissa be the final arbiter on this. If she doesn't like them they will be easy to remove. Now I think he needs a new shirt to go under the vest.



The pattern came from a Rowan book for children and the recommended yarn was a Rowan Purelife Organic Cotton. However, I believe both the book and the yarn have now been discontinued. I used a yarn which was 80% bamboo and 20% wool and I was very pleased with the result.