Debbie Bliss jacket with moss stitch band knitted in Sublime Baby Cashmere Merino Silk (Silver)
Little Xanthe was born early Thursday morning and took us all by surprise for being a girl. (The nurse operating a recent scan had suggested mother and father look away at a certain point if they didn’t want to know the sex of the baby, and well, after that we all assumed one thing… ) But what a delightful surprise! As yet little Xanthe is very contented and peaceful, so fingers crossed this sweet disposition will continue.
Debbie Bliss jacket with moss stitch band knitted in Sublime Baby Cashmere Merino Silk (Silver)
Nothing is more chic than a little unstructured Chanel jacket with patterned banding around neck, hem and cuffs, even if you are only a matter of hours old. After my recent passion for coloured knitting and Fair Isle patterning, handling the shawls shown in the previous post reminded me I hadn’t made this new little baby anything even vaguely whitish and when I saw the Debbie Bliss pattern for this simple classic jacket I was hooked. The moss stitch borders in particular attracted me and I enjoyed the way the front band segued into the neck edge.
Debbie Bliss jacket with moss stitch band knitted in Sublime Baby Cashmere Merino Silk (Silver)
It was a very satisfying piece of knitting, although a couple of aspects of the pattern made me stop and chew on my needle. After knitting the moss stitch band, the cuffs looked much too narrow, so I undid what I’d done and cast on again with an additional 5 stitches. Even now, with the garment finished I still think the cuffs look too tight and should I make the jacket again I would add a further 5 stitches at least (10 or more in total). You can always roll the cuffs up a bit if they’re a bit roomy. I was also not very keen on the tiny buttonholes, which take a bit of scrutiny to find. I’m not sure Xanthe’s dad will work out where they are as the requisite two stitches knitted together followed by yarn forward scarcely causes a visible hiccough in the pattern. Does anyone have any favourite way of making buttonholes?
Debbie Bliss jacket with moss stitch band knitted in Sublime Baby Cashmere Merino Silk (Silver)
The pattern called for DB’s baby cashmerino but I as I had her Sublime Baby Cashmere Merino silk I wanted to use, I did a tension square and was pleased that it knitted up as required. It is a lovely yarn – 75% extra fine merino wool, 20% silk and 5% cashmere and a joy to knit with. Although a bit more expensive – I think I paid about £6.25 a ball in Loop – I only needed 2 balls.
Xanthe comes from the Greek for yellow. I did try yellow buttons on this little cardigan but the plain mother-of-pearl looked so much nicer. There’s only one thing to do – get the needles out and make another little jacket in primrose this time!
Xanthe (not quite a week old) in her new cardigan
16 Comments
Fingers crossed indeed that Xanthe keeps her sweet disposition. And definitely she needs a jacket in primrose yellow!
I’ve used Elizabeth Zimmerman’s afterthought buttonholes in the past, though admit that I try to make jumpers to avoid button bands.
Thanks for this Anne. I’ve just done a bit of a search to see how the afterthought buttonhole works and have tucked it away for future use. I feel I can’t avoid buttonholes as currently I have a bit of a thing for cardigans.
Good to know Xanthe arrived safely. I hope the sweet disposition continues. She will certainly be a stylish little girl!
Not quite a week old and still calm and serene, Xanthe even slept from 11pm until 6am two nights ago. (Haven’t checked in for today yet.)
Thank you for the nice things you say, Rachel.
Congratulations to all concerned!
Lovely to hear from you Joyce. Best wishes to you and the family.
When settled in Cheltenham we shall be more in touch.
Such a charming name! Congratulations to all, perhaps we will meet pushing buggies one day in the vicinity of Loop.
I prefer a one row buttonhole which I first found in an article in The Sunday Times from 1987 featuring the work of Bishop Richard Rutt. so neat and adaptable to an size of button.
Happy stitching
Jane
Now you’ve really hooked me Jane. Thanks, for this fascinating bit of information. I subscribe to The Times but always forget how to get into the website – must call on journalist son-in-law for assistance. Richard Rutt’s book seems now to be a classic and is nowhere available for under £30, so it’s The Times Archive for me!
Coffee at Kipferl in Camden Passage sometime (probably in the autumn now)?
I can send a photocopy of the relevant information if you PM me on Ravelry with your email address. jcgshaston is my Ravelry name.
Let’s make a date for the Autumn. I visit my daughter in the city fairly regularly and enjoy the walk along the canal to Camden Passage, or bus if I’m feeling weary.
How kind – though I’ve signed up to Ravelry I haven’t yet had any time to navigate my way round it, (nor will have for a while as we move house in ten days), so no hurry with buttonhole information.
Meeting in autumn would be good and I promise to get back in touch at the end of August/beginning of September.
Congratulations to you and your family! The little cardigan is lovely. I have made it in pink as there was greater certainty about the baby concerned. Knitting for little ones is very satisfying for people like me with a short attention span and desiring quick results. I have another pattern that I do for bigger babies, I will try to find it on line for you. Becky X
Thanks, Becky – do agree with you about pleasure of knitting for little ones – I too would have done it in that pink if I’d known!
It would be great if you could find me detail of the pattern you mention.
Thank you for posting the lovely picture of Xanthe in her cardigan. And belated thanks for returning to the blog after your move last summer.
Thank you Juliette for leaving such a kind comment.
We are moving again in a couple of weeks but this time I shall try to keep up with a weekly post on something to do with textiles.
Belated congratulations to you all! What a gorgeous little girl!
Lots of love, Jill & Liz
Lovely to hear from you both. Will be in touch soon.