Sleeveless jumper adapted from Debbie Bliss’s pattern V-neck sweater with pockets in her ‘Baby Knits for Beginners’, Ebury Press, 2003.

I love V necks on jumpers and T shirts but have found only one Debbie Bliss pattern for small children with even the slightest of V necks (and I need a Debbie Bliss pattern as I am working through my left over balls of Baby Cashmerino). 2 balls of dusky pink yarn (plus two ends of balls of a different dye lot) stared me in the face and challenged me to devise a sleeveless version of the pattern in the book. Assured that she’s always altering patterns by my step daughter-in-law (an impressive knitter  of vast experience who, using the continental way of knitting, makes hand knitting look as close to mechanical needle action that a human being can get), I set to.

Sleeveless jumper adapted from Debbie Bliss’s pattern V-neck sweater with pockets in her ‘Baby Knits for Beginners’, Ebury Press, 2003.

A little sample of the two different dye lots knitted up confirmed my feelings that together  they wouldn’t work, even as I tried to persuade myself that every single kilim rug in the house exhibited an honest and unconcealed change of shade mid row to not an ounce of detriment to their beauty. But somehow what works for rugs just doesn’t for jumpers. Cutting out the pockets from the pattern I managed a ball each for the front and the back- just – and used the different dye lot for the neck and sleeve ribbing. Knowing about it you can clearly see the difference but the change of stitch and set of the rows seems to leave the brain content –  well, mine anyway. I like this pattern so much I’m now knitting a long sleeved version with a bit of Fair Isle – it’s a shame the pattern only goes up to 12- 18 months.

Debbie Bliss’s pattern V-neck sweater with pockets in her ‘Baby Knits for Beginners’, Ebury Press, 2003.

V-neck sweater with pockets (from Debbie Bliss’s Baby Knits for Beginners, Ebury Press, 2003) to make a sleeveless sweater without pockets.

Spot the difference

Tooth problems and dental surgery has kept me at home recently and, having returned from my last visit to London with the red jumper I knitted for my grandson, I got on with altering the neck to make it a better fit before it’s too small. A fiddly but satisfying job, the jumper should no longer sag over the shoulder and irritate me (possibly not him, knowing small children).

New higher neckline for Debbie Bliss’s two colour raglan sweater from her Baby Cashmerino Book 5.

Old neckline for Debbie Bliss’s two colour raglan sweater from her Baby Cashmerino Book 5.