Baby Blues

I just HAD to share the baby sweater I recently finished. I have been working on this sweater FOREVER. Literally, I bought the yarn this summer! I finished the back while I was on vacation in August. Then I realized that if I didn't finish it in time for Christmas it wouldn't fit the intended toddler. So while I was at school I struggled through the moss stitch until the entire sweater was done it. Let me tell you, PAINFUL!! Moss stitch is sooo much worse than seed stitch. But I eventually finished all the pieces. So then I brought the pieces back with me when I came home for Christmas. I decided that I wanted to put the pieces together with the sewing machine. I have never done this before, I always sew by hand with yarn. But I was ready to take a step towards a better garment. SO I threaded up my mom's sewing machine and put right sides together and sewed it up.

One tip- Make sure you iron your pieces before you start sewing. I checked the sides I was about to sew to make sure they were the same length before I started pining and sewing. With an iron you can stretch or squish the pieces so the lengths are equal. Taking the time to iron your pieces makes your finished product SOOOOO much better. I promise it is worth the time. Make sure you press the seams open before you sew another seam that goes through it. This happened when I sewed the sleeves and the sides. First you sew the shoulders and the sleeves in. You sew the sleeve in but they are open, not a tube yet. When you sew up the sides and continue to sew the sleeve together you sew over the shoulder seam and the arm seam. But if you press the first seams open it works a lot better. I pressed all my seams open, just to make it a bit more comfy to wear. Unlike a regular sewn garment, I did not sew the seams open. That wouldn't work well on hand knitted pieces.

WOW why hadn't I done this before? It was faster, stronger and better than anything I have ever sewed myself. So here is the final reveal....


One feature I really liked was the blanket stitch around the edges. One part I didn't like? The hood comes to a point. I thought it looked insane, but everyone else loved it! If I were to knit a hood again, I would try something different. You might also notice I didn't put on any buttons. He is in a chewing phase right now and I was afraid he would chew them off! Finally that moss stitch, I really like the way it turned out and the moss stitch is part of that. However I probably won't knit something in moss stitch for a while!! I need a break!