Stitched Up :: Nottingham Craft Group

Baby Surprise Jackets

At our last Stitched Up meeting, I was busy with a Baby Surprise Jacket. This is a famous pattern designed by Elizabeth Zimmerman.  I think you can find it in a couple of her books – my copy is in The Opinionated Knitter.  It’s a very curious, not to say weird, way of constructing a cardigan.  It’s knitted all in one piece, with clever use of mitred increases and decreases to form the basic shape.  Best of all, for those of us who hate seaming, there are only 2 short seams to sew at the end, across the top of the sleeves. 

I used Brown Sheep Lambs Pride worsted weight yarn in two colours for my first jacket.  This yarn is slightly thicker than the pattern envisages, so the jacket is big enough for a toddler.  I needed 1 skein of each colour and it was only just enough!  For my second jacket, I used Cascade 220 worsted weight yarn, again in 2 colours.  This yarn is a little bit finer than Lamb’s Pride, so the jacket is smaller and I had a bit of yarn left over.

Both jackets are now on their way to the US, as part of the Macuwita Sni project.