The Philosopher's Wife: simply soft

Monday, September 15, 2014

Baby Sophisticate Sweater

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Here is my finished Baby Sophisticate. I finished it a little while ago, but it was a gift and I needed to wait until the recipient received it! Overall, I am pretty happy with how it turned out. There are a few minor imperfections, but overall I think it's pretty nice.

My favorite part of this sweater is the collar, I just love it! That's what drew me to this pattern in the first place. (In fact, this pattern is one that I've had on my list since long before I figured out how to knit!)

I found some cute little owl buttons at JoAnn's, but I can't find them online. (Despite their absolute adorableness they are a bear to photograph!) The yarn is Simply Soft in Ocean. I really love this particular shade of blue!

Before I started knitting I read through all of the comments and notes on the Ravelry page, something I recommend for any pattern found there. Many people commented that the finished sweater was rather small, so I both upped my needle size from a US 8 to a US 9 and I split the difference between the two given sizes (0-3 and 6-12 months).

I had Dominic try the sweater on for me as soon as I wove in the ends. He's wearing it pre-blocking and pre-buttons in the above picture. The sweater was a little snug on him, so I'd say it ended up being roughly size 3 months, maybe a little bit larger, but not 6 months.

I do really like, and recommend, the Baby Sophisticate pattern, and I think I might even pay for the Child and Adult versions to make one for Catherine and myself!

Rachel: The Philosopher's Wife

I love to share my projects at these parties and Hookin' on Hump Day.

Monday, February 10, 2014

Another Crochet Project: Mint Blue Elegant Hat

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I love how bright this cute crocheted Elegant Hat is! I'm glad that I finally rescued it from the land of Works In Progress where it's been for a long time.

The yarn is one of my favorites. It's Simply Soft in Blue Mint. I had picked it up on sale at Michael's ages ago. (I almost always pick up Simply Soft when it's a good deal!) The blue is just so cheerful and happy!

The free pattern (here it is on Ravelry) is easy to follow, and doesn't require many fancy skills. It is also easily adaptable, which is always good. While my three year old is the one modeling this hat, it will stretch quite a bit and it is a little large on her, so it's really a lady's hat. (Also, she has *ahem* a slightly larger than average head.)

My pattern changes include: substituting a flower for the bow, not doing the reverse single crochet in the band, and slip stitching around the bottom of the brim. I also used a size "I" hook and added a few rows to the base. I tend to crochet very tightly, and that really affects the size of the hat!