A new tradition. (Maybe.)

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I knit almost every day.

But for some reason I've been stingy with the baby gifts.

I will knit a sweet little hat, maybe some mittens or booties or something wee, but I never followed in my Grandma's footsteps of a cardigan for every baby born. Ever. Until the end of time.

(Yes, even decades after my Grandma passed on, my mom still has a couple of baby cardigans to give. Grandma Lee defined "prolific knitter" in my world.)

But when my friend's baby turned one recently another friend knitted her the sweetest little sweater. And I thought – Hey! I could do that!

And then I thought – Why haven't I been doing that?!

So I knitted my first ever baby sweater. For a friend's little lady born this winter.

I knitted it big (since most parents are swimming in 3 month clothes I went for a 12 month instead), and blue (since girls get slathered in pink and I thought it would be a welcome change).

The buttons I snipped off of a thrift store shirt, saving the green corduroy for another project down the road.

The yarn is a machine washable wool blend (Berocco Vintage) from my local yarn shop. I chose this yarn because I wanted it to be soft and wool and I didn't want to curse them with a fussy yarn. Because they should be caring for their baby, not their baby's sweater.

My project details are here. And the pattern? I adore it. I liked it so much that I cast on another one last night. For another little one soon to arrive. (And I rarely knit the same pattern twice, so that's saying something.)

The pattern also comes as a romper version – with legs! Brilliant.

What is your go-to baby gift?

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34 thoughts on “A new tradition. (Maybe.)

  1. meghann says:

    Oh, that’s lovely…

    I don’t have a single go-to gift; it depends on my mood, what kind of time I have, and what supplies I have on hand. Sometimes I knit, but I rarely knit the same thing twice. I used to always make hand-bound photo albums or baby books, but when we moved all my bookbinding supplies got packed away somewhere odd & now I can’t find them!

    Lately I’ve been making Anna Maria Horner’s Quick Change Trousers because they are sweet and adorable and I can make a pair in less than an hour. (October to February is a busy time every year with birthdays & such, so babies born this time of year rarely get anything time-consuming…) xo

  2. Lyssa says:

    Beautiful sweater! I made my daughter, Harmony, several of Elizabeth Zimmerman’s Baby Surprise Jackets, which are lovely and very easy to make. As gifts for other new babies, I always knit the Umbilical Cord Hat. Also a very simple pattern, and so quick!

  3. Karla says:

    Beautiful sweater! I love that idea… although it takes me so long to knit I’d rather sit at a sewing machine and whip something up that way. I just made a doll carrier for my little boy, with another in the makings for my daughter, so they can carry around their precious cargo while I’m carrying #3, due this month. 🙂

  4. Pamela R says:

    How sweet. LOVE the buttons. I’m currently a sucker for a knitted hat and a favorite book, although I must admit that there aren’t many new babies in my world these days.

  5. megan says:

    i have knit a lot of ez for babies – baby surprise, tomten, and february baby sweaters. i like the tomten for first birthday presents. your sweater turned out so sweet!

  6. Bianca says:

    It’s a beautiful sweater. Well done. My go-to is a cashmere blanket with a cotton backing. Kinda quilt style. I’ve made several for babies and my own family, yet have not managed to make one for myself. Go figure.

  7. Melanie says:

    What a beautiful sweater and tradition! With my first I ended up with 8 knitted blankets. Oh my! They were lovely, but I do live in sunny so cal :). A adorable knit cartigan would have been very useful. Love the buttons! Oh, and the sweet gift tag on watercolored paper!

  8. Heidi G says:

    Well done on the sweater – beautiful blue and lovely buttons. I read your post about your Grandmother and it made me miss my own so very much. My Gramma Hattie was also a prolific knitter – hats, socks, blankets, and 70+ baby sweaters per year. I share similar memories of clicking needles and snuggly knits worn in the snow. I’m proud to be a knitter like her (although not nearly as productive). I absolutely love the Milo Vest as a baby gift. http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/milo-3

  9. Amy Thompson says:

    Only another knitter can know how truly generous that is! I’m such a slow knitter that I have often been a rather stingy gifter myself, but recently did a little BSJ for a friend’s baby and it was so fun to give; it felt like giving so much more than just a sweater because of everything that went into it:)

  10. Lisa says:

    Oooh what a lovely sweater you have made. I love that you have thought about the color and size as you always DO end up with loads of small pink things – although we love them too 🙂

    My new favourite go-to gift is a pair of my handmade rose baby slippers.
    http://biglittletales.blogspot.co.nz/2012/11/rose-slippers.html

    I make them from off-cuts of vintage woolen blankets or lovely sweaters which have been put aside due to a hole somewhere….

    Lisa x

  11. Fräulein Rucksack says:

    I just planned to make some quick change trousers for the next baby to come! For the latest baby in January I knit a little dress after I knew it was a girl, I was just itching to knit the dress (little sisters dress) for some sweetness.

    We have a tradition of giving pregnany-tea for pregnancy anouncements, but no certain tradition for babies yet. But I’ll work on that, I like the idea.

  12. Terry says:

    My go-to baby gift is hooded towels, made from two adult-sized bath towels and a hand towel. It takes about an hour to make two. They’re a bit big for a newborn, but they last forever and my son used his until he was about 8 yrs. (He was small as a child.)

    Another gift I usually give is a crocheted baby blanket. I never seem to make the same pattern twice. I usually have several made ahead and just choose one to fit the need.

  13. meghann says:

    When I have a little extra time I sometimes make a Milo vest to go with the pants. Those vests knit up so quickly in tiny sizes, and there are no sleeves! xo

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