My Very First Sweater

You may remember my asking for suggestions about what to make first for the baby. I decided on a sweater. I found a pattern that looked really interesting, where the sweater is actually crocheted in two pieces, both hexagons. Since I dislike finishing my work (that is, having to do more stuff after the crocheting is done), it seemed like a good idea. Only, I found it boring to work on. The entire sweater is made up of double crochets. I mostly completed a test version that is now clothing my daughter's teddy bear. I decided not to work one up for the baby.

On a whim the other day, I picked up The Big Book of Weekend Crochet at the library. Although most of the patterns didn't really appeal to me, I love the sweater shown on the front cover. Unfortunately (or, perhaps, providentially) the pattern didn't include a newborn size. So I made up my own. I altered the pattern stitch a bit to better fit the yarn I had available and I made my very own baby Fisherman's Sweater.

Sadly, with our camera still busted, I couldn't take a photograph of it. This poor-quality substitute will have to do (it's what happened when I put the sweater into my scanner). The orange bow is not meant to stay, but is keeping the shoulder flap together until I get around to sewing the buttons in place. That will be sometime after I find my button stash, or I break down and buy some more. While I wish I had a better photo to share with you, at least this does show off the stitch pattern pretty well. You'll have to use your imagination for the rest of it. You can click on the image to see a bigger version.

EDITED TO ADD: You can see the finished sweater with buttons here.

Of course, I didn't write down all the changes I was making to the pattern as I went along. Sorry about that. I can share the adapted stitch pattern I used, though.

Ch 18
Row 1 (wrong side): Sc in second ch from hook, dc in next ch, *slst in next ch, dc in next ch. Repeat from * 6 times. Sc in final ch. Ch 1 and turn.
Row 2 (right side): Sc in each st across. Ch 1 and turn.
Row 3: Sc in first sc, slst in next sc, *dc in next sc, slst in next sc. Repeat from * 6 times. Sc in final sc. Ch 1 and turn.
Row 4: Repeat Row 2.
Row 5: Sc in first sc, dc in next sc, *slst in next sc, dc in next sc. Repeat from * 6 times. Sc in final sc. Ch 1 and turn.

Repeat rows 2-5 until piece reaches the length you desire.

Now that I have finished the baby's sweater, my daughter has been begging for one of her own. I have a feeling hers will take a little longer than two days to complete. She's a bit bigger now than she was as a newborn.