10/16/2005
FO: Debbie Bliss Dress With EyeletsFor M&C's future little girl! Will be shipping this little surprise gift off to them this weekend:
The front:
The back:
Pattern: "Dress with Eyelets", from Debbie Bliss Baby Knits for Beginners, pp. 116-121.
Yarn: Debbie Bliss wool/cotton in color #125-505, dyelot #5 (a mustard yellow-ish color). 50% Merino wool, 50% cotton.
Needle: US #2 and #3 straights, US #2 circs
Gauge: 23 sts/4 inches (with #3 circs)
Additional Notes:
Pattern
Not a bad knit. The pattern was pretty easy, albeit ambiguous in certain areas. I don't know much about Debbie Bliss patterns (I'm sure Debbie is a wonderful designer), but I have heard some things that caused me to hesitate and go through the pattern with a sharp eye as I went along. I wouldn't go as far as to say it was poorly written, I'd just say that certain parts could have been a bit more specific, so I would have to scratch my head in frustration trying to guess what the pattern was implying. I'm not that great of a knitter to have the patience (and brain cells) for guesswork just yet. In anycase, it was a simple knit, and a simple but very pretty dress resulted.
Yarn
I'm sad that this yarn is discontinued. I had to scrounge around to find any (I found some leftovers at an LYS, only to finally finish knitting this up and it turns out Jimmy Beans Wool had tons of it on sale (they still do)... in so many different pretty shades too. DOH!!!! In anycase, it felt great and was perfect for a simple baby knit.
Gauge
My gauge was a bit wonky on this (I'm guilty of not doing a swatch ahead of time). The pattern says to set the gauge at 25 sts/4 inches, but with the recommended size needle and recommended yarn, I would have had to knit SUPER TIGHT to get that gauge. So I knit this up in the regular tension that I do, and the dress is just a tad bigger/wider, which is ok with me.
