This year, his birthday party was a simple affair in a local park in Sydney. While the table and decorations were being set up by his parents and Uncle Sean, we went off to play. We found an ibis. With so much wildlife around, I thought we had to play explorers just for a moment.
Doesn't he just look so manly in his akubra hat?
It was Adele who cooked up the idea of a vest for his birthday, but it was Willem himself who chose the yarn when he was visiting. Blue is his favourite colour so I presented him with three different blue yarns from the stash.
Adele liked the dark blue. Willem liked the light blue. He got his choice, and here it is.
Getting him to pose in it in the morning before the party was a challenge. The night before, he'd been delighted with putting it on over his PJs, but the light wasn't so good for photos. Perhaps he had pre-party nerves? We only just managed to get him to cooperate by putting on a lovely shirt sent from Nana (our mum).
It's hard to tell just from this photo, but it does fit. Here's one where you can see it all, but he doesn't look so happy.
I was just happy it went over his head. I'd done the neckband twice because I was sure the first time it wasn't going to fit. The akubra he's wearing in the the top photos is actually an adult hat he inherited. And it fits him. So you can see why I was concerned.
So here are the details.
Pattern: Basic Vest from Ann Budd's The Knitter's Handy Book of Patterns. This is a really good book. If you haven't seen it, it takes basic knitted garments, from hats to jumpers and cardigans, and once you work out your gauge, you can follow simple instructions to basically make up as you go any of these patterns, with a multitude of variations.
Yarn: Cleckheaton Country Naturals. Colour 1830. This is a yarn I'm sure half of Canberra has in their stash, picked up in the Cassidy's $2 sale by the bucketload. It's machine washable, 85% wool, 10% acrylic, 5% viscose. Good for little boys.
Needles: 4.5mm Addi Turbo for the body. 4mm Knipicks Options for the neck and arm bands, which I did at a smaller gauge when I did them for the second time. Because I was trying to work them looser, this seemed to avoid floppiness, while allowing them to keep their shape.
Timeframe: Superfast. March 13 - March 22nd.
Result/Modifications: Handsomely cute. I made it longer than the pattern suggested. Willem might be tall for his age, I'm not sure. I also knit it in the round. Knitting flat? Pfft. As if.
Bells
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