such a hoot {knitted vertebrae baby cardigan}

Well, what do you think?  This is my first knitted cardigan.  I used to loathe knitting and preferred to crochet because it was fast and easy.  I hated the complication of two sticks and yarn, but I have always relished the look knitted items, particularly hand knit ones.  Enter the anticipation of a new baby and third trimester energy and you get a mama on a mission to knit up all kinds of tiny things, including little cozy sweaters that she swore she would never take the time to learn how to do.

This is a cardigan that is specifically designed to fit just around the back and arms and I love it.  Since I don't have much knitting experience and I'm not very fast, I can't really say if it's a quick knit but I'm sure it is compared to many other projects.  It is tiny after all and has no fussy buttonholes.  This is the perfect accessory to keep a litttle one toasty warm during the winter months.

I knew I would get bored with so much stockinette stitch in a solid color so I decided to add three little cabled owls to perch on the back. I used this Wise Old Owl hat pattern that I found for free on Ravelry from knitculture.com for an idea of how to make the owl, and then I translated the pattern to fit on three owls across the back.  My 3-year-old helped pick out the button eyes.

The Newborn Vertebrae pattern is available for free from knit.so.quaint on Ravelry. I had to adjust the pattern so I could use worsted weight yarn instead of fingering weight and I think it turned out incredibly adorable. Although it looks super tiny to me who hasn't had a baby around in a few years, I think the size is about 6 months.

In case you are interested, I casted on 36 stitches and sectioned off like so: 1 sts, pm, 8 sts, pm, 18 sts, pm, 8 sts, pm, 1 sts.  I used size US8 needles for the entire cardigan, but next time I might go down a size for the ribbing.  I needed less than a skein of Bernat Satin.  I still have about a quarter of a skein left.

Within the next couple of months, I should have a model for this little number.  I can't wait to see how it looks.