Fall into Fall vest

I just finished my son's vest - not quite in time for his 7th birthday, but better late than never. I love the pattern, which is not surprising because the designer writes wonderful patterns. (Hi Kim!!) The pattern is Fall into Fall vest from Kimane Designs. I used my Brittany 5.5mm I and 5.0mm H hooks and about 10 oz Caron Simply Soft in Dark Sage (about 1/3 of 2nd skein remains). For those of you who pay attention to these things, yes this is the same yarn I used to make my Jiffy Jacket AND it's the same designer! I still have another 6 skeins of this yarn left so look for it to appear on some other wearable in the future! It's a tad big on him - I always forget he's not currently expressing my family's "tall" gene - maybe he will someday! I made the small 6X/7 size so he can grow into it. The XS 4/5 would probably have fit him now but not next year. The good news is he loves it. I think I'll make the pullover vest I plan to make him a tad smaller.

Newborn BICO with Baby Yarn

Baby It's Cold Outside is another Crochetville CAL that I joined. This pattern is written for 6 or 12 months using bulky yarn. The pattern copyright allows for derivative works as long as credit is given back to Julie Holetz, the original designer.

That said, unlike the size 6 jacket I made, this is a theoretical pattern! I have NOT crocheted it. I wrote it up to help a villager who wanted to use baby yarn.

Her gauge: 36st = 8 in; 4 rows = 1.5 in.

For a newborn, I wrote this so the finished garment would have the following dimensions
Length: 8.5" (top of shoulder to bottom edge)
Sleeve length: 6" (from sweater body to wrist)
Sleeve circumference: 7" (flattened sleeve is 3.5" wide)
Body length: 5" (before sleeves begin)
Width: 9.5" (so chest = 19")
Neck opening: 3.5" (should be about 1/3 of width)

Pattern modifications:
Ch 43
Row 1: as written - 42 hdc (chain for desired width, here ~9.5")
Rows 2-13: as written for rows 2-9 - 42 hdc
Row 14: as written for row 10 - 42 hdc (here 15 rows should the desired body length of ~5")
Row 15: Adding sleeves (use chain number to achieve desired sleeve length, here 6") - ch 27 , follow row 11 as written, ignoring chain numbers, ch 28 (one more chain than other side)
Row 16: as written for row 12 - 94 hdc
Rows 17-25: as written for rows 13-19 - 94 hdc, until garment measured ~8.5"
Row 26 (WS): Creating the neck opening - Hdc for 39 st, Sl st in 16 st, hdc for 39 st (you should hdc for the sleeve length plus 1/3 of your back width, sl st for 1/3 back width, then hdc for the sleeve length plus 1/3 of your back width)
Rows 27-30: similar to rows 21-22; hdc across 39 hdc. (this is making the sleeve + shoulder area - the number of rows should give you the desired length of neck opening - here rows 26-31 should give me about 2.25in - if you think the neck opening is big enough after row 28, then add the chain 16 at row 29 instead of row 31 and continue with 53 hdc through row 35)
Row 31: similar to row 23 - adding chain for right front panel. Hdc across 39 st, ch 16 (chain number should be the number of stitches you sl st in for the neck)
Row 32: as written for row 24 - 53 hdc.
Rows 33-35: as written for rows 25-27 - 53 hdc. (ends right sleeve)
Rows 36: as written for row 28 - 27 hdc.
Rows 37-50: as written for rows 29-38 - 27 hdc. (fasten off when "front" side = 8.5")

Pick up for left sleeve (and shoulder) -
Row 1: as written for row 1 - 39 hdc.
Row 2-4: as written for row 2 - 39 hdc. (again if you think the neck opening is big enough after row 2, then add the ch 9 at row 3 instead of row 5 and continue with 47 hdc through row 9)
Row 5 : as written for row 3, except ch 9. (shoulder completed, ch to add left front panel)
Row 6: as written for row 4 - 47 hdc.
Rows 7-9: as written for rows 5-7 - 47 hdc. (left sleeve finished)
Row 10: as written for row 8 except hdc in first 21 st (half the width of your back)
Rows 11-24: as written for rows 9-18 - 21 hdc (fasten off when "front" side = 8.5").

BICO - size 6 sweater jacket

Baby It's Cold Outside is another Crochetville CAL that I began on a whim as a stashbuster...that and Abby needed a fall jacket! I had some Antique Homespun and a skein of beautiful dark silver gray Simply Soft for trim. I used a K hook that is closer to 7.0mm than 6.5mm, roughly 2.75 skeins of Homespun and a bit of Caron Simply Soft (single strand with K hook) for the edging.

The pattern is for 6-12 months, it was fairly easy to modify, but it took a little bit of attention when crocheting as I was modifying it on the fly. I made this for my 4.5 yo dd, who wears mostly size 5 now, but I wanted this to be a sweater jacket. I looked a a bunch of loose fitting sweater patterns and made what I thought would be a roomy size 6. I made the neck too big and modified it after the fact (homespun is forgiving). The pattern I have written corrects the neck size.

My finished garment has the following dimensions (including 0.5" edging on length measurements):
Length: 17.5" (top of shoulder to bottom edge)
Sleeve length: 12.5" (from sweater body to wrist)
Sleeve circumference: 10" (flattened sleeve is 5" wide)
Body length: 12.5" (before sleeves began)
Width: 16" (so chest = 32", with bulk yarn though)
Neck opening: 5" (should be about 1/3 of width)

My gauge with Homespun matched the pattern as written.

Pattern modifications:
Ch 41
Row 1: as written - 40 hdc (chain for desired width, here 16")
Rows 2-21: as written for rows 2-9 - 40 hdc
Row 22: as written for row 10 - 40 hdc (here 23 rows gives the desired body length of 12" - garment length minus sleeve width)
Row 23: Adding sleeves (use chain number to achieve desired sleeve length, here 12") - ch 30 , follow row 11 as written (ignoring chain numbers), ch 31 (one more chain than other side)
Row 24: as written for row 12 - 100 hdc
Rows 25-37: as written for rows 13-19, until garment measured 17" - 40hdc (here this gives you the total garment length and the sleeve width)
Row 38 (WS): Hdc for 43st, Sl st in 14st, hdc for 43 st (you should hdc for the sleeve length plus 1/3 of your back width, sl st for 1/3 back width, then hdc for the sleeve length plus 1/3 of your back width)
Rows 39-42: similar to rows 21-22; hdc across 43 hdc. (this is making the sleeve + shoulder area - the number of rows should give you the desired length of neck opening - here rows 38-43 give me about 2.5in)
Row 43: similar to row 23 - adding chain for right front panel. Hdc across, ch 16 (chain number minus 2 should be the number of stitches you sl st in for the neck)
Row 44: as written for row 24 - 57 hdc.
Rows 45-51: as written for rows 25-27 - 57 hdc. (ends right sleeve)
Rows 52: as written for row 28 - 27 hdc.
Rows 53-74: as written for rows 29-38 - 27 hdc. (fasten off when "front" side = 17")

Pick up for left sleeve (and shoulder) - with homespun, the RS-WS pattern is not apparent, so I followed the pattern instructions - if I were to use ww yarn, I would follow the RS-WS pattern and use a chainless foundation when adding the sleeve

Row 1: as written for row 1 - 43 hdc.
Row 2-4: as written for row 2 - 43 hdc.
Row 5 : as written for row 3, except ch 9. (shoulder completed, ch to add left front panel)
Row 6: as written for row 4 - 50 hdc.
Rows 7-13: as written for rows 5-7 - 50 hdc. (left sleeve finished)
Row14: as written for row 8 except hdc in first 20 st (half the width of your back)
Rows 15-36: as written for rows 9-18 - 20 hdc (fasten off when "front" side = 17").

WIP explosion... again

I haven't even started the "scheduled" CALs because I've been sidetracked off my sidetracks...yes I'm that confused! I had another WIP explosion the last week in October so here's the WIP status report...

First old WIPs:
1. Floral Fantasy Pullover - progress = 90%. This CAL at Crochetville is STILL all laid out waiting for me to attach the sleeves, add underarm gussets, attach the neck and crochet the trim.

2. Tennis Socks - progress = 25%. Sock CAL at crochetsocks. No motivation - it's a summer sock.

3. Colinette yarns afghan kit - progress = 30%. 5 rows more than this photo, but untouched for too long.

4. 'Oxford Style' socks (Crocheted Socks!) - the long awaited socks for my dh were begun...

New WIPS:
1. Baby It's Cold Outside - another Crochetville CAL enveloped me...that and Abby needed a fall jacket! I had some Antique Homespun and a skein of beautiful dark silver gray Simply Soft for trim. So it was a stashbuster!!

2. Fall into Fall Vest - Kimane designs for Alex. I have a few inches done, but need to frog it, I forget how little my ds is. I shouldn't "upsize" for him like I do for my dd.

3. Prayer/Healing Shawl - an impromptu stashbuster (Barrington Homespun - leftover from the ponchos) for my ds' teacher's aide who is undergoing treatment for breast cancer.