WIP: The BSJ

That's right, I'm knitting up the pattern that I've been coveting for months now: the Elizabeth Zimmermann Baby Surprise Jacket!!! Woot Woot!!

So far everything has been peachy and über straightforward. I think the pattern notes I found via Google has contributed quite largely to the ease of knitting this bad boy up. I had read on Ravelry and on a few forums/blogs about the difficulty that some people had with this pattern, so I was a bit worried that with my lack of knitting experience that I too, would struggle. In hindsight, now that I've read the pattern thoroughly, its quite an easy project. It's just the way the pattern is written is what I think confuses a lot of people. I think without the notes I would've hit a wall in certain areas where EZ was a bit cryptic in her instructions. But then again, that's just the inexperienced knitter in me talking. Until I gain more confidence and skills in my knitting, I'm definitely one of those people that need step-by-step instructions. Or at least shown how to do it.

I like how the pattern is very open in sizing though. I actually did do a gauge swatch cause I'm determined to have this fit the wee one when he's a year old. If the jacket comes out bigger, than that's a bonus. I'm just keeping my fingers crossed that it doesn't end up being too small, or fitting perfectly in the middle of summer or something like that. I just wish that I had a better idea at approximately how much yarn I'm going to need to finish this project. Having never knitted a baby's jacket or sweater before, I have no idea how much you would typically need. I tried to get an estimate by looking at several finished jackets on Ravelry, but quickly realized that a lot of people can't size their jackets based on standard sizings. Babies vary in size and so would the jackets. To top it all off, the weight of the yarn and needle size would also have an impact on how much yarn is needed. So I bought 3 skeins of Patons Classic Wool Merino, thinking it would be beyond plenty...and it would have been if I didn't double up the yarn to make gauge. Now I'm thinking I have to go and get more yarn.

I didn't pay attention to the diagram in the pattern, and am too lazy/impatient to frog what I have, but I had originally wanted to knit the cuffs in black. By the time I realized what part I was knitting I was too far gone into the project to go back to square one. I'm just going to have to settle with having a black collar (or hood), lower edge, and center front edges (not sure if I'm going to have a button or zipper closure yet). I have a feeling that this is going to take me a while to knit...the above photo was taken about half an hour ago, and it is the result of working on it for 3 nights in a row! Or maybe I'm just a slow knitter?