We've always used washable nappies for Teddy, but never really got round to giving wool a proper go - something I'm determined to rectify this time, mainly so I can continue to knit these super-cute, super fast soakers.
If you don't know anything about using wool with washable nappies, there's some good basic information here. Suffice to say that wool is, allegedly, more or less magic when it comes to washable nappies. It allows skin to breathe, doesn't smell and (I am promised) doesn't make everything you dress you baby in soaking wet as soon as they wee.
Anyway, I figured it was worth a shot since we're now washable nappy experts after over two years' using them with Teddy, so I knitted up this soaker last night. And I mean, literally, knitted it last night. I think I cast on at about 4pm, stopped for dinner and to play with Teddy, and it was finished by the time I went to bed at 10:45pm (which is a pretty late night for me at the minute. Rock 'n' roll).
I have to admit to not finding the pattern desperately well written - if I hadn't known roughly what shape I was aiming for, and hadn't more or less known how to get there by myself, this wrap would have ended up very badly. I'll pop some notes on the Ravelry project page when I get a chance. Nonetheless, the actual design seems pretty sound, and, most importantly, matched the gauge I was getting with the yarn I had (I am on a bit of a yarn diet at the moment, so there was no yarn substitution option).
Project details:
- Yarn: Rowan Purelife British Sheep Breeds undyed DK (Bluefaced Leicester), held double
- Quantity: 100g (2 balls), with a teeny bit left over
- Needles: 4.5mm and 3.5mm I didn't have the needles called for in the pattern, so I just used the smaller ones for ribbing and the larger ones (on which I made gauge) for the stockinette portion
- Pattern: The Curly Purly Soaker
- Finished dimensions (unstretched): waist 11.5" (with plenty of stretch), rise 8", body width 14"
- More info: on the Ravelry project page
I actually wanted to knit the soaker pattern from the lovely Vintage Baby Knits
Oh, and this project marks the beginning of the end of the baby knitting, at least until it actually arrives (really rather soon now! Eek). There's a fair bit of sewing left to do (sitting behind me on my cutting table are a foam pad and some PUL that I am hoping to miraculously transform into a change mat today), but I really feel that, with the help of The List, I've managed to make most of the things I wanted to make before the imminent arrival (I am so pleased with The List). Of course, there's plenty of knitting for Teddy, Adam and me to get started on, so my hands won't be idle as I wallow on the sofa counting down the days...
