Finished object file: Mini Moto Vest | Cascade Ecological Wool

A few months ago I knit a Moto vest* for myself as part of a Woolful KAL and I love it so much. I wear it pretty much everyday as I find it perfect for layering. I love it so much that I decided to make a mini version for Miss L. 

I finished this project a few weeks ago but have been so busy that I haven't had a moment to take some proper photos of Miss L wearing it but wearing it she has been and a lot too. We have even received many comments about it and some people have even noticed that we are wearing matching vests.

I knit the Mini Moto with some left over Cascade Ecological Wool. This yarn is a bulky weight Peruvian wool that has minimal processing and is naturally coloured grey. It is a beautifully squishy yarn that has a lot of warmth in it. I am not certain but I suspect that it is a woollen spun yarn.

I cast on 46 stitches on 6.5mm needles to give a width of 6.5" wide. I knit the same 2X2 rib pattern as I did for my adult version until the scarf part was 36" long and made the back 8" wide by picking up 30 stitches from the middle of the back at a rate of 3/4 rows. You can find my Ravelry project notes here.

When I first put it on her I found the collar a bit too bulky around Miss L's petite little neck and it didn't quite sit well on her shoulders. It was not staying on too well on it's own so I grabbed a large safety pin stitch holder and pinned the front together. This gives it a quaint little touch that is reminiscent of that style of tartan skirt that used to be pinned together by a large safety pin. I remember wearing one of those skirts when I was little and love the retro look of it.

It is a perfect little vest to throw on Miss L when it's a bit chilly in the morning or when we are about to leave the house to pop over to church. I just know that we will get plenty of wear out of it and could make another one in the future because it is such a handy piece to have in the wardrobe.

*You can read about the adult Moto Vest from this post here.

Happy with High Water

A perfect fit for Sir S

I finished the High Water pullover for Sir S recently but had to wait for some cooler weather before I could convince him to try it on for some shots. Today's not too hot and I resorted to the ol' bribery, "I'll give you a whole Zooper Dooper if try this on and let Mummy take some photos.".

I always love photographing this little guy's facial expressions

One of the joys of this pattern was that the use of worsted weight yarn plus lots of stockinette stitch made it a very quick knit. The last pullover I knit for S took me about 7 months to complete because it was using fingering weight yarn and Miss L was born in the midst of it.

Other than the concerns that I have with the choice of green stripes because of S's colour blindness I did blunder up the right sleeve. When I got down to the rib cuff I realised that I was one stitch short and I have no idea how that happened; the most likely possibility is that I picked up one less stitch under the arm when I was starting the sleeve. Hence why I subtitled this blog, "the (mis)adventures of...", I always manage to make some little mistake in all my knits.

Of course he chose black buttons because it's a colour he is definitely able to see

Regardless of the missing stitch the jumper fits very well on my skinny mini and I am certain that it will last him this coming winter season.

This was the first time working with the Cascade 220 worsted yarn for me. It has really great stitch definition and a lovely springiness that holds the structure of the garment well. But, I was a little disappointed that it was not as soft to touch as I had hoped it would be. However, I read the comments on Ravelry and there are claims for other users that it softens with washing. Sir S has commented that it feels scratchy against his skin but I'm hoping that he will be able to wear a long sleeve baselayer in the winter with it to buffer his skin from the wool.

I made a MOD with the sleeve cuff because Sir S requested "sleeves like mittens". I knit in some thumb holes and made the whole cuff 10cm long (2cm more than the pattern suggestion). If I make thumb holes again I will try a different technique because I think my bind off, knit two rows and then cast back on method is a bit sloppy. Next time I will do it like a buttonhole with a K2tog then a yarn over in the next row.

roaring fun thumb holes

Overall, I love the stripes and the boat neck collar. I used exactly 2 skeins of the Cascade and just under 10g - approx. 14m according to Ravelry calculations - of the Spud & Chloe for the stripes. It felt good to stash bust some of this yarn that I had purchased so long ago.

I love the classic and simple stripes design

I look forward to the winter and taking some more photos of Sir S wearing this jumper while in action.