OK, let’s get back to the Child’s Jacket!
I really do love this little design — so much that I cast on another size before I’d even finished the first one. But now it’s time to get serious: grading the pattern and sending it off to some fresh technical eyes so it’s ready for you to knit too.
After finishing two Caspian Hats last week, it was time to pick up where I left off. I’d already knitted the left front and both sleeves (small and chunky, so quick knits!), and had just started the right front. Funny how the left front took me a day, but the right front took nearly ten! That’s knitting for you — it takes the time it takes, and it fits around your days.
Here’s how this week went:
Tuesday – I spent some time matching the right front to the left, which needed a bit of concentration and a flat table. I managed to squeeze this in before a personal 1:1 where a lovely knitter wanted help reading fairisle charts from a vintage pattern. Perfect timing! Then, in the evening, I knitted around 12cm of the back while watching Brassic — lovely, easy knitting I didn’t have to think about. I stopped only because I ran out of yarn five stitches from the end! Usually I do start the back before I start the fronts but this time around I knitted the fronts first – I think this might be the first time I’ve done that!
Wednesday – Finished the back that evening. Just an hour of peaceful, meditative knitting to end a busy day — bliss.
Thursday – I gave myself half an hour in the Skipton studio to organise the WIPs and I found this one: the Tenorite Waistcoat. It had been sitting quietly in its bag, waiting for some attention. It only needed the neck finishing and buttons — 10 minutes per side and a few more to sew in ends.
Friday – Button day! I sewed on beautiful olive wood buttons to finish the waistcoat properly. Such a satisfying job.
Saturday – Back to the Child’s Jacket. I needed to focus, so I did the next bit — picking up stitches for the hood — at the studio. I like to use a circular needle for this part, even when knitting back and forth. The hood is lovely, straightforward knitting, so I worked on it that evening while watching a film. To join the edge I used a three-needle cast off, which is my favourite kind of joining because it combines two cast offs and one sewing-up step into one neat cast off. I’m going to make some videos to show the techniques involved in this design – in the meantime you can see all my current videos here.
Sunday – A quiet day. After a long walk and some gentle pottering, I finished the hood in the evening while watching Silent Witness.
It’s been one of those comforting knitting weeks — a mix of small progress, rediscovered projects, and finishing touches. Every bit of it reminds me why I love knitting: it fits beautifully around life’s rhythm, one row at a time.
Next week… maybe I’ll sew this jacket together! Or maybe another WIP will call my name first…