FO: Layette

Who knows what a layette is?  It seems no one that I speak to does!  I think it's old fashioned.  Grandmotherly even.  The Authority tells me it's a US thing.  Anywho, my idea of a layette is:  blanket, matinee jacket (another apparently outdated term), booties and hat.  So that's what I made for a friend of mine.  Her baby girl is due in July.  On my birthday even, how awesome is that?  And you know what my friend said?  "I hope I have a little girl just like you"!!!  Awwwwwww!

So this baby is going to be awesome.  And I thought, awesome baby needs an awesome hand crocheted set, so my awesome friend can tell people, "my awesome friend made these for my awesome baby".  It's all about me really.

I gave this gift to my friend yesterday.  There were tears.  You know you've done something right if you make them cry, a motto I live my life by.  I probably would have cried if I received this layette as a gift too - I'm so so so proud of it so obviously am very excited to show it off to you now!  Many gratuitous photos to follow.

Bah!  The only photo I took with the set showing the whole blanket.  Blurry, but you get the idea.

 I made the cardigan from this set, and picked up some cute buttons from ebay.  They don't exactly match, but they are cute, and isn't that all that really matters?  Ravelled here. 

I didn't like the bonet that went with the set (I don't really see babies wearing bonets), and I couldn't understand what the pattern was on about when it came to the booties, so I didn't make those either.  Instead I made these Mary Jane Booties. I made these very late in the piece, so I feel they're a bit rushed, and they're really only going to fit awesome baby as a newborn.  But cute!  And matching buttons.  Ravelled here. 

I struggled to take a photo of these, but behold - booties!

I had a real dilemma finding a hat pattern to match.  I wanted a beanie because I think they're more versatile.  So, instead I made one up, inspired by the cardigan pattern, and using this size guide to hopefully align with the size of the awesome baby's head.  I'm quite proud of this one, and will be writing out the pattern proper soon.  Ravelled here.

See how it has matching stripes??  and the edge folds up??

And the matching blanket, inspired by the cardigan pattern.  It measures 37" by 31.5", and looked to me like a nice size to wrap around a baby.  It weighs just under 450g.  This is the pièce de résistance (ooOOoo fancy) of the set in my opinion.  It's realllly soft and snuggly, and I think the edging really makes it look professional  (edging inspired by Gillian's edging on her Wool Eater Blanket).  I'll probably write this up as a pattern properly too.  Ravelled here.

10 points if you can spot the embedded cat hairs.

I blocked the blanket in my usual way (soaked in some lukewarm water for an hour or so, then rinsed thoroughly.  Squeeze the excess water out and then roll in a towl to really suck the water out.  Pin to cardboard covered with towels).  

Blocking a bit wobbly, but how often are you going to spread the blanket out and look at the whole thing?  I'm guessing, not very often.

The whole set is made using Bendigo Woollen Mills Luxury 4 Ply.  It's described as 'baby wool' and that's no lie.  It was soft to begin with, but blocking rrrreeeallly made it soften up and gave it beautiful drape.  A little bit splitty, but I used a 3 and 3.5mm hook for all these items, so it might not catch so much with a larger hook.

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Linking up with Tami's Amis FO Fridays, and Fiber Arts Fridays at Wisdom Begins in Wonder.

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