Blog Tour: Vintage Baby Knits

Last night I finished up the little knitting project I spoke about a few weeks ago.  It was a great project, perfect to knit while traveling.  And although I don't have a cute, chubby cheeked baby to model it, here's the Stella Pixie Hat that I knitted from the pattern in Vintage Baby Knits by Kristen Rengren.  I loved knitting this hat!

 

(my pixie hat - unblocked and needing a button)

 

(Stella Pixie Hat from the book)

I cannot say enough nice things about this book.  It has great projects- sweaters, blankets, toys, slippers, soakers, hats and more. Kristen's directions are well written and easy to follow.  She explainsthe orgins of each pattern and talks about the history of knitting indifferent decades.  Additionally, it is a complete visual treat - thephotography by Thayer Allyson Gowdy is beautiful and the sweet babesmodeling the projects are absolutely adorable.  As part of her blog tour, Kristen and I had a chance to chat about her book the other day.  We focused on what to keep in mind when knitting for baby.  Here's what Kristen had to say:

Erin:  Hand knitted itemsare great for gifts, especially for the littlest people in our lives. What should you keep in mind when knitting for a baby?

Kristen:  The first thing I ask myself is if this garment is appropriatefor this particular baby.  Wheredoes the baby live?   In what season is the baby going to wear this garment,taking into account when I’m likely to finish it?  Will they get at least one and hopefully twoor three seasons of wear out of it? (I often like to knit projects inrelatively fine gauges, because a lighter garment can be used as a layer andwill therefore get more wear across the seasons; I also find that babies tendto get lots of use out of light blankets and stretchy hats , which take longer tobecome undersized.

Once I’ve thought about that, my next concern is whether ornot anythingabout the parents gives me clues as to what to knit.  While my  first impulse is toknit what Ithink is cute,if the parents won’t like it, it’ll never get worn.  I think about their  tastes, their style, and their lifestyles, andtry to pick a project that will match those predilections.  Would they prefer a special garment to beworn only a few times, or would they feel happier if I gave them something moreprosaic that they could use every day?  Ialso try to consider what I know about their ideas about colors and gender –parents can be surprisingly particular one way or another.  And I think about the care required for thegarment – some parents don’t mind hand-washing and prefer to avoid the chemicaltreatment required to make super-wash yarns, while other parents would stronglyprefer something they could throw in the washing machine.    

That said, sometimes it’s not possible to gauge too muchabout the parent’s preferences.  In thosecases I try to knit something practical, unisex, washable, and in neutral orbright colors that are likely to please anyone.

Finally, I can’t stress enough that if I’m ever to finish agarment on time, it’s important to think realistically about how much time Ihave to devote to the knitting.  Justbecause a baby garment is small doesn’t necessarily mean that it’ll be fast – thatdependson how involved the pattern is and upon how many stitches it requires. In general, for safety’s sake, I presume that a knitting project willtake me twice as long as I think, because life has a habit of getting in theway of knitting for everybody.

 

(Dewey Cabled Pullover)

Erin:  Babies come in alldifferent shapes and sizes.  One of my daughters was 4 lbs., 13 oz. atbirth and the other was 8 lbs., 7 oz.  How do you choose what size to knitfor a baby that hasn't been born yet?  Or for that matter, for a baby thatwill certainly grow before you finish the project?

Kristen:  The short answer is, When in doubt, knit big – some babieswouldn’t fit into the smallest size even at birth.  Knitting a larger size can also mean morelongevity for a  garment. Pants orsleeves can be rolled up, and pullovers or cardigans can be worn big until babygrows into them.

Erin:  When knitting babysweaters, I tend to choose cotton yarns because they are washable.  Arethere other yarns to consider when knitting for babies?

Kristen:  The firstconsideration is what material to use. Personally, I prefer wool, which is lightweight; holdsmany times its weight in water; wicks moisture away from the skin; and helpsregulate temperature, keeping baby warm in winter and cool in summer.  The idea that all wool is too scratchy forbabies is generally a myth, and wool allergies are actually very rare – there aremany kinds of wool, both soft and not, so the best way to test it is to hold itup against your face.  (If you havereason to suspect that there may be wool allergies, of course, or if theparents just don’t believe in wool for babies, it’s best to avoid wool, nomatter how soft.)   Other potentialanimal fibers to use include alpaca, which is many times warmer than wool, andappropriate mainly for a baby in a cold-weather climate; silk, which isinelastic and harder to wash, but has a lovely drape and softness for a specialproject; and of course cashmere.   

Plant fibers have some advantages and disadvantages.  Cotton is cool and soft, but very heavy whenwet, and babies are often wet!  Hemp andlinen take many washings to become soft enough for baby, but they make greatbaby garments – they’re cool in summer, they’re completely washable, and theydrape beautifully.   Bamboo, whileinelastic, also has a nice drape, and tends to be very soft. 

And then of course there are man-made fibers.  Whether or not to use them is a matter ofpersonal choice. Fromthe perspective of convenience, there is no longer a huge difference betweenacrylic fibers and those made of natural materials.  Superwash yarns eliminate the need to hand-wash wool,  and even hand-wash garments can be easilyand inexpensively laundered using any of the the new no-rinse garment washesavailable today.   That said, acrylicis no longer the scratchy Orlon of the 1970s, and there are many nice acrylicsand acrylic blends. 

In terms of “natural” vs. “man-made” yarns, it’s important to remember that manyyarns made of natural materials, including super-wash wools and yarns made fromnon-traditional materials such as bamboo or corn, are made in part usingchemical processes and/or dyed using non-chemical dyes . Unless yarn ismade of locally grown material, its carbon footprint is also made larger by theconsiderable amount of fuel that it takes to ship it from grower to mill toconsumer. With that in mind, because they are so often derived from petroleumproducts, and because they involve the same long hauls in shipping terms, acrylic  yarns tend to have an even larger carbonfootprint than natural materials.  So thechoice is purely personal.

No matter what material you choose, it’s important to checkthe label for care instructions.  Whilemany yarns are machine washable, there are also many yarns that requirehand-washing, regardless of their material.

 

(Maude Honeycomb Blanket)

Erin:  What do knitters needto keep in mind when it comes to keeping babies safe? 

Kristen:  Buttons and snaps are okay to use with most baby garments,but you’ll need to be sure to sew them on very tightly, using two to threetimes as much thread as you might use to secure a button on an adult garmentand knotting the ends very tightly so your sewing can’t unravel.  It’s also a good idea to regularly check suchfasteners, and to keep an eye out for any which might become loose.  Some parents prefer to use garments with buttonsonly when the baby is supervised; other parents prefer to make short i-cord orcrochet ties instead.

While ribbons and drawstrings at the neck have literallybeen used for centuries, it’s best to either use them in a garment that can beworn when baby is supervised, or leave them out and let the baby wear thegarment open.

Take extra care when putting a garment with buttonholes on ababy, because you don’t want baby’s fingers to get stuck in them.  The same goes for lace garments – you justneed to be careful that they don’t get tangled up in the lacy holes.

As far as yarns go, most modern yarns are pretty safe. While it’strue that many acrylic yarns are not fire-proof, neither is most children’sclothing, and thankfully situations that warrant this concern are extremely rare.If you areseriously worried about fire hazards, stick with wool, which isnaturally fire retardant.

 

(Frankie Striped Socks)

Erin:  Which of the projectsin the book are good for beginning knitters?  And which ones should betackled by those with more knitting experience?

Kristen:  The Milo Soakers are probably the easiest pattern in thebook, requiring only a knowledge of how to cast on and off, and how to knit andpurl.  The Stella Pixie Hat is anothereasy project that’s very enjoyable, and the Floyd and Dewey sweaters are amongthe easiest in the book.  On the otherend of the spectrum is the Avery Christening Gown & Frock – definitely aproject that requires a little more focus.

But one cool thing about vintage knitting books is that theynever gave skill levels, because they assumed – quite correctly – that anyonewho can knit and purl could learn to take on any project.  And that is totally true – any pattern inVintage Baby Knits is completely do-able by any knitter, with enoughconcentration and maybe a little practice.

 

(Daisy Soaker)

Erin:  Speaking of soakers, can you tell us a little about them?  I know there are many parents out there who are cloth diapering.  What should we know?

Kristen:  If you cloth diaper, wool soakers are really great, mainlybecause of wool’s amazing properties. Wool is antimicrobial, it’s absorbent, andit wicks moisture away from the skin. When properly lanolized, they can hold many times their own weight inliquid on the inside, while miraculously neither feeling nor smelling wet onthe outside! They stay comfortable for baby for an astonishingly long timeafter a leak. What’s more, once wet, they can simply be hung out to dry, withno odor at all – meaning that as long as they are not soiled, they can be wornmany times without needing to be washed and lanolized.  (Lanolization is the simple process ofsoaking the soakers in a mixture of lanolin and hot water, until the naturallanolin has been restored to the wool.)  For any cloth diapering parent, I highly recommend trying it – ourgrandparents were really onto something!  If you don’t cloth diaper, ofcourse, wool soakers just make cute pants, too.

Erin:  They sure do!  Thanks for your time, Kristen.  I'm really looking forward to casting on another project from Vintage Baby Knits!

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To find out more about Vintage Baby Knits, visit the other stops on Kristen's blog tour.  You can learn more about vintage knitting on Kristen's own blog, Retroknit Design.

Do you want a copy of this fantastic book?  I thought you did!  Leave a comment on this post before Friday at noon and I will draw winning name.  You can also enter to win one of three copies that STC Craft| Melanie Falick Books is giving away.  Click here for more information.