Friday, June 27, 2008

You can never be too young for jeans (or too old!)

I think it is true that denim (or demin as I prefer to call it) suits pretty much everyone, all ages, all genders and most sizes (everyone except my mum, that is - I've never seen her in jeans and I can't imagine her wearing them!)

I've always thought these were exceedingly cute, and so the impending arrival of George's bump provided the perfect opportunity!
Details
Pattern: Denim Drawstring Pants (demin pantses!) from Last Minute Knitted Gifts (3-6 month size). This pattern is written to knit in the round (hurrah!) with minimal seaming. It's in the 4-6 hour section of the book. Either that's an optimistic prediction or I'm a very slow knitter - I suspect quite possibly both!
I like the moss stitch cuff, which can be turned up or down - cute feature which adds length too - very helpful if the baby has giraffe like legs!

Yarn: Rowan Denim, 2.5 x 50g balls in shade 229 (Memphis). I really like this yarn. It is stiffer to knit with, like all cottons, but it is still quite soft and it just gets better the more you wash it. I know lots of people experience it bleeding on the hands or needles, but I've never had any of that - partly because I've never used bamboo needles for it, and also possibly because I've knit with it in winter, rather than summer.
It definitely does fade when you wash it, which I hope you can see in this photo.

Sticks: KnitPicks Options, 4.5mm, long cable to allow me to magic loop the entire project.
Time: 3 June 2008 - 15 June 2008.
What I learnt: For this project, I made both legs at the same time by magic loop (using this book as a guide - thanks MadMad!). It took a while to get used to it, particularly having two balls of yarn and two tails of yarn, but I got into the swing of it which made it a lot easier. And it guaranteed both legs were the same length, which I think, you know, is fairly important in a pair of pantses.
It's also the first time I have sewn down the cast off edge - ie rather than casting it off, you sew it down to make the turnover bit at the top of the pantses, where you put in the drawstring. The pattern suggests to run a line through the top where you will be seaming, to make sure you seam in a straight line, but I didn't bother with that, I just made sure I picked up the stitch right next to the last one, and that worked fine. I like the i-cord drawstring but I'm never sure what you do with the tail when you make i-cord - it doesn't seem to be able to be darned in - what do you do? (I knotted it, and then knotted the end of the i-cord itself, which I thought might make it a bit less inclined to come out of the pantses as well).
I think these are fab (if I do say so myself)! One of my work colleagues wants me to make her an adult sized pair, although somehow I'm not sure they'll be quite as cute!

22 comments:

Bells said...

Oh my! I saw these in person and just loved them and hanging on the line like that, they look so cute! I can't wait til the Bump wears them!

You are so damn clever. I loved reading how you made them because I didn't really know. That's going to be one hip baby.

m1k1 said...

exlecent demin

i've always wanted to know how to do that 2 on 1 circ thang. skips to order book page. because sherpa is doing enough furgalling for all the world.

ta

Diana said...

Oh, they are more than cute!!!

Anonymous said...

They're adorable, and I love them hung up on the line like that! Denim may suit everyone, but jeans definitely don't - I look dreadful in them!

amy said...

I LOVE THIS PATTERN! I've not seen a pair done, though, except in the book. SO CUTE!!! And I also like the denim cotton yarn. I've knit with a similar yarn, different brand, and I simply didn't care that it bled onto my hands and needles (baby wipes cleaned the needles just fine). It's just too cute.

Anonymous said...

mmm i really want my own pair too- can't you imagine them in a soft cashmerino or even pure cashmere in the winter!?! I just had a chill of excitement
They are very cute as well.

Ann said...

They are so cute & looks like a little pair of jeans. You dis a great job. I love jeans too & wish I can wear them everyday.

MadMad said...

Oh, cute, cute, and some more cute! The pair I made (Blu from Knitty) had a lot of similar features, but I like that cuff you did. Glad the book came in handy!

Sue said...

Oh they are adorable. Lucky baby!

Bron said...

Oh they are so gorgeous!!!
Great photo on the line too =)

TinkingBell said...

Oh - absolutely gorgeous! I'm having fun with bump knitting too - and for some friends who were inconsiderate enough to have a baby 2 weeks early! Love the baby knits!

Donna Lee said...

They are so cute. All she needs is a t shirt and the baby is all set to be hip. I love the color. I think I have some of that. I never thought of making baby pants out of it.

Georgie said...

I love these soooo much! And very cleverly made too.

Im not so sure about an adult-sized version...certainly not as cute! And way more knitting than I'd like to contemplate!

Michele said...

yup i think they are fab too! especially that moss stitch cuff.

Sarah said...

Love the demin pantses but I think they are probably cutest at this scale!

Denise said...

Very very cute!! Great job knitting two legs at once, I must find out how to DO that one of these days!

Linda said...

They are so nice, I expect the recipient will look gorgeous in them. Adult ones might be a bit scarey ... especially on a man ...

Anonymous said...

Little denim pants - too cute! I love the hint of variegation in color.

amanda j said...

Cute and cosy!

I wouldn't like to knit a real human sized pair though. I like round and round, but that would be taking it a bit too far.

DrK said...

VERY fab! clever girl.

Anonymous said...

These are soooo cute and I absolutely love the miss stitch cuffs!!! They are gorgeous!! I knot the i-cord end in with the i-cord. It is a quandary though...

Snoozen said...

They are way cute. But I am with you on the adult size ones...umm maybe not as cute.