Wittle Wednesdays: Kelbourne Woolens Baby Collection

It is Wednesday, right?

Sometimes I'm not even sure anymore.

I know it's April.

Or, I'm pretty sure.

Wittle Wednesday this week is dedicated to a knit I finished a while back, but didn't have a baby to use to showcase. I decided to go ahead and post it, because I wanted to talk about Kelbourne Woolens Baby Collection too.

This sweater was originally started for JJ, and then by the time it was done, it was too small. So it will be going into storage for baby #2.

(Did I mentioned that baby #2 is a boy? It's a boy! Another boy!)

The pattern is Beatrix, and can be found in Kelbourne Woolens Baby Collection, a delightful  set of practical and timeless baby knits, all featuring the beautiful Fibre Company yarns.

This pattern calls for Acadia. I happened to have a little, so I used it for the contrast color, and used up some Knit Picks City Tweed DK for the main color.

I knit the 6-12 month size, and I think 12 months would probably be pushing it. Based on just this sweater, I would guess the patterns might run a bit small, but you can remedy that by actually measuring your baby, and not just winging it. 

The entire piece is knit in garter stitch, so it's full of squishy goodness, and the body is knit in one piece, with mitered shaping on the front.

 It has just one button, so I picked a decorative one I had in my collection.

I love the grown up-looking collar on this piece, and can't wait to see it on a squishy baby this fall!

Photo courtesy of Kelbourne Woolens

This is the first piece I knit from the KW Baby Collection, but won't be the last. There are some great patterns in here. Like Collette:

 Photo courtesy of Kelbourne Woolens

Pretty girlie, but in the right colors and sans the hearts, I think it will work for a boy.

And Nellie is the cutest little unisex jumper:

Photo courtesy of Kelbourne Woolens

 Many of these patterns are fairly simple and straightforward, which is the beauty of it all: as a new or expecting mom, you often don't have the energy or brain power for something complicated. At your best, you might be able to work simple patterns like these out on your own. But on 3 hours' sleep, you just want someone to tell you what to do.

My only concern with this collection is that, while the Fibre Company's yarns are absolutely beautiful, many of them are delicate and perhaps not baby/kid friendly. So I would suggest taking that into consideration when deciding whether to knit your projects in the recommended yarns (perhaps for special occasion pieces?) or to opt for heartier yarns.

If you enjoy baby knits, I highly recommend this 13 pattern collection. You can buy the ebook through Ravelry for $15, or grab a print copy on Amazon for $13 + shipping.