When the Baby Bandit arrived I had to cast on for a Baby Surprise Jacket (BSJ). The BSJ is one of the few patterns that I have knit more then once. I have done this pattern at least five times. I love the way the BSJ does not look like a sweater when one is doing the knitting.
The BSJ is a series of increases and decreases at marked points. This makes it good travel knitting, one can shove it in a bag and pick it up at any point, look at the markers and continue knitting.
BSJ, finished except for choosing the buttons
It is only after you flip the bottom edge and make the fold that creates the sleeve, that one sees that this is a wearable piece of knitting.
What I also love about the BSJ is that it is proportional. You can follow the exact same pattern but use a different yarn (baby, sock, sport, worsted) with a needle appropriate for that yarn and you will obtain the same knitted object, exactly proportioned but in a different size, the perfect pattern to test a new yarn.
I did my latest BSJ with Baby Bandit in the color Frolic (think bright green) using a 3 mm needle. I used a 32” circular because I like using a circular needle to accommodate all the stitches. One could also use a long straight needle. I made no changes to the pattern. I used an i-cord bind off. Did an invisible seam and then continued the i-cord along the neckline for a smooth, continuous i-cord edge. I placed my buttonholes on the left side and the buttons will be on the right.
Baby Bandit is a 50g ball, 178m; the BSJ used 70g of luscious machine washable merino wool. Looking at the finished BSJ, I could easily have done up to a 3.25 mm needle. I admit I did not do a swatch. A slightly larger needle would have produced a slightly drapier BSJ. However, I just may do a matching hat and socks. I am going to put the BSJ through the washing machine cycle to see how Baby Bandit stands up to machine washing. Stay Tuned.