Harry Potter Gryffindor Baby Jacket/Sweater

Harry Potter Gryffindor Baby Jacket/Sweter
by Rachel Simmons
Available on Ravelry
Price: $3.50
Skills Needed: Color changing, button holes, knitting in the round (for sleeves)


     Full disclosure before I begin this post...this is my pattern available on Ravelry.  I wanted to make my son a sweater that was both a little nerdy and very functional, so I designed this little number. (I started reading Harry Potter when I was 13 and the final book did not come out until I was in college.  Needless to say, I am a lifetime fan.  Harry Potter was a very large part of my adolescent fiction experience and I am SO excited to share the books with my children.) I find baby projects to be very satisfying; they work up so quickly, they are tiny and cute, and you get to see your handy work on a cute little person when you're done.  It was actually a lot of fun figuring out this pattern, too. It helped me understand sweater structure a little better having to create my own directions.  It makes me really appreciate the work that goes in to all of those patterns for larger garments and projects...and for other baby patterns for that matter.  Some of the baby booties I have been scoping out are so elaborate, props to the designers of those cute little numbers, too.  
     This pattern is worked in one piece with only one seam along the top of the hood.  Seams can be so uncomfortable, especially when you are a baby.  I am sure even the hood seem could be eliminated, but I figured as far as wearability went, this seam would not cause too much fuss.  The button band is added by picking up stitches after the body is worked.  The sleeves are worked in the round, but the rest of the sweater is worked flat.  If you are feeling particularly knitty, you could even add a pocket to the front...that would be cute.  The sweater featured above was worked in Gryffindor house colors, but I think it would look good in any of the house colors...or even the colors of your favorite sports team.  You could ignore the stripes all together and make a solid sweater.  Oh my goodness, the possibilities.  


Summary:  I feel like this is a shameless plug for my own pattern.  I feel the directions are straight forward and the project is a simple but cute sweater for a baby.  The sizing runs large so that it can fit over the tops of other clothes and function more as a jacket than a sweater.  In my experience, my son is not an indoor sweater wearing guy.  Worked from the top down, there are no seams to cause discomfort in the main body of the sweater.  This project works up very quickly with a bulky weight yarn.