Mattie's Layette

I've had so much knitting going on lately that I never had a chance to post a sweet little set of baby things that I made for my new niece. She's had it for about 3 weeks and even got to wear it out and about a little.

You've seen the sweater before so I'll start with the accessories. I really wanted the pieces to read as a set so I trolled Ravelry quite a bit in a search for patterns. I found the perfect hat pattern, titled simply Cute Preemie/Baby Hat. It had sections of stockinette and lace delineated by garter ridges which worked well to mimic the yoke of the sweater and allow easy incorporation of the three colors.

In the small picture of the hat you see it before the crochet edge was added. For over a week I looked at the hat sitting on my living room table and felt like it was off - somehow not living up to expectations. Then one morning in the shower (where I do my best thinking) I remembered the last step of the pattern - the crochet scallops on the edge. It's a huge improvement isn't it? Without the edge it's ok but unexciting but with the crochet scallops it's sweet and finished looking. I was amazed at the difference that one little detail made.

After finishing the hat I went back to Rav again and came up with the Lacy Rib Baby Socks by Evelyn Skae. It only took a day to make these up and I love them.

The yarn I used for this set is Katia Mississippi 3 which I've used many times before with great success. I used to use it a lot. I just came across one of my earliest sweaters for Stinkerbelle the other day. It was a simple little midriff tee with short raglan sleeves and she wore it all the time. I cannot tell you how many times it went through the washer and dryer and yet it still looks great. It's still soft and the colors look good. Let's hope this little set holds up as well.

Here are all the pieces together. I added a little denim jumper from Old Navy. Looking at it all together I don't think there's a single thing I'd change. Now I need to think of what else I can make with that yarn because there's quite a bit left over.