Whirligig

In September I finished test-knitting Whirligig Shrug for Stephanie Japel. The pattern originally appeared in Interweave Knits Weekend 2009 but was only sized for babies. Stephanie decided to up-size it for children, and eventually plans to release an adult version as well. I volunteered to test the Child size 6 (in the hopes of getting a free copy of the adult sized pattern once it is released.) I have no idea about children's clothes sizing so have no idea what age of child a size 6 would fit. It's pretty cute though.





I used a DK weight yarn called Soft Sea Wool from Reynolds. It's 100% wool, so it may have been an impractical choice for a child's garment since it's not machine washable... Also, it's a 2-ply yarn so it's a bit nubbley and doesn't show off the seed stitch or the cables as well as it could. If I knit it again I will be sure to use a more balanced 3- or 4-ply yarn for smooth stitch definition.

I couldn't get a good picture of the front because I couldn't hang it and get a picture, but here it is flat against a dark background. (I figured kidnapping a child just to model handknits for me might be more trouble than it's worth, so you're stuck with this mediocre picture of the front.)



I can absolutely vouch for the pattern and say that it is error free (at least as to size 6) and very quick to knit. I found working the small circumference of the arms a bit tedious, but I assume it would be that way for any child-sized garment with arms. Probably this will end up donated to the charity that provides clothes to the homeless here in Portland.