Elliott's Sweater

A pretty baby in a pretty sweater.

This is a sweater I made for my granddaughter. The pattern is Elizabeth Zimmerman's Tomten Jacket, with a modification- The sweater is supposed to be done in garter stitch, and somehow I didn't get that from the pattern. I did it in stockinette, because the slubbiness of the yarn looked better that way, I thought.

Not exactly a new knitter, I am still not a very experienced knitter. I am really proud that, despite not following the directions very well, I managed to finish the piece. It's my first knitted sweater. I learned quite a lot, from the knitting as well as from the ripping out and reknitting.

The yarn is a slubby cotton/rayon blend. It was white on the cone, and I dyed it in skeins with Procion dyes to get the colors you see. For decoration, there are rows of garter stitch at the bottom, along the front lapel and around the edge of the hood, where the arms join the jacket at the shoulder, and at the wrist. I added a tassel on the top of the hood.

What's a Tomten? According to The Tomten Page:

The tomtes (in Germany, kobolds)are a pre-Christian race of spirit beings well-known to the north Europeans. Generally, they are considered to be spirits of place who become familiars of a household. The tomte is a short (three feet or so) elderly man of unpredictable disposition, attired in grey woolen clothes and wearing a red cap.

Elliott is not a short old man wearing a red cap, but she is of unpredictable disposition. More about Tomten's here

Click on the picture to see a larger version.

Front

Back- I love the way the colors work across the bottom of the back- it reminds me of the Monet Waterlilies triptych
Front, with buttons. I am not so fond of the stripiness here.

Button detail. The buttons are glass, with depth

Detail of bottom and center front.