# Baby Surprise Jacket ideas OR What to do with snippets of novelty yarns



## Jessica-Jean (Mar 14, 2011)

http://dizzylettuceknits.blogspot.ca/2009/06/bsjs.html


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## jinx (Feb 12, 2011)

Interesting, Very interesting.


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## kathleenknits (Jan 27, 2012)

This is fabulous..... I love working with multi colored yarns!


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## chickkie (Oct 26, 2011)

I'm not so sure about some of those yarns


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## not enough yarn (May 29, 2012)

I like it. A child would too.


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## btibbs70 (Mar 23, 2011)

Would never have thought of this as a yarn buster! TNX for posting :thumbup:


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## dragonkeeper1 (Jan 9, 2013)

It is really cool. Is it washable?


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## busybeesheila (Apr 21, 2012)

Clever idea. Makes the BSJ look different.


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## PittyPat (Jul 2, 2011)

This BSJ is perfect. I love the colors and a child will think this is great. Oh my I have got to make one of these. I have the pattern staring at me, PittyPat


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## Kyba (Oct 12, 2011)

Wow! One of a kind, just beautiful!


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## debbe (Aug 13, 2011)

Cute and fun!!!


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## nhauf001 (Jan 18, 2011)

very cute idea!


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## Lalane (Aug 23, 2011)

Great sweater.


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## Briegeen (Dec 9, 2012)

Waste not , want not. What a colourful jacket, well done.


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## Browniemom (Sep 24, 2012)

Like this idea of Joseph's coat for the baby surprise jacket. Now to rummage thru my stash! Elizabeth would approve...:thumbup:


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## jocelynedenault (Nov 6, 2012)

Very, very cool!!!


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## Jessica-Jean (Mar 14, 2011)

dragonkeeper1 said:


> It is really cool. Is it washable?


That depends on the washability of the yarns the knitter uses, no? 
In my opinion - both as a mother and knitter, only a fool or a sucker for punishment would make anything _not_ washable for a baby. Mom might appreciate the lovely wools, but baby will up-chuck all over everything without discrimination. Most moms won't care to have to hand-wash anything. The hand-wash-only baby duds I was given were never used (=re-gifted to someone I didn't really care about).


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## debbe (Aug 13, 2011)

Well, I am neither a fool, nor a sucker for punishment, and I make lovely items for babies and children from lovely hand washable wools as I know that the people to whom I give these treasures, know enough to treat them as such..heirlooms, not to be re-gifted...it certainly does not take much to put a handmade item into a sink of cool water with some soft soap...oh well, to each their own!


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## Jessica-Jean (Mar 14, 2011)

debbe said:


> Well, I am neither a fool, nor a sucker for punishment, and I make lovely items for babies and children from lovely hand washable wools as I know that the people to whom I give these treasures, know enough to treat them as such..heirlooms, not to be re-gifted...it certainly does not take much to put a handmade item into a sink of cool water with some soft soap...oh well, to each their own!


The non-machine washables I'd been given were NOT hand-made, but store-bought. I worked full-time and my husband was a student when we began our family. Hand-washing was decidedly NOT on my schedule. Things set aside for eventual hand-washing were never washed and ended up thrown out.


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## LinJurm (Aug 4, 2011)

I love it! I wonder if kids would like the multi-colors - or not????


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## robyn_knits (Oct 2, 2012)

WHAT A GREAT USE OF YARNS. A VERY ORIGINAL GARMENT.


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## knitter2 (Feb 19, 2012)

I love, love, love the sweater. The colors and textures and great. I,myself, would love a sweater like that. It is really beautiful.


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## debbe (Aug 13, 2011)

A Mom and Baby one would be adorable!


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## katiezhouse (Jun 5, 2012)

Just charming and I think a little girl would feel like a princess!


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## yona (Feb 7, 2011)

So unique.


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## Maxine R (Apr 15, 2011)

Jessica-Jean said:


> http://dizzylettuceknits.blogspot.ca/2009/06/bsjs.html


Great idea :thumbup:


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## Jeannie2009 (Mar 8, 2013)

Great sweater and getting the ol' brain chugging.


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## osterville (May 28, 2011)

Love ,Love, this jacket ,love the colors and every thing about the sweater. Wish i was talented enough to make one of these for my granddaughter . The colors are beautiful !!


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## barbi1025 (Jan 25, 2012)

What fun!


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## Jessica-Jean (Mar 14, 2011)

osterville said:


> Love ,Love, this jacket ,love the colors and every thing about the sweater. Wish i was talented enough to make one of these for my granddaughter . The colors are beautiful !!


Talent? _What_ talent? 
It's ALL garter stitch. 
There are decreases, k2tog and/or some double decreases.
There are a few increases to allow for the bulk of baby's diaper. 
You cast-on a surprising number of stitches, but that's not the 'surprise' part of it. 
You knit back-and-forth with occasional decreases/increases. 
You end up with an amorphous blob of garter stitch (colour-changes at knitter's whim), and *that* is where the "Surprise" comes in! 
There are two short seams along the top line of the shoulders/sleeves.
Try one! You'll love it, and it'll use up all those leftovers from other projects!
The Baby Surprise Jacket does NOT require great 'talent', just some faith that the blob will turn into the promised sweater, and perseverance. Loads of garter stitch can become boring; that's probably why most of the photos are of striped ones. Looking forward to a colour change is the carrot that keeps you going through the boring bits!

I've made two. One is finished; one isn't sewn up. I love to dump the unsewn one on the table at knitting meeting for a newbie to try to figure out just what the heck that blob might be! Fun!


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## katiezhouse (Jun 5, 2012)

Jessica-Jean said:


> Talent? _What_ talent?
> It's ALL garter stitch.
> There are decreases, k2tog and/or some double decreases.
> There are a few increases to allow for the bulk of baby's diaper.
> ...


I would like to second your remarks Jessica Jean. The BSJ was one of the easiest projects ever! At the same time it was fun and challenging. I plan on doing an adult next and two children's.


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