FO: Matinee Coat

Earlier this week, I mailed off my penultimate lingering Christmas gift - a matinee coat for my niece, Denay.

Matinee Coat - finished

I really liked the lace stitch pattern at the bottom of the coat - it did take me a few attempts to get the pattern down, but once I got going, it was really quick and fun. It's a one-row pattern, with a purl row on the wrong side.

I decided to work the body of the jacket in one piece to eliminate some seaming. For this, I worked the sides and back of the lace pattern together, and separated the pieces once I reached the stockinette section.

Start-End: ?,2007 - Feb 17, 2008
Pattern: Matinee Coat from Simply Baby by Debbie Bliss
Yarn: Sirdar Snuggly DK in shade 0257
Needles: KnitPicks Options and fixed circulars sizes US 6 (4.0 mm), US 3 (3.25 mm) and US 5 (3.75 mm)
New-to-Me Techniques: Lace Knitting

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I felt the yarn could be a little bit splitty. Having said that, it's a great choice for babies - it's quite soft, comes in a variety of colors and is machine washable. I can see using it for other baby projects in the future.

I am very happy with the finished product. All the patterns in Simply Baby are simple and timeless, but require a good amount of seaming up in the end. My biggest gripe with the book is the lack of decent photos and schematics. This particular pattern lacked a good, clear picture of the finished piece. While the photos that were included were well-shot and artistic, they were not particularly helpful, making me very glad for Ravelry.