Cupcakes for Baby - July 15, 2010 14:25 - By: NoisyPenguin

I was going to start knitting a teddy bear for the baby, but after how much fun Mr. Poop had helping make his penguin, I've decided to hold off a little on making her a toy until she can remember it or help a little. So instead I decided to make her a hat and some mittens. (This is the hat I showed the beginnings of here.) I finished these a little while ago but I was a bit lazy about taking pictures.



Just as it is no surprise that I made a penguin for Mr. Poop's first handcrafted item from Mom, it should be no surprise that the baby's first handmade thing is a cupcake. Or rather, cupcakes.



We may be heading up to Seattle again for Christmas so I made these in the 3-6 month size, as she might actually get some use out of them when we go there (probably not so much in San Diego). I like them so much though I'll probably attempt to start putting the hat on her pretty much as soon as she's born though. The pink cake part is ribbed, maybe it'll stay on when her head is smaller.


Mr. Poop allowed Dino to model for us.

Or maybe she'll have a big noggin like her dad. (No seriously. Dr. Pants has a big head. I mean, it looks awesome on him, but he has to special order hats. It probably has to be bigger than the average head to contain his massive brain.)



Pattern: Cupcake Baby Set from Itty-Bitty Nursery, by Susan B. Anderson (who I keep mistakenly calling Susan B. Anthony)
Needles: Size 7 DPN, size G crochet hook
Yarn: Pink - Rowan Cashsoft Baby DK in Pixie; White - Rowan Cashsoft Baby DK in Snowman; Dark Pink - Kona Bay Cotton in Magenta. I bought the Cashsoft in Pixie; the Snowman was from Mr. Poop's penguin and the Kona Bay was from my stash.

Notes: The pattern also includes instructions for a scarf. The scarf is super cute, with little cherry pom poms, but I passed. The idea of wrapping a piece of fabric around a little baby's neck just seemed kind of...I don't know...dumb.



Also: The edging where the pink meets the white is done in crochet, which I have never done before. There were some basic instructions in the back of the book, but they weren't super useful. I'm a visual learner anyway, so I found a few videos online and watched them so I could see what exactly I needed to do and that helped me understand the basics. It took some experimenting for me to figure out exactly how I was supposed to attach the crochet edging to the existing knit pieces. But I persisted, and I am pleased. I had issues crocheting the cherry ball for the top - I got it roundish, but I couldn't ever get it just right and I was ready to move on to another project, so I made a knit swirly cherry thing instead. I like it just as well.



Also also: While I was teaching myself how to crochet I got rather frustrated a few times. "Crocheting is stupid." "Ugh, what kind of jerk would mix knitting and crocheting together anyway?" "STOP TELLING ME WHAT YARN IS VIDEO LADY, JUST TELL ME HOW TO CROCHET." Dr. Pants pointed out that I displayed the same kind of...anger...while I was teaching myself to knit. By this measure I will be obsessed with crochet pattern books within six months.

Tags: knitting crafty