…she’s going to ask for another one. And then she’s going to want a hat to go with it. And so on. We’ve come full spectrum from Zooey rejecting things I’ve knitted for her to having a running list of things I should knit for her next. I’m rather pleased, but also have to slow her down a bit and let her know I can’t make everything. This project was inspired by a SweetGeorgia Party of Five kit in Jelly Bean that I could not resist. A pink to orange gradient?! Brilliant. I knew I had to make something with it. I snapped up one of those kits along with some extra Orchid, the pink color in the kit.

I’m making Zooey a miniature version of Still Light Tunic, but I’m omitting the pockets. I’m adapting this pattern by replicating the percentages in it and making it on a smaller scale. I won’t tell you those percentages because I feel that give too much information away for a paid pattern. If you want to learn more about percentages in raglan patterns you can check out this Knitty article. I can say that I cast on 102 stitches for a size that will be somewhere between 4-5T (or is that child size?!). I figured out from the original pattern what percent of the stitches were sleeve stitches (by dividing number of allocated sleeve stitches into the total number of cast on stitches) and replicated that percentage in this version. Sometimes I do love math and yes you can use it later in life. It’s quite handy. I increased until I had about a 24″ chest on a 7 stitches per inch gauge.

The gradient kit has a little over 500 yards in it. I’m figuring I can knit about 3 inches in each color, for a body length (starting at the underarm) of 15″. I’m into the first gradient color and will see if knitting 3 inches in that leaves a decent chunk of the ball left. Each section is still getting bigger right now, so I have to account for that when figuring out how much I can knit in each color. I’m sure there is a formula for that too, but I’m willing to wing that piece. It’s a fun experiment. The sleeves will be all Orchid.

I think she is going to love this and I’m loving knitting it. I had to cast on some bigger needle projects because I was wearing out my hands and wrists with all of the 3mm and smaller needle work I have been doing. I happily cast on a Flaum and will report on that soon.

Happy knitting (and injecting math into your knits if that’s your thing).