Baby in a bag!

So, fall is coming fast around here, and little babies need something to keep them warm. This "baby bag" (does anyone have a better name for this??) is just the thing when you need to go somewhere in a hurry - just put the baby in and put her right into her car seat wearing this. I made this for my little niece and is a bit big right now, but will hopefully fit well when winter strikes for real in the new year.

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I've used a recipe called "Nataschas kjørepose" from the Norwegian book "Myk Start" ("Soft Start") by May B. Langhelle. Since the "soft start" refers not only to the recipient of the knitting projects, but also the the skill level required of the knitter, the recipe is made up of many pieces knitted flat and sewn together. Now, I really don't like sewing in my knitting projects. It doesn't look good, it's usually a weak point in the construction, and it's fairly unelastic. Plus it's incredibly boring and I'm a skilled knitter by now anyway. So as you might expect, I made sure to complicate the recipe as best as I could, removing all but two seams in the process! ;) I won't bore you with the details, but the only places I couldn't avvoid sewing is where the arms meet the body. The shoulders and hood were grafted instead of sewn.

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There's a neat little trick in the recipe giving you these lovely columns of stitches running along the edges. I love the look - such a great way to finish a piece of knitting! Must remember this in the future.

In order for the safety harness of the car seat to be properly fastened without removing the baby bag, there is a small hole in the back of the bag that the center strap of the harness can pass through. It's difficult to see in the picture, but it's there, just to the left of the topmost button. The strap then goes between the baby's legs and out between the buttons in the front, to meet the two shoulder straps that goes on the outside of the baby bag.

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The top button is just a little bit larger than the rest. This is actually a result of having just six of the smaller buttons. This flower button just happened to be a good colour match, as well as being a perfect fit in the topmost - slightly loose - buttonhole. Talk about luck! :)