Closure For Tomten

This Tomten, modeled by Abe, is for a dear friend of mine who had a baby boy back in April. Since she waited until birth to find out the baby's gender, I didn't start on this until after he was born. My friend has always wanted to have a family. She tried to have a baby for a long time, and although she was able to conceive, for some reason she couldn't carry the baby to term. After a few miscarriages, she and her husband decided to try and adopt a child. Right as they were beginning the adoption process, she became pregnant again, and this time everything went smoothly, and she delivered a beautiful, healthy baby boy!

As usual, I decided to make a large garment that would be wearable for a long time, instead of something that would only fit for a few weeks. If the sleeves are rolled up, this jacket could potentially fit a child anywhere from 1 1/2-4 years old, depending on build. I used Falk and size 4 needles. Even though Falk is listed as a sport weight yarn, I get 5 sts to an inch when using a size 4. I learned this the hard way during the train hat incident. I did the pattern as written, except for adding about 10 more ridges to the hood to make it even roomier.

I was finished knitting, sewing and blocking the jacket 2 weeks ago, but I put it aside for a bit because of the closure issue. I thought all along that a zipper would be best, both aesthetically and practically, but I wasn't sure I was ready to brave the sewing machine again. Last time I inserted a zipper into a knit, I had a very sewing savvy friend sitting right next to me and telling me exactly what to do. I wasn't sure if I could make the magic happen all by myself.

I took some of the gray yarn and made an i-cord with the thought of using it as a loop for a toggle button. I also considered adding snaps somehow. But the zipper idea kept coming up as the winner. So, I got a zipper and matching thread, and during Abe's naptime today I went for it.

To my surprise, I remembered more than I thought I would from my zipper session 2 years ago. It certainly isn't perfect, but hopefully it will stay attached, and help make the jacket a useful addition to my friend's son's wardrobe.