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| The two hand dyed handspun yarns I'm using for this project. The first chunky attempt (green, right) and the very bulky blue Chirphead yarn. |
Gauge Swatches
The Peek-a-Boo Pod calls for size 19 needles, but the largest I could get for my harmony interchangables is 17 (12.0 mm). Since my needles are a bit smaller, I wanted to check my gauge with both of the yarns.
Chunky Baby Bod Yarn - 7 sts/ 4", 5 rows/2" over stockinette. Pretty close to what the pattern calls for, so I call that a win!
First Chunky Attempt Yarn - 9 sts/4", 6 rows/2". This is very loose and would easily stretch to larger dimensions, perfect for making it fit a baby!
Peek-a-boo Pod Construction Notes
- I did not have any stitch markers that were large enough to go over size 17 needles, so I put a removable marker on the last stitch of the first round.
- I cast on 45 sts with the First Chunky Attempt Yarn and knit 5 rounds (opposed to the 4 indicated in the pattern.) I know that as this stretches to accomodate the baby I'd lose some of the depth to the pod, so this should counteract the slightly smaller gauge.
- First row with Chunky Baby Pod Yarn - *K7, K2tog* across (40 sts)
- After 4 rows of Chunky Baby Pod Yarn, 75 g remain. This means that I will likely consume all of this yarn before getting to the decreases, but I think that will be okay. I can just switch back to the other yarn for the bottom of the pod. (Where it won't really be visible.)
- 15.5 rows were completed with the Chunky Baby Pod Yarn. I then switched back to the First Chunky Attempt Yarn. I continued counting rounds as they were written in the pattern until I had completed 19 rounds since the switch (25 rounds total INC row on needles) and the piece measured 8" from the cast on edge.
- After 16 sts left, K2tog around before pulling yarn through remaining stitches.
Final Dimensions of the baby pod are 10" deep x 12" wide. It is VERY stretchy, so I believe that it would easily accomodate my newborn baby boy. I decided not to weave a ribbon through the pod at this time. I don't think the issue will be the pod being too loose on my baby, if anything it could be a wee bit tight.
In the end I used 100% of the 28 yards of my chunky chirphead yarn, and 50 g (30.2 yards) consumed of "first chunky attempt" yarn. As you can see from the side in the picture below, the yarn that I created specifically for this project is showed off really well on the sides, and this is exactly what I wanted. I cannot wait to share a picture of this project with my baby instead of a stuffed animal!
If all goes well, the baby will be born in about a month! Wish us luck.
