Peanut … a salty little hipster nugget

Obviously when it comes to style, you want to give your baby the best possible start in life!  This little hipster chic fair-isle vest is a must for going out to spoken word at coffeehouses, and gurgling… ironically.

Two little peanuts, deep in debate about the ‘big questions’

When we shot these photos, Max was still in the cute, mellow, gurgling stage. Now he’s in the less cute screeching-at-the-top-of-his-lungs stage… but luckily you can’t hear high-pitched shrieks through the medium of photography.  No chill coffeehouse afternoons with him though, I’ll tell you that!

The Peanut vest knits up really quickly in a DK or worsted weight yarn, and is easy to throw on over anything.  Pick a neutral colour pair for an everyday staple that will match with everything, or go crazy with bold colours. We recommend higher-contrast pairs, so that the pattern really ‘pops’.

Max looking cozy in his Peanut vest in The Uncommon Thread Merino DK in ‘squirrel nutkin’ (most adorable colour name ever!) and ‘beeswax’

The Yarn: The Uncommon Thread Merino DK

The Uncommon Thread Merino DK in ‘smudge’, ‘seascape’, ‘squirrel nutkin’, ‘golden praline’, and ‘beeswax’

The Uncommon Thread Merino DK is a lusciously soft and durable yarn that is a pleasure to work with and washes and wears well.  This makes it absolutely perfect for baby garments!

We love the edgy and modern colours that Ce creates, and have enjoyed pairing them up! We used the deep marine ‘seascape’ with rich warm ‘golden praline’, and ‘squirrel nutkin’ with ‘beeswax’, a strong yellow. It took some swatching for me to decide on pairings that were just right.  For more about The Uncommon Thread yarns, check out our blog post here.

It’s not always obvious how colours will interact just by looking at them in the skein. I find that it is necessary to swatch and swatch again to find out how colours interact.

These two little cuties, Bodhi and Max, make a perfect pairing! Alexa and I had so much fun with the photography for Max & Bodhi’s Wardrobe! We had 2 photographers, 2 ‘baby wranglers’, and 2 babies who were seldom convinced to stay still at the same time!

Fair Isle Knitting

Stranded colourwork, also known as Fair Isle knitting, looks complex, but is in fact quite a simple technique. You work with two strands of yarn at once, knitting a few stitches in one colour, then knitting the next few in the other colour.  Want to try it?  We’ve got an in-depth blog post with tips and techniques to help you begin.  Either cast on for the peanut vest, or try the free Clayoquot Toque pattern to get started!

The Peanut Vest from Max & Bodhi’s Wardrobe in The Uncommon Thread Merino DK in ‘seascape’ and ‘golden praline’

Bodhi is definitely the dominant baby in this pair! Max wasn’t crawling just yet, but Bodhi was motoring around at a mile a minute, only stopping to hit Max on the head now and then for comic effect!

Who are you knitting for?

Max & Bodhi’s Wardrobe is our newest baby collection, launched one pattern at a time to maximize the surprise! The Peanut vest is pattern number five of six, so there’s just one more surprise before the complete ebook is launched! This means you have only two more weeks to get the ebook at excellent pre-order price of $14… after all the patterns are launched the price will go up. If you haven’t decided whether this collection is for you, you can check out all but one of the patterns now!

Do you have a friend who is expecting? This collection would make a lovely gift for an expectant knitter, or for a grandma eagerly awaiting little ones! If you use Ravelry, there’s a lovely function where you can send an ebook as a gift.

Other Fair Isle favourites by TCK: