My Little Playdate
Max exploring Miracle Beach Park in his new Playdate cardigan
Once or twice a year, I travel home. Leaving Scotland behind, I visit family on Vancouver Island and spend a week working with Alexa in Port Moody. It’s always an exciting and tiring visit with a schedule full of chatting, crazy last-minute sample knitting and photo-shoots. Now that Max is a toddler, it is so much fun to show him my favourite spots in the place I grew up! He loved the forest and sand at Miracle Beach, a beautiful provincial park just a short walk from my childhood home.
Boys love sticks! And Max ate a LOT of sand at the beach.
He also loved crawling around and exploring the forest floor, finding pinecones to chew on and sticks to wave about! For the trip I had to put Max in a little playdate to show off. I decided on a simple pattern change: single row stripes!
Sure, you can eat that pinecone… if you really want to!
Playdate Project Details:
Pattern: Playdate Pattern $7 – available for download now (or get the Max & Bodhi’s Wardrobe ebook)
Sizing: This adorable cardi is sized from baby to big!
Yarn: Rainbow Heirloom Merino Light in ‘verdant’ (the Nostalgia Club colour for June 2015) and ‘jewel sea’ – less than 2 skeins required
Needles: US#3 / 3.25mm and US#4 / 3.75mm (or as required to meet gauge)
Gauge: 24 sts & 36 rows / 4″ in stockinette
Notions: stitch marker, darning needle, buttons
Single Row Stripes
When working a flat piece of knitting in single-row stripes, you need to use a circular needle, because you must work two right-side (RS) rows, then work two wrong-side (WS) rows, so you need points on both ends of your needles.
Single Row Striping Pattern
Row 1 (RS): green
Row 2 (RS): teal
Row 3 (WS): green
Row 4 (WS): teal
As you can see, I decided to keep the pocket opening section in the green, and then worked the pocket bind-off row in teal, which made for a tidy little detail.
I considered quite a few options for buttons, but in the end I chose these vintagey looking olive green ones. I love choosing buttons – I always wait until the knit is complete, then take it to my button store, and try a bunch of different options before selecting the one that matches the mood of the design best. It’s difficult to buy buttons in advance, because you can’t be sure how they will look with the buttonhole spacing and button band width of the finished knit. So it’s easiest to wait until the project is finished to find a perfect match.
Details, details… I love choosing buttons!
Simple Pattern Hacks
Have you ever knit in single-row or single-round stripes? I was inspired to make this ‘pattern hack’ by the creative and talented Laura (undone57 on Ravelry) who made this little scrappy playdate with stripes and fair-isle dots… Exquisite eh? Check out her project page on Ravelry for more information.
Over the years, we have created a number of simple designs that lend themselves well to the striping or the addition of simple colourwork patterns. One of my favourites is the free Flax pullover from The Simple Collection.
Other simple designs perfect for ‘hacking’:
Tin Can Knits 
Since your site doesn’t have a tutorial on placing pockets available do you know of one I could check out? Thanks
Sorry, I don’t know of a tutorial for this specific pocket method; you’ll have to google it.
But if you just follow the pattern instructions step-by-step you may be able to puzzle it out:
So first you make the pockets (or, more precisely, the inside pocket lining piece).
Then while working the body from the hem up, you work 2 sections of ribbing within the body piece. These essentially locate the pockets; they are the ribbed outside edge of the pocket.
Once you’ve worked those rows which form the ribbing, you’re ready to actually connect up the pockets. It’s a two-row process.
First, on a RS row, you work across, and bind-off all the pocket stitches that you have ribbed.
Next, on the following WS row, you work across, and when you get to the places where you bound off, you pick up your pocket liner piece, place those stitches on the LH needle, and purl across them, then continue on the body stitches. This incorporates the pocket liners into the row. You’ll later sew down the pocket liners, finishing the pockets!
I have pockets knit and on stitch holder. I have sweater body knit up 3.5inches and cannot figure out how add the pockets on .
Hi Gael – You are going to work the pocket ribbing, bind off that ribbing, and then, where the ribbing is bound off, you are going to knit across your pocket sts to join them in.
Thanks or you reply Alexa , I got my head around it , happy knitting !!
i realize that this comment is more than 2 years ago, but is there any detailed tutorial on this particular part of the pattern?
Thanks,
Marilyn
Hi Marilyn – I’m sorry, we don’t have one for placing pockets
NEw Knitter. I’m just about finished making this little gem. Looking thru your site for help for help on the 2 stitch buttonhole.
Hi – check out our tutorial here: https://blog.tincanknits.com/2015/04/27/one-row-buttonholes/
Adorable! After having made my 5th gramps, maybe i should broaden my Tin Can Knits experience! Harvest is on my to do list, but I need to add Playdate for those little ones who come along.
So cute!
Amazing, as I am knitting a striped playdate right now and this is the first time I’ve done single-row stripes! Ialso knit rocky joggers for my nephew in subtle colored rugby stripes. They turned out really cute! Johnston4kids on ravelry
I love the variations of this sweater!! And look how big Max is getting- what a cutie!