by Mouse

Created on: November 17, 2010

Gauge (or tension): When knitting it is both an incredible aid and, especially for the new knitter, can be a huge pain in the backside and sometimes a deterrent.

I have come across many new knitters who've rejected a pattern because they've been worried that they wouldn't be able to keep the gauge.

Okay, I have two problems with that:

* Firstly, "Perfect" can be a tricky thing. (Don't get me wrong, I'm actually a perfectionist myself - though I'm working on it) and very often, hand-knitting, for most purposes, is more about love than it is about perfection. (granted you want a finished product that's wearable, for example, but the odd little bit of slightly looser stitches, may not be that much of a problem in most cases.

* Secondly, allowing oneself to be deterred by gauge, means that, on top of not practicing your knitting generally (which will in and of itself help with gauge) you're depriving yourself of the pleasure and confidence boost that comes from knitting a pattern that caught your eye - and the impact of that experience, should never be underestimated.

Last night, I was talking knitting with a friend. We're both late twenty-somethings, I have been knitting most of my life, she's recently come to it through her Grandmother's persistence that she should experience the joy of making something for her new baby (her first).

So far, my friend has enjoyed knitting scarves, but is unsure both on casting off and is put-off by the overwhelming nature of patterns.

This is the set of instructions (rather than a potentially more overwhelming pattern) I designed for her in order to make a jumper for her baby. These instructions should work on most children from birth (including preemie babies) to two years and may also work up to three for some children.

I have referred to the baby as "her" throughout, but the same instructions should work for a boy baby just as well.

To begin with, there's one tricky part - measuring the baby! You need 4 measurements:

1) For the width of the jumper you can pretty much just measure the waistband of one of her nappies and add 5cm each side.

2) Then you need the measure from her armpit to as long as you want (if you go to kind of mid thigh she'll still fit it when you've made it).

3) Next you want the measure of her shoulder to her middle fingertip if you can get it (if not go to her wrist and add 5cms)

4) Last, you want to measure the width of the cuff of the coat she's in now (will be about the same as the next

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