Gramps – Made by Ma!

Before we chat about Gramps, can I just start with a quick “Lord, how cute is this boy of mine?”  One of the things I love about this blog is it’s not just a catalogue of the things I’ve made, it’s also a visual history of my kids growing up.

He’s 11 now!  It’s seems like only a moment since he was a tiny dot of a thing.  There’s only another half year until he goes up to high school. It seems ridiculous that this could be the case, but apparently it’s true!

And dance is still his everything. We’ve had a wearing few months following a very unhappy experience with the last partner. We are currently working to find a new partner, and hope we might be nearly there. We’re being super cautious but it will be worth it. He’s also training hard as this is his last year in the juvenile category, and junior is a big step up!

Thankfully none of the shenanigans and unpleasantness has shaken his confidence. If anything, he’s working harder and stronger than before. He’s even added CrossFit into the mix to improve his strength and stamina for dance.

I’m so incredibly proud of him!

Anyway….back to the knitting!

I’ve spoken before about the extortionate cost of practice wear. And whilst he has a very snazzy jacket to wear at competitions, he really needed something cosy to wear for practice too.

So Ma offered to knit him a cardigan, and Gramps is such an adorable pattern, it had to be. The look is inspired by one of his dance teachers!

Tin Can Knits design such good patterns. They come in an amazing range of sizes. They are the Jalie of the knitting world. This pattern goes from 0-6 months to 4XL. Astonishingly inclusive and evidence that it can be done if you put your mind to it!

Also, all their patterns are eminently practical without being staid. But in the main they are everyday sweaters. And I say that as a compliment. They’re the sort of garments you’ll reach for every day.

Dave has his eye on a full sized version of this! He’s going to have to get to the end of the queue with it though. I have much else to knit.

The yarn we used is Stylecraft Special Aran in colourway 1203 Silver. It’s a great yarn for kids because it’s machine washable. There’s a great selection of colours and its a nice yarn to knit. It’s easily available online – I bought mine from Black Sheep Wools. I love Black Sheep….such a friendly outlet and as they’re in an industrial unit rather than a high street, their overheads are lower so you can get good prices on yarn. It doesn’t hurt that the staff are wonderful too.

It’s not a posh yarn, but this cardigan is treated badly and it was relatively inexpensive to knit, so I’m less likely to get bent out of shape by it’s mishandling.

Ma knitted everything except the collar. I did that. And I’ve messed up with the buttonholes. They could do to be a bit more central. Also the only buttons I could find to match are a little small. So the buttons pop out of the holes whilst he’s flinging his arms around in Latin. I’m going to undo the collar and reknit it to correct those two little niggles.

These niggles don’t stop him wearing it, though. More often than not it’s freezing in the dance school when he gets there, but he’s cozy in his Gramps. And also stylish.

From a practical point of view, it’s also more form fitting than a hoodie so his teacher can still see what he’s doing with his body whilst he’s wearing this. So it gets the teacher seal of approval too! Gramps is a winner for my small boy!