Jasmine Kimono

The last time I was visiting my parents, Mom gave me a stack of patterns she had picked up at Michael's. They were all free one page patterns they had hanging up by the yarn. They were all really nice, so I've been working my way through them. One project, a little kimono for Jasmine, was 'finished' a couple of months ago and it's been hanging around since waiting to be blocked and have buttons installed. (Most appropriately, this pattern was named 'Jasmine Kimono' on the sheet. Had to make it.)

Ta da! It is now officially finished and ready to be worn by an energetic three year old. The yarn is Lion Brand Baby's First in a lovely green they call Beanstalk. This yarn was fantastic to work with - highly recommend. It knits up so evenly and the fabric ends up feeling soft and squishy. Perfect for a spring sweater.

This last weekend I overcame my fear of blocking using a great hand held steamer from my mom. It was the perfect tool for the job. That combined with the new thick padded cover on my ironing board made it almost effortless to get this last step done. (The last time I blocked something, it was a 5 foot diameter circular shawl with picot edging, I used the steam setting on my iron with it's tiny reservoir, and my dining table had a towel taped on it for DAYS). 

This sweater pattern was written to be wrapped and tied with a string, but I wanted to use buttons instead. There is one inner button to hold the wrapped bit inside, and a second main button to finish it off. The flower button also has another clear button sewn on behind it to prevent the fabric from getting stretched out where it is attached.

I think it pairs nicely with the owl skirt I made for her; she'll be such a fashionable little girl!