The little and large preemie tops...

After crocheting five Aran wool scarves, I have gone from one extreme to the other and turned my hands to knitting with 4 ply acrylic.  I had 4 complete balls of white/cream and a few oddments.  This is exactly the yarn requested by hospitals as it is suitable for small preemie babies and is easy to wash.

The pattern for the sleepsack came from the Cuddles website.  I altered the pattern slightly.  As written, it does not produce the garter ridge across the chest.  I corrected that by knitting what should have been a purl row.  I then ran out of  yarn just before the end.  I had a remnant of cream that was more banana in tone.  The difference is only obvious in a really good light, so I didn't actually realise when I started knitting that I had 2 shades of cream.  There was a timely flash of sunlight just before I joined the new yarn.  I added another garter ridge and it looks absolutely fine.

I can't remember where the other pattern came from, but it was lovely to knit as it is a seamless top-down pattern.  The only sewing was to sew in the ends and attach a button.  I chose a lovely pearly button from my recycled collection.  I also had the same buttons in the perfect shade of cream for the sleepsack.  I have been saving these buttons for years and can no longer remember where they came from.  But I am glad I saved them.

I don't know why I am surprised at the huge size difference in these two items.  Preemie babies come in all sizes, so they will fit someone.

These items were a great way to use up what looked like quite a small amount of yarn.  The sleepsack used 30g or yarn and the sleeveless cardigan used 36g.  These will eventually go off to PreemiesUK for distribution to hospitals in the UK.

Now, what to do with the 4 complete balls of 4 ply........watch this space!