Keeping warm in red

Isn't it strange how baby tops are all made to be so short in the length? If you are EC-ing, you probably know what I mean when I say it is so hard in a cold climate to keep baby's kidneys warm when you aren't putting onesies on her.

I wanted a long vest or even knitted dress to put on Umi and keep her back and midriff toasty. But couldn't find anything. So I adapted this great online pattern for a vest, turning it into a knitted pinafore dress.

The original pattern is for a vest which buttons up on one shoulder and also buttons up the side. My active baby won't sit still long enough for this, so I knitted two pieces the same and sewed up both sides and across both shoulder seams. I did include the garter stitch on each side which looks great. I cast on 40 extra stitches and gradually decreased to make the A-line skirt.

Umi lives in this! It keeps her tummy and bottom warm even if she is not wearing a nappy. And when we go out she wears it over a pair of orange bell-bottomed trousers. Actually I made them from an online free pattern too, so here is a link to that.