Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Baby Surprise Jacket (BSJ)

This is one of those projects that every knitter should knit at least once. I just finished my fourth for no reason other than the joy of knitting it. It is Elizabeth Zimmermann's Baby Surprise Jacket, or BSJ, for short. It was "invented" by Zimmermann in 1968 and has been knitted by thousands of knitters since. On Ravelry, a wonderful social networking site for knitters (and crocheters), there are 16,589 (16,593, the number increases daily) projects from members all over the world for the BSJ. If there are that many posted on Ravelry alone, I wonder how many thousands more have been knitted!

The jacket is knitted in one piece and then seamed at the shoulders. It does not look like a jacket during the knitting process. It doesn't really look like anything until it is seamed. The pattern can be found here and here.

baby surprise jacket

baby surprise jacket
Ravelry link

baby surprise jacket


This is my first BSJ, knitted in 2008 with a hand-dyed fingering weight yarn. 

baby surprise jacket
Ravelry link


This is my second BSJ, knitted in 2008 with a hand-dyed DK weight yarn. 

baby surprise jacket
Ravelry link


And this is my third BSJ, knitted in 2008 with Jojoland Rhythm, a worsted weight yarn. The buttons are coconut. 

baby surprise jacket
Ravelry link

The pattern is the same, regardless of the weight of the yarn that you choose. The larger the yarn, the larger the jacket will be. If you like garter stitch and a little challenge, try out this pattern. There are great message boards on Ravelry to discuss this project, ask questions, and share pictures.


4 comments:

  1. I have never seen such a beautiful and bright color scheme. Fantastic job, Jan!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I came across your blog recently...love your sewing and knitting projects. One of these days I'm going to knit the Surprise Jacket.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Where can I get a pattern of a baby surprise jacket in English

    ReplyDelete

Your comments make my day!