Isla is a knitted jacket that looks lovely on both boys and girls. Its decorative smocking gives shape, warmth and has great stretch ability for comfort and room for growth.
A pretty, crocheted edging finishes it off beautifully and omits the need for picked up or attached bands and is simply tied at the front, with a crocheted chain, ribbon or icord.

Finished size.
As a guide, the Isla Jacket fits sizes of approx 9months-18 months. However, because of the stretch factor of the chest area and the length of the sleeves (which are easily adjusted or worn folded back at the cuffs) this jacket may well fit younger and older children, from 6 months up to 2 yrs. All children differ of course so please be guided by the measurements. The size can also be easily adjusted by lengthening/shortening the ‘skirt’ of the jacket and the sleeves. The smocking stretches to accommodate a wide range of sizes and needs no modification. The neck opening is designed as a snug fit for warmth and comfort. Using a smaller needle and weight of yarn will also make the finished piece smaller and would be suitable for newborns.

Method:
The Isla is worked from the bottom up on circular needles and from side to side, turning after each row. After the ‘skirt’ of the jacket is completed, stitches are divided for the fronts and back and the yokes are worked separately with the unworked stitches left on the needle to be completed in turn. Once the body is finished and cast off, the shoulder seams are over sewn. This is the only sewing required in the entire piece and the jacket is therefore almost seamless which gives a lovely neat finish and no uncomfortable bulkiness for the wearer. Stitches are then picked up around the armholes and the sleeves are worked in the round, using the magic loop method. Finally, a pretty crocheted trim is worked around all the edges of the jacket. The edging is not only decorative but prevents the stocking stitch from curling. A crocheted cord, icord or length of ribbon is threaded through the centre front edges to form a simple tie fastening.

Example shown is made using Stylecraft Special Aran in Denim.