Baby, baby, baby!

Recently there's been a lot of babies born in my circle of friends and family.  And of course being a knitter and crocheter, I've got to supply these newborns with their own first handcrafted woollies.

You may remember that in July my brother-in-law and his wife had a gorgeous baby girl who got this crocheted blanket, and then in August my brother and his wife also had a lovely little girl who got this hoodie and this vintage matinee coat.

Well now in September the last of the baby boom was born.  My friend Sara and her husband Will had their first baby, a wonderful little boy just last week.  And thankfully I finished this matinee coat for him just in time.

 Because they kept it a surprise if they were having a boy or a girl (even from themselves), I had to make an item suitable for either.  I figured the blue made it a bit masculine, but the lacy pattern made it a bit girly if need be.  Close up of the buttons:

This was from another vintage pattern from my collection.

As you can see, I didn't put on the collar, but the rest of it I followed exactly.  The shaping looks a bit odd, when laid out as I have it above, but hopefully once it's on the baby it'll look okay.  And since he's living in Alaska, he'll probably have need of the warm New Zealand wool!