Jumpers for Goalposts!

There seemed to be an ongoing theme throughout my childhood; every time I was running out the door to play, my Mother would meet me holding out a sweater. Even in the summer heat, (in Northern England - Ha!) she would be there with something warm to wear. It wasn't just me either. All of my friends had Mothers with the same agenda, only they didn't realise we had a different one...

Jumpers for Goalposts!

Every football loving child needs them and woe betide the first to go home and take one side of the goal, even more so if it was your ball.

Knowing that Sol's Dad (Ned) is an ardent England supporter, it would have been rude not to make Sol an England jumper. If they are anything like our family then you are dressed in your team's kit before you can walk. So Hey Presto!

I offset the St. George's cross to the left to make it a bit more visually interesting. Of course, you good people know me by now, so you know that I couldn't just leave it at that. I embroidered the England badge onto a piece of felt. If you think I swore embroidering elephants onto flying suits, then be in no doubt that the air was blue when making this. Lions and tudor roses are not the easiest things to make and my embroidery is ropey at best. To see the real thing, scroll down in my sidebar and you can see what the badge really should look like.

I was planning to make this for Sol to fit during the World Cup this summer, but decided that a bigger one would make more sense. In the end I went for a 24" chest so he can get a lot more wear out of it. Still, a football shirt is never complete at just that, so I made his name to go on the back...

I used a punch tool to make it (Purrfect Punch in the US - Webster's Punch in the UK). It's quite time consuming, but makes an interesting texture. The thread can be quite difficult to find these days so I separate DK yarn and use the individual strands. It seems to do the job quite well. I usually don't like to put childrens' names on their clothing, especially in this day and age, but since there is an England footballer called Sol Campbell I decided it was OK. I used his squad number too.

I was really, really pleased with this one, so here's one last look at it. I wrote the pattern myself and will put it up over the next few days. I may even venture into men's sizes for it, but is currently only done for babies and small children.

p.s. I know I said, I'd do a post on design - I haven't forgotten, it's coming. The pattern for D.M.B.L.B.I.T? is also on the way. I just have to write the other sizes first.