Sweater styled like a Baseball Jacket

There is a sweet little boy on my street whose mom I've know since she was in high school with my sons.  That high school's athletic field is on the opposite side of our street. When a sporting event is taking place, most of the neighbors gather to watch the event, often with lawn chairs and coolers in tow. When I saw this knitting pattern, I thought it would be perfect for Zachary when he joins us in the fall to watch football and soccer.

The pattern is a free download from Ravelry. It was written by Debbie Bliss and is aptly named Baseball Jacket. This is the image most often associated with that pattern. 

I used Berroco Comfort DK, a sport weight yarn in my sweater. I chose this for its washability. I used our school colors and am pleased with the result. The pattern called for snaps as a closure which didn't seem like a good idea to me, at least not directly on the body of the sweater. If I had planned ahead, I would have made a button band with traditional buttonholes. 

The finished length of this sweater wasn't the right side for a separating zipper so I added grosgrain ribbon to the inside front openings for stability before sewing on regular snaps. The black buttons were then added to give a finished look to the front. 

I added the ribbon by hand, turning the cut ends under and stitching across each of those ends and down the open edge of the sweater. The other long edge of the ribbon is not sewn in place. You can see that on the left side of the photo below. My thought was that this might become visible on the outside if sewn. If it becomes a problem after washing, I will offer to tack it into place. 

I can't wait to see the happy little guy in this. Other than my opinion on the closure, this pattern was easy to follow and one I would make again.