Project Spectrum2.0 : February & March Pt 2

I have started my sweater from Debbie Bliss' Simply Baby. It looks like an easy sweater to knit. However the instructions do not call for blocking. I;m thinking that blocking would be a good thing. That way the seams line up right. Since I didnt notice that the sweater only went up to the 12-18 month size, I'm knitting the smallest size for Michelle's Build A Bear dog. The buttons are on the shoulders of hte sweater and it is for a stuffed toy. Now to figure out how to put the buttons on along with some velcro, that way she will be able to "dress" Hershey (that's the dog's name).

About 4 inches of the front pannel in Stockinette stitch.
Stripes are 2 rows wide and the bottom is done in Garter stitch.