New Dolls: Jade and Joy

I've been making dolls and playing in the flower beds, now that Spring really has arrived here in the Midwest.  This is Jade, from Fiona McDonalds free 'Babe's Little Sister' doll pattern. 

Her sweater dress is stranded colorwork, using the template for raglan sweaters from the Arne&Carlos 'Knitted Dolls' book; the patterns are from Alice Starmores book 'Charts for Color Knitting'.  The sweater is knit to Arne&Carlos's instructions, but with worsted yarn and size 6 double point needles. 

Here is the colorwork pattern for the dress:

Sweater body

Sweater sleeve

Click on the link and you should get a gridded pattern for the body of the sweater and for the sleeve.  If necessary, enlarge the image so you can see the individual grid lines.  The body pattern is one half of the dress body; the sleeve  pattern is for the whole sleeve.  Best if you have Arne&Carlos's book for the sweater construction directions.

Planted some of my favorites, violas, in a clay strawberry pot.  These are city cousins to violets, another of my favorite spring flowers.

And rejoiced that my hellebores survived this cruel winter, even to bravely blooming through the last snow of the season :-)

And finally, a new Arne&Carlos doll!  This is Joy, from their Hippie pattern from 'Knit-and-Crochet Garden.'   After making their dolls from the 'Knitted Dolls' book, I thought I would NEVER knit another doll on dpn's.  However, this little doll just had to be made, and amazingly, she made up quite easily.  Perhaps two years and more experience with dpn's made the difference :-) 

Joy is smaller than the original Arne&Carlos dolls, about 12 inches tall.   I think she is going to have some Hippie sisters joining her soon!

Nutmeg Dressed

Nutmeg is now cozily dressed in a raglan sweater and sweet jumper, both adapted from patterns from the Arne & Carlos book "Knitted Dolls."  Instructions on how to adapt the patterns to Fiona's Babes' Little Sister doll are on the left sidebar, under the picture of Babes Little Sister :-)

The sweater is knit in pale blush Berrocco Vintage yarn, and the jumper in Patons Classic Wool black and Berrocco Vintage magenta.  The colors are the same as her striped socks.

This was the first time I had attempted stranded colorwork, and now I'm hooked!  Gathering many books from the library for patterns and inspiration, among them:

Alice Starmore's "Charts for Color Knitting," and "Book of Fair Isle Knitting."
Arne & Carlos "55 Christmas Balls to Knit"
"Teach Yourself Visually Color Knitting."

The last book was not as helpful as I had hoped, but I'm looking forward to getting my hands on the Alice Starmore books!

Nutmeg

Nutmeg is my second doll from Fiona McDonald's free "Babes' Little Sister" pattern.  She is knit from Knit Picks Brava yarn in brindle, which is a wonderful, warm chestnut brown.  Her stripey legs are a combination of Paton's classic wool in black, and Berrocco Vintage in blush and magenta.  Her hair is a combination of two high mohair content yarns, which I really love for hair :-)

The Brava yarn worked up a slightly smaller doll than Bernat Super Value, but knitting is so forgiving that the outfits for Patience will fit Nutmeg.

I love this doll form; it is a simple, child-like body that knits quick and easy.  A bit of a nose bump on the face turns into a delightful button nose with a couple of easy needlesculpting stitches.

I'm going to knit Nutmeg a blush pink raglan sweater and black jumper from the Arne&Carlos book...something to go with her stripey legs :-)

Sweater and Pants for Patience

Finally something to keep Patience warm, here at the end (I hope!) of winter.  A very simple knit cardigan sweater, and pull on knit pants.  Both are knit flat.  The sleeves of the sweater are knit into the side seams, then seamed from wrist to waist.  The knit pants are knit in one piece, then seamed up the inseam and then the center back seam; they pull on and fit nicely over the bikini panties.

Little Sister Sweater

Little Sister Pants

Both of these pieces are designed to fit Fiona McDonald's 'Babes' Little Sister' pattern, which is freely available on Ravely.  You can find a link to this pattern on the left sidebar of this blog under "Fiona McDonald's Babe's Little Sister.'

For Valentines Day

Fiona McDonald has created a delightful, free, knit doll pattern called "Babe's Little Sister."  The pattern is available on Ravelry:

Babes Little Sister

I've made my little sister, Patience, some unders, which are also useful as a starting point for other clothing designs.  The patterns are available here:

Little Sister Undies

and I will also put them on the left sidebar under Babe's Little Sister.

She is a bit smaller and more slender than the popular 18 inch American Girl doll.  Here she sits between and AG and a similar doll made by Goetz.

Happy Valentines Day :-)

Winter 2014

This winter has been relentless and bitter; beloved friends and family with serious illness, and cold and snow with no end in sight.  It has been nearly impossible to muster the positive energy for dollmaking, or making anything at all.  This is the worst of the winter blues.

But today I have finally completed a doll from a free pattern courtesy of Fiona McDonald.  The pattern is available on Ravely, and here is a link:

Babes Little Sister

You need to register with Ravelry, but it is free and well worth it!  The doll, like all of Fiona's patterns, is easy to make and makes up beautifully.  Mine is 17 inches tall with a nine inch waist...about the same size as an American Girl doll, but two inches more slender.

Meet Patience;  she has needed that quality as much as I have these past few weeks.  But I'm happy we both perservered; she is a delight!

Here is hoping the coming weeks bring us the promise of spring, of life after death, and health for all of those we love.

Rose is ready for Christmas!

I have always thought that union suits, those red one-piece undergarments worn in the 1800's, were pretty cute on dolls.  Probably a pain to wear in real life, but dolls live uncomplicated lives and enjoy looking cute :-)

So I knitted up a red union suit for Rose to wear for Christmas, and topped it off with a Santa cap.  Here is the pattern:

Travel doll union suit with Santa cap

We also had a lot of fun knitting up some other Christmas treats.  The stockings are made from a free pattern available on Jean Greenhowe's site; scroll down a bit, they are toward the bottom of the page:

Jean Greenhowe Christmas Stockings

The teddy's and rabbit are from a free pattern from Little Cotton Rabbits:

Teddy and Rabbit

And the blanket was a free pattern from Jennifer Jackson on Ravelry (you need to register, but it is free!)

Doll Blanket

All of these are quick and easy to knit, and the dolls and young (or old) girls in your life will love them :-)

Rose and I wish you a Merry Christmas, and Happy Holydays!

Just in time for Creative Black Friday!

Just in time for Creative Black Friday; the Friday after Thanksgiving where we all stay home and make something special for someone we love :-)  For Ivy, my latest Travel Doll from Fiona's Travel Doll pattern, a new dress with a knit seed stitch bodice and hem.

Travel doll seed stitch dress

If you are at a loss for what to make someone for Christmas, there are many, many sites with free knit and crochet patterns.  Starting with Ravelry, all you need to do is register (free!) and you have access to literally thousands of free patterns for dolls, toys, wearables, you name it.   Many low cost patterns as well.

Lionbrand yarns is another great site for free patterns.

1500 Free Amigurumi Patterns is actually now 2000 free patterns, and a great site.

Crochet Pattern Central  and Knitting Pattern Central are also great sources for free patterns.

So make yourself a cup of your favorite hot beverage, put a Christmas CD in the player, get out some yarn and the tools of your choice (needle or hook), and enjoy the day!

Rose's Jumper....or more adventures in knitting in the round

I made Rose a white camisole, and as I looked at it, I thought it would make a sweet blouse, if only it had sleeves.  But, I hate setting in sleeves; and thought that knitting in the round (ugh!) would be too hard.  As I pondered, weak and weary, I decided to give knitting in the round another try.

So, with the camisole finished, I picked up the necessary stitches around the armhole with a crochet hook and placed them on three double point needles, and knitted away.  And low and behold, the sleeves turned out pretty good :-)

The blouse begged for a sweet jumper, and the jumper begged for some embellishement when it was finished.  So, a simple knit jumper (with a touch of crochet around the upper edge and shoulder straps), with simple lazy daisy flowers.  To be clear, only the sleeves of the blouse are knitted in the round; the rest of the knitting is done flat and seamed.   Maybe a future outfit will be knit entirely in the round.  And, for those who prefer this, both blouse and jumper would be easy enough to convert to double points.

Travel doll blouse and jumper dress

Rose is from Fiona McDonald's free Travel Doll pattern, available on Ravelry.  You'll find a link to the doll pattern on the left sidebar of this blog, along with some outfits to make for her and her traveling companions.

Jasmyn's Chinese jacket and skirt

I love paper doll books.  They are a wonderful source of inspiration for costume design for any era or culture.  Dover Publications has hundreds of titles for paper dolls, from Ancient Egypt to Steampunk to Contemporary Thrift Store :-)

For Jasmyn's Asian inspired outfit, I used the paper doll book shown above to find a style we both liked.  The jacket is simple to knit, with a very little bit of crochet for the collar and trim.  The skirt is also very simple.  Here is the pattern:

Travel Doll Chinese Costume

This outfit is for Fiona McDonald's free Travel Doll pattern.   The doll is tremendous fun; come join us!

Jasmyn

I go through periods where I can't seem to stop making dolls...obviously this is one of those periods :-)  Jasmyn is another doll from Fiona's wonderful free Travel Doll pattern, available on Ravelry.  She will have an Asian themed outfit, I hope, if I can pull it off in knit. 

This doll is the perfect, perfect doll to make for gifting at Christmas.  She is quick to knit, classy, has a lovely long and lanky silhouette; a great canvas for doll creation.

I'm pretty sure there will be more dolls and outfits coming.

Move-able head for knit dolls

I love making dolls with move-able heads.  It is a technique I learned from the cloth doll making community, and have applied to crochet dolls.  It is a technique that works well with crochet; crochet creates a sturdy fabric that is perfect for three dimensional objects like dolls.

Will this work with knitted dolls?  The answer is yes, if you stabilize the neck.  I used Fiona McDonald's travel doll to work out the details, and have a picture tutorial of the process on my photo share site, ipernity.  Here is a link to the tutorial:

Knit doll head joint tutorial

And for completeness sake, here is the link for the tutorial for crochet dolls:

Crochet doll head joint tutorial

You may need to alter your pattern to create the doll head and torso separately.  Give it a try!  You're sure to be pleased with the result :-)

New knits for Fiona McDonald's Travel Doll

In case you couldn't tell, I'm having a great time knitting up outfits for this perfectly sized knit doll.  She now has a pair of slim pants, short skirt, and cardigan sweater.  All very simple to knit.

You can see in the bottom right picture that Columbine's trousseau is growing :-)

Knit Cardigan Sweater

Knit pants and skirt

Keep warm, and knit up a storm!

Travel Doll Undies; don't leave home without them :-)

Columbine now has some undies!  Very simple underwear, knitted primarily in rectangles.  Two camisole options let you crochet the neckline and shoulder straps, or knit as one piece and form the armhole openings like a two row buttonhole.

My doll is 4.5 inches wide at the hips and 12 inches tall, so you may want to adjust the pattern to fit you doll.  Once you've made undies that fit, you can go on to make just about anything else:  dresses, nightgowns, pants, skirts, tops.

Travel Doll Undies

Edit 10/31/2013

I just finished this drop stitch nightgown for Columbine; here is the pattern:

Drop Stitch Nightgown

The shawl she is wearing is from a free Lionbrand pattern, which is available here:

Garter Stitch Shawl  You need an account with Lionbrand, but it is free and well worth it.

Enjoy!

Knit Travel Doll by Fiona McDonald

I would have thought that knitting a sweater would have over-dosed me on knitting for a while, but not so!  I've been wanting to make Fiona McDonald's travel doll, a doll pattern freely available on Ravelry, ever since she posted it over a year ago.  I wish I hadn't waited so long :-)

This is Columbine; she is 12 inches tall knitted in light worsted yarn (Bernat Super Value) and size 3 needles (3.25mm).  She is knit flat then seamed up the back.  I love the use of light needlesculpting and painted eyes, a specialty of Fiona's doll patterns.

The doll made up quickly; it took three days of lazy knitting to make her and wig her.

Next up, some undies and clothing for Columbine :-)

If you are interested in making this doll, here is the link to her on Ravelry.  You need an account there, but it is free.

Fiona McDonald's Travel Doll

Erin, from Fiona McDonalds book "Babes in the Wool"

Erin is a red haired beauty from Fiona McDonald's book "Babes in the Wool."  I am so impressed with how Fiona created instructions for such a beautiful, yet simple, knit doll.   These dolls have been a joy to knit :-)

Amethyst, from Fiona McDonald's book 'Babes in the Wool.'

Amethyst is from Fiona McDonald's book 'Babes in the Wool.'   This is the book that inspired me to learn to knit.  This doll was simple to make, and wonderful in her result.  Can you believe that such a beautiful and sophisticated doll can be made from knitting?

I have four nieces, ages 6 through 12, and these dolls seems to me to be the perfect gift for the fashion forward tween :-)  She is soft, pose-able, dress-able, and cool.

Embyr, a Fire Elf

Embyr is a fire Elf, based on the dolls from Fiona McDonald's 'Knitted Fairies' book.  This is a wonderful doll form, and has been great fun creating my own special Elves.

Fiona has two other books, so I will crack the pages of a new book and see what new creation emerges :-)

Flytt, another knitted Elf

Flytt is another knit doll from Fiona McDonald's book "Knitted Fairies."  Again, I've left off her wings and made her an Elf :-)  This time, I used the correct weight of yarn, and I'm much happier with the results.  The knit stitches are nice and tight, and allow stuffing the doll without spreading the stitches.

This is a great doll form, and it is so much fun to get creative with the faces.  I shaded her face with PrismaColor colored pencils dipped in water and applied very lightly.  I'm dreadful with a paintbrush; the pencil gives better control, and mixed with water gives a nice wash effect.

I made her arms and legs slightly wider (the legs are actually the pattern for the male Fairies).  I wrapped a pipecleaner with a thin layer of stuffing, and sewed up the limbs encasing the pipecleaner.  This gives her arms and legs a nice degree of pose-ability.

Fiona's books are wonderful instruction and inspiration for any dollmaker; enjoy!

Knitted dolls by Fiona McDonald

Fiona McDonald's knit dolls are one of the two reasons I wanted to learn to knit!  A year ago, I posted about Fiona's book 'Babes in the Wool,'  (see the post here).   I fell in love with her dolls, especially the way she does the faces.  Now I have finally made one of her designs, from the book 'Knitted Fairies.'

And, even though I used the wrong yarn (sportweight instead of worsted), he turned out pretty cute.  I left off the wings, so he is actually an Elf, but he's happy that way :-)

Fiona has three book on knitted dolls, each filled with ideas for dolls that will make your head spin.  The knitting is simple, and the results are amazing.

She also has a blog; check it out!

And finally, I am fortunate to own one of Fiona's original dolls, crafted by herself.  This doll is even more gorgeous in person.