Cardigan for Tiny Cloth Dolls

This past summer I made a couple of Edith Flack Ackley cloth dollhouse dolls.  I was very much inspired by Beth over on Flickr who had made some gorgeous tiny cloth dolls using patterns by Ann Wood

I love cardigans on my dolls, so I made one up.   It is somewhat based on the Blythe Doll Next Door Grrl hoodie pattern.

I am including the pattern below for you to enjoy.  The pattern was made using size 1 ( 2.5 mm ) knitting needles and very fine Loops and Threads yarn from Michael's.  The light grey sweater was made using this yarn.  The green variegated sweater was made using Bernat acrylic sock yarn.

This is a simple pattern - add or remove rows from the sleeves and hem to properly fit your particular Doll.  These Edith Flack Ackley dolls are about 6" tall. 


This sweater would probably fit Dawn dolls as well. 

Pictured here is Beth's Prairie Flowers Doll pattern, reduced to 50% - I haven't yet started that project.  Can't wait to make it though because the finished dolls are just darling!

If you make a sweater using this pattern, I'd love it if you would alert me of any errors, or if any instructions need clarification - just leave a comment :)

Enjoy !


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Tiny Doll Cardigan

Materials:

Size 1 knitting needles
Fingering weight or fine sock yarn
Tapestry needle
Long piece of scrap yarn for holding cardigan's body stitches
Stitch markers

Pattern:

Cast on 18 stitches

Row 1 ( ribbing )- K2, k1 p1 to last 2 stitches, k2

Row 2 ( ribbing ) - same as row 1

Row 3 - K2, m1, place marker, m1,
              k2, m1, place marker, m1
              K2, m1, place marker, m1
              K2, m1, place marker, m1
              K2

Row 4 - K2, purl to last 2 St, k2

Row 5 - (knit side) you will increase on the odd rows.  Knit across until 1 St before marker, m1. m1 on the stitch that appears after the marker. Do this 3 more times (at each marker).  Knit to end.  You have increased 8 St on this row.

Row 6 - K2, purl across. K2

Continue increasing 8 st on knit row until you have 66 St.

Next row - k2, purl across, k2

Next row - K to first marker - put these stitches that you just knit on scrap yarn.  Knit across to next marker ( this will be the first sleeve ).  Put the middle stitches on scrap yarn.  Attach a new ball of yarn to the next set of stitches and knit to the fourth marker ( this will be the second sleeve ).  Place the remaining stitches on scrap yarn. Turn.

You will now be knitting 2 sleeves at a time.

Purl across on each sleeve.


Knit across on each sleeve.

Alternate knit and purl for 12 rows total  ( this includes the two rows you have just completed ) - you may need to adjust the number of rows for the sleeves to fit your particular Doll

Next row - work k1 p1 rib

Next row - work k1 p1 rib

Next row - bind off in pattern and leave a long tail on each sleeve for sewing up seams later.

With right side ( knit side ) facing, place the stitches you were holding on the right-hand side onto the right-hand knitting needle.

Place the left-hand side and middle stitches onto the left-hand needle.  Attach yarn and knit across the back and left side.

Next row - k2 , purl to last 2 St, k2

Continue knitting and purling in pattern for 8 more rows  ( or 1 inch ).  You may wish to measure the Cardigan against your Doll to get the length you want.

Next row - k2, k1 p1 rib to last 2 St, k2.

Knit 2 more rows of ribbing, and then bind off in pattern.

Using tapestry needle, weave in all ends on wrong side ( except the ones at sleeves )

Now Sew up sleeve seams using mattress St, and weave in ends on wrong side.

I recommend blocking the front bands for a neat finish.

Add tiny buttons or beads if desired; or crochet a tiny loop at the top and sew on a button on opposite side to create a closure.

Now your tiny Doll will be very cozy !

Knit Dress for Kelly doll

Kelly dresses
Originally uploaded by juli_musica_poupées.

Free for y'all!

My friend Kathy requested a pattern for Kelly dolls. I happily obliged. Several months ago, I had knitted a couple of dresses for these little Ddung doll fakies (purchased from Dollarama )

I didn't write down a pattern at the time, but this time, I made sure to do so.

Design is based on a Bratz pattern, from http://www.stickatillbarbie.se/

This is quite a versatile dress. It looks cute knee-length on its own. Paired with trousers, it can be worn as a tunic. You can knit more rows to make a sweet maxi-dress.

Kelly doll empire-waist dress knit pattern

Materials:
-2.5mm knitting needles
-Sock-weight, or 4-ply yarn (fine, fingering yarn). I used Bernat sock yarn.
-tapestry needle
-small metal snaps
-sewing needle
-thread

Cast on 21 st
Row 1 - k1, p1 (rib stitch) to end
Row 2 - p1, k1 to end
Row 3 - k5, bind off 2 st, k7, bind off 2st, knit 4 - 17 st on needle
**note: when you are finished with this row, you should have 5 stitches, 2 bound off stitches, 7 stitches, 2 bound off stitches and another 5 stitches.** 17 stitches on row
Row 4 - p5, cast on 2, purl 7, cast on 2, purl 5 - 21 stitches on row
Row 5 - knit to end
Row 6 - purl to end
Row 7 - knit to end
Row 8 - knit to end
Row 9 - k2, increase 1 stitch into each stitch (kfb) across until you have 2 stitches remaining, k 2. You will now have 38 stitches
Row 10 - purl
Rows 11- 22 - alternate knit and purl rows
Row 23 - bind off in k1 p1 rib stitch

Leave a long tail of yarn - you will use this to sew the back seam of the dress using a tapestry needle - end and secure just beneath where the bodice starts (1cm or less).

Weave in the remaining yarn end (at top)

Sew one or two snaps at back of dress.

This pattern makes a dress that falls slightly below the knees of ddung fakie!

Annika in temporary new home

Annika in temporary new home
Originally uploaded by juli_velo_poupee.

Yippie! Annika is coming along really well! I repainted her lips, sanded her, and trimmed her eyelashes. She's lovely!

I did it! I got my little Blythe Girl - Annika!!!

Little beret
Originally uploaded by juli_velo_poupee.

After several months of contemplation (and selling a fair chunk of my neglected dolly stash on e-bay) I finally got myself a Blythe! And I love her so much!

She is the same ADG girl that I spoke of in an earlier post, and I made her the outfit she is wearing - it is so much fun to sew and crochet for her!!

I named her Annika, because I love Sweden and Scandinavian names, plus she looks like an Annika!!

:D

Fall winding down

Well, fall is slowly coming to an end `round these parts.  Lots of rain, and I must say, that this has been one of the most miserable falls that I can remember: very little sunshine, and grey, grey, grey. 

Oh well.  I don't venture out too much when the weather is so bad, so I've been working on several projects.  The mod rag-doll that I've been working on is finally done.  I'm quite happy with her, too.  Will take pictures this weekend.  Plus, my re-rooted biba-esque Sindy now has a groovy new hipster outfit, and I've posted some things on e-bay and Etsy.  Things are slowly progressing, and I'm quite encouraged by it.

Otherwise, I've been doing a bit of reading.  I've been absorbed by a biography about the life and work of Dora Carrington.  It's an absolutely fascinating read:  she was very passionate and I adore her artwork - so expressive, gorgeous, sad; breathtaking!  Admittedly, I had only first heard of her when I saw the 1995 movie Carrington.  While I did quite enjoy the film, it (understandably) either ignored or only vaguely alluded to key details of her life.  Supplementing the film with my own reading has been very enlightening.

Musically, I've been on a heavy rotation of the following albums:

Ani Difranco - not a pretty girl
Bob Dylan - Desire
New York Dolls
Siouxie and the Banshees (singles collection)
Nick Drake (Way to Blue)
Devil Doll - Queen of Pain

Fair October

"I promise that I will [post more frequently] after August 15th"

-JD, August 3rd, 2006

Well, clearly I'm full of bunk.

Blah, blah, finishing contract... Blah, blah, planning my birthday party... Blah, blah, no time to take pictures. Whatever.

Anyhew, here I am again. So the rummage sale went fairly well - sold lots of stuff, but man did I ever under-charge!! I think I got rid of about a third of my craft stash, but took in only $36.00! Ha! Whatever... It's good to get rid of bulk.

And yes, folks, I did say birthday. October 13th 2006 was my 30th b-day... Although I can't say that 30 feels any different, inside I sure don't feel 30. I feel more like this:

(sketchbook doodle of me as a littl'un drawn with an ultra-fine Sharpie pen)

Anyway, haven't totally integrated this milestone... I'll have to ponder a bit more upon it.

On an unrelated note, I came across a semi-interesting site that provides content for blogs. I did a few of their personality tests, but the one that I found most interesting was one on fine art. This is how I scored:

You Are Surrealism

Dreamy and idealistic, you've created a world that is all your own. You are naturally trippy. You are always trying to push beyond the boundaries of your culture and society. You believe that art, love, and freedom can change the world.

What Art Movement Are You?

Grooviness.

I wish you all a pleasant evening.

Worship the autumn.

Spins & Needles Craft Meet and Rummage Sale

Hello.

Things have been going pretty well. For the last couple of weeks, I've been doing a big cleanup - I've amassed so much stuff over the years, and tons of arts and craft supplies - mostly from my year-long stint working at an art store. I have lots of supplies that are just sitting in closets, not being used so what better way to spread the wealth than attending Spins and Needles' Craft Meet and Rummage Sale. You can find all of the info in the above flyer - I'll be there so if you're so inclined, feel free to pop in and say hi... And buy stuff from me (ha, ha, ha!) :)

Items I'm selling will include:

Fabric
Acrylic, watercolour, gouache paints
Painting mediums
Canvas
Yarn
Coloured pencils
Mat and illustration board
and other craft-related goodies!

Hope to see you there!!

J