While I couldn’t get away with making or trading for Bella’s Christmas gifts (camera, black velour Juicy sweats, knee-high black boots, clapper lights, earrings from Tiffany’s – you get the idea – she made out like a bandit this year between all the relatives…), I DID make and trade for Christian’s gifts this year.<\/p>\n
His main gift, Mr. Sterling Doll, I made for him, and his tree stump blocks I traded for. I knit three tiny doll dresses for one set of $33 tree blocks.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/i108.photobucket.com\/albums\/n18\/womantalk\/IMG_1863.jpg\")
They will become the bodies of flower children, like the ones Sierra made below, for Hanukah. I love how homemade dolls have so much personality – the blonde is the pretty one who’s a bit shy and self-conscious, and the redhead is her good-natured friend.<\/p>\n
And soon I’ll get around to knitting a few for myself and Christian.<\/p>\n The pattern is simple, just fiddle-y, because it’s so small. I used #3 crochet thread and 1.75 mm (or US 00) needles. #10 thread had some nice colors but it is hard to work with – check the size difference – the red dress pictured is #10 thread.<\/p>\n We (Sierra, I mean) made some minor adjustments to the pattern, and I’ll post general directions here, although I highly recommend buying the magazine for detailed and illustrated directions. Check out Christine Shreier’s Puppenstube webstore<\/a> for more of her delectable Waldorf dolls in all shapes and sizes.<\/p>\n With the right side facing you, work 8 stitches, and put those on a holder. Large safety pins worked well for this (I bought those golden quilter’s safety pins just for this project).<\/p>\n Knit 2 stitches together 8 times. This creates the gathering of the top of the skirt.<\/p>\n Put the remaining 8 stitches on a holder.<\/p>\n Now cast on (add) 9 stitches for a sleeve. Turn around, purl your way back and add 9 more stitches, for the second sleeve.<\/p>\n Continue in stockinette for 1\/2-3\/4 inch. (Shreier says 6 more rows. I found I needed slightly more.)<\/p>\n Halfway down the next row, cast off 4 stitches for the neck opening. (Shreier does only one stitch.) Next row, add four in the same spot and continue knitting across.<\/p>\n Continue in stockinette for the same number of rows you did up to the neck.<\/p>\n Then you need to transfer the stitches from the bottom of the sleeve and top of the dress on to a knitting needle for casting off. Pick up 9 stitches from the cast-on side of the sleeve, then 8 stitches from the top of the dress (on one safety pin) and then the 8 from the other side of the dress, and then pick up the 9 more from the cast-on side of the other sleeve. Make sure that your sleeves and dress are inside-out.<\/em><\/p>\n Now this is the really fiddle-y bit.<\/p>\n Cast off the stitches using a two needle bind-off (which just means, knit the stitches from both needles together and then cast off). For the stitches from the top of the dress, use two stitches for every one<\/em> on the other needle, so that you have matching gathers on the back of the dress.<\/p>\n The head can be as simple as a tuft of wool gathered in a square of skin-colored knit fabric, or you can form a more complicated doll head as Sierra did. That means, using a piece of stocking or medical gauze tubing to form an inner head. Then tie off a horizontal eye string. Then gather the inner head into a square of wool batting, and THEN gather that inside the skin-colored square and tie off the neck. Tuck the neck into the neck hole and sew on.<\/p>\n The eyes and mouth are sewn on through the back of the head with embroidery floss. For the hair you can either needlefelt or stitch on a bit of colored wool fleece OR you can crochet a little tiny hair cap with mohair.<\/p>\n The arms are made of pipecleaner, with two small beads covered with skin-colored fabric tied on.<\/p>\n As I said, these directions will only do for somebody with previous doll-making and knitting experience…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" While I couldn’t get away with making or trading for Bella’s Christmas gifts (camera, black velour Juicy sweats, knee-high black boots, clapper lights, earrings from Tiffany’s – you get the idea – she made out like a bandit this year … Continue reading ![\"\"](\"http:\/\/i108.photobucket.com\/albums\/n18\/womantalk\/IMG_1539.jpg\")
I followed the flower child pattern from Christine Shreier<\/a> in the Spring 2008 issue of Living Crafts<\/a> (which I purchased expressly for that pattern). Her flower dolls are darling – but I can’t wait to see what Devana does with the bodies I knit for her.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/i108.photobucket.com\/albums\/n18\/womantalk\/IMG_1874.jpg\")
Cast 32 stitches. Knit 4 rows in garter, and then stockinette for 2-3 inches. Shreier’s directions call for 16 rows, but that seemed too short.<\/p>\n