Arlene E. Lee - Learn to Knit Doll Clothes: a Wardrobe to fit 18 Dolls--Intermediate

This Book is dedicated to my Mom for teaching me to knit again and again, to William, Meredith, and Thomas for wearing the things I knit, and to Christopher for putting up with me when my creativity runs over and to little girls everywhere .

Slip Loop

Casting on

Knit

Purl

Garter Stitch

Finding the Gauge

Ribbing

Attatching a New Color/Ball of Yarn

Binding Off

Decreasing

Increasing

Shaping

Yarn-Over/ Button Holes

Picking Up Stitches Along an Edge

Lace Knitting

Finishing

Twisted Stitches

Picking up Dropped Stitches

Unknitting

Incomplete Stitches

Yarn Placement Error

Chain Crochet

Single Crochet

Bathing Suit, Beach Wrap, and Beach Towel

Bathrobe

Hoodie Pullover Sweater and Drawstring Waist Capri

Panty and Cami

Striped Sundress and Spring Lily

Striped Top, Stockinette Shorts and Sun Hat

Scalloped Straight Dress and Lace Socks

Scalloped Top and Drawstring Waist Scalloped Hem Capri

Scalloped Hem Nightgown and Blanket

Cardigan Sweater, Pants, Ribbed Hat and Scarf

As a child, my parents would drag my siblings and me to museum after museum. As history buffs, they read every word in every museum or so it seemed to a small bored child. By the age of five, I was keenly interested in sewing and began to look for Victorian era hand sewn dresses to occupy my time in the museums. Invariably, I would wistfully gaze upon a meticulously sewn doll dress made by girls my age long ago. I was always amazed at the tiny perfect stitches and embroidery young girls had accomplished but that I could only dream of doing. So it wasnt long until I was emulating the historic little girls that had come to life in my imagination. It was only fitting that when I learned to knit as an eight year old that my first project was a doll scarf followed quickly by a bonnet and a doll sweater. While other girls were playing during recess, I was hiding in the coat room knitting. I believe in teaching children to knit things that are relevant to their lives. Large scarves are boring to knit and go on forever; at least I thought so as a child. Learning to knit doll clothes was exciting and relatively quick which inspired me to knit more. I hope you will enjoy this collection of doll clothes patterns created specifically to teach girls knitting.

All of the patterns in this book are appropriate for a young knitter and have been used to teach. If you begin with the patterns in the beginning of this book and work towards the end, you will build the skills you need to complete whole sweaters (just in miniature). Early patterns require only casting on, knitting, and binding off. Helpful video tutorials are viewable at wordstoknitby.com. Happy Knitting!!!

The patterns in this book are designed specifically for new knitters. Therefore, most of the outfits are knit using worsted weight yarn which will give faster results with an easy weight yarn to learn on. Cotton, wool, polyesters, and blends are suitable yarns provided they have an even consistent texture. The color should be light to medium so each stitch can be easily seen. Variegated or self striping yarns are also good as long as they are not too dark. Avoid yarns that have a confetti look, unusual or uneven textures or yarns that split easily. They may look beautiful but they will be harder to learn to knit with.

Yarn comes in different thicknesses and is referred to by its weight. Thin light weight yarns (called fingering, sock and sport weight yarns) are used for knitting lace, socks, and baby garments. Thick heavy weight yarns (called worsted and chunky weight yarns) are used to knit warm sweaters and blankets. Thicker yarns will make larger stitches and thinner yarn will make smaller stitches. The number of stitches in an inch is called the gauge. The gauge is affected by the yarn type, the knitting needle size, and the individual knitters tension. The best yarn to start with is one with the same estimated gauge on the label as is called for in the pattern.

Reading the Yarn Label

Learning to understand the yarn label will help you choose the right yarn from the beginning. The label will tell you the fiber content, the gauge, the weight, yardage, and the washing instructions. The gauge is usually given in the form of symbols. To find the symbols for the gauge, look for a square on the label. Usually inside the square or next to it there will be a needle size such as U.S. 7(American needle size) or 3.75mm (the European needle size). The square shown will be based on 4 sides. The number of stitches listed refers to how many stitches using the listed needle size it will take to knit a piece 4 wide. There will also be a number that refers to how many rows it takes to knit 4. For the purposes of this book, we will look at the horizontal stitch gauge only and not the vertical row gauge.

On the label there will also be a number that refers to a dyelot. This number goes onto every ball of yarn that was dyed at the same time. Yarn with different dyelot numbers will be a slightly different shade. The yarn absorbs dye a little differently with each batch and mixing yarn from different dyelots should be avoided. The change from one yarn dyelot to another can be very noticeable in your knitting. If your pattern requires more than one ball of yarn double check that the dyelot number on each ball is the same.