18" Doll Upside-Down Knitting Primer

I've had this (free) 18" Doll Upside-Down Knitting Primer in my queue on Ravelry for awhile. If I had known how valuable it was going to be to me, I would have knit it a long time ago.

If you hate seaming and want to learn how to make seamed sweater patterns without seams (i.e. convert them to seamless), this is a fabulous tutorial. The bonus, of course, is that you get a sweater for your daughter's 18" doll out of the bargain. This might fit the Bitty Twins, but it does look a bit slimmer than the ones I've been making for them. I have to sneak pictures of these since they're for gifts, so I wasn't able to try it on the Twins for fear of royally messing up their hair and having my daughter notice.

As I was knitting this, it didn’t look like it was going to turn out looking very nice (although the tutorial was fabulous in its own right). However, now that it’s done, it’s very pretty. What a nice surprise! :)

I did have trouble picking up enough stitches on the neckline. What I ended up doing was picking up as many as I possibly could, then increasing on the next round to get to the recommended number. It worked perfectly and goes over the doll's head with no trouble.

I'm linking to ...

Bitty Doll Romper

This one is not my design. It's a pattern I purchased from Ravelry called Baby Doll Romper. At first, I wasn't so sure about purchasing a pattern when I'm getting pretty good at figuring things out myself. However, I'm very glad that I did because I would have never figured out the crotch area by myself. The pattern made it very easy, though.

This perfectly fits the Bitty Twins, even though it wasn't designed specifically for them.

The neck is a bit big, but the fullness is mostly in the back, so it doesn’t stand out much.

This is designed almost like a onesie without snaps at the crotch, but I wanted long pants and sleeves.

I simply knit the sleeves to 3” (measured under arm) before switching to the contrast color. Next time, I’ll change that to 2-1/2”, since it could stand to be just a bit shorter.

I knit the legs to 4-1/2” (measured on inner leg) before switching to the contrast color. They are perfect.

The one (very minor) thing I would change is to add a second buttonhole closer to the top. I suspect that might solve the problem of the gaping neck.

This was very well-designed. I had no trouble getting it off and on the doll. I don’t expect my daughter to have any trouble, either.

I'm linking to ...

Pink & Brown Striped Seamless Bitty Pullover

Here is the small-striped version of my (free) Basic Seamless Bitty Pullover that I originally had in mind when I thought of stripes.

Since this is doll-sized, I made the stripes only four rows each. Lest you think I wove in all those ends, I chose to simply carry my yarn along the back of the work, since it wasn't even a full inch between stripes.

I did all the ribbing in the pink yarn. It worked out perfectly that way.

I love this color combination!

Patriotic Striped Bitty Pullover

Yes, another sweater for my daughter's Bitty Twins!



I've been furiously knitting sweaters with my Basic Seamless Bitty Pullover pattern, trying to see how many different ways I can use it. This sweater started out with two goals in mind:

1. use up small scraps, and
2. do some stripes.

I was pleased to be able to finish off every last scrap of these three colors. It was close enough that I was sweating it just a little, but I always finished with at least a few inches of yarn to spare. (It was that close.)

These are the row counts I used for the stripes:

Red - 26 rows (beginning ribbing through rnd 17 of increases)
White - 10 rows
Blue - 20 rows (including bottom ribbing)

I hope you're enjoying these doll knitting projects because I've been busy and have some more to share in the coming days.

Knitting: Cabled Variation of the Basic Seamless Bitty Pullover

 As soon as I finished designing the Basic Seamless Bitty Pullover (free pattern here), my mind was whirling with the possibilities. I adore cables, so that was the first variation on the list.

I loved the cable pattern from the front of this sweater (free from ABC Knitting Patterns), but I didn't want to do the seaming. So I tried it out on this style, and it worked beautifully.

There is a cable that extends down the arm, too.

This should also fit 18" dolls, like this Madame Alexander doll.


For those of you who like row-by-row directions, here you go ... It may look intimidating, but you'll quickly get the hang of it.

If you see any typographical errors, please let me know. Two (or more) sets of eyes are always better than one at catching typos!

Cabled Variation of the Basic Seamless Bitty Pullover

Materials

DK/sportweight yarn – 2 balls (1.75 ozs/50 g) The cables take more yarn (about 60 grams total), so be safe and make sure you have two skeins for this one.

needles – size 6 (DPNs and 16”) and size 4 (DPNs and 16”)

waste yarn in a contrasting color - two scraps to hold sleeve stitches

Gauge

8 rows = 1”, 5 sts = 1”

Instructions – Main Sweater

Using larger needles, cast on 68 sts (instead of the original 66). Place marker and join to work in the round. Work in 1x1 ribbing for 1 round. Switch to smaller needles. Continue in 1x1 ribbing for 15 rounds (2”). The extra inch forms the turtleneck.

Set-up Rnd: Switch to larger needles. K18, pm, k16, pm, k18, pm, k16, sm. (68 sts)

NOTE: Switch to 16” circular needle when you have enough stitches.

Rnd 1: *kfb, p1, k4, p2, k2, p2, k4, p1, kfb, pm (front); kfb, k4, p1, k4, p1, k4, kfb, pm (sleeve); repeat from * one more time. (76 sts)  increase rnd

Rnd 2: *k2, p1, k4, p2, k2, p2, k4, p1, k2, sm (front); k6, p1, k4, p1, k6, sm (sleeve); repeat from * one more time.

Rnd 3: *kfb, k1, p1, k4, p2, k2, p2, k4, p1, k1, kfb, sm (front); kfb, k5, p1, k4, p1, k5, kfb, sm (sleeve); repeat from * one more time. (84 sts)  increase rnd
(You should be able to switch to the 16” circular on this row.)

Rnd 4: *k3, p1, k4, p2, k2, p2, k4, p1, k3, sm (front); k7, p1, k4, p1, k7, sm (sleeve); repeat from * one more time.

Rnd 5: *kfb, k2, p1, k4, p2, k2, p2, k4, p1, k2, kfb, sm (front); kfb, k6, p1, k4, p1, k6, kfb, sm (sleeve); repeat from * one more time. (92 sts)  increase rnd

Rnd 6: *k4, p1, C4B, p2, C2, p2, C4B, p1, k4, sm (front); k8, p1, C4B, p1, k8, sm (sleeve); repeat from * one more time.  cable rnd

Rnd 7: *kfb, k3, p1, k4, p2, k2, p2, k4, p1, k3, kfb, sm (front); kfb, k7, p1, k4, p1, k7, kfb, sm (sleeve); repeat from * one more time. (100 sts) increase rnd

Rnd 8: *k5, p1, k4, p2, k2, p2, k4, p1, k5, sm (front); k9, p1, k4, p1, k9, sm (sleeve); repeat from * one more time.

Rnd 9: *kfb, k4, p1, k4, p2, k2, p2, k4, p1, k4, kfb, sm (front); kfb, k8, p1, k4, p1, k8, kfb, sm (sleeve); repeat from * one more time. (108 sts) increase rnd

Rnd 10: *k6, p1, k4, p2, k2, p2, k4, p1, k6, sm (front); k10, p1, k4, p1, k10, sm (sleeve); repeat from * one more time.

Rnd 11: *kfb, k5, p1, k4, p2, k2, p2, k4, p1, k5, kfb, sm (front); kfb, k9, p1, k4, p1, k9, kfb, sm (sleeve); repeat from * one more time. (116 sts) increase rnd

Rnd 12: *k7, p1, C4B, p2, C2, p2, C4B, p1, k7, sm (front); k11, p1, C4B, p1, k11, sm (sleeve); repeat from * one more time.  cable rnd

Rnd 13: *kfb, k6, p1, k4, p2, k2, p2, k4, p1, k6, kfb, sm (front); kfb, k10, p1, k4, p1, k10, kfb, sm (sleeve); repeat from * one more time. (124 sts)  increase rnd

Rnd 14: *k8, p1, k4, p2, k2, p2, k4, p1, k8, sm (front); k12, p1, k4, p1, k12, sm (sleeve); repeat from * one more time.

Rnd 15: *kfb, k7, p1, k4, p2, k2, p2, k4, p1, k7, kfb, sm (front); kfb, k11, p1, k4, p1, k11, kfb, sm (sleeve); repeat from * one more time. (132 sts)  increase rnd

Rnd 16: *k9, p1, k4, p2, k2, p2, k4, p1, k9, sm (front); k13, p1, k4, p1, k13, sm (sleeve); repeat from * one more time.

Rnd 17: *kfb, k8, p1, k4, p2, k2, p2, k4, p1, k8, kfb, sm (front); kfb, k12, p1, k4, p1, k12, kfb, sm (sleeve); repeat from * one more time. (140 sts)  increase rnd

Rnd 18: *k10, p1, C4B, p2, C2, p2, C4B, p1, k10, sm (front); k14, p1, C4B, p1, k14, sm (sleeve); repeat from * one more time.  cable rnd

Rnd 19: * k10, p1, k4, p2, k2, p2, k4, p1, k10, remove marker, transfer 34 sleeve sts onto waste yarn, remove marker; repeat from * one more time. (72 working sts) Keep your "beginning of the row" marker in place!

Join front to back by continuing in the round ...

Rnd 20:  * k10, p1, k4, p2, k2, p2, k4, p1, k10; repeat from * one more time. (72 sts)
Rnd 21-23: Repeat Rnd 20.
Rnd 24: * k10, p1, C4B, p2, C2, p2, C4B, p1, k10; repeat from * one more time.  cable rnd
Rnd 25-29: Repeat Rnd 20.
Rnd 30: Repeat Rnd 24. cable rnd
Rnd 31-34: Repeat Rnd 20.
Rnd 35: *k7, k2 tog; repeat from * around. (64 sts)

Switch to smaller needles. Work in 1x1 ribbing for 8 rounds (1”). Bind off in pattern, using a stretchy bind-off. (This is the stretchy bind-off I used.)

Instructions – Sleeves

Transfer 34 arm sts from waste yarn onto larger DPNs. Pick up 4 sts under arm (2 on either side of middle underarm).

Rnd 1-3: k16, p1, k4, p1, k16. (38 sts)

Rnd 4: k1, ssk, k13, p1, k4, p1, k13, k2tog, k1. (36 sts)  decrease rnd

Rnd 5: k15, p1, k4, p1, k15.

Rnd 6: k15, p1, C4B, p1, k15.  cable rnd
Rnd 7: k15, p1, k4, p1, k15.
Rnd 8:  k1, ssk, k12, p1, k4, p1, k12, k2tog, k1. (34 sts)  decrease rnd

Rnd 9-11: k14, p1, k4, p1, k14.

Rnd 12: k1, ssk, k11, p1, C4B, p1, k11, k2tog, k1. (32 sts)  cable and decrease rnd

Rnd 13-15: k13, p1, k4, p1, k13.

Rnd 16: ssk, k10, p1, k4, p1, k10, k2tog, k1. (30 sts)  decrease rnd

Rnd 17: k12, p1, k4, p1, k12.

Rnd 18: k12, p1, C4B, p1, k12.  cable rnd

Rnd 19: k12, p1, k4, p1, k12.

Rnd 20: ssk, k9, p1, k4, p1, k9, k2tog, k1. (28 sts)  decrease rnd

Rnd 21-22: k11, p1, k4, p1, k11.

Rnd 23: ssk, k8, p1, k4, p1, k8, k2tog, k1. (26 sts)  decrease rnd

Switch to smaller DPNs. Work in k1,p1 ribbing for 8 rows (1”). Bind off in pattern, using a stretchy bind-off.

Repeat for second sleeve.

Knitting Abbreviations

C2 = faux cable 2 back (knit 2 sts together, but do not slide them off the needle; knit into the first st; slide both sts off the needle)
C4B = cable 4 back (slip first 2 sts to cable needle and hold in back; knit the next 2 sts; knit the 2 sts from cable needle)
k = knit
k2tog = knit two stitches together
kfb = knit front & back (increase)
pm = place marker
sm = slip marker
ssk = slip, slip knit

Terms of Use

Use this pattern to make as many of these sweaters as you like. Give them away, sell them, do whatever you like with the finished product. All I ask is that you respect my copyright and not sell the pattern itself. Link-backs are appreciated, but the knitting police won't come after you if you don't. All I ask is that you play fair. Oh, and don't mention this to my daughter until after Christmas! :)

Free Knitting Pattern: Basic Seamless Bitty Pullover

Today I'm doing something completely new to me - sharing a knitting pattern I designed myself. 

I wanted to make some sweaters for my daughter's Bitty Twins for Christmas this year, but I couldn't find a pattern designed with their unique bodies in mind. I prefer seamless knits, too, since seaming is the bane of my knitting existence.

This is no earth-shattering pattern, but I hope it will help fellow moms (and those of you who collect these dolls yourself). If you want something more than a basic sweater, you can work this in stripes, add a chart, whatever. It's a basic pattern that can go a lot of different ways. But, most importantly, it fits the Bitty Twins great!

For your reference, the Twins are 15" tall with a 13" chest. They are slightly shorter and chunkier than the 18" dolls on the market.

If you try this and have any trouble, please let me know. I've test-knit it several times myself, but I know that things can slip through the cracks.

 

Basic Seamless Bitty Pullover

Materials

DK/sportweight yarn – 1 ball (1.75 ozs/50 g)

needles – size 6 (DPNs and 16”) and size 4 (DPNs and 16”)

waste yarn in a contrasting color - two scraps to hold sleeve stitches

Gauge

8 rows = 1”, 5 sts = 1”

Instructions – Main Sweater

Using larger needles, cast on 66 sts. Place marker and join to work in the round. Work in 1x1 ribbing for 1 round. Switch to smaller needles. Continue in 1x1 ribbing for 7 rounds (1”).

Set-up Rnd: Switch to larger needles. K17, pm, k16, pm, k17, pm, k16, sm. (66 sts)

NOTE: Switch to 16” circular needle when you have enough stitches.

Rnd 1: (k1, m1L, k to 2 sts before marker, m1R, k1, sm) repeat around. (74 sts)

Rnd 2: Knit all.

Rnd 3: Repeat Rnd 1 (increase rnd). (82 sts) (You should be able to switch to the 16” circular on this row.)

Rnd 4: Knit all.

Rnd 5: Repeat Rnd 1 (increase rnd). (90 sts)

Rnd 6: Knit all.

Rnd 7: Repeat Rnd 1 (increase rnd). (98 sts)

Rnd 8: Knit all.

Rnd 9: Repeat Rnd 1 (increase rnd). (106 sts)

Rnd 10: Knit all.

Rnd 11: Repeat Rnd 1 (increase rnd). (114 sts)

Rnd 12: Knit all.

Rnd 13: Repeat Rnd 1 (increase rnd). (122 sts)

Rnd 14: Knit all.

Rnd 15: Repeat Rnd 1 (increase rnd). (130 sts)

Rnd 16: Knit all.

Rnd 17: Repeat Rnd 1 (increase rnd). (138 sts)

Rnd 18: Knit all.

Rnd 19: K35 sts, remove marker, transfer 34 sleeve sts onto waste yarn, remove marker, k35 sts, transfer 34 sleeve sts onto waste yarn.

Knit even until sweater measures 2-5/8” inches from underarm. On the last row, decrease 10 sts evenly around (*k5, k2tog; repeat from * around).

Switch to smaller needles. Work in 1x1 ribbing for 8 rounds (1”). Bind off in pattern, using a stretchy bind-off. (This is the stretchy bind-off I used.)

Instructions – Sleeves

Transfer 34 arm sts from waste yarn onto larger DPNs. Pick up 4 sts under arm (2 on either side of middle underarm).

Rnd 1-3: Knit. (38 sts)

Rnd 4: k1, ssk, knit to last 3 sts, k2tog, k1. (36 sts)

Rnd 5-7: Knit. (36 sts)

Rnd 8: k1, ssk, knit to last 3 sts, k2tog, k1. (34 sts)

Rnd 9-11: Knit. (34 sts)

Rnd 12: k1, ssk, knit to last 3 sts, k2tog, k1. (32 sts)

Rnd 13-15: Knit. (32 sts)

Rnd 16: k1, ssk, knit to last 3 sts, k2tog, k1. (30 sts)

Rnd 17-19: Knit (30 sts)

Rnd 20: k1, ssk, knit to last 3 sts, k2tog, k1. (28 sts)

Rnd 21-23: Knit. (28 sts)

Rnd 24: k1, ssk, knit to last 3 sts, k2tog, k1. (26 sts)

Switch to smaller DPNs. Work in k1,p1 ribbing for 8 rows (1”). Bind off in pattern, using a stretchy bind-off.

Repeat for second sleeve.

Knitting Abbreviations

k = knit
k2tog = knit two stitches together
m1L = make one left (this is an increase - feel free to substitute your favorite increase)
m1R = make one right (this is an increase - feel free to substitute your favorite increase)
pm = place marker
sm = slip marker
ssk = slip, slip knit

Terms of Use

Use this pattern to make as many of these sweaters as you like. Give them away, sell them, do whatever you like with the finished product. All I ask is that you respect my copyright and not sell the pattern itself. Link-backs are appreciated, but the knitting police won't come after you if you don't. All I ask is that you play fair. Oh, and don't mention this to my daughter until after Christmas! :)