Doll Sweaters in the Shop

Handknit Fair Isle Candy Cane Pullover

I finally got some doll sweaters photographed and loaded into my Etsy shop. At the moment, I have only one of each sweater. I may or may not make more of each design, so if you want one, I suggest you get it while you can.

Handknit Fair Isle Candy Cane Pullover

This first one is one of my favorites. I was inspired by AG's fair isle sweater in the latest catalog, but I thought theirs was boring. So I decided to create some lively, colorful, exciting ones. This Fair Isle Candy Cane Pullover was the first one I made. It is knit in the true fair isle method, so the design is actually knit into the fabric instead of being duplicate-stitched on later.

Handknit Fair Isle Snowflake Pullover

 Alex is modeling the second fair isle sweater, which is a close second on my favorites: the Snowflake Fair Isle Pullover.

Handknit Snowflake Fair Isle Pullover

This is also knit in the true fair isle method.

Handknit Apricot Cabled Pullover

I love cables, and I dearly love this color. This Apricot Cabled Pullover is another favorite of mine, and I plan to add a few more colors to the shop soon.

Handknit Apricot Cabled Pullover

It features two large cables and one small cable down the front, as well as a large cable down the middle of each sleeve.

Handknit Candy Corn Striped Pullover

I didn't originally set out to make a candy corn sweater. I just looked at the two yarns side-by-side and thought, "They look pretty together!" After the sweater was finished, though, I realized that I had created a candy corn design. This Candy Corn Striped Pullover would be perfect for a doll's fall wardrobe.

Handknit Candy Corn Striped Pullover

This one fits the Bitty Twins (and Bitty Baby) very well, too! The Bitty Twins are a little chunkier than the American Girls, so they can't always wear the 18" clothes, especially the ones that are designed with a close fit. This one fits both.

Handknit Blue Jacquard Pullover

This Blue Jacquard Pullover was one of the first sweaters I knit of this batch. It's simple, but cute.

Handknit Blue and Green Print Pullover

This Blue and Green Print Pullover was an effort to specifically make a boyish sweater, since boy doll clothes are a lot harder to come by.

Handknit Blue and Green Print Pullover

This fits the Bitty Twins (and Bitty Baby) nicely, too.


If you check out my prices, you may wonder why I'm offering these sweaters so much lower than everyone else. I have two reasons.

First of all, I really enjoy making these sweaters. If I can sell something that I enjoy making (and don't otherwise have room to keep), it's all good.

Secondly, I don't expect to make labor union prices per hour. In fact, I might be making sweatshop prices per hour. ;) I'm not in it for the "price per hour". I tried to price them reasonably to make them accessible for everyone, not just the excessively rich. You're welcome.

Nightgown for Paige

This nightgown is another experiment that turned out completely different than I intended ... but it's still great!

I started out to make an A-line t-shirt dress with a ruffled bodice.

The ruffles got (more than) a little crooked, but that ended up looking like a design element. We'll just pretend I did that on purpose, okay?

When it was all finished, I looked at it and said, "This is a nightgown, not a dress!" Well, I hadn't set out to make a nightgown. But Paige did need something lighter than fleece for nightwear, so I was still happy with the end result.

Now I just need to figure out the secret to making it look like a dress instead of a nightgown. I think a solid color would help. Maybe shortening it a little. Any other ideas?

DIY Doll-Sized Bike Helmets

 

 I made the helmets to go with the roller skates and roller blades that I found at Wal-Mart. I took pictures along the way so hopefully it will help someone else make an economical doll skating set.

First of all, I started off with this bowl set from Dollar Tree:

Don't be fooled by the label. I would call these cereal bowls, not mixing bowls. I used the smaller one:

It measures 4-1/2" on the inside at the widest point (diameter). This measurement is what you'll need to use to find a bowl for yourself, if you can't find the bowls at Dollar Tree.

Next, I created a stripe of color down the middle with Dollar Tree duct tape. Here's what mine looked like:

It's not as wide as regular duct tape. If you can't find it at Dollar Tree, I've seen this width in a lot of other stores, including Five Below.

I continued the tape into the inside of the bowl, to keep my ends hidden.

To make the chin straps, I used strips of fold-over elastic that I had picked up at Dollar Tree a few months ago. You could use regular elastic or another kind of elastic, if you want to. I used these because they best matched my project. You can also find the fold-over elastic by the roll at Hobby Lobby (which I discovered after I bought these). They are in with the ribbons and trims, and they have a good variety of colors.

I placed the bowl on each doll's head to determine how long the chin strap should be. It's important that you do this because both of our dolls required a different length. Paige is an American Girl, while Alex is a Springfield. It does make a difference.

You want the elastic to be stretching a bit because this is what's going to keep it on their heads.

Next I installed plastic snaps at each end of the elastic to mimic the look of the snaps on the American Girl helmet. They are for looks only, so you could use buttons if you wanted to. I used snaps because I had them in the right color and they look just like snaps (which they are, of course). :)

I placed the bowl on my cutting mat, centering it on some squares. This is how I came up with the proper placement for the chin straps, getting them right in the middle (well, technically the sides) where I wanted them. I used a Sharpie marker to put a small dot to help me place them.

Then I hot-glued each end of the chin strap where my marker points were. Yes, you read that right. I glued both ends to the helmet. As I mentioned before, the chin strap doesn't come off. You simply put the hat on the doll's head and slide the chin strap under their chin. It works perfectly!

This picture turned out a bit dark, but can you see the camo tape on Alex's? I loved it!

And look how well Paige's helmet is going to match both pairs of her skates!