Doll Headband

Doll Headband (to see a picture see the Doll Purse pattern)

Needles Size: 3

Yarn: I prefer Super Saver, but this will work up well in most other yarns also.

This headband will fit most 18" dolls

CO 48

Rows 1-3: Work in K1, P1 ribbing.

BO

Sew the ends together and you have a cute headband for your doll.

2 Rectangles Baby Blanket

2 Rectangles Baby Blanket

I often knit baby blankets for charity. I wanted to make a pattern in the blanket that would be obvious no matter what colors I used. The picture isn't the best. Trust me, when you knit this you will definitely be able to see the 2 rectangles.

When I knit charity blankets I use any yarn that is soft that I have on hand. This blanket was knit with two strands held together throughout. Also try to use soft yarns on baby blankets. Just be creative. You can knit it all in one color or in several.

My finished measurements for this blanket were 25 inches by 35 inches.

Because it's heavy, it's ideal to place over a car seat so that the harsh winter winds won't make the baby cold.

The directions are given for sections of the blanket as opposed to numbers of rows. Depending upon the thickness of your yarn it may take more or less rows to achieve the number of inches needed for a section. Keep a ruler on hand and don't fret if the pattern doesn't work up perfectly. This pattern is fool proof, even if you make a few mistakes, it will still come out nice.

CO 85 with two strands of yarn held together on Size 9 circular Knitting needles.

You don't join the work, the circular needles will help you hold on to all the stitches on the blanket. This is a very forgiving pattern. If you don't have size 9 circulars, use whatever size you have on hand.

Sections 1, 2, 4 and 5 are each 5 inches long.

Section 3 is 15 inches long.

Knit across all right side rows.

Sect. 1: Knit across all rows(until section is 5 inches long)

Sect. 2:

Row 1: K10, P70, K10 (wrong side rows)

Row 2: Knit across all right side rows

repeat these two rows for Section 2. At the end of this section your blanket will measure 10 inches.

Sect. 3:

Row 1: K10, P10, K20, P10, K20, P10, K10 (wrong side rows)

Row 2: Knit across all right side rows.

repeat these two rows for section 3, which is 15 inches long. The blanket should measure 25 inches at the end of this section.

Sect. 4:

Row 1: K10, P70, K10 (wrong side rows)

Row 2: Knit all right side rows.

Repeat these two rows for section 4, which is 5 inches long. The blanket should measure 30 inches at the end of this section.

Sect. 5: Knit across all rows until section measures 5 inches.

This is the last section of the blanket. You should have a finished measurement of 35 inches.

BO and weave in ends.

If your blanket turns out longer, don't spaz out. I always say that there are no imperfection in knitting. Any mishaps are just personal touches :-)

Feel free to donate this blanket to your favorite charity.

My blankets get donated to my local Project Linus chapter and also to BirthRight. There are plenty more organizations that will take donations in your local community. Make a few calls and you'll be pleasantly surprised. Many charitable organizations would love to receive hand knit items. Put that free time to good use, even if it's only 5 minutes a day. Every blanket keeps a child warm.

A Crafter's Eternal Complaint

In the last few years with all the complaints surrounding children's toys you'd think that people would want things that have been hand crafted, since these would be among the few that are truly safe for children.... WRONG!
It seems that people have this strange fascination with buying things that are made in foreign countries, then they have the utter gall to complain when they don't have a job here in the United States. There's a reason for why the unemployment rate is so high. The majority of the manufacturing jobs have been sent overseas. While these jobs typically didn't always pay well, it was still a job. Now those jobs have left.
I thought that with the lead paint in toys scare that happened a while back that people would be more apt to buy handcrafted, Made in USA toys.
When I had my little crafts business, I never made a very large profit, granted my prices were pretty low. I just thought that would influence people to buy more product. Wrong again. I really try not to laugh when people see some of the things I've made, like purses and scrunchies and tell me that those things would sell well. Then I get to tell them my lovely sob story about how I've been there and done that.
This holiday season I tried to make Doll Clothes to sell online. While I have sold a few things, it's not nearly enough to be called a success.
This is why I'm posting the doll patterns that I created for some of the accesories. I'm pretty much just fed up with the mentality of some people. They want a quality product, but they would rather poison their children than pay a moderate fee for something that won't harm them.
I guess from now on I'll just stick to knitting for charity. At least the organizations that I donate to appreciate the HOURS that it takes to create one of a kind items by hand.

Doll Shoes for an 18" Doll

This is a photo from someone who used my pattern. Thanks Tori!!

Doll Shoes for 18" dolls

This pattern works up best with size 3 needles and Super Saver yarn

Both the left and right shoe can be worked the same.

Abbreviations used in this pattern:
K = Knit
pm = place marker
m1 = Make one (this can be done by knitting into the front and back of a stitch)
ssk = slip slip knit
K2tog = Knit 2 together
YO = Yarn Over

CO 15

Row 1: K7, pm, K1, pm, K7

Row 2: K1, M1, Knit to marker, M1, Slip marker, K1, slip marker, M1, Knit to last stitch, M1, K1

Rows 3 & 4: Same as row 2 ( 27 sts.)

Rows 5-8: Knit

Row 9: K7, ssk 3 times, K1, K2tog 3 times, K7 (21 stitches)

Row 10: K5, BO 11, K5

**Put first 5 stitches on holder**

Rows 11-13: K5 remaining stitches. (not those placed on holder)

Row 14: BO 5 sts

Row 15: CO 6 sts (before you knit the 5 sts on the holder)

Row 16: Knit across 11 sts.

Row 17: K8, K2tog, YO, K1

Row 18: Knit across

Row 19: BO

Fold the shoe in half and sew along the sole of the shoe and the back. Make sure that when you are sewing the second shoe that strap is on the opposite side as your first shoe, or you may end up with two left shoes. Sew a button on to the side of the shoe to secure the strap. Try it on your doll and make a matching purse if desired.

My most loathed gift

I've had a lot of time to think about Christmases past and all the cool and not so cool stuff I've received throughout the years. The one worst that sorely sticks out in my memory was a package of Disney panties that my aunt gave me when I was about 7 years old. I was at my cousin's house; we were all having a great time unwrapping gifts and comparing what we got. Then came my turn to open my lucky package. I was so excited that my aunt had bought me something. Immediately after I ripped that shiny paper off of my gift my face turned three different shades of red. After my cousins laughed at me I turned yet a darker shade of red, threw the gift down and ran to my mother, who was also probably chuckling to herself, but hid it so as not to make me even angrier. My aunt of course was devastated.
Looking back on that I realize that children never really do like getting clothing as gifts. Some would rather have toys or money. This year with the number of children mounting I may just opt for the "Here's a dollar, don't spend it all in one place!" method of gift giving. At least that way everyone gets what they wants and I won't end up broke. And no one will run away from the Christmas tree crying or red faced because they received a truly embarassing gift.

Doll Scarf

This scarf works up nicely in many different types of yarn. While my favorite for doll clothes is SuperSaver, you may find that another yarn works better.

Knitting Needles Size 3

CO 80

Rows 1-4: knit

BO

Weave in the ends of the yarn and you have a supercute scarf for your doll.

Doll Purse for 18" Dolls

Doll Purse for 18" Dolls

The image for this purse does it no justice! It is absolutely adorable!

Materials Needed:

I use Super Saver yarn, but this purse will work up nicely in almost any yarn.

Size 3 needles

The purse is knit in 2 pieces which are then sewn together.

Body of purse:

CO 10

Knit 3 rows in Garter Stitch

Knit in Stockinette Stitch for 4 inches

Knit 3 rows in Garter Stitch

BO

Purse Strap:

CO 20
BO

Fold body of purse with right sides facing and sew the sides. Next sew one end of purse strap on to each side. Turn inside out, and you have a one of a kind purse for your doll.

Getting Started

After accumulating a few original knitting patterns I thought that I would be kind enough to share them with others online. Slowly but surely I'll be putting up Knitting Patterns for free.

The patterns are for your own personal use. My favorites to knit up are baby blankets, booties and hats. Every once in a while I'll fuse a few patterns together to make them work with a certain type of yarn that I'm using.

Happy blog surfing!! Feel free to leave comments on any posts I make in the future!