knitting patterns are free to down load from many sites just type in "free knitting patterns" here are a couple we found and loved for a quick gift ideas this page is updated seasonally as well as weekly if you came back to veiw a pattern that is no longer here just email us through our contact page and we will email it back to you. please note that these patterns belong to the designers and although you can use them for personal use you cannot sell on the exact pattern or item that it creates.
this basic doll can be made into a fairy,clown or baby doll. the first instructions are for experianced knitters but there is also a pattern further down for beginners.
Materials:
For the doll I used a 100gm ball of Patons 8 ply (light worsted) Magnum 100% courtelle in pale pink. 310m per 100gm.
Scrap of black yarn for features.
Soft red coloured pencil for shading cheeks.
Approx 50gm hair coloured yarn for wig.
1 pr 3mm needles.
Soft toy filling (approx 200gm, your mileage may vary)
Abbreviations:
K2 tog: Knit 2 together
WS: Wrong side
rem: remaining
Method:
First, make a gauge swatch in your preferred yarn and needles 2 sizes smaller than those you would use to knit a wearable garment (This is to eliminate any possibility of the toy filling from 'leaking' through the stitches).
Body:
Using your swatch gauge as a guide, cast on enough sts to create a tube of 20cm diameter, making sure you have a number divisible by 4.
Join sts, marking the beginning of the round, and knit until piece measures 16cm, mark this round with a coloured thread and continue knitting until tube measures 24cm.
Following round: K2 tog to end, break off yarn and thread through rem sts, pull tightly to close end of tube and secure firmly on WS. This gathered end of the tube forms the top of the head. The gather will be covered with a yarn wig later on.
Legs: (make 2 alike)
Divide the number of sts cast on for the body by 2 and use this as the number of sts to cast on for the leg. (Knit the legs in the round as you did for the body).
Knit until work measures 9.5cm, mark with a coloured thread.
Keep working until tube measures 18cm, mark with a second coloured thread.
Work a further 3cm. Break off yarn leaving a long thread.
Put the sts onto 2 needles and lay the tube flat. Graft the sts together (If you prefer you can cast these sts off and sew the ends together) This graft (or seam) is the 'toe end' of the foot. (As you will see when making the doll up at the end)
Arms: (make 2 alike)
Cast on the correct number of sts to make a tube of 8cm diameter, making sure you have an even number of sts. Join sts and mark beg of round.
Knit until work measures 8cm, mark with a coloured thread for the elbow. Knit a further 8cm (16cm total) and mark each end of the row for wrist.
Work a further 2.5cm and graft ends tog as you did for the feet. This grafted end of the tube is the 'hand end'.
Making Up:
This sounds labour intensive when reading, but isn't in reality. HONEST!
Using a soft toy filling, fill the body tube quite firmly, but not enough to make the tube hard. If you are going to make the dress and knickers I have provided patterns for you will have to make the chest measurement approx 30.5cm.
Make sure to leave the last 1cm of the body unfilled.
Pin the front of the tube to the back (so as to make a flat seam) and baste across the bottom of the body, 1 inch from the cast on edge. This will help keep the legs nice and floppy when you sew them in later.
Take a piece of thread, the same as you used to knit the body, and gather the neck at the round where you marked with a coloured thread. Gather as tightly as you need to make a firm neck that will keep the head upstanding.
Lay this piece aside for now.
Taking one of the legs, fill the tube up to the first coloured marker (at the 3cm mark) At this point squash the tube flat and sew straight across the tube at this row. This will form the foot.
Continue stuffing the leg lightly, and repeat this 'jointing' method at the second marker to form the knee.
Lightly stuff the remainder of the leg, leaving the last 1cm as you did for the body. Fold feet forward slightly and st to hold in 'foot' position.
Repeat for the second leg and pin the cast on edge of the legs 'inside' the body just underneath the basting. Sew straight across the body with a firm back stitch, sandwiching the cast off ends of the legs inside the body. Remove the basting that you put across the bottom of the body and coax the filling into place by squashing it about a bit until it's the correct shape.
Fill the arms in the same way, making joints at the marked rows.
When you get to the end of the tube squash it flat as if making a joint and sew the end of the tube closed. Sew the arms at the sides of the body just below the neck. if you wish, sew a line down the front of each hand for thumb. You should now have a bald floppy dolly with no face.
Wig:
For a Girl
First, decide how long you want the wig to be. Do this by measuring from the gather at the top of the head down the back of the doll to the point you want the hair to reach. You may want to embroider the face on the doll first to help determine this.
Take a book, the width of which is roughly 2 inches more than the length you want the hair to be. The best thing to use here is a hard-cover novel if you can find one the right size. (I used 'Knitting in America')
hair
Wind the yarn you have chosen for the hair round & round the book neatly until you have covered the length determined by your measurement (mine was 11cm). Wind back over the first layer to make a nice thick head of
hair. Repeat if desired.For a fringe (bangs) you can trim the front, or if you prefer you can embroider them underneath before sewing on the wig.
Style the hair as you wish. If making pigtails, make sure you catch down a suitable amount of the hair near the ears (if she had any), so as to avoid a 'mohawk'.
Boy's Wig
Make wig as for girl's hair, but wind around a ruler instead of a book and slip the loops off the ruler instead of cutting.
Make several of these and, starting at the gather on top of the head, sew down in an outward spiral. This should create a thick curly head of hair suitable for a boy doll. Keep going until you have covered the head.
Both Dolls:
Embroider face as shown in the image. Using the side of a freshly sharpened red pencil lightly shade the cheeks as shown.
Variations
Clown:
Work feet, hands and face in white. Work arms, legs and body in brightly coloured stripes. Sew 3 pom-poms down the front as big 'buttons' and bells or pom-poms on the toes. Make boy's wig in bright orange. Sew lace frill around the neck. Make a large yellow daisy from felt and sew to body in a 'lapel' type position.
Ballerina and Fairy:
Work feet and body in white, head, arms and legs in pink. Sew ribbon 'laces' above feet (as ballet shoes) and tie in a decorative bow. Braid hair into a bun, stick small felt flowers in the hair as a floral tiara.
Tutu:
Take a long rectangle of tulle, join short ends and gather the top to fit doll. Sew on small star shaped sequins and add a 'wand' for a fairy. (There's a use for those 'sat upon' wooden knitting needles!)