A Wardrobe for the Dolls

Doll clothes are a great way to use up the little balls of yarn left over from a bigger project. I decided it was time to explore the "designer wardrobe" part of Arne and Carlos' Knitted Dolls book.

The leftovers from my first pair of socks became a sweater.

I used the yarn from my leg warmers to make a skirt.

A ball of wool that came in a mixed bag of yarn from the Village Green Thrift Shop was made into a dress.

Some acrylic yarn from my collection made a lovely lacy nightie.

Sally the Eco Fairy Hybrid Doll

I'm one of those knitters who is constantly thinking one project ahead. The first time I knit something, I like to stick to the pattern, but I'm always thinking about how I can slightly change or tweak it to make it a little different or better the next time. After knitting a couple of Arne and Carlos dolls, I started thinking about how I'd like to try making a doll that had more realistic proportions, mostly the same as the other dolls, but a little bit different.  Recently a friend showed me the pattern for the Sally the Eco Fairy doll. The doll is adorable and I love the cute little pointed fairy ears! As a pattern, I like the proportions and the shapes of the hands and feet, but the directions are to knit each part of the body separately and sew them all together at the end. One thing I love about the Arne and Carlos pattern is that the doll is knit all in one piece. I decided to try and adapt the pattern by knitting in the style of the Arne and Carlos doll, but in the proportions of Sally the Eco Fairy. It was a little challenging at first because Sally's limbs are knit from the thigh and shoulder down, whereas the Arne and Carlos limbs are knit from the fingers and toes up. I eventually figured it out something that would work. I made a slightly smaller nose and opted for eyes that were sewn on instead of the more complex inserted eyes from the Arne and Carlos pattern.  The experiment was a success!

All the materials for this project were from the stash in my closet. The body and hair are acrylic and her dress is Bernat Handicrafter Cotton in Sage Green, Soft Violet and small variegated ball of an unknown colour that was in my collection. The pattern for the dress was inspired by this variation of Sally the Eco Fairy.