Omnifariously Knotty

Crafty Bits of This & That

EU VAT

Dec 272014

As most of you probably are not aware, there are major changes in the collection of VAT in EU nations that go into effect on January 1, 2015. Previously VAT was determined based on the location of the seller and I, as a US citizen didn’t have to pay attention to VAT unless I was buying something from the EU. Starting in 2015 that changes and VAT will be determined and collected based on the location of the buyer. Since I have a couple patterns for sale, and people in the EU have bought them in the past and may choose to buy them in the future, this makes VAT something I have to collect and remit to the proper countries.

Fortunately for me, Ravelry has been amazing and has worked out a system for handing EU purchasers off to sites that are set up to handle VAT. I had a few options to choose from, and for now I have chosen what seems like the simplest: I am hosting my patterns on Ravelry and EU buyers will be given a link to PayHip should they choose to purchase. Since PayHip is not an EU only platform I have gone back and added PayHip links to my pattern posts here as well, for those that do not wish to use the Ravelry links for whatever reason.

In the interests of transparency, right now my sales are low enough that Ravelry does not charge me for hosting my patterns and the full price you pay goes to me. Sales through PayHip are not free, but the commission rate is fair. So if you are outside the EU and this sort of thing matters to you, please use the Ravelry links.

Thank you for buying my patterns.

The elf with no face…

Aug 22014

Is faceless no longer!

Talar - New Face 1 Talar - New Face 2

My first, and so far only, attempt to give a doll a face.

I did a layer of pastel shading (which the camera mostly ate) to contour her nose/eye sockets and the sides of her face/behind her ears. Then, in a move I almost regretted, I did her lips with a pastel that looked like a good lip color and painted it on damp rather than dry.

Hello lipstick. I wasn’t sure Talar was actually a dark lipstick sort of girl though, hence the near regret. I decided to keep on with it though, and gave the pastels a coat of sealer.

Then it was onto the tubes of water color, raw umber and burnt sienna, for her brows and eye liner. The brows, those were a major pain. I tried sketching them on with powdered pastel… nope, not enough color stuck for me to see it and it was way too imprecise. I tried with an orange pastel pencil about a half dozen times each and was only managing to polish the brown bone as I erased them to redo (and tinted the area orange as well). Eventually I said “screw it” and grabbed a dark brown pastel stick and sketched them in with the corner, it only took about three tries to get her right to match her left close enough. 😛 Then I attempted to brush the paint on like individual hairs and the 10/0 brush immediately showed that it was not fine enough for that, but it gave a reasonable brow texture so I went with it.

After all that the eye liner was almost a let down for how easy it was.

The lower lashes made up for that.

I then tackled the lips. My paint set has a tube of “flesh tone” paint, it’s basically an opaque pale peach color, so I did a wash of that over the lips to tone down the color. Getting that to the point of “not too streaky” was a whole lot of fiddling and frustration. Then the crease between her lips was too pale, so I had to go in with the 10/0 liner and some of the raw umber to darken that up again, and then fiddle with the lower lip and the streakiness again to blend that in. Finally I felt enough was enough and I patted on some powdered terracotta pastel to even out the lower lip and called it good.

I really like the color I ended up making there.

Fingers were crossed when I sealed it; I was told, after I was in the middle of all this, that applying sealer over tube watercolor can make the watercolor blur.

After all that I figured “why the hell not?” and glued in some orange lashes I bought ages ago for her and my other redheads and had never got around to sticking in their eyes.

Now I just need to get my hands on a small bottle of acrylic gloss to add a hint of shine to her lips, but I’m happy enough with the matte look that I’m not going to worry about it.

Summery BJD Shoes

Jun 282014

After making five pairs the pattern is done!

The prototype:

Crochet Lace Sandal Wedges

The heel foot refinement (also playing with color):

Tri-Color Sandals

The flats, to be sure they work:

Emerald Flats

And two pairs to send off to see if they fit Planet Doll mini girls:

Shriara's Flats Shriara's Wedges

The flats are more likely to fit, even though I made the wedges for flat feet. Doll feet vary a lot in shape and I found that the wedges fit differently on my Dollzone girl than they do on the Resinsoul girls.

Yarn: #10 crochet thread – The shoes above are a combination of Red Heart Classic, Aunt Lydia’s, and vintage Knit-Cro-Sheen.
Hook: US #7 steel (1.65mm)

Other stuff you will need:
4 small beads, optional, for the ends of the shoe ties (3-4mm beads or 6/0 “E” beads suggested)
1 piece of stiff clear plastic, such as from a piece of packaging or food container, to make a template for cutting the sole
Fine point permanent marker for writing on the plastic
Acetone (nail polish remover) to remove the marker from the plastic
Soling material – cork tile, card stock, chipboard, mat board, craft foam, etc.
White craft glue, or other glue suited to your thread and soling material
Clear nail polish or Fray Check for sealing the tie ends if desired

The pattern is for sale in my Ravelry story for $4 and uses US crochet terms.

This pattern is also available on PayHip.

Snow Bunny

Mar 222014

I really, really love Norah Gaughan’s knitting designs. So when I saw her Kaver and Taku sweaters I knew I wanted to knit one though I wasn’t convinced it would look good on someone that is not tall and willowy. As a doll owner that just means I end up trying to resize a human pattern to fit a doll around 16 inches tall instead. Unfortunately the pattern used for Kaver and Taku was not something easy to reduce, so I swapped in another hexagonal pattern that just happened to be another of Norah’s designs.

Proto Snow Kaver - Side  Snow Kaver

Yarn: Aunt Lydia’s Bamboo Crochet Thread #10 (White & Natural colors) OR Red Heart LusterSheen (split into plies, Hot Pink)
Needles: US #00 (1.75mm) and US #000 (1.5mm)

I put my notes together into a pattern, including the chart I made for the cable pattern (the original is written out and knit flat). You can download it from Ravelry (no membership required).

posted under Free, Patterns | No Comments »

Impressing Myself

Mar 182014

I started this in December, not long after I saw the still from Catching Fire that made all the knitters on the internet want to knit That Sweater.

Talar - Mockingjay Front Talar - Mockingjay Back

Every single stitch in everything but the white ribbing is twsited, both knit and purl, including decreases both left and right leaning. For the knitters that will mean something; everyone else: suffice to say that it slowed me down a bit.

I’m so happy with it that if I had other colors of this bamboo thread I’d be seriously tempted to start another one.

MSD Bandeau Top

Mar 182014

I just put this together as a PDF download on Ravelry. It’s a ridiculously simple bit of knitting but I thought having it more “packaged” for other people might be convenient.

Talar - Bandeau front

Yarn: Bernat Handicrafter Crochet Thread #10
Needles: US #0 (2.0mm)
Notions: 1 snap, thread and needle to sew it on 

The model doll is a Resinsoul double-jointed large bust girl (known as the “Rong” body after the first doll to use it, Yao has the same upper torso). The bust measurement for this body is 17cm.

Since MSD bust sizes are widely variable there are notes in the pattern for how the top shiould fit as you are knitting it. If you do make changes, take notes. If you add or remove rows before the bust increases you will have to add or remove the same number of rows after the bust decreases.


The pattern is available as a free PDF download on Ravelry (no membership required to download).

posted under Free, Patterns | No Comments »

From short shorts to capris

May 82013

Capris on a Spring Day

When I made my short shorts pattern I knew I would eventually knit pants. The whole point of the shorts pattern was to work out the fit of the seat and rise because after that it’s just legs and whatever amount of stylish shaping I wanted to add to them.

These are my first pair of pants using that pattern, and what I changed to make them.

First off, this doll has the Resinsoul double-jointed 42cm girl body (known in the hobby as the Rong body after the first doll released using it). The shorts pattern was written to fit the Resinsoul single-jointed 42cm girl body (variously known as the Mei body, the old body, etc.) which has 17cm hips. The Rong body has 18cm hips so the shorts as written fit it very tightly, outlining the hip sockets.

Since I didn’t want the pants to be very tight I added one more set of hip increases, this adds four stitches around the hips, about one extra centimeter, and two additional rows of depth to the rise. These are low rise pants even with the added two rows and I could have added a few more rows before the crotch increases if I had wanted. I suggest adding one set of hip increases for every centimeter over 17 that your doll’s hips measure, so if your doll has 19cm hips add two additional hip increase rounds. If your doll has much larger hips consider adding stitches (4 stitches per centimeter) to the cast on instead of, or in addition to, the extra hip increases since the cast on edge has to be able to stretch over the hips.

The additional rounds of hip increases add two stitches per added round to each leg, so you need to account for them when placing the markers for the crotch increases and when dividing for the legs.

Spring Capris

[Please excuse the wrinkles, she’s been sitting in them for a while and I didn’t smooth them out enough when I took photos.]

After dividing for the legs I knit one and a half inches, about twenty-five rounds. This made the pants leg reach just below the fullest part of the doll’s thigh. I could have knit a bit less, maybe twenty rounds, so that I would start the decreases closer to the fullest part of the thigh. It is difficult to judge the length with the knitting in progress due to the fact that the crotch is still open when knitting the first leg.

Since I wanted a tapered leg I started decreasing one stitch every other round, alternating using a k2tog at the start of the round with an ssk at the end of the round, this creates the effect of an inseam (which you can see a bit of in the photo above). I made eleven decreases, leaving me with an odd number of stitches for the mock rib pattern I planned for the hem. If I had started the decreases sooner I would have spaced them at every third round to make the angle of the taper a bit less severe.

After finishing the decreases I knit one inch more of leg (sixteen rounds), putting the length just below the knee and about half an inch less than what I wanted the final length to be. Then to set up for the split hem I knit half the stitches so I would be at the outside of the leg to start knitting back and forth for the hem.

Mock Rib
Row 1 (WS): purl
Row 2: (k1, p1) to last stitch, k1

I knit seven rows of the mock rib and then bound off in the rib pattern. To neaten up the V slit I put the remaining loop from the bind off onto a #7 (1.5mm) steel crochet hook and slip stitched along the V before fastening off.

The bullet list of changes I made:

  • extra hip increases as needed
  • knit 1.5″ after dividing for legs (below fullest part of thigh)
  • decrease 1 stitch every other round, alternating start and end of round, 11 times
  • knit 1″ even (until 0.5″ less than desired length)
  • knit to outside of leg, turn and knit 7 rows of mock rib for hem
  • bind off in pattern
  • crochet slip stitch along hem V slit to neat it up

The bullet list of changes I suggest:

  • extra hip increases as needed
  • knit 1.25″ after dividing for legs (at fullest part of thigh)
  • decrease 1 stitch every third round, alternating start and end of round, 11 times
  • knit even until 0.5″ less than desired finished length
  • knit to outside of leg, turn and knit 7 rows of mock rib for hem
  • bind off in pattern
  • crochet slip stitch along hem V slit to neat it up

You can purchase the original short shorts pattern from Ravelry with this link:

This pattern is also available from PayHip.

Lace Yoke Shell

Mar 262013

It’s been about two years since I knit this, so this post is going to be based off my notes and my memory. If I knit another one and find errors I will correct them.

Lace Yoke Shell

First of all, this post is not a pattern. It’s a summary of what I did to convert the Dolphin Bay Eyelet Baby Top from the Naturally Caron site to fit an adult 42cm slim mini ball-jointed doll (specifically a Resinsoul Mei, default single jointed body). You will need to have a copy of the original pattern for this to make any sense at all. It’s free, go get it.

I used extra fine crochet cotton (#30 I think, I lost the label years ago), 000 (1.5mm) and 00000 (5/0, 1mm) needles. The final gauge in stockinette after blocking and plenty of wear is about 6-6.25 st/cm or 151/4-157/8 sts/in

[And now I’m going to quietly freak out about knitting about 61-63.5 sts to 4″/10cm….]

Step 1: Convert the lace yoke pattern for the smallest size to be knit in the round rather than back and forth. The pattern is well written and this should not be too difficult. Note that I also changed the k3tog to sk2p.

Step 2: Using your larger needles cast on 128 stitches (8 repeats of the lace pattern) and work rounds 1-14 of the yoke pattern.

Switch to your smaller needles and work round 15 and then four rounds of k1, p1 ribbing and bind off loosely. Check that the yoke fits on your doll’s neck before cutting the thread.

Step 3: With your larger needles and starting at one of the purl to knit transitions on the cast on edge, pick up 40 stitches across three knit and two purl segments of the yoke for the back.

Lace Yoke Shell - WIP

The above photo may help make that more clear. This was taken after the following two steps were completed.

Step 4: Make short rows as follows to even out the back so it’s straight across. When the instructions say “turn” use whatever method you like, I used Japanese short rows, then knit or purl back to the end of the row. Close any gaps as you pass over them.

p3, turn
p6, turn
p9, turn
p12, turn
p40
k3, turn
k6, turn
k9, turn
k12, turn
k40

Step 5: Cast on underarms and pick up the front. The underarms are “middle of the row” cast ons, so use whatever method you prefer for those. I generally use the crochet cast on, but knitting on or the cable cast on would work just as well. I would avoid the thumb cast on because it can become very loose and this will be the finished edge of the armhole.

Cast on 10 stitches for the underarm
Pick up 40 stitches for the front as for the back, placing markers after 12 and 28 stitches (16 stitches between markers).
Cast on 10 stitches for the second underarm and join to work in the round.

The start of the round is now the middle of the second underarm that you cast on (left underarm).

Knit 16 rounds. This should be right at the fullest point of the bust, the back will be lower than the front.

Step 6: Work short rows for the bust. Again, use whatever method you like and close the gaps as you pass over them. After turning continue to the next line of instructions.

Knit to the second marker, turn
p16, turn
k19, turn
p22, turn
k25, turn
p28, turn
k31, turn
p34, turn
k37, turn
p40, turn
k43, turn
p46, turn
Knit to the end of the round

At this point the front and back should be even and the bust should be covered.

Knit 12, place marker, k16, place marker, knit to the end of the round, closing the remaining short row gap.

Lace Yoke Shell - WIP 2

You should have something that looks similar to the above image at this point.

Step 7: Do waist decreases.

Knit to 2 stitches before first marker, k2tog, knit to second marker, slip marker, ssk, repeat for the second half of the round.
Knit 3 rounds

Repeat the last four rounds.

Work the decrease round once more.

Knit 20 rounds.

Lace Yoke Shell - WIP 3

Step 8: Do hip increases. I mirrored my m1 increases, right leaning at the first and third markers, left leaning at the second and fourth.

Knit to the first marker, m1, slip marker, knit to the second marker, slip marker, m1, repeat for the second half of the round.
Knit 3 rounds

Repeat the last 4 rounds three more times (104 stitches)

Step 9: Knit the hem lace pattern. There are 8 repeats per round. Every row is shown in the chart.

Bind off loosely in pattern.

Weave in ends and block.

Blocking this can be a bit challenging. Mine is knit in cotton so I wet blocked it, laying it flat and tugging the hem and shoulders into shape. I rolled up a bit of paper towel to fill out the bust area as it air dried.

I think, if I were doing this now, I would do the same until I was in the middle of the 20 rounds at the waist and then knit the hem pattern from the original baby top, adapted as needed, up to the waist and then graft the two parts. I like the top down construction for the ease of fitting the bust but I suspect the bottom up hem lace would look better.

posted under Free, Tutorial | No Comments »

Who Wears Short Shorts?

Dec 152012

When I posted photos of my doll’s new shorts people wanted to buy the pattern, so I wrote one.

Burgundy Shorts - Front

Yarn: Red Heart Classic Crochet Thread #10, approx. 25-30 yards
Needles: US #0 (2.0mm), US #000 (1.5mm)
Notions: 2 stitch markers (optional), 2 small stitch holders (paper clips work well), waste yarn

Price: $2 US

Available from Ravelry:

This pattern is also available from PayHip.

Clearing out the cobwebs

Dec 102012

Since I have a pattern that will be posted soon I thought I should clean things up a bit here. Most of it won’t be visible to you, there were a lot of Word Press related back end things to get straightened up, but hopefully all the cleaning didn’t break anything.

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Omnifariously Knotty is where I plan to collect my various crafty patterns, tutorials, and projects. Most of the knitting and crochet patterns will be hosted on Ravelry and will be available through my storefront there as well as by direct links here. However, this will not be just a mirror of my Ravelry storefront, I will also be including things here that will not fit on Ravelry. Those things may include sewing patterns, crafting projects, and tutorials.