Omnifariously Knotty

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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 »

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).

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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 »

Free Pattern: Doll Wigcap (knit)

Oct 262010

As written this pattern produces a wig cap for a size 6/7 wig. There are generalized instructions for making caps of other sizes as well as detailed instructions for knitting Japanese short rows.

Wig Cap - Inside Out - Front

Yarn: Aunt Lydia’s #10 bamboo crochet thread, approx. 15 yards (14 m)
Needles: US #0 (2.0 mm)
Notions: paperclips or other small removable markers for turning short rows


(membership not required)

posted under Free, Patterns | No Comments »

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.