dolly molly cardigan

Here are some photos of Molly and Ava, two of Hana's dolls. I made Molly for Hana's second birthday, and Ava for her fourth. They are both made from materials and pattern from Weir Dolls and Crafts. Susan Weir is a wonderful dollmaker and teacher (basically, from what I can tell, she's just wonderful in general), and I'm so lucky that she is local and I have had the opportunity to learn Waldorf dollmaking from her. Luckily for everyone else, she has a great web shop where you can get materials, kits, patterns, craft books, and so much more!The dolls are each wearing a sweater I knit for them. I based the construction of the sweaters on a top-down cardigan I knit for Hana a few years ago from a Knitting Pure & Simple pattern. I like KP&S patterns for the seamlessness and simplicity of the garments; a knitter can add design elements to their heart's content. So what I did was to shrink the idea way down to dolly size (these girls are 16" dolls). The first one (blue) was the prototype I knit last winter where I fiddled a lot with stitch count and scale. Eventually, I got it! Ava's pink sweater is just recently off the needles, knit from my old notes. I'm happy to say that between the notes and my memory, I could finish in a few nights' worth of knitting! Hana picked out some cute ladybug buttons from the button drawer, and now Ava's cozy too. Hat's are in the works too, but shhh... those are a surprise! If you're interested in knitting one yourself from my notes (don't worry, I tidied them up, yours won't have coffee stains), please leave a comment or email me, and I'll send you a copy.