Sometimes you need a quick project and some instant crafty gratification. Here’s a recent favorite of mine – some knitted purses for Barbie.

The patterns are from a website of free knitting patterns for Barbie called Sticka till Barbie. It’s in Sweden and is amazing. (The pictures are teeny, but it’s worth a good look.) There really are more than a thousand patterns for Barbie and about 300 for Bratz dolls—including 8 years of ABBA costumes. (Click ABBA on the menu bar to see, then they’re sorted by year.) There are project pictures on Ravelry and since they’re larger, it’s easier to see details there – here’s the designer page on Ravelry.

On the right is A-7 – a circular drawstring bag. I knit mine iwith some red MadTosh and black Malabrigo Sock, adding a bit of detail above the colour change. I put a little cardboard square in the bottom. The drawstring is a manufactured cord instead of a knitted one.

On the left is A-5 on the same page – a striped tote bag. This one’s knit sideways – you do the stripes first, join the strip into a ring, then pick up stitches for the handles. Someone on Ravelry suggested a provisional cast-on and 3-needle bind off, which seemed like a good idea to me. I grafted the loop together, though.

These are quick knits and a bit addictive, plus a great way to use up scraps of sock yarn. I know I’ll be knitting more!

If you knit for dolls, this site is a great resource.