Top-Down Cardigans for the Girls

Posted on July 12, 2023 by Deborah Cooke

This post has been sitting here in draft for over a year. My original plan was to share the pattern for this little cardigan, but I never pulled it together. It’s time to show off some of the results, though. The yarn links in this post go to Ravelry, just FYI.

First, here are my little Monster High Girls in their wee sweaters.

tights for MOnster High Dolls sewn by Deborah Cooke using DGRequiem's Leg-cessories pattern

These cardigans were knit from the top down, in a variation of a pattern I made up for Barbie.

Because the sleeves are skinny, you have to take off their hands to put on a sweater. It’s cropped, so their belly-buttons show. (I could knit it longer but it’s kind of cute this way.)

Here are the sweaters:

Top-Down Cardigan for Monster High and Ever After High dolls, designed and knit by Deborah Cooke

The grey one has a ribbed collar and hem, ribbed button bands and ribbed cuffs. The raglan increases are done with make-one increases, which disappears more into the fabric.

The purple one has collar, hem, button bands and cuffs worked in reverse stockinette. The raglan increases are done with yarn-overs, which creates a little lacey pattern.

The front fastens with three snaps and the buttons are just for show.

As you can see, slight variations in yarn weight end up resulting in bigger differences. I knit both of these with the same needles and instructions. The purple one, though, is a teensy bit bigger because the yarn is a teensy bit thicker. The grey was knit with The Loving Path Fibre Arts High Twist Sock (that’s a Ravelry link) which has 424m in 100g and is classed on Ravelry as a light fingering. The purple was knit with Dragon Strings Sleipnir (another Rav link) which has 343m in 100g and is classed as fingering on Ravelry.

Here’s my Barbie version of this little cardigan in several variations:

Top-down cardigans knit for Barbie by Deborah Cooke

These ones all have working buttons – there are buttonholes in the right fronts. And I made the increases in all of them with YOs. Again, they’re all knit on the same needles with the same stitch counts and you can see the variation in size. Starting from the top left, the green one is knit in Malabrigo Sock (the colourway is Rayon Vert) and is the smallest. Malabrigo Sock is put up in 100g hanks which have 402m. This sweater has 3/4 sleeves, which works out well for Barbie since her hands don’t come off. (I wrap her hands to get the sweaters on.)

The russet one to the right is knit of MadTosh Merino Light (384m in 100g) in Cardinal also with 3/4 sleeves. It’s bigger – 20m less in 100g makes a difference even when you’re only using 7g or so!

The deep blue one, with long sleeves, is knit from leftover Unique Sheep Luxe from my Celestarium Shawl. It has 366m in 100g, which makes it a bit thicker. This one is pretty bulky on the girls.

The blue and grey one is knit of Rowan Kidsilk Haze Stripe (colourway Cool) which has 421m to 50g – it knits up as if it’s much thicker, though, because of the halo. I used the stitch counts for the Barbie size and it’s kind of fun how the striping came out.

Here are the girls modelling two of them. The redhead is Dusk to Dawn Silkstone, who is skinnier than repro Barbie. The navy one is particularly big on her.

Top-down cardigans knit for Barbie by Deborah Cooke - modelled by Dusk to Dawn Silkstone and Repro Barbie

Here are two more cardigans which were adapted to fit Tyler Wentworth.

Top-down cardigans knit for Tyler Wentworth by Deborah Cooke

The purple one is knit of Shibui Knits Sock, which has 175m in 50g. I used the stitch counts for Barbie and realized it would be enormous after knitting the body. I stopped working on this one before knitting the sleeves, because it was so big. Recently, I realized it would fit Tyler – even with the Barbie stitch counts. It’s pretty snug for Tyler, so it’s a sweater to wear without a blouse underneath. I knit the sleeves longer on this one. (Like B, Tyler has to have her hands wrapped to get her sweater on.)

Finally, I recalculated the stitch counts for Tyler for the last one in mixed brown shades. It’s knit of Koigu KPPPM in colourway 513P – KPPPM is 175m for 50g. I knit this one a little longer and also did some back neck shaping to make the front of the collar sit better.

Here’s the last one on RTW Rouge Sydney Chase, with a matching dress.

Top-down cardigan and dress knit for Tyler Wentworth in Koigu KPPPM and Sugar Bush Drizzle by Deborah Cooke

I used the free pattern T-Shirt Dress for Tonner Dolls by Samira Jessica (that’s a Ravelry link) but divided the color. It’s a top-down knit with cap sleeves that are created when you cast off for the arms. I started with Sugar Bush Drizzle, held double, in Pink Puddle. At the waist, I changed to the Koigu KPPPM. I didn’t rib the skirt but just knit it in stockinette, then purled one row and cast off purlwise. I thought that might keep it from curling at the hem, but the hem still wants to roll up, even after blocking. I also added a little kickpleat at the center back. 🙂 If I knit it again, I’ll do some moss stitch at the hem.

So, there are the girls with their new cardigans!

Audrey is Done

Posted on February 15, 2023 by Deborah Cooke

This year, I have a plan to finish up some of the projects that are on my needles. Some of them have been waiting for my attention for a while. (Sleeve Island is a precarious location for me. Sweaters can be marooned there for years!) I had a look through all the project bags at the first of the year and chose this one to finish up first.

Audrey is a cardigan designed by Martin Storey in Rowan Angora Haze. It’s on the cover of the pattern book, Rowan Angora Haze, which is now discontinued. (That’s a Ravelry link for the pattern book.) The yarn is also discontinued. Here’s the Ravelry link for Rowan Angora Haze yarn and here’s the Ravelry link for Audrey.

Audrey, a cardigan designed by Martin Storey in Rowan Angora Haze, photo by Rowan

It’s a pretty cardigan in a very fuzzy soft yarn. I’ve blogged about this one before, since it’s been SEVEN years since I cast it on. Gah. It’s ten years since I bought the yarn and the pattern, which means it aged in the stash even before I cast on. (This little summary and a birthday on the horizon makes me give my stash a side-eye.)

Let’s look at those blog posts before we explore the why of the timeline. Here’s the first one, and there’s a mention of my Audrey in this post, then here’s the most recent post about (ha) the plan to finish it, dating from two years ago.

The big issue with this knit was that I didn’t like the shape of the sweater as designed. It’s kind of an 80’s shape, with wide shoulders and a narrow waist, an inverted triangle. I didn’t originally realize that from the pictures – I saw it in the schematics and instructions. As a pear-shaped individual myself, I knew this wouldn’t work. I eliminated the increases in the upper body, which then meant that the armhole decreases and the shoulder cap had to be recalculated. I also changed the neck, so that there’s another button there instead of a ribbon threaded through a casing. Then I discovered that the sleeve instructions made a sleeve that was far wider than I wanted, so I frogged the sleeves back and started them again. Finally, the dark fuzzy wool was tough to read in the cable and eyelet pattern. This wasn’t television knitting at all, even though I soon memorized the pattern stitch.

This project was castaway on Sleeve Island twice – once for the recalculation of the sleeve cap and once for ennui – as well as having an earlier time-out or two. The yarn shed like mad at first, even after being put in the freezer (that’s an old tip for sheddy yarn) but when I picked it up this last time, it seemed to be shedding less. That’s a good sign for actually wearing the sweater and not having everything I own covered in purple fuzz.

Here are some in-progress pix of the body of the sweater from those older posts, one with a test button. I’m going with those faceted clear ones – they’re pretty but not too fussy. A plain button wouldn’t be right with this sweater IMO.

Audrey by Martin Storey knit in Rowan Angora Haze by Deborah Cooke

Now it’s done (finally!) and I love it. It’s very soft and fits exactly as I’d planned (yay), and oh, it’s warm!

And here it is FINISHED!

Audrey, designed by Martin Storey, knit by Deborah Cooke in Rowan Angora Haze

I bought 12 balls of yarn and used almost 10.5 of them, which means the sweater took 1438 m or 1573 yards. (I don’t even want to think about how many of them I knit twice.) Here’s my Ravelry project page.

If I knit it again (not a chance!) I’d make the armhole a little more shallow, maybe even an inch. I’d add that length into the body so the sweater overall was the same length. I bought 12 balls of black Angora Haze way back in 2013, enough to make this sweater, but I think I’ll knit it into something more plain than this cardigan.

Knitting for Blythe

Posted on January 4, 2023 by Deborah Cooke

Here’s another project I was working on in December but couldn’t show you because it was a gift. My friend collects dolls (like me) and her favorite is her Blythe doll with purple hair. I don’t have a Blythe doll – I’m not even sure I’ve seen one in real life – so it always feels risky to make for her, but I do it anyway. 🙂 Here’s last year’s gift to my friend and her Blythe.

Clothes knit for Blythe doll by Deborah Cooke, Christmas 2022

Many of these knitting patterns are from the same designer, whose work is just so clever and cute. Her name is Jane Pierrepont and she publishes her patterns as Polly. Here’s her Ravelry profile. It looks like her website is gone. 😦

The gold and brown dress is her Blythe Lacey Mini Dress which is a free pattern on Ravelry. I knit this one in MadTosh Merino Light in the colourway Vanilla Bean. The dress is knit flat and then seamed, and knit from the top down. I joined mine in the round when the lace skirt started. I also mucked up the lace pattern (It was written for knitting flat and I was knitting in the round) so substituted a traditional one, Vertical Lace Trellis instead. In hindsight, it wouldn’t be that big of a change.

R1 as instructed.
R2: P1, *P2tog, YO and repeat from * to end.
R3: Knit
R4: Purl

Here’s the back of the dress. I put snaps to close the back, then added four teeny buttons to the right side which aren’t functional.

Blythe Lacey Dress designed by Polly knit by Deborah Cooke in MadTosh Merino Light

Maybe I’ll make another with the right lace stitch!

The bolero is another Polly pattern, Blythe Shrug, also a free Ravelry download. (and a pattern I previously modified to fit Barbie.) This one is knit in a bit of leftover Koigu KPPPM. I made a little corsage by crocheting a daisy of KSH and adding some beads to the centre of it. The bag is one of my own market bags, which work for all 1/6 dolls.

The purple sleeveless dress and striped fuzzy top are from the same Polly pattern, which is not free (but is totally worth buying.) It’s called Cozy Comforts and includes the Pleated Pinafore and the Mohair Sweater. I made the dress in Rowan Felted Tweed since it called for a DK weight. I think a slightly lighter DK would have worked a little better – this one is a bit stiff. The top is knit in two colours of Sugar Bush Drizzle – that’s a Ravelry link, since Drizzle has been discontinued. I made mine striped, using two colours. Sugar Bush Drizzle is similar to Rowan Kidsilk Haze, specified in the pattern. These pieces took 13g of Felted Tweed and 3g (total) of Drizzle.

Here are the backs so you can see the button closures. I used KSH for the loops on both, since it’s a strong thread – Felted Tweed isn’t very strong and I was afraid it would snap with use.

Cozy Comforts dress and top for Blythe knit by Deborah Cooke in Rowan Felted Tweed and Sugar Bush Drizzle

Next up, Blythe needed several coordinating accessories. The messenger bag is one I’ve knit before. The pattern was a free download at stickatillbarbie.se , a website of free knitting patterns for dolls which is no longer hosted. I think you can find the patterns archived on the Wayback Machine, but here’s the Ravelry link for this one. I used up some sock yarn for this bag and modified the flap a bit to add a buckle. Here’s my original knit of this pattern, which is knit following the directions. The pattern calls for a crocheted strap, but I knit mine instead: c/o 50 stitches. K2 rows, P 1row, K2 rows, cast off purlwise.

fingerless gloves for Blythe knit by Deborah Cooke in Rowan Kidsilk Haze and Malabrigo Lace.

The necklace is one of the ones I threaded for my dolls on stretch elastic. There’s a post about them here.

And finally, fingerless gloves with teeny tiny button bands. The pattern is a free Ravelry download, and requires small needles. I knit mine on 1.6mm DPNs in Rowan Kidsilk Haze in Blackcurrant, which meant I had to knit them using the magnifying glass on my desk.

I also thought the flap looked backwards on the original, so I moved the thumb hole. The instructions for the change are on my Ravelry project page. There actually are little button holes on the flaps so the buttons really work.

And then I saw this 1/6 scale Barbie Dreamhouse that made me laugh – so Blythe has this playset too.

That’s it for Blythe this year! What do you think? Do you knit for Blythe or any other 1/6 scale dolls?

Maine Ocean Quilt

Posted on November 2, 2022 by Deborah Cooke

It’s been quiet here lately because I’ve been buried in writing and publishing tasks. Last week, though, I took a little fiber break and got this quilt top finished. I quilted it on my Singer 185.

Blue squares pieced and quilted by Deborah Cooke

This one was inspired by a quilt I saw on our road trip to Maine: the cabin where we stayed had a quilt in this pattern on the bed. Theirs was red and white, but I really liked the simple pattern and how effective a design it made. I doodled it down, then came home to sort through my stash. I really like this colour combination. The top has been waiting to be quilted for a while.

Since the colours reminded me of the ocean, I quilted it in waves – they go diagonally across the middle square, then I started to quilt around and around. After finishing the third (outer) square border around the middle, I had to respray the outside border with temporary adhesive – all that wrestling of the fabric had made the layers come apart again. The backing is a printed cotton sateen from my stash, and the border is the same Kaffe Fassett Roman Glass in purple that’s in the quilt.

Here’s a picture of the pieced top in the sunshine:

This one was a challenge to quilt on the machine – I think it’s either the maximum size that I can manage or close to it. It’s 72″ by 72″ finished. I have one more that’s about this size (the mermaids) and I’ll probably try to do my Storm at Sea on the machine – it’s a teensy bit bigger. (Ha. No pix of that one. It’s been waiting a looooooooong time to be quilted!) The bigger ones will have to go to the long arm quilter to be finished up.

I also have a lap top pieced in these fabrics which I’ve been handquilting with embroidery floss. It has flannel on the back and is a very cozy piece of work. I’ll try to get that done soon and post a pic.

New Blue Socks

Posted on August 5, 2022 by Deborah Cooke

Most of my socks are wearing out, so I’ve been knitting new ones for myself for the fall. Here’s my latest pair.

socks knit by Deborah Cooke in Patons Kroy Socks Blue Raspberry

I really like this colourway. I used a little bit more than two balls, and needed to join from a third ball for the toes. I ran out with each ball after about 3/4″ of the turquoise band that begins the toe. You can see that I added more turquoise when knitting the right one, which means less purple on the toe. I’ll survive that. 🙂 Fortunately, I’d found that third ball in the mill ends at Spinrite, so it only cost $1. I have a lot of it left for my sock afghan or maybe another knitted dress for Barbie.

And yes, I already have another pair of socks on my needles….

Halo Cardigan

Posted on February 25, 2022 by Deborah Cooke

Sometimes, you just need a quicker project. I have a lot of projects on my needles right now, but most of them use small needles, which means slow progress. I’ve finished eight repeats of the pattern on my Rowan Lace Scarf and am partway through the fifth ball of the six provided in the kit. I’ve almost finished the body of my Noro Mitred Jacket. I’m coming down to the hem on my Spector pullover, which may be the slowest knit on the planet for me. (Will it languish on Sleeve Island? Maybe…) And I’ve been knitting a lot of Barbie clothes. There’s a whole pile of them waiting for their ends to be sewn in. Last weekend, I felt in need of some more immediate knitting gratification.

And then, an ad from Fleece Artist sailed across my screen. Ooooooooo. I’m a complete sucker for their gorgeous yarns.

The Halo Jacket is a free pattern from Fleece Artist. (That’s one of the pattern images from Fleece Artist.) You can download it from their website, or grab a copy here on Ravelry. It’s knit side to side with two yarns held together, a fingering yarn and a mohair-silk laceweight yarn (which creates, hey, a halo!) Here are the yarn bundles at Fleece Artist — as usual, their colours are absolutely scrumptious.

But….in the interests of managing my own yarn inventory, I decided to shop the stash. I have some Koigu KPPPM in a purpley-blue, which I bought for a sweater I ultimately decided not to make. I also have some Rowan Kidsilk Haze in Turkish Plum. I’m a little short of yardage in the Koigu, but fortunately, the original pattern (the one that wasn’t knitted) required two coordinating colours. I have the coordinating colour and will use it on the cuffs and collar if necessary. The best part is that those bits are knitted last, so I can decide after the majority of the garment is done.

Here’s my start:

Halo Jacket knit in Koigu KPPPM and Rowan Kidsilk Haze by Deborah Cooke

I’ve pinned it down because it wants to roll into a tube! The actual colours are darker than they appear in the photo, but look at how much the KSH darkened the KPPPM. I hadn’t knit up this Koigu because it wasn’t dark enough – although it’s very pretty – but I love it combined with the KSH. The fabric is wonderfully squishy and soft.

What do you think?

Mummers from Saltwater Mittens

Posted on February 9, 2022 by Deborah Cooke

Things have been quiet here on the blog. I had a bit of a crazy January – I was (as usual) racing toward deadline on a new book but got sick with a mild case of Covid-19. It still pretty much flattened me, which makes me glad we’re vaccinated. I’ve been working like mad on that book ever since and now need to catch up on everything else.

Of course, I’ve been knitting, too, just not documenting it all. Today, we start to fix that.

These mittens are from a book called Saltwater Mittens by Christine LeGrow and Shirley A. Scott. Here’s a Ravelry link to the pattern book, and here’s a link to the book’s landing page at the publisher, Boulder Books.

This pattern is called Mummers. I was so excited to discover that they have mummers in Newfoundland – yet another reason to visit one of these days. How amazingly blue the light is here right now. I took these pictures at midday but in the shade since the snow was so bright.

Mummers mittens from Saltwater Mittens knit by Deborah Cooke in Harrisville Highland

I knit mine in yarn from my stash. One of the recommended yarns is Briggs & Little Regal – that’s the B&L website. You can order directly from them. I have some of that, but I also had Harrisville Designs Highland left over from Mr. Math’s sweater and I like the colours together and thought it similar. This is an interesting yarn because it’s put up in two different ways – washed and skeined which is the link above, or unwashed on cones which you’ll find on this link. It’s cheaper on the cone if you need a lot and I like seeing it full when the finished garment is washed.

Balkan by Brandon Mably knit by Deborah Cooke in Harrisville Designs Highland

On the left is Mr. Math’s sweater in the same yarn – the pattern is called Balkan by Brandon Mably (that’s a Ravelry link) and here’s the link to my Ravelry project page. I made a yarn substitution – it’s supposed to be knit in Rowan Colourspun (Ravelry link) which is a yarn I like a lot and is now discontinued. The mister thought it was too soft plus he wanted a more graphic color combination. Done and done. (Hmm. Did I blog about this project? Yes! I did! Balkan sweater for Mr. Math.)

And now there are mittens to coordinate!

Olof Hat Done

Posted on January 5, 2022 by Deborah Cooke

I mentioned this hat in December, which is a free pattern from Knitty. (Olof hat pattern on Knitty.)

Here’s my finished hat in Rowan Felted Tweed:

Olaf hat knit by Deborah Cooke in Rowan Felted Tweed

I made the medium size and chose which colour to use as I went. It was a good pattern and a nice knit.

I like the colours of it but don’t love wearing the hat. (I hate hats, really.) It fits around but is the wrong height – not enough to slouch, so it just makes my head look bigger. (My head is bigger than this foam one.) Mr. Math will adopt it, I’m sure. He loves all the hats in Felted Tweed.

Meanwhile, I’m still knitting on the Rowan shawl/stole and have used half the wool in five repeats of the pattern. It’s about 30″ long now, so will be a good length when done. It’s a lovely knit, a bit too complicated to memorize the pattern, but the yarn is giving a nice definition to the stitches. I’ll show you that one when it’s done.

Olof Hat

Posted on December 15, 2021 by Deborah Cooke

I spotted this free pattern last week – Fulay Little of LittleKnits shared it on Facebook – and since I have a bunch of Rowan Felted Tweed in my stash, I thought I’d give it a try. I’m always looking for the perfect hat. Most are too small for me, but this one has directions for three sizes.

Here’s the Olof hat pattern on Knitty. (BTW, I chose the option to print just essentials and it included all the pix, which isn’t the way that usually works.)

Here’s my first attempt:

Olof hat designed by Anna Peterseil knit by Deborah Cooke in Rowan Felted Tweed

I chose the Camel (the beige) to offer some contrast to the Bilberry (purple) and the Watery light teal), but the hat is too beige – even though that star band which is half done will have a green background. You’ll notice it’s off the needles, which is a portent of doom – or in this case, frogging. I’m going to switch some colours around.

On the upside, I enjoyed the corrugated ribbing, which was a new thing for me. The hat also fits well, though I might make another in the biggest size just to have one that’s a bit droopy. Rowan Felted Tweed really is wonderful for fair isle work. It’s such a nice soft yarn and I like how the stitches smush together a bit. (That’s a technical term. LOL) Here are several other projects I’ve knit in Rowan Felted Tweed:

Fair Isle hat by Mary Jane Mucklestone knit by Deborah Cooke in Rowan Colourspun and Rowan Felted Tweed — Fair Isle Hat from Vogue Knitting

Bute by Lisa Richardson knit in Rowan Colourspun and Felted Tweed by Deborah Cooke — Fair Isle Hat from Vogue Knitting

I also have the yarn stashed for Bute in the alternate colourway, all blues, for the mister. Here it is on Ravelry. (GAH! ©2012! I should probably cast on that beast. The first one was a lovely knit.)

Hmm. I’m looking at that grey hat on the left. It’s using two shades of Rowan Colourspun, plus three of Felted Tweed – those three were a subscribers’ gift from Rowan. The pattern was a scarf that I didn’t much want to knit and I’d forgotten all about it. It was the Garter Slip Stitch Scarf by Lisa Richardson. Here’s a Ravelry link with a project pic. They look quite good together, don’t they? I decided to frog right back to the purple ribbing and switch out the camel for the avocado.

Crystal Twist Complete

Posted on November 24, 2021 by Deborah Cooke

Does your knitting project change depending upon where you knit?

Mine apparently does. Just over a week ago, the mister and I decided on a new plan. Neither of us were sleeping as well as would be ideal and my eyes were bothering me. We decided to eliminate blue light after dinner. Nor more evenings watching television, surfing online, or even reading ebooks. Instead, we’re reading paper books. Instead of knitting while watching TV, I’m knitting for a couple of hours in the kitchen each night, then reading. And that means that I can work on all those projects that need a little bit more concentration. While watching TV, I prefer to knit endless miles of stockinette—and whenever a project gets to the point that I need to pay attention, I put it aside. This change means that I’m picking up those projects and getting them done.

First up is my Crystal Twist shawl, which didn’t require that much attention. (That link is my first post about it: here’s the second post about the size of the shawl after one skein.) There’s just a little pattern bit at the left end of the row, but it was enough that I wasn’t knitting while watching movies. And it’s finished! Here it is, right off the needles.

Crystal Twist shawl knit by Deborah Cooke

The ends are a bit curly because it isn’t blocked. I like the second colour but wish I’d picked something a little darker, maybe a little bluer. That second yarn has a bit of a tighter twist than the first yarn, but that distinction may diminish when the shawl is washed. It’s really only something I would notice.

I switched yarn colours the same 12-row transition recommended by the Unique Sheep: after working colour A, work 2R colour B, work 4R colour A, work 4R colour B, work 2R colour A, then continue in colour B. They photograph quite distinctly, but in real life, the colours of the two skeins appear to be much closer.

I could have maybe managed another 12-row repeat in the purple, but I would have been playing yarn chicken. Here’s the ending edge, which I worked in the first colour:

I’m really pleased with this shawl and may make another. I like it in this two-skein size, and if I do make another, I’ll definitely add the beads.