I was tempted into knitting for dolls by my friend, Jen, and this is dangerous territory. It’s really addictive to knit teeny tiny projects – the assumption is that projects will be finishing quickly, but I’m discovering that my need to get it “just right” means these little sweaters take a while. (We’ll talk about sewing for dolls later. I’m further down that rabbit hole.)

Jen has a Blythe doll and I knit this little shrug for her.

This is extremely teeny and I wish I’d put something in the photograph for scale before sending it off. It’s maybe 2″ wide. The pattern is a free pattern on Ravelry called Shrug for Blythe, and it’s a great pattern. I found the instructions very clear and the results adorable – with no seaming! I knit it in some leftover Elann Silken Kydd, which is discontinued (that’s a Ravelry link) and a lot like Rowan Kidsilk Haze.

I tried this sweater on Barbie, because I don’t collect Blythe dolls, and it was too small. The length was good and the back width, but the fronts were small. Barbie definitely has more of a bust than Blythe! I played around with the stitch counts and made a few more changes, too – I wanted a shrug king of like Bacall, a Rowan pattern for actual people. (The Rowan site has been redesigned and I’m not sure this pattern is even there anymore, so that’s a Ravelry link. It was originally published in Rowan 44, and was a free download for a while.)

This shrug was designed by Sarah Hatton – I think the sample garment is too broad in the shoulders for the model shown here (or maybe too wide in the neck), but I love the roll collar.

I knit the long-sleeved version of it in Kidsilk Aura for myself, and it’s a wonderful squishy soft warm sweater. (Yes, I actually used the specified yarn. It happens sometimes.)

Here’s my finished sweater and here’s my Ravelry project page.

And here’s my modified shrug in Rowan Kidsilk Haze, adjusted to fit Barbie:

It has cap sleeves and a garter stitch collar. There’s also a loop and button closure at the front. The collar can be rolled as above, or lifted so it makes an opera collar. See?

My model, btw, is the 35th Anniversary Reproduction Barbie from 1993, the brunette version. I bought her on eBay NIB, and removed her from the box. (Yes, I am an un-boxer.) The plastic tie in her hair had disintegrated so I had to redo her hair, and the adhesive from her strapless bathing suit had also dried into a sticky mess, but I got her cleaned up. (I think she looks happier after 28 years in a box.) She’s a bit cheeky, wearing this shrug with nothing underneath, but she needs some tops and dresses. The Kidsilk Haze is really soft…

I still have a couple of tweaks to make to the pattern and will knit another one to be sure I have it right. (See how this goes?) Then she’ll need the perfect dress to wear with it…