Little Friend Doll Sweater Tutorial

I am joining Ginny from Small Things this Wednesday for a Yarn Along. Hop over there if you want to join in too! 

A while back we purchased this doll for Deirdre from Nova Natural. She was our first Waldorf doll and is quite well loved. So well loved that her arms began to fall off and she went out of commission for awhile. Amid my hyperemesis this Fall and a move this Summer, poor Vera stayed in my mending basket for far too long. When Christmas rolled around I was determined to mend her and also make her some new clothes. 

I adore Waldorf doll clothes. They are so cute and well made. However as much as I love them, I am not willing to pay $20-$30 for one outfit plus shipping. I have had a hard time sewing clothes for dolls as well so I decided I would try to knit some. 

Then enters this dolly sweater. I am by no means a talented knitter. I'd describe myself as passable, mainly because I am self-taught. I have lots to learn still and little time and patience...haha... so I need to work with what I got. 

So I devised a super simple, super easy pull over sweater for Vera. The head  and arm openings are extra wide so children can put the sweater on themselves. I also knitted with large needles and bulky yarn so that the sweater would give a little (again to make it easier for my daughter to pull it on). 

Vera is 11 inches tall. The pattern is designed for her and other "Little Friend" dolls or 11-12 inch Waldorf dolls. If you have a larger or smaller doll and want to make one for them as well, message me and I can do the math on how to adjust this pattern to fit your doll. 

Supplies:

-Size 10 Needles

-Bulky Yarn that knits up to 4=14 stitches on size 10 needles (I used alpine wool)

-Yarn Needle

1. Cast on 30 stitches 

2. Knit 10 rows 

3. Cast off 7 stitches

4. Knit 16 stitches

5. Cast off 7 stitches 

(At this point you should have 16 stitches in the middle still on your needle)

6. Knit another 20 rows. 

7. Bind off loosely at the end. 

8. Then knit another identical piece following the same steps from above. 

Once you have your two pieces...

1. Sew up your seams along the outside of the sweater, except for the bottom, the ends of the sleeves, and the neck portion. Make sure to leave the neck portion wide. (See photo below)

2. Turn your sweater inside out and weave in any loose ends. 

3. Viola, you should be done and ready to put the sweater on your Little Friend! 

Enjoy! And please let me know how it goes if you knit one ;) 

Daily Verse or Quote: 

Let the wise listen and add to their learning, and let the discerning get guidance— for understanding proverbs and parables, the sayings and riddles of the wise.

– Proverbs 1:5-6 (NIV)