Knitting dariAttic - odds and ends, but mainly knitting PATTERNS

I'm starting this because I'd like to share some of my patters. I don't have much as of now, but I'd certainly add more as I go along.
And it's a nice way to keep a track on projects, no?

First things first:
- I'm no professional, so my knowledge on the terms can be a bit shaky, but I'll try to use the most accurate ones;
- I'm using metric system;
- My girl is a Dollmore MSD girl, with measurements of 20-15-18 for hips-waist-bust;
[HR][/HR]The first pattern is for knitting this dress:


It has only one side seam - it's where the cable braid is. It also requires some sewing to attach the braid to the shoulders. The braid, as you can see, is a two-cable and twists one way. I suppose you can knit any braid you like, provided you has the skill (I know I haven't). Or you can just knit it in plain knit and decorate however you like.
The pattern uses ribbing, cable braid, short rows, and increasing/decreasing as well - but I'll explain as we go along. You'd need 3 or 4 needles in total. I found it easier to set a smaller ball of yarn aside before starting - I'll explain why when we get to that part.

I'll give you a basic description, based on my measurements. If my explanation is hard to follow, I'll make some drawings to show what I mean.

Okay, I've used the 2,5mm needles for the main body, and 3mm needles for the shoulder cable. In plain knit, there was 3,5 stitches per 1cm, and in 2x2 ribbing, that was about 5 stitches.
So, for hip measurement of 20cm, cast on 76 stitches plus a couple extra for edges.

Knit 10 stitches in plain knit - that's where your braid would be. Knit a 2x2 rib after that (2 purl, 2 knit).

Knit 6 rows like that. On the 7th row is yourfirst braid twist. Look at the first 10 stitches in plain knit - then knit the very first stitch as usual, transfer the next 4 stitches on a separate needle (or a pin, or a toothpick), and put this needle in front of the work. Knit the other 4 stitches behind the separated ones. Transfer the first 4 stitches back on the main needle, or knit it from the transfer needle. Knit the last, the 10th one, stitch. Now you have a 2-cable braid, twisting to the left!

Knit another 6 rows, like you did, and twist again on the 13th row. The next twist is on the 19th row and so on. Basically, you twist after every 6 rows; just count it when you knit on the wrong side, where the cable is in purls - when you've done 3 rows of purls, it's time to twist!

Knit up to 10th twist like that. The wonderful thing about ribbing is that you don't need to decrease so that it would follow the hip-to-waist curve. No, the ribbing would stretch and gather, following the body silhouette, so you can knit it straight as a tube and it would still fit!

On the 10th twist, it's time to separate the front and the back of the dress. Just divide the total number of stitches you cast on by two - it would be 38 in our case. Mark the centre with a pin or a piece of thread.

Twist the cable like you did nine times before, but knit the last 10th stitch with the next one - that's a "knit two together" decrease. Rib on, and when you have 4 stitches left to the centre mark, decrease once more, knit or purl the last stitch (depending on where you are), knit the last stitch and turn the work over. The rest 38 stitches are for the back now, you can transfer them on a separate needle if you like.

For the front, I made another decrease about three rows after the first, but I found out it's not really necessary. I also added a couple of extra stitches to the braid (that's increasing) - one just after the 1st stitch and another before the 10th, on some odd row that wasn't for twisting.

For a usual t-shirt design, I usually make the armhole 5cm long. Because this design leaves shoulders bare, I knitted about 3cm, and the braid takes up another centimetre - but I found it easier to measure by the braid twists. If you have any t-shirt or a sweater that fits your doll, then by all means use it as a reference. Or try the dress on a doll to see where you are.

When the front is long enough, bind off. It's easier to do from the wrong side, when you knit from the edge towards the braid. Binding would stretch the ribbing, but that's okay. And don't bind the braid off! Purl it like you normally would. If you counted your armhole length in braid twists, then, when you turn the work over to the right side, it's time to twist.

Now you have your braid on one needle, and the back still unfinished. This is where that small extra ball of yarn comes in handy - you can leave the braid for the time being and finish the back. You knit it just like the front - minus the braid of course. You also decrease only once. Knit it one or two rows higher than the front and bind off all the way.
If you didn't have that extra ball, don't grieve and finish the braid - you can return to the back later.

The braid is tricky at this point. Remember how it was time to twist when you've finished binding the front? Twist. Purl the next row. When you turn the work over, it's short rows time! You need to do that so that the braid would go 90 degrees and wrap around the shoulders.

So, when you did the braid along the ribbing, you had (counting the increase) 12 stitches plus 1 stitch at the edge. Now the 12th stitch becomes the new edge stitch, so now you have 5-and-5 stitches for the cables, and one extra, and two edge stitches.
row 1 - knit 10 stitches, transfer the last stitch to the left needle, turn the work over, purl.
row 3 - knit 8 stitches, transfer the last stitch to the left needle, turn the work over, purl.
row 5 - knit 6 stitches...
... and all the way till you have 2 stitches on your needle. Then, on the next odd row, you knit all of the 11 stitches - you now have the angle!.. maybe not a perfect 45 degrees one, but it should be close.

Purl another row after that, then twist and knit normally, twisting after every 6 rows and all. At this point I've switched to 3mm needles.

Knit up to about 4 twists after that. The 5th twist in where the edge of the front piece is - where the armhole is, and where the sleeve would begin. This 5th twist is the 1st twist of the sleeve - another 3 twists, and the sleeve is ready, so that the 4th twist is on the edge of the back. The back is 7 twists in total. The second sleeve is 4 twists as well. I suggest you mark which point goes where with pins or pieces or thread. Also, wrap the braid around your doll from time to time to see how it's going. Confused yet?.. Well, all in all, the shoulder braid was about 17 twists in total for me. After the last twist, knit about two rows and bind off. You can decrease a few stitches to make the end more narrow.

It's time to assemble the dress. To avoid bulk, use a matching sewing thread. Start with the braid and the front. Counting from the twist we did right after the short rows, sew the 5th twist onto the edge of the armhole, right atop of the front ribbing. You don't need to sew much - just secure the braid to the front with a few stitches (hide them well in the knit!). Secure the thread and cut off. At the point where the braid went 90 degrees, make a few stitches as well to assure the angle is there. Secure and cut off. Then attach the middle of the braid to the middle of the front, just with a few stitches as well. Then joint points in the middles between. I suggest you join middles like this, in small separate stitches, because: a) it helps to attach the braid evenly; and b) it leaves some room for stretching.

With the front done, count the 8th twist from the angle and sew the braid to the edge of the back, and attach it like you did on the front. Don't attach the braid end yet!

You now should have the braid attached all around the front and the back, forming a nice armhole on one side and dangling free at the other. Also, our only side seam is still open! Switch on to that.

When I cast on, I like to leave a long string of yarn free - so that when I need to close the side seam, I have a thread ready. But if the yarn is too thick, you'd probably need to switch on the finer thread.

Place the braid on top of the ribbing, so that the knit overlaps. Sew in a running stitch all the way up to the armhole, as close to the edges as possible. Don't try to tighten the thread as you go, make big loops, but do sew carefully in-between stitches so that the thread won't show. At the armhole, hold your starting point tightly and pull, but be careful not to gather. Secure, hide the extra thread and cut off the excess.

My dress was a bit on the tight side - which is why I didn't just attached the end of the braid to the front. I sewn a small snap on - the tricky part is not to make stitches show on the front.

Hope that wasn't too hard to understand. Once again, I can try and make pictures if anyone needs to

 

Notes to the purple ribbed dress:

But what if your doll isn't 20-16-18? What if there isn't 3,5 stitches in 1cm of your plain knit?
Well, it's a bit of a math time for you!

I started with 76 stitches (because it's best to have the even number for the ribbing) - knock it down to 75. If I divide this by 5, I get 15 - which is my girl's waist in cm. If I divide the same 75 by 3,5, I get roughly 21 - which is my girl's hips in cm.
That means this:
Knit a sample of the ribbing, using the yarn and needles of choice. Then knit a sample of plain stockinette.
Measure how many stitches there are in 1cm of ribbing and stockinette.
Multiply the number of stockinette stitches by the hips measure - that's how many stitches you need to cast on. To check how would it sit on the waist, divide the number of stitches by the number of ribbing stitches.
Note that you can cast on a bit more to make the dress less tight, but it's better if "stitches total / ribbing stitches per 1cm" equals "waist measure".

You also don't have to use 2x2 ribbing. Use a 1x1 one, or 3x3 one, or maybe even irregular ones - just remember to make and measure samples first.
You can also substitute the 2-cable braid for any braid of your choice - or knit it plain all the way, and/or decorate it how you like.
Or, instead of a snap, sew a button on.

 

This one is simpler than the purple braid, I promise.

You just need to know how to knit, purl and bind off. Some sewing also required.

Like the one before, this dress/cardigan/oddsweater also has only one side seam, plus sleeves.

This was knit on 3mm needles, with 3 stitches per 1cm.

Begin with the main body.
Start by casting on 65 stitches plus two for edges. This will yeld in 20-21cm long hem.
Knit about 10 rows in pearl pattern. You get like this: the first stitch is a knit, the second stitch is a purl, the third stitch is a knit... i.e. all the way to the other edge. Repeat this on another row, with knits above purls and vice versa.
11th row - knit the first 5 stitches in pearl pattern - this is your pearl border now. Knit in stockinette after that.
After 30 rows of stockinette and the pearl border (not counting the pearl hem), it's time to decrease. Knit two stitches together just after you finish the pearl border, then decrease after every 8 stitches - that should be 6 decreases in total.
Knit another 3 rows of stockinette.
On the next row, decrease after the pearl border, and then decrease after every 7 stitches - that should be 6 decreases in total.
Knit about 18 rows of stockinette.
Count the remaining stitches and divide the amount by two. The part with the pearl border is your front, the rest is your back. If there's any extra stitch, it goes to the back. Mark the centre with a pin or a piece of string, or transfer back stitches to another needle.
After you mark the separation, knit the first row of the front, decreasing on each edge.
Knit 7 rows. Decrease once on each edge. Repeat. You now should have 3 decreases, divided by 7 rows.
Knit another one or two rows and bind off.

The back is exactly like the front, only that you skip the last decrease and make it a row or two longer, depending on how thick your yarn is.

Now onto the sleeve.
Cast on 27 stitches plus two for edges. This will yeld in 8cm long sleeve cuff.
Knit 10 rows of pearl pattern.
Knit stockinette for about 32 rows.
33th row - decrease once on each edge. Knit 7 rows, decrease on each edge again. Knit another 7 rows, and decrease all the way, cutting the number of stitches in half.
Knit one row and bind off.
Repeat with the other sleeve.

Sew the seam on the first sleeve, then attach it to the body, at the armhole that doesn't have the side seam. It's easier to start from the neck.
Sew the seam on the second sleeve. When attaching to the body, sew it to the back only and leave at that.

Onto the collar.
It's a bit tricky, and you might need a crochet hook. I'll do my best to explain this - you go on with the stockinette, pulling each stitch out of the stitch just below the edge you had binded off earlier. I believe that's called "picking up stitches". If you have enough needles, you can try not to bind off, and then assemble both sleeves and front and back pieces together by knitting them in one row. On the seams, pull the stitch through the seam carefully - you'll need those stitches to be evenly spaced.
When you've managed to get all of your stitches, knit about 20 rows of pearl pattern and bind off.

Sew the side seam of the dress - I usually work up from the hem to the armhole. Maybe make one or two stitches to attach the sleeve to the front, but not more.

You can sew a small snap or two to pin the front to the sleeve. I've made a frog closure for mine.

You'll need a crochet hook. Make 7 chain stitches, then slip stitch into the first to form a loop. Make another 6 chain stitches, slip stitch into the first. Repeat once more.
By now you have a cute 3-leafed clover shape. Single crochet stitch around each loop, 6 stitches for every loop, and slip stitching into the centre.
From the centre, make 4 chain stitches. Add another three stitches.
You'll be making double crochet stitch next. Wrap your thread around the hook, then insert the hook into the 5th chain stitch, counting fron the centre of the clover-shape. Pull the thread out - so that now you have three loops on your hook. Grab the thread again, but don't pull it all the way through - just through the cast-on loop you've made before inserting the hook into the chain. Now you have an unfinished double treble.
Wrap your thread around your hook again, and make another unfinished double treble. I've managed to make three of those in total before the tension was too much to insert the hook anymore.
Grab a thread and very carefully pull it through all of the loops you have on your hook. Slip stitch into the chain stitches. Secure the thread, hide it and cut off the excess.
For the second part of the closure, make another clover, and make 10 chain stitches from the centre, slip stitch into the centre to make a loop, secure the thread and cut off the excess. Now you have the loop and the hook parts.

Put the dress on your doll, overlap the front with the sleeve to see where your clasp is going to go. It's easier to sew it on closed, because it's less likely to miss.

 

Thank you for stopping by and posting! =) If anything in those descriptions is hard to follow, do note me - I'll try my best to provide pictures to make it more clear.

 

It's not finished yet, but I wanted to share some progress.

Earlier this week, just as I've finished the purple cable dress, I started to work on a new sweater. I had some blue-white yarn left, so I wanted to use up the last bit of it. It was actually very, very fun to knit guessing - am I gonna have enough yarn?..

And now it's partially done and... well... as you can see, shoulders turned out to be HUGE.
It went like this between me and Belka:
"- Honey, are you sniggering?
- Pfff, 'fcourse not mom"
but she was X)

Mind you, I wanted to knit this one for my boy - for when he's going to arrive, anyway =) But even though Ilya has no body as of now, he has personality...
Ilya:*stares in slight disbelief* No, mother, I'm not going to wear it. It's girly!..

Sooo it seems that Belka is going to get yet another sweater X) That, or I will unravel and re-knit this one.

 

Sadly, I don't know how to tell the yarn finesse, sorry ^^" All I can say that the purple yarn is 3,5 stitches per 1 cm of knitting, when knit on 2,5 mm needles. That wasn't very fine in my experience, I've used to use some thinner threads that were about 4,5 stitches per 1 cm (knitted on 2 mm needles)

The long blue-white dress was knit on 3 mm needles I, it's about 3 stitches per 1 cm. The blue-white sweater is about 3 stitches per 1 cm too, but it was knit on 2,5 mm needles, so it's a tighter and neater knit.

Was that easy to understand? I can try to take a picture of my yarn with something next to it for scale - how about a ruler?

 

undermost salamander, thanks for the information! I never knew you could measure yarn like that!

And putting that knowledge into action...
For the white-blue yarn, there are 7 wraps per 1 cm, or about 18 wraps per inch.
For the purple yarn, there are 8 wraps per cm, or 20 wraps per inch.

Also, would anyone like a pattern for this particular sweater?

 

Aeilia, onto it then =)

Blue Sand sweater
why "blue sand" - because it's white-blue yarn, and because it uses a modified sandpaper knit pattern.

It was knitted with the same yarn as the Blue Pearl dress (7 wraps per 1cm, 18 wraps per 1inch). However, this time I've used 2mm needles, so the result is a neater, tighter knit.
Like the Blue Pearl dress, this sweater only have one side seam plus sleeves, and has the same gap in one of the armholes.

Front&Back are the same piece
Cast on 67 stitches (not counting edge ones).
Knit 6 rows of 1x1 ribbing.
This modded sandpaper pattern goes like this (0 are purls, 1 are knits)

00010001000 - fifth row
01000100010 - third row
00010001000 - first row

even-numbered rows are all purled (that's your wrong side)
Knit 34 rows total.
On the 35th row, divide all stitches by two - one part will be your front, the other part will be your back. Mark the centre or transfer the other half onto a spare needle. You can put the extra stitch you're going to get with the back stitches.
Front and back are knitted the same:
35th row - decrease once at both edges.
Knit 7 rows.
43th row - decrease once at both edges.
Knit 7 rows.
51th row - decrease once at both edges.
Knit another three rows and bind off.

Sleeves:
Cast on 35 stitches (not counting edge ones).
Knit 6 rows of ribbing.
Knit 44 rows.
From the 45th row, follow the decrease instructions for the front&back. You don't divide stitches here, just decrease after 7 rows. After the last decrease, knit two rows, then knit every two stitches together, cutting the total amount of stitches in half. Knit another row and bind off.
Knit another sleeve.

If you get lost and forget how many rows you've knit (I know I was!), count purled stitches on the odd-numbered rows. Multiply that by two to get an idea where you're at =)

Assembling:
Sew seams on both sleeves.
Sew one of them into the armhole, on the side with no side seam.
Sew the other sleeve to the back piece - don't attach it to the front.

Collar:
Using only one needle, cast on three or four stitches. With the same needle, pick up stitches from all around the front, the back and two sleeves.
Knit a row of 1x1 ribbing, but remember to knit every two stitches together on both sleeves. I had 8 such decreases on both of mine. And that's how I got those sleeves puffy!
Knit about 10 rows of ribbing, without decreasing anything.
To get the tapering look, knit every two stitches together on the last row. Watch out not to break the ribbing pattern. After that, bind off.

Sew the side seam, and add a closure of choice (mine were snaps.)

 

Yeah, it's been a very, very long while... So! Even though the picture certainly lacks in quality department, I wanted to show the latest assembly.


It's made of those 50x55 cm measures of patchwork cotton. The fun thing is that I used said cotton to sew a stuffed rabbit first, and only then looked at scraps of fabric and figured: "Huh, those colours would look great as a dress!"
It actually comes in two parts - the yellow Alice-like dress, and the green jumpskirt on top. I had to sew it mostly by hand - since I'm too afraid to use sewing machine on anything curved and/or less than 3cm long. Aaand even after I machine-stitched hems on both skirts, I had to mask less-than-good stitches with a bit of embroidery (on the green parts only, though). While it took me unreasonably longer than it should have, it was still fun =)
now I only need to make some shoes and maybe a hair dec to match...

 

puppielova, I'm sorry, I guess it's because I can't write a proper knit instruction =( (and I don't think my English is good enough to describe things properly)

***
I love how these turned out. The fabric is wonderful and cuddly, and I find the colours to be very pleasing.



It's really funny how trimming and finishing off takes more time that is required to sew the actual garment. It took me maybe about an hour to sew in sleeves and side seams of one sweater, and maybe a couple of hours to roll up the sleeves, sew on the bottom trim and the collars, add snaps...
Truth be told, I was afraid that I'd mess the collar up, but both turned out just fine.

 

chrystal, oh, I hope you'll succeed, I know my patterns are hard to understand =(

Scarves are awesome. When you have an artblock and haven't any idea what to sew next, it's good, lazy way to kill some time&yarn.



I think I found another motto for myself: in case of an artblock, knit a scarf.