This weekend was time for putting away the to-do list and finding our center again as a family. I decided to put the Man Sweater away (again) and dig into something tiny and satisfying. (I've had Pete's sweater on the needles since November. 2010. I should have probably been casting that one off, but somehow this tiny sweater seemed to take precedence.)
I'm slowly working my way through my yarn stash and this was the third quick stash-buster of the week. (The others, two very different cowls for the kids, I'll be sure to show you some day soon.)
As for this little sweater for Lupine's friend Mimi-Mama, I had help picking out the yarn. And wow. Who knew I had such punchy colors in my stash? Lupine did, evidently. In hindsight I'd have chosen something a bit more mellow, but who cares. It's a doll sweater. (Incidentally the pants Mimi Mama is sporting are made out of some sort of stretchy polyester circa 1977. They must have been for one of my dolls. Amazingly, they match the sweater perfectly. Whoa.)
I think the usual button stand-off has ended, and Mimi and Lupine have picked some bright pink buttons to sew on in the morning. And then Lupine says in a very squeaky voice (that of Mimi Mama), "I love my new sweater so much!" And the doll proceeds to kiss me like two million times.
~ * ~ * ~ * ~
Some Notes~
The sweater pattern: I used the Poppy Cardigan, a free pattern on Ravelry. My notes are here, the pattern is here.
The doll pattern: Mimi Mama is my own design. Her nose is made using the technique I mentioned here. (Yes, the nose makes her technically not a Waldorf Doll but I'm all about the noses.) I blogged about making here here.
Doll hair technique: Her hair is a mix of thrifted and hand-spun wool yarn, attached by a brilliant/simple method explained in this book. (And oh, my. Why that book is listed at $280 on Amazon I can not say. I paid $2 at a rummage sale for it two years ago. So sorry. If you need me to paraphrase the technique let me know. I'll save you the hundreds.)
Happy crafting, friends!
Lovely!
Oh yes, please let us know how to make that hair! I just made my first doll and did a wig but would love to know some other options for the next one. (and the next and the next)
Love that little sweater! And I know what you mean about the noses. I had totally used your “nose tute” when I made my boys their dolls last year. See my nose here: http://mightydistractible.blogspot.com/2010/09/well-begun-is-half-done.html
You rock the Waldorf dolls!
That is a cute little sweater. Was it hard to make?
The hair shown on this doll is done with a whole lot of pins and two threaded needles. one needle is fixed in the center point of the ponytail, braid, or colic. Fix the thread in place with a little loop. Now stick it into the place you want the hair to meet. Next take lots of pins and mark the hairline. Now you loop your yarn from the center needle to the pins around the edge. Go one pin to the next, five or ten at a time, then secure both ends with their respective needles, sewing through the loops. Repeat all the way around. Then add braids or a ponytail or two by simply feeding cut lengths of hair through at that center point and securing with a tie. Ta da! (Did that make any sense at all??)
Not really. No fancy stitches, just some basic increases, knits and purls!
Cute, cute, cute!
so perfect for a dolly! someone looks quite thrilled with it!