Auntie Sigrid's socks for doll.

Auntie Sigrid's doll socks for 18" doll.

 A little bit of their story. 

A dear Swedish friend of mine asked me to help decipher the pattern on a pair of socks that had been knit by her Aunt Sigrid. It was the last remaining pair made by her aunt. We managed to do the design and then just for fun I decided to make a doll size pair using that old traditional design. This is the pattern that I came up with! 

A small amount of fine black and white yarn. (Lace weight)

Needles: US 0 - 2.0 mm  Dpns or magic loop.

A yarn needle for grafting. 

Cast on 36 sts

Work 6 rounds in knit 1, purl1, rib.

Knit one round in black. 

Start working in pattern following the chart. 

After leg design knit 2 rounds in black then 1 decrease row to 32 sts. (K2to, k7 around).

 Arrange sts on 3 needles so that 16 sts, centered on the back of the heel, are on a single needle, and that this needle is the one you have just finished knitting. The remaining 16 sts are divided on two needles, held for the instep.

Heel flap:
Turn work and, slipping the first stitch as if to purl, purl across heel needle. Turn.
Work the following 2 rows 3 times:
Row 1: Slip first st as if to knit, knit across needle, turn.
Row 2: Slip first st as if to purl, purl across needle, turn.

Start heel shaping in black:

Turn heel:
Sl 1 st, k8, k2tog, k1, turn.
Sl 1 st, p3, p2tog, p1, turn.
Continue in this manner, slipping the first stitch and working to one st before the gap, working this together with the next st, and working one and turning, until all the heel sts have been worked. 10 sts remain on heel needle, and you have ended with a purl row.

Gusset:
Turn and knit across heel needle, and then pick up and knit 4 sts along edge of heel flap.
Knit across the instep stitches, putting all 16 on a single needle.
On an empty needle, pick up and knit 4 sts along other side of heel flap, then continue knitting 5 sts from the heel needle onto that needle.
Your rounds will now begin at the center of the sole of the foot.

Repeat the following two rounds 3 times:
Rnd 1: knit around plain.
Rnd 2: k to last 2 sts of needle 1 and k2tog; k needle 2; SSK (slip, slip, knit together), k to end of needle 3.

You now have 28 sts in total. Slide one st from each end of the instep needle onto the neighboring needle so that you have 14 instep sts and 14 sole sts.

Foot: Knit in stockinette in chart pattern until foot length from the beginning of the heel turning measures 2 inches. Continue in black.

Toe shaping:
Work one toe decrease round as follows:
Knit to the last 2 sts of ndl 1, SSK; k2tog, knit to last 2 sts of ndl 2, SSK; k2tog, knit to end of ndl 3.

Knit one round.
Work two more toe decrease rounds.
Knit the 4 sts from ndl 1 onto ndl 3.
You have 8 sts remaining on each of two needles. Graft them together (=Kitchener stitch), and fasten off yarn.

I hope you enjoy this pattern. It was fun to create! 

AGD Kirsten's Winter Woolies.

"Oh where and oh where has my Kirsten doll gone,

Oh where and of where can she be?

With her eyes so blue and her hair so blonde,

Oh where and oh where is she?"

 In 2014 I had started to try and make a cardi for my Kirsten doll similar to the retired wool set American Girl dolls had made years before. I had read that the original ones they sold were actually hand knit! (makes me wonder how much the knitters were paid to produce those!)

A Ravelry friend Beth sent me some detailed photos of the original set she had. I set to work counting sts and rows and tried to produce a similar effect. I made the body of the cardi but then the whole thing was set aside when my first Grandchild was born. 

Fast forward a few years and I had totally forgotten about the whole thing until I looked through some unfinished projects for a Ravelry Kal! 

The day after I was putting some things away in my craft room and there was the cardi! No yarn with it but from my project page I found what the black yarn was and then managed to find some white. 

So back to the knitting! Sleeves and button band were easy to make and a morning spent sewing together the pieces and weaving in yarn ends finished it.

I picked up sts from fronts and neck and worked a simple rib button band.

I didn't have pewter buttons so used some little wood ones.

Then I started on the hat. I found it easier to make a simple chart. 

Co 84 sts.

 3 rows 1x1 rib. 

1 row purl.
3x3 white/black blocks. 4 blocks high.
Knit 7 rows stockinette.

Then I followed my chart decreasing the sections on the right side after I finished the boy and girl patterns. (7)

I knitted this flat but would knit in the round if I made another one.

A simple pompom completed the effect.

Mittens: 21sts. Five rows 1x1 rows. Purl one row. As diagram.

I knit these in two flat pieces and sewed them. The cord is a simple crochet chain 15 inches long. 

Kirsten is very happy to have her new Winter Woolies!