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| works fine for dolls, too |
An enduring quality of knitting basic socks is that the process is
blissfully brainless except for a couple of places to think a little bit. Pulling together my samples, I came across a
bunch of sweaters and tops – for myself, for 18” dolls, and for smaller teddy
bears – all from the same ‘round and round’ pattern concept that is pretty
brainless, except for a couple of places to think a little bit.
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| Schaefer Lisa 3, a lightweight yarn |
I start with a narrow band of single crochet rib for the neck – skinny for
a simple neckband, wider for a collar. Making the strip long enough to be a pullover
and the front will be low enough that it won’t rub my neck. The sweater is identical front and back. Mark 4 points for where the increases will be,
then continue in a coil until the yoke is as big as desired. Then joining front and back, adding a few
stitches for the underarm and skipping the sleeve stitches, continue in a coil
with no more increases for the length of the body. Going back for each sleeve, rejoin yarn and
stitch in a coil for each sleeve. And
that’s really about it.
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| Persio bulky weight yarn |
Of course, there are Measurements That Matter: bust, sleeve length, upper arm. The actual numbers vary depending on the
measurements I start with. The initial
increase points can just be set up in quarters along the starting long edge,
but for a more fitted top, the sleeve sections are smaller than the front/back
sections – and there’s arithmetic for that.
I usually mark the underarm point and do a double decrease every 4th
round to taper the sleeve. Decrease 10%
at any lower edge if you want it to look trim before finishing off.
Using sweater yarns and a simple pattern
stitch (like the one below), the focus is on the yarn/texture/color. The results have been consistently
satisfactory.
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