Choose Your Waste Yarn Wisely

I am still working on the twelve inch fashion doll sized Woodland Hoodlet. I had a bit of frustration after I got done with the front.

I really chose the wrong yarn for my provisional cast on. For this size, especially holding laceweight yarn double, I should have immediately transferred the stitches to another needle, ready and waiting for the Kitchener stitch seam.

I used a light colored yarn, which was not very firm. It was smooth, but it still stuck to my stitches.  Plus, there was not enough color contrast between the waste yarn and the working yarn. 

Fortunately I was able to get the stitches off the waste yarn, and after the seam was completed it still looks good. There was a bit of colorful language as I fought to see each of the 44 stitches against the white waste yarn, but my cat was the only witness.

So lesson learned. High contrast in color, and stick to cotton for my waste yarn. And I will also seriously try different provisional cast ons. Just one method clearly doesn't cut it.

Now I just need to find my set of size 0 US DPNs and I can get the hood started! 

Laceweight yarn held double on size 0 US needles. The front and back is done, and seam done. 

A shot of the back.

Here is what it looks like turned inside out. 

Woodland Hoodlet For 12" Fashion Dolls-In Progress

Just a quick progress picture of the Woodland Hoodlet I am knitting for twelve inch fashion dolls.  I am about halfway done with the back at this point. I will most likely do nine cable repeats, and then I can proceed with the hood.  

Woodland Hoodlet On Bambicrony Lottie

Here are some quick pictures of the 10-12" sized Woodland Hoodlet modeled on my Bambicrony Lottie sculpt, Sofia.  She is a 10 inch tall doll, similar in size to Tonner's Patsy and Ann Estelle.  However, her shoulders and overall build is slimmer than the Tonner dolls.

Smaller Yet! Knitted Woodland Hoodlet For 12" Fashion Dolls

This may be the smallest version of the fantastic Woodland Hoodlet pattern by Tiny Owl Knits that I attempt.  This is turning out right on target for 12" fashion dolls, at least judging by how the finished front  section looks held up against my Fashion Royalty Poppy Parker (The Bratter Lover's) doll.

I am knitting with lace weight extra fine merino yarn held double on size 0 US needles.  I purchased the yarn from my favorite yarn seller, Penelope's Fine Yarns on Etsy.  The yarn is a light yellow with a hint of gold, and is named "Buckskin-Straw Into Gold."  There's still a skein of it available at the time of this post.

This size has been more frustrating for me, especially when I hit the twelve stitch cables and the bobbles.  I have dropped more stitches on this version than the other three I have made combined.  Part of my problem is when I knit with yarn held double I can get mixed up on where my stitches really are, especially on tiny needles.  The other complication is just the small scale, period.  Now that I am done with the heavily cabled/bobbled front section, the rest should be much more relaxing, though.

For now, here are some pictures of the work in progress.

The finished front section held up against my 12" Fashion Royalty Poppy Parker doll.

Even Smaller!-Knitted Woodland Hoodlet For 10-12" Dolls Nearly Finished

Even with smaller needles, this is still a relatively quick and easy knit.  I finished the front and back sections last night, and did the Kitchener stitch seam.  I already picked up the stitches around the neckline for the hood, and am a couple of cable repeats into it.  

For this smaller size I only did nine cabled repeats on the back.  When I do a second one in this size I will try it with ten repeats and see how it looks.  But for now this gives a good fit on a wide range of dolls, at least sans the hood.  I did a quick test fit on my 16" Tonner Sydney doll out of curiosity, and it was a good fit.  I think if I had ten repeats, that extra half inch or so would make it too slouchy, but we will see on the next one.

I am pretty sure this one will be completed this evening! I have several dolls I can try this size on, so it will give a much better idea of scale and fit.  :)

The front and back completed, and seam done.  

The back.

The beginning of the hood.  You do need to be careful when you pick up the stitches so you distribute them evenly around the neckline.  You pretty much are skipping 2-3 stitches between picked up stitches.  If you picked up every stitch around, the hood would be huge!