It's almost October

And for me that means a chance to dress up in costumes!  Of course, I rarely actually dress myself up in costumes and my children are wanting to pick out their own now so where does that leave me??  Dressing up my dolls!  Be prepared to see some dolls in costumes coming along this month, I'd like to introduce you to my first three.  :)

First we have Sable.  I rarely do these little honeybuns with a full head of mohair because my entire aim for them was to try and keep them a little more affordable for people and these use up a lot more supplies and take a lot more time.  But she wanted to be a flapper girl and how could I resist giving her a full head of curly platinum hair?!  Answer: I couldn't.  So Sable was born. 

Normally she's a really sweet girly girl and dresses in pretty hearts and lace but for Halloween her saucy side comes out and she's head to toe black! 

Next we have Emery who came to me one night very quietly and told me she'd always wished to be a butterfly.  Luckily for her I was able to come up with a sweet pair of wings that she can hook onto her shoulders when she wants to dress up.  This way she can wear them with anything! 

 

Luckily for me Ally was an easy customer.  It took her a while to decide what she wanted to be but when she picked a black cat late one night, we got to work.  I think her fuzzy little mohair piggies are just the sweetest, don't you?

 

 

Sable and Emery will be for sale in just a couple of hours at Crafty Bastards!  Stay tuned to my Facebook page for more fun in doll land!

Honeybun Sweater Tutorial

I’ve been working on a sweater pattern for my little honeybun dolls and decided that I should share it in case some of you want to make your own!  This sweater is very small, knits from the top down seamlessly using circular needles and the magic loop method.

Yarn: Any medium weight yarn will do. 

Supplies: 4mm circular needles, waste yarn, stitch markers, a small button and thread, a sewing needle and a yarn needle.

Abbreviations:

K-Knit

P-Purl
sm-Stitch Marker
kfab-knit into the front and back of the stitch
yo-yarn over
K2tog: knit two together
 

Instructions:

Cast on 28 stitches using a long tail cast on.

1) Knit, place markers as follows: k5, sm, k5, sm, k8, sm, k5, sm, k5.

2) K2, yo, K2tog, knit to end.

3) *Knit to one stitch before marker, kfab, sm, kfab*, repeat 3 more times, knit to end.

4) K2, Purl to last 2 stitches, K2

5-12) Repeat rows 3-4

13) K to first marker, slip next 15 stitches onto waste yarn, K to next marker, slip next 15 stitches onto waste yarn, K to end.

14) K2, Purl to last 2 stitches, K2

15)  Knit

16-17) Repeat rows 14-15

18-19) Knit

Cast Off.

Sleeves:

Rejoin sleeve yarn picking up 3 stitches to close the gap under the arm.  Slip on stitch maker to show the beginning of the round.  Using magic loop method or dpns, Purl one round and then cast off.  Repeat for other sleeve.

Attach buttons.

And there you have it, your own little honeybun sweater!! 

Bye Bye 2014, hello New Year!

I'm not a big fan of New Year's resolutions but all the same, I've decided that one of mine will be to jot down some of the thoughts running through my head onto this blog.

The holidays were such a blur!  I took some much needed time in December to spend with my family and tried oh so hard to pry myself away from the sewing machine, though I did manage to create a few things and I'd love to share one with you.

Meet Piper.

She's the latest of my ever evolving jointed baby pattern.  In the past I've normally made smaller babies but decided to try my hand at ones that are a little bigger.  I'm constantly tweaking patterns and she was no exception.

Piper is about 13" long though seems a bit bigger as her legs are curled up.  She's such a great size for snuggles.  Not too big and overwhelming for kids but big enough that you can easily dress her.  My youngest daughter fell in love hard with this one, it took all of my might not to hand her over but I have a feeling I'll be making another for her birthday.  :)

I'm hoping to have a similar sized doll made for the beginning of February so if you have any suggestions for me on coloring, please comment below and let me know!  Thanks for stopping by and please wish Piper safe travels!  - Kristy

A Doll for her Birthday

I've been making a lot of dolls lately.  So many that sometimes I forget how much my own children have been wanting them.  I have to hide them from my youngest or she'll beg and beg to snuggle them, and knowing how grubby her little hands can get it's never a good idea to have something I'd rather she didn't destroy.  :)

 

I decided last week to put a hold on accepting anymore custom orders so that I could focus on making her her very own special doll.  Her birthday is coming up in just over a week and I managed to get her dolly finished and clothed.  Of course, now I'll have to do one for her older sister or I'll never hear the end of it. 

 

So I introduce you to Lilah.

 

 

I just love this doll.  It was actually my oldest who asked for a doll with pink and purple hair and I decided that I'd do them both similarly so that the fighting would be minimal.  I love how every last bit of her (well, besides the sequined belt on her dress that my daughter picked out one day at the fabric store) is all natural.  Her hair and stuffing are pure wool, her skin is cotton, her cheeks are beeswax blushed.  She was made with a ton of love and I really like to think it comes through.

 

So Happy Birthday my little darling!  Treat her well!