Pattern number three is complete this week.

The dress pattern has now been checked and to prove it I made a dress in black with white ribbon stripes with smaller red ribbon stripes as a contrast.

When knitting it up this time I weaved the colours in as I went to prevent the great snarl of ends I had on the first effort.. Here is shot illustrating the contrasting colour being caught in behind the stitch about to be knitted.

This next shot shows the view from the back of the work with the contrast woven in. The end can be snipped off when the work is all completed.

Don't forget when making this dress to knit up the sleeves first and put them on a spare needle or on safety pins such as these.

When putting the sleeves in just check that they are in the correct way round as shown below.

These were inserted as I was completing the final purl rows across the bodice at the armhole openings. This way everything was ready to simply knit straight across the knit row when joining sleeves and bodice together.

I do hope you enjoy this pattern which I am placing up on the pattern page.

The next step

I have not been idle this week as you can see in the photo above,  I have had fun adapting the pattern for the little green dress. I am fairly pleased with the results. Unfortunately the pattern is not ready yet as I am  working on a second dress just to "prove" the pattern for you all before posting it. Hopefully it will be ready to post next week.

Recently a friend posted a picture on my Facebook page with a design by Althea Crome, and so I thought I would share her web site Bugknits with you. What an inspiration these items are. I don't think I will ever get to this standard but I sure will have fun trying to do my own creations.

Some of my friends at the latest BMEA (Brisbane Miniature Enthusiasts' Association) meeting were asking what size needles I use for my knits so I thought I would share a mini list of the ones I use and include a selection of the yarns I use.

For projects using a thicker yarn like flower thread I use no. 19 (1.00mm) or no.20 (0.90 mm). I use Ginnie Thompson flower thread which knits up into a very soft garment. For more rugged Aran sweaters etc. I use crewel wool. I used to use DMC Medici which was perfect but alas is no longer available. I suspect that Appletons crewel wool would also work and must try this out one day.

For finer project I use no. 21 (0.80 mm) and a no. 80 crochet cotton. DMC Dentelles or Lizbeth cotton.

Then for the finest projects I use no. 22 (0.75 mm) with Guttermann silk or cotton thread or any other sewing machine threads available.

Knitting pattern no.2

I have not been idle since my last post and as promised I have worked hard on "perfecting' the pattern for the lacy sweater. I  have also created another little skirt to match it. This one is another simple gathered one with a bit of hem detailing.

I used the Channel Island method of casting on to give a nice texture to the hemline. This one is a little tricky the first time but once you get the hang of it it is really quite simple. The trick is to judge just how much thread you will need to complete the casting on so I tend to over-estimate each time. This is much better than the alternative when the casting on is only two thirds completed when you run out of thread and are forced to rip it all out and start all over again.

This next photo is my attempt to show the casting on with the doubled back thread

So if you want to try these out the pattern is now up on my Pattern Page.

I am not resting on my laurels just yet. Sorry that I have not put up the ruffled edged jacket to go with the first skirt. I will do it later, truly. Trust me. I

Sadly for those of you waiting patiently for this I am on a mini creative bender here and want to try out a couple more stitch patterns. So this week, or so I shall be working on a dress based on this one

Must go - my needle and thread await.

Small Steps in the Design of a Mini Sweater

This week there is good news and bad news. The good news is that I have completed a white lacy sweater to go with the ruffled skirt. The bad news is that I have not finalised the pattern for publication this week. I am, as they say, working on it.

I thought I would take and opportunity in this post to describe just how I go about creating a design. I have no formal training in this field so I do not consider myself an expert. Although I have knitted from childhood, having grown up in an extended family where every one could do several crafts I picked up the necessary skills for pattern reading and knitting up quite advanced creations. I also had an artist as a mother. Mum loved making clothes and was able to create her own designs or adapt from items she saw on sale in the store. We had little money but I always had clothes in the very latest kiddie fashions. Mum and her sisters were great at hunting out remnants in the haberdashery stores and when they saw some material at a good price they grabbed it and put it away for later. And any old dresses they had grown tired off but which  still had serviceable material in them, any old sweaters they were tired of, would either be cut down to my size or pulled apart to proved materials for a new creation. Nothing wasted. No wonder I am such a fashion junkie.

I also struggle with another, and even more limiting problem than the mere lack of training in design, as I am very close to innumerate. The sad fact is that you really do need at the very least a basic aptitude in mathematics to create knitting patterns successfully. I get by on both fronts here by simple but dogged trial and error, with much crossed out computations on graph and other paper. Having said this I thought it might be of interest to examine the process I follow.

Step one:  select the needles and yarns best suited to the doll and type of pattern you are working with. When making patterns for smaller child and baby dolls and slender lady dolls you need much finer yarns. For Serena's patterns which call for details I select a fine yarn such as no. 80 crochet/tatting cotton or Guttermans silk thread. Normally for a sweater where you need the maximum number of stitches to use in creating your design I would select size 22 needles For this sweater, since it is a chunkier lacy style I selected the larger size 20 needles.

This photo illustrates the crochet cotton and silk thread alongside a ball of 8 ply yarn with a pair or 4mm needles. I have also included the small crochet hook I use to help picking up stitches around necklines, etc and a safety pin which I use as a stitch holder.

Step 2: select a pattern. You need to do this before you can determine how many stitches you will need to cast on. I have built up quite a selection over the years and other sources are other mini designs in the various patterns available. Today, with the advent of Google a whole new world of choices has opened up.

You need to select a pattern which does not contain a large amount of stitches to the repeats. My rule of thumb is usually a maximum of 8 stitches. As a sweater to fit Serena using a slightly thicker yarn normally would have 30-35 stitches to cast on for the front and back of the pattern.

The pattern you select will also determine just how you can set out the design. For example this pattern the Chevron Rib which I selected goes in one direction and this fact limited my design choice. Normally I would attempt a design which could be knitted in one piece or with raglan sleeves. With this pattern I had to create a design with small separate pieces. So to make it as simple as possible I designed it without armhole shaping. It makes it easier to keep the pattern correct as you knit it up. I did not think anyone would enjoy knitting up a more complicated lace pattern like this and do casting off at armholes. Likewise the sleeves are knitted up without shaping to eliminate the need for increasing to armhole and decreasing at shoulder.

This pattern has 7+2 stitches needed for the design so I chose to cast on 30 stitches for the front and back since this fitted in nicely allowing for 4 pattern repeats of 7 stitches (28) + 1 stitch at the beginning and end of the row giving the grand total of 30. So then you start knitting.

I knitted up the front first and as you can see I did include shaping at the neck. Challenge no. 1. To help in the placement of the sleeves I put in pieces of contrast coloured yarn at row 29.

Next I planned out what to do with the back. With porcelain dolls the designer needs to make allowance for their rigidity. They just don't bend obligingly to help in putting the garment on. Hence the inclusion of a back opening and placket. Shaping was also needed at the back neck to complement the
front neckline.

The first step in making up the sweater is to join the shoulder seams and slip stitch the placket shaping into place at the bottom of the opening.

Next tricky challenge for the knitter is to pick up the stitches around the neckline to neaten up the neck opening. A very small crochet hook is invaluable and helps prevent a few cuss words. Patience is required here.

After that knitting up the sleeves is easy. They have been designed with the minimum of shaping required.  20 stitches are used for the sleeve band and then the number or stitches is increased to 30 to knit the main part of the sleeve.

All pieces are now completed ready for assembly. Should be easy. The next photo is included to show just how important it is to ensure that the pieces are assembled with the right side of the work to the inside. Yes, even after all these years I can make such a boo-boo as the one shown below.

The eagle eyed among you will see instantly that the sleeve is placed and sewn in wrong side out. Take it from me. Unpicking seams in knitting is never fun and with miniature work it is diabolical. So please take care folks and don't do what I did.

That drama aside the task is almost complete. As you can see from the photo at the start of this post. it was finally all together and fitted on the doll. But wait, there is more to do. This is when you take a very good look at the design to see what needs improvement. In this case I found the opening was not as large as needed to allow for easy dressing of the doll. The neckline is just a tad too neat fitting. So a couple of adjustments have been made to the original design.

Step 3: knit the whole garment up again from the completed, and adjusted pattern to ensure it is all correct and that it fits the doll better.

So it is back to the needles and thread for me. Hopefully it should not be long at all before the pattern is available for you all.

Pattern No.1

 No more work done on the house I am afraid. However I have not  been lazing around and have been preparing a knitting pattern as promised. So the first is now ready to post. I have done the pattern for the ruffled skirt for you all to try and the link to the pdf file is on the page entitled Mini Knitting patterns. My next learning curve will be to add the proper Adobe widget to replace my amateurish link. Hope it works as planned. Keep me posted if you have access problems

I took some photos while the work was in progress

The first step is to knit the ruffle

Casting on the stitches for the skirt across the top of the ruffle

Skirt completed. Ready to make up.

Now for a little, lacy top to go with it so I can take a photo of the completed skirt. After  that I will get on to preparing the pattern for the ruffled jacket. I will be back in a couple of days I hope, with the pattern for the lacy top and the photo.

A large step into the unknown.

I suspect I have bitten off more than I can chew. The alternative is that I have just begun to create a monster. I was feeling so pleased with myself as slowly, slowly, my old skills were beginning to return. I am gaining confidence in creating and improving the blog. So that is a step in the right direction - keep the old grey cells churning over and use existing but buried skills gained in my former life as a librarian when I used blogs as routine. Amazing how quickly your skills vanish and with them your confidence.

So now I am taking a great leap into the unknown by going public so I shall feel even more committed to keeping myself on track and the posts up to date. Trouble is that the time spent on tweaking the blog means time away from the renovations. Next week there will be even less time because I go back to routines left off for the school holidays namely, Thursday mornings helping out at Mainly Music and Friday morning at Alliance Française for my French language class then Sunday morning taking the Sunday School class.

Today I have filled out the page giving details of all the residents of the house and added photos of them all. Having done this I then promised on the page right there for all to see that I will type up the patterns and post them on the site so they can be downloaded by anyone interested. See how I keep setting myself up for more tasks ? So I will have plenty to do to while away my retirement and hopefully provide other mini-knitters with something to knit up for their dolls. Actually starting to feel excited about it all. Another thought is that I really need to improve my photographic skills and up the quality of the illustrations on the site.

This morning I was on the hospital run as my beloved had to go in for a checkup CT scan and other tests. Fortunately it is not far to drive but it does eat into the morning as you can't settle to do other things.

However I heaved the house up on to four of my cat-enhanced dining room chairs so I can get inside it more easily for the next parts of the process. At present it is lying on the front verandah like a huge beached whale with the vacuum cleaner poised beside it. Soon I will clean it out ready to begin the painting tomorrow. Today I will see if it is possible to complete the blanket for the bed and read more of the French mystery I am enjoying. I plan to write up a review of it, Un lieu uncertain by Fred Vargas. That will serve as part of the report on my vacation I need to prepare for class next Friday. It is an excellent crime novel so I shall be seeking out more of  her works in the Alliance library. By the way there are translations in English of her novels should anyone like to read them.

As you can see not much room to manoeuvre here

Personal renovation

It seems to me that by the time I finish attempting to get my 10,000 steps for the day in there is not much left of the day. I suspect that I need to tweak a couple of things here. One - get up early and get the walk done and duster before showering and eating my breakfast.  Sorry Jessica, this means you get tossed of the bed earlier each day. Cats should be up and about also anyway. Secondly -  I hope I can walk faster. Does walking more actually help you to walk faster eventually? The other problem at the moment is that by the time I have walked I just don't seem to be able to settle down to the house renovations.

Time to create a schedule I think. So tomorrow I plan to attempt an earlier start and then commit to starting on the painting task.

I am also thinking of actually typing up some of my knitting designs and posting them here for others. This does of course mean that I will have to knit them up again one by one to "prove" the pattern. I want to redo this one in another colour for Serena, the mother doll in the house.

So once I have hunted out the original pattern I shall get to work and then put it up. In the meantime I am experimenting with an adaptation of a blanket pattern to knit up some blankets for all the small bed. I must also get to work assembling the beds for the girls' room. I think I should be able to assemble them first and then paint them after.

Marching on the Spot

I have knitted Alasdair, the father of the house, a pair of jeans. Well that is what they were meant to be. At first I thought I would have to design a pair from scratch but then I looked in my box of mini knitting things and was so excited when I located a packet with Lesley Roberts’ Period Miniature Patterns no 35, “Martin the Sportsman”. This has the patterns for a cricket outfit and a golfing outfit. Great, I thought, a ready made pattern for a pair of trousers. Well I didn’t realise until now that cricket flannels do up a the sides. So Alasdair has a pair of baggy jeans which do up at the side.

Later on I will create a pattern for a pair of well tailored trousers for him. I am actually quite pleased with the general look of his jeans so all is not lost. I have not forgotten about Alasdair’s kilt, I have to get to the store to select some suitable ribbon in the near future.

In my previous post I said I planned to do the curtains and bedspreads for the master bedroom. Are you surprised that I can tell you that this did not happen?

Once I commence knitting I tend to become like a woman possessed and this week has been no exception. I decided it was a good time to start documenting my older designs, proving them and typing them up into documents which I can later share and/or sell depending upon my progress and any demands for the completed patterns. So I have started on an adaption of Serena”s little black dress.  This will keep me out of mischief for a few days or longer.

This week I am not going to make plans but simply finish what is in hand and let you know how it is progressing next week. 

Slowly, Slowly Wins the Race

The renovation project has fallen behind a little this week partly because I have had a bad cold and also because I discovered that both the twin dolls were suffering severe decomposition. Whatever material it was that had been used to cover their bodies had turned to sticky, crumbs. Not a pretty sight at all as  you can seen in the photos. So some urgent surgery was in order.

Crumbling body

I have to admit that I did not enjoy this task. I managed to remove the residue of the covering materials quite easily but replacing them proved challenge. I wrapped the pipe cleaner base with wadding and stitched it in place and then located some knitted fabric from an old night gown. The repaired bodies are not the most attractive or well finished objects but at least they are repaired and this will not show under their clothes. 

Over the past week I have completed the christening gown even managing to sew myself to it without realizing it. I had to remove the thread from the needle and very gingerly pull the thread from my finger before continuing. Oh the hazards of mini knitting. I then knitted two bonnets to go with it. I made the first one from the book and it was far too large so I found an alternative pattern which fitted perfectly, Now baby Angus is ready for his christening.

I have also completed Alexandra’s red sailor outfit and made bonnets for both Allegra and Alexandra. I started on their stocking but so far have completed only one so three more to go and the girl’s outfits are completed.

The father of the little family, Alasdair, has finally arrived from the UK so this week I shall be making him his own outfits as he is now in borrowed clothes. I have not made a final decision what to begin with but I plan on making him a kilt (like the one I made years ago for his mother, Margaret), an aran sweater or fair isle and socks as well as a trousers though not all in a single week. I am still waiting for the eldest son, Anthony to arrive as he is not in stock at the suppliers. I am very impressed with this Heidi Ott doll since he stands up alone, unlike the other porcelain dolls who need to be propped up or stuck into position, and every joint, including his head is beautifully articulated so that you can put him in a variety of poses. The only down side to his appearance was his very yellow, monochrome hair but I have given him a small hair treatment which I feel has improved this somewhat. Now on to the knitting and sewing.

As winter has now arrived in Brisbane I realise that the dollhouse itself is located in a rather chilly place so the renovations to the house itself are on hold. I can concentrate on doing the furnishings, carpets, and accessories and attempt to make up new windows. It is so long since I have actually made things which require wood and tools it will be an exercise in relearning old and forgotten skills. Ones which I must admit I find less appealing than mini knitting, needlepoint and sewing. Still it’s all part of the work. Hope I can get more done this week and have scheduled the making up of the bedspreads and curtains for the master bedroom. So I will need to leave off the blog and get cracking in earnest, especially as I have loads of revision for the end of semester French test on Friday.

First step of all the Small Steps.

This is the Diary of a dollhouse renovation and is created as an incentive to keep me on track. Past experience has shown that project tend to stagnate and die a natural death without some incentives so this is the carrot to urge this particular donkey to the completion of the project. Not as exciting as Grand Designs but it  probably will not be without it's dramas either.

 Dad  built the house over 40 years ago when I returned from my first visit to the States with a collection of miniatures I had collected there. He and I spent many happy hours working on it, adding to it and as a result becoming totally immersed in the world of miniatures and were both there it the start of BMEA here in Brisbane. 

The house has been looking a little sad lately and it never was completely finished off. It was looking extremely sad and neglected and had been given some attention (with bad results) from a couple of Tonkinese cats. The first step was the gut it completely and get it ready for a new look. So at present it looks even sadder.

While I am working out a work schedule and purchasing and/or locating the necessary supplies I am getting myself in the correct frame of mind by returning to my favourite mini skills and knitting some clothes for the family and doing some new rugs to go in the refurbished house.

One of the twin girls, Allegra with the sailor outfit being made for her sister, Alexandra

The start of the rug for the twin's bedroom

I am looking forward to receiving the father of the house from the supplier in the UK. It is very hard to get male dollhouse dolls so I am hoping he will look as good as his pictures and then I can get to work making him some clothes. I need to seek out some material to make him a nice pair of jeans. So plenty to keep me going until I get myself into the right frame of mind to begin the actual renovations.

It has been fun so far and rather like Christmas as I have found I had some lovely wall papers stashed away and am having to make some choices among all on offer. I have also located many forgotten treasures and  lovely pieces of furniture for the refurbished house. I do have to make the beds for the twin's room and also one for the eldest boy. Still wavering on my options and I will keep you posted. For now back to the knitting.