Tiny knitting update
Jun. 21st, 2009 05:19 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
tephraIn more ways than one.
So, I've been knitting things for Anjeni on small needles, sizes US#0 and #1 mostly (2 and 2.25mm) of late. And really, I never, ever, expected to knit with needles that small.
And they are too big.
So I used a Joann's 40% off one item coupon to get $1 shipping and ordered a Susan Bates sock set. It contains sizes 1 and 0, which I have but I could use another set of 0 anyway (and I now have three sets of 1s) but more importantly, it has sizes 00 and 000 (1.75 and 1.5mm). The cost for the 4 sets is still less than the cost of 2 sets in steel (the Susan Bates are aluminum) so I figured it was reasonable for testing if I actually can stand knitting that tiny.
So, onto the testing.
First, using the 00 needles, something I was thinking about for maybe, possibly, working into knit shoes for my girl. I didn't like the result as shoes but they make cute slippers.
Then I thought she really needed a top other than that cropped tank she's been wearing for ages now. I was uninspired for making something up so I went looking for a human pattern to downscale. Here is a doll sized Coachella from Knitty:
Knit with #10 bamboo crochet thread on 00s for the most part (the first few rows on 000 to encourage the neck to roll). The fabric ended up far too stiff to drape properly so I sewed it down to fake it. It's worked from top to bottom and even though I used the sewn bindoff for stretchiness it's tight over her knit pants at the hip. I had intended to dye it but I like it as is for now.
Coachella is really fun to knit and since I thought it needed a looser fabric I made another one. Still on 00 needles but with #30 crochet cotton.
Again, I had been thinking of dyeing it but I liked the white on her so much that I decided I'd just have to make her some bottoms to go with it. So hot pink hot pants/booty shorts came into existence. The shorts are knit on 000 needles with one ply of Red Heart LusterSheen. Now the yarn is a sport weight acrylic but the key is that it's a cabled yarn, meaning that the plies that make up the yarn are also plied, so it's basically a yarn made from plying together several thinner yarns. In this case it's three 2-ply yarns plied together so I just separated them and used the 2-ply components on their own.
I really, really enjoyed knitting the shorts with the 000s and thin yarn. Unfortunately I didn't unply quite enough yarn so there are a bunch of ends woven around her left leg, and the bind off there ended a bit tight. So the shorts are a bitch to get on and off her but I still like how they fit. I know how much yarn they take now so I can knit another pair with less hassle later.
Looking around at my stash of yarns and threads I found that the #10 bamboo is also cabled as is the #3 cotton I used for her long vest so both of those could be unplied for future projects.
The new color scheme demanded different accessories so the hair clips were swapped for black ones and I made her a new necklace.
Cute, isn't she? :)
Fond of trees too. It was very easy to pose her in trees but she absolutely refused to stand on the ground. I'd like to get more shots of her doing things more interesting that showing off new clothing but so far it hasn't worked out that well. I'll keep trying.
Oh, and a "why not" shot that turned out cute:
So, I've been knitting things for Anjeni on small needles, sizes US#0 and #1 mostly (2 and 2.25mm) of late. And really, I never, ever, expected to knit with needles that small.
And they are too big.
So I used a Joann's 40% off one item coupon to get $1 shipping and ordered a Susan Bates sock set. It contains sizes 1 and 0, which I have but I could use another set of 0 anyway (and I now have three sets of 1s) but more importantly, it has sizes 00 and 000 (1.75 and 1.5mm). The cost for the 4 sets is still less than the cost of 2 sets in steel (the Susan Bates are aluminum) so I figured it was reasonable for testing if I actually can stand knitting that tiny.
So, onto the testing.
First, using the 00 needles, something I was thinking about for maybe, possibly, working into knit shoes for my girl. I didn't like the result as shoes but they make cute slippers.
Then I thought she really needed a top other than that cropped tank she's been wearing for ages now. I was uninspired for making something up so I went looking for a human pattern to downscale. Here is a doll sized Coachella from Knitty:
Knit with #10 bamboo crochet thread on 00s for the most part (the first few rows on 000 to encourage the neck to roll). The fabric ended up far too stiff to drape properly so I sewed it down to fake it. It's worked from top to bottom and even though I used the sewn bindoff for stretchiness it's tight over her knit pants at the hip. I had intended to dye it but I like it as is for now.
Coachella is really fun to knit and since I thought it needed a looser fabric I made another one. Still on 00 needles but with #30 crochet cotton.
Again, I had been thinking of dyeing it but I liked the white on her so much that I decided I'd just have to make her some bottoms to go with it. So hot pink hot pants/booty shorts came into existence. The shorts are knit on 000 needles with one ply of Red Heart LusterSheen. Now the yarn is a sport weight acrylic but the key is that it's a cabled yarn, meaning that the plies that make up the yarn are also plied, so it's basically a yarn made from plying together several thinner yarns. In this case it's three 2-ply yarns plied together so I just separated them and used the 2-ply components on their own.
I really, really enjoyed knitting the shorts with the 000s and thin yarn. Unfortunately I didn't unply quite enough yarn so there are a bunch of ends woven around her left leg, and the bind off there ended a bit tight. So the shorts are a bitch to get on and off her but I still like how they fit. I know how much yarn they take now so I can knit another pair with less hassle later.
Looking around at my stash of yarns and threads I found that the #10 bamboo is also cabled as is the #3 cotton I used for her long vest so both of those could be unplied for future projects.
The new color scheme demanded different accessories so the hair clips were swapped for black ones and I made her a new necklace.
Cute, isn't she? :)
Fond of trees too. It was very easy to pose her in trees but she absolutely refused to stand on the ground. I'd like to get more shots of her doing things more interesting that showing off new clothing but so far it hasn't worked out that well. I'll keep trying.
Oh, and a "why not" shot that turned out cute:
no subject
Date: 2009-06-21 09:32 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-06-22 04:10 pm (UTC)Tiny knitting works so much easier. :D
I really like the way the white tank and hot pants turned out. I'm resisting the urge to make her another tank and shorts right now, I have non-doll knitting to work on. :)