Winter Toppers: A New Knitting Pattern for 18" Dolls!

Last fall, amidst the craziness of my last semester at college, and working a job that was sucking my soul, I had a notion that I'd like to make up a doll hat knitting pattern, both to make some fun doll hats but also with a mind to publish it for anyone else who might like it. Of course, because of afore-mentioned craziness, I never got further than a few rows of hat sample #1 before it ended up it the knitting bag, where it languished for almost a year.

About a month ago, I was thinking about it, as I had so many times before, and I just decided it was time. So over the past month, I have been having a ball designing and knitting up samples. I've come up with what I think is a nice little pattern with a lot of opportunity for customization!



The pattern includes three "views," for three different hat styles. There is a very classic hat with optional pompom and heart motif, a slouchier version of the classic hat, and then a fun "stocking" style with optional stripes.



In designing these hats, I wanted to make sure they were as simple and fun to knit as they could possibly be, so I paid a lot of attention to the little details, like trying to work out shaping and other details in an easy to follow way, and minimizing how often you have to move stitches around the needles. I also wanted it to be versatile, so the three hats can have any of the details swapped out, including the heart motif, which will fit perfectly on any of the three views you'd like to knit.



They use a sport weight yarn, which I felt was a good compromise as far as staying away from the worsted weight folks often use when patterning for dolls (which I feel ends up looking a bit too chunky for a doll for my personal taste), but without getting down to a fingering weight (which would make the project take a lot longer - although I am working on another hat pattern for those of you who like a more delicate look and don't mind the extra effort it takes to work with a finer gauge!) The small yardage required makes them a great stash buster, and they are quick to knit (a speedy knitter will likely be able to knit a hat in one sitting) which lends them nicely to last-minute holiday gift making!



This pattern is now available via Ravelry (Winter Toppers for 18" Dolls), and if you decide to purchase it this week, you can save 20% by using coupon code WINTERHATS (good through the end of Sunday, 12/10).

I also decided to start a Ravelry group (Historically Dressed Ravelry group) for my knitting designs, so that there is a place for people to ask questions, and to show off their finished things made from my patterns. I hope you will have as much fun knitting these hats as I did designing them!