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Doll clothes · Easy

Doll sweater with back opening

Dolls have big heads and stiff arms, so this sweater opens all the way down the back. All pieces are rectangles except the sleeves, which grow with a few increases. Sizes are given by the doll's chest measurement: measure your doll, because dolls of the same height vary.

Suits these machines

Techniques used

Your size, machine and gauge

Size
Gauge (stocking stitch, after steaming)
Typical starting points
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Virtual test knit

✓ Virtual test knit passed

Every row of every piece on this page has just been knitted on a model of your machine, for the size, machine and gauge you chose. The model follows each needle's loops through transfers, held needles, hems and cast-offs, then measures the finished pieces.

244 rows and 7,700 stitches knitted, 0 stitches transferred, 0 held-needle passes: no dropped stitch, no hole, no lost loop, every stitch cast off or secured at the end.

Measured on the simulated pieces
MeasurementShould beSimulated
Chest (front + back)28.5–32 cm✓ 30 cm
Back halves overlap1.5–5 cm✓ 3 cm
Upper arm (top of sleeve)10–12 cm✓ 11.3 cm
Armhole depth (half the sleeve top) vs body length20–65 %✓ 50.4 %
Sleeve length8–10 cm✓ 9.3 cm
Side seams: front minus back0–0.3 cm✓ 0 cm

The simulation checks the instructions and the arithmetic. Yarn, tension and blocking still differ from knitter to knitter, so knit the gauge swatch first and type in your own numbers. Knitted one? We would love a photo: support@purlbed.com.

Doll chest 26 cm (about 36–38 cm / 14–15 in dolls) · Single bed, punch card · Gauge (stocking stitch, after steaming): 30 sts × 40 rows

Sizes

MeasurementDoll chest 26 cm (about 36–38 cm / 14–15 in dolls)Doll chest 30 cm (about 46 cm / 18 in dolls)Doll chest 34 cm (about 50–55 cm / 20–22 in dolls)
Doll's chest26 cm30 cm34 cm
Sweater length11 cm12.5 cm14 cm
Sleeve length9 cm11 cm12.5 cm

You will need

Yarn: Fine yarn keeps doll clothes in scale: 4-ply / fingering or finer on a standard 4.5 mm machine. Thicker yarn makes a bulkier, cosier look.

About 25 g in total for this size (an estimate from the area of the pieces; buy a little more).

Also: Tapestry needle, 3 or 4 small snaps or a strip of hook-and-loop tape, Waste yarn (single bed)

Gauge swatch first

  1. Cast on 40 needles with waste yarn and knit a few rows. Change to the main yarn and choose a tension that gives a fabric you like (see the starting points below).
  2. Knit 60 rows. Tie a contrast thread to the 11th needle from each side at row 10 and row 50, so the marks are 20 needles and 40 rows apart.
  3. Knit a few rows of waste yarn and take the swatch off. Steam or wash it the way you will treat the finished piece, and let it rest flat for a few hours.
  4. Measure between the marks: stitches in 10 cm = 20 ÷ width in cm × 10, rows in 10 cm = 40 ÷ height in cm × 10. Type the two numbers into the gauge boxes above; that tension is your main tension (MT).

Pieces

Front

Cast on 45 sts, 52 rows. Flat size about 15 × 11.3 cm.

Row by row

  1. Bring 45 needles into work (L22 to R23). Cast on with waste yarn, knit about 10 rows, 1 row of ravel cord, then change to the main yarn. Set RC to 000.
  2. Turned hem: knit 6 rows at MT−1, 1 row at MT+2 (the fold line) and 6 rows at MT−1. Hang the loops of the first main-yarn row (just above the waste yarn) back on the needles, then knit 1 row at MT (RC 014). Remove the waste yarn later.
  3. Knit 38 rows at MT (RC 052).
  4. Cast off loosely with the latch tool (or knit a few rows of waste yarn and cast off by hand).
Bed chart
Row 1 is at the bottom. Arrows mark the transfers; the key under the chart names each colour.
Needle notation

Step 1 at the bottom; only the needles around the changes are shown.

Row sequence (4)
RowsWhat the carriage knitsTension
1–6Stocking stitchMT−1
7Stocking stitchMT+2
8–13Stocking stitchMT−1
14–52Stocking stitchMT
Opens a copy of this piece as an editable bed chart in your browser.

Back half (knit 2)

Cast on 27 sts, 52 rows. Flat size about 9 × 11.3 cm.

Row by row

  1. Bring 27 needles into work (L13 to R14). Cast on with waste yarn, knit about 10 rows, 1 row of ravel cord, then change to the main yarn. Set RC to 000.
  2. Turned hem: knit 6 rows at MT−1, 1 row at MT+2 (the fold line) and 6 rows at MT−1. Hang the loops of the first main-yarn row (just above the waste yarn) back on the needles, then knit 1 row at MT (RC 014). Remove the waste yarn later.
  3. Knit 38 rows at MT (RC 052).
  4. Cast off loosely with the latch tool (or knit a few rows of waste yarn and cast off by hand).
Bed chart
Row 1 is at the bottom. Arrows mark the transfers; the key under the chart names each colour.
Needle notation

Step 1 at the bottom; only the needles around the changes are shown.

Row sequence (4)
RowsWhat the carriage knitsTension
1–6Stocking stitchMT−1
7Stocking stitchMT+2
8–13Stocking stitchMT−1
14–52Stocking stitchMT
Opens a copy of this piece as an editable bed chart in your browser.

Sleeve (knit 2)

Cast on 24 sts, 44 rows. Flat size about 11.3 × 9.3 cm.

Row by row

  1. Bring 24 needles into work (L12 to R12). Cast on with waste yarn, knit about 10 rows, 1 row of ravel cord, then change to the main yarn. Set RC to 000.
  2. Turned hem: knit 6 rows at MT−1, 1 row at MT+2 (the fold line) and 6 rows at MT−1. Hang the loops of the first main-yarn row (just above the waste yarn) back on the needles, then knit 1 row at MT (RC 014). Remove the waste yarn later.
  3. Increase 1 stitch at each end on the next row and every 4 rows, 5 times in all: bring the next needle into work and hang the heel of the neighbouring stitch on it. 24 → 34 sts (RC 034).
  4. Knit 10 rows at MT (RC 044).
  5. Cast off loosely with the latch tool (or knit a few rows of waste yarn and cast off by hand).
Bed chart
Row 1 is at the bottom. Arrows mark the transfers; the key under the chart names each colour.
Needle notation

Step 1 at the bottom; only the needles around the changes are shown.

Row sequence (9)
RowsWhat the carriage knitsTension
1–6Stocking stitchMT−1
7Stocking stitchMT+2
8–13Stocking stitchMT−1
14Stocking stitchMT
15–18Stocking stitchMT
19–22Stocking stitchMT
23–26Stocking stitchMT
27–30Stocking stitchMT
31–44Stocking stitchMT
Opens a copy of this piece as an editable bed chart in your browser.

Finishing

  1. Weave in the ends and steam the pieces flat.
  2. Lay the two back halves on the front, outer edges matching. Sew the shoulders from the armhole edge inwards, about a quarter of the front width on each side, leaving the middle open for the neck.
  3. Fold each sleeve in half lengthwise to find its centre, pin it to the shoulder seam and sew the top of the sleeve to the body (drop shoulder).
  4. Sew the side and sleeve seams in one go, from the hem to the cuff.
  5. Sew snaps or hook-and-loop tape along the back opening, the left half overlapping the right.

Notes and changes

  • Doll clothes are worn with about 4 cm of ease at the chest; measure the doll and pick the nearest size.
  • Small motifs from a 24-stitch punch card fit nicely on the front.
  • The same pieces make a cardigan: knit two front halves instead of the back halves and wear it the other way round.

Abbreviations

MT
main tension: the tension dial setting of your gauge swatch. MT−1 is one number tighter, MT+2 two numbers looser.
RC
row counter. Set it to 000 after the cast on; the steps give the reading at the end of each step.
sts
stitches. One working needle holds one stitch.
L10 / R10
needle numbers, counted outwards from the centre 0 of the needle bed.
Hold
a needle pushed fully forward keeps its stitch and does not knit while the carriage is set to hold.
Waste yarn
a contrast yarn knitted before or after the piece and unravelled later, so open loops can be hung or sewn.
Fully fashioned
decreasing or increasing 2 stitches in from the edge with a transfer tool, so the edge stays smooth for seaming.

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