A Renewed Interest in Knitting

I taught my daughters how to knit when they were 5. They're 13 now and over the years they have picked it up, and put it down, and picked it up, and put it down. They've made charity blankets, preemie hats, and scarves, hats & mittens for themselves. The past two years they haven't really wanted to knit, so I haven't pushed them.

Next week we are moving back to Vermont from Finland, where we've been living for 2 years. And all of a sudden the girls are excited to open boxes that have been in storage while we've been gone. (It's like Christmas I guess?) 

Even though they are past the (playing with) American Girl Doll stage, they have been asking me a lot of questions about their dolls. "Mom, did we save the dolls? Did we save the clothing and accessories for the dolls?" "Yes, we did," I keep telling them. I asked them if they were planning on playing with dolls and they said they just wanted to knit and sew clothes for them. I'm wondering if this inspiration comes from the Project Runway we've been watching on Hulu recently!?

Anyway, I'm thrilled. Smaller projects are more manageable than larger ones and there are still a lot of techniques they can learn when making small sweaters. I'm all for them learning how to follow patterns, too. We've got some great patterns for 18" dolls and they're already picking out their favorites:

Knitting at Knoon 18" Doll Wardrobe Collection #1

The garter rib hooded pullover is adorable, and the pink sweater with stripes is perfect for using up tiny bits of stash yarn. Even novelty yarns would be fun in the stripes!

Knitting at Knoon 18" Doll Wardrobe #2

The Darla sweater (middle right) is great for practicing lace stitches, and the Seth vest is perfect for learning how to work neck decreases.

Fun Fashions: Contemporary Outfits to Knit for 18" Dolls

Another great use for fuzzy novelties - the ballerina outfit! And I think all dolls need a lounge around outfit like this cute blue one.
 
Once they have success making a few of these, they're excited to start designing some patterns of their own.