Two Sweater Hoodies for a Little Girl and Her Doll

As a donation to the Tiny Tim School silent auction I knitted two sweaters in a cashmere blend yarn. The patterns came from a book called Knits for Girls and Dolls by Charlene Schurch. Each pattern includes the matching sweater for an 18" doll, in this case Fancy Nancy. The doll's dress was decorated with butterflies, so I used butterfly buttons for the closures and smaller ones on the pockets. The pockets were not part of the pattern. I added them myself, and included a hanky for the girl and her doll.

Here are the directions for the pockets, using the same yarn and needles as used for the sweaters:

For the Girl (4T)                                                
Cast on 3 stitches                                            
K 3
P
K front and back of stitch (KFB), K, KFB (5)
P
KFB, K3, KFB (7)
P
KFB, K5, KFB (9)
P
KFB, K7, KFB (11)
P                                                                  

KFB, K9, KFB (13)

P

KFB, K11, KFB (15)

P (This ends the flap of the pocket)

P a row, K a row for 21 rows, end on wrong

side, bind off.

For the Doll
Cast on 3 stitches
K3
P
KFB, K, KFB (5)
P
KFB, K3, KFB (7)
P
KFB, K5, KFB (9)
P (End of pocket flap)
P a row, K a row for 13 rows, end on wrong side, bind off.

For both sweaters
Weave in tails. Sew flaps down with buttons. Sew to sweater fronts using mattress and shoulder seam stitches.

Another pattern I used from this book for an 18" doll is shown below. I really like the concept of matching clothes for a girl and her doll.

Harumika Fashions

For a Christmas present I gave granddaughter Hannah, age 6, a Harumika fashion design system. It includes a Barbie-size dress form, a tiny camera with a USB connection, and a few assorted pieces of fabric. I added to her fabric selection from my stash of fabrics and trims from years of sewing and quilting.

The dress form has a slit in the back to hold the fabric on the form without need for sewing.

When photos of the designs are taken with the camera and the Harumika software, they automatically upload to the Harumika Web site. The pics must be approved by them, which takes a couple of days, the then they can be added to the users lookbook. Any digital camera can be used and the pics uploaded to the site.

Hannah loves to design fashion for the dress form and she loves to pick out cute and interesting combinations of clothing for herself.

Craft stores sell self sticking crystals and pearls that make great embellishments. I gave her some mixes of different buttons. She sticks the buttons on with straight pins.

DC Fashion Week January 15-21

The DC Fashion Week, held January 15-21, 2010,  had an international viewpoint. I saw several new designers (new to me) that I liked. The Web site is http://www.dcfashionweek.org/dcfw_runwayphotos.htm.

 All photos are credited to Damion Miller/DCFASHIONWEEK.org.

The majority of fashions are very wearable, and the models were not all size 0 (refreshing). The slide system is the balkiest I have seen, but I made it work.

This outfit is by HeyDari.

Lili Forrest designed this confection.

Atelier Gianni Lilliu designed this interesting handling of satin draping.

Stockholm Fashion Week Autumn/Winter 2010

I just looked at all of the designers featured in Stockholm Fashion Week, February 1-3:

http://www.fashionweekbyberns.com/

Overall I think they are excellent. The shows had a very youthful, vibrant vibe to them. I enjoyed watching the videos more than the slide shows. I especially liked the following designers:

Ewa i Walla

                                                                      

Stylein

Filippa K

The amazing thing about the Filippa K show was the music by singer/songwriter Hajen. She blew me away. She is not on iTunes, but she is on MySpace:

http://www.myspace.com/hajensmyspace

I have to hear more from her.

Watching this made me want to visit Sweden.