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Very cute - bith the minibabysurprisesweater and CousinF!

By  KathyR, at 11:27 PM  

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Miniature Elizabeth Zimmermann Baby Surprise Sweater

Here you have a blog that's almost all about knitting. I told you yesterday we had the most perfect 8 year old visitor in July. She came for the very first time with her parents, aunt&uncle, cousins and grandparents (who, in good old Virginia fashion are also distant cousins of BD) for a 4th of July picnic here. Mostly that sort of fun is outdoors and swimming and fireworks but of course I had to introduce her to The Bird Family

(you remember these guys)


and while I was explaining about them she gave me a look that said "Oh. You understand. You're my kind of person". We were thrilled when she wanted to come back on her own for a week - a bit of a stretch for someone not yet 9 who only met you once. And so I present you with Cousin F!


While she was here we explored all sorts of fun things. I do have the best toys.
It was also the week my knitting group meets, and since CousinF also knits, we were both fascinated and jealous when a friend brought this little doll she'd found at Ben Franklin. She planned to make wee little doll clothes for it as part of a Christmas present. CousinF and I both had extreme doll lust and had to make a mad dash to Mechanicsville to buy some dolls and cotton yarn. The results are above - and CousinF made doll hats and knit on the dresses some too.

I, too, know 2 little girls who really ought to have these little dolls, all dressed up and ready to go, moving in this Christmas, so I have been fiddling around with wee doll things. I also was knitting on a real EZ Baby Surprise sweater for a shower gift and got to wondering if you could knit a miniature version for these dolls. It would be a great way to make a little sweater with sleeves for these tiny arms. Here is the result - after a passable but, ultimately unsuccessful, first attempt.



Cute, huh?

Cast on 46 stitches and start the double decreases on stitch 12 and 34.

Knit in garter stitch till you've made 4 pair of double decreases,

knit one ridge without decreasing, doubling the stitches across the center portion on the second row of that ridge,

then start the increases. After 2 pair of double increases, bind off 2 stitches at the beginning of the next 2 rows

then knit a couple ... maybe 3, more ridges with double increases.

Bind off.

This means leaving off the part where you knit only on the back for a real baby surprise. These dolls don't need it.

Sew up the sleeves. Voila! minibabysurprisesweater!