I Made it Myself-- Knitted Babe

Another week, some more handmade goodness. This week I put the finishing touches on a Knitted Babe. I bought this book during the big sale interweave press had for the damaged and overstocked books. It was kind of an impulse but I'm so glad I got it. My kids have never been so excited about a knitting book before. Eva asks me to "read" the book to her almost every day. They spend time telling me which dolls they want. The only bad thing is that they expect me to be able to make them instantly.

This is the third doll I've completed. The first two were made with "junk" yarn. It wasn't very soft and I wanted to try out the pattern first before I made them with some of my nicer stash. Here is the picture of the kids with my prototype dolls. I used a DK weight yarn for the new version. The pattern calls for fingering weight but I wanted my doll to be a little bigger. This yarn is just some baby yarn I got on sale at Hobby Lobby. It is really soft, though. The book is full of patterns for clothes for the dolls. I used some leftover sock yarn to make the dress. Since my doll was bigger, I had to adjust the pattern slightly to make it fit but this wouldn't happen if you use the same size yarn for everything.

This doll needed some bloomers so I made some of those as well. She's stylish and modest.
I struggle the most with the hair and face. There are templates for cutting out the features with felt but I have a problem every time. This face didn't turn out too horrible. I wanted her hair to be curly so I knit up a swatch of black acrylic with really tight needles. I let it sit for a few days and then ripped it out for the curls. I kind of like the crazy look of it.

As soon as this doll was completed, I put her away so the kids wouldn't get a hold of her. You see, she is now safe and sound (I hope) at the State Fair. We'll see if she merits a ribbon! I better start working on another one because each kid is going to want her.

I haven't decided if I'm going to make some to have available at craft fairs or in my shop. They are kind of labor intensive so I don't know if anyone would be willing to pay boutique prices for one of these. I certainly don't need to decide today.

Did you make something yourself lately? If you'd like to participate in I Made it Myself this week, take a moment to look at the guidelines and then post away! I can't wait to see what people have made this week!