Dolly Mixture baby set on Ravelry

I've decided to see if anyone's willing to pay for my patterns - I'll still be posting freebies too, but this baby set took a lot of working out to get right, so here goes! It's available as a Ravelry download for £2.50. It comes in one size only, hence the relatively low price - 18" chest, or approximate age 3 to 6 months, commonly known (at least in the UK) as "second size".

I made an alternative version suitable for a boy, minus the flower on the hat. The yarn I used is what inspired the name - the lavender colourway reminded me of those sweets we used to get as kids! The variegated yarns are Jarol New Arrival, which is available in lots of colour mixes, brights as well as pastels. The plain yarns are Woolcraft New Fashion, but any 100% DK yarn that knits to the required tension is fine - the most important thing is to match the plain yarn to one of the colours in the print yarn.

There are a couple of techniques used in this pattern that may be unfamiliar, but don't be put off - they are easy to learn.
The first is the I-cord, used for the hat ties - most US knitters will know this already, but UK knitters are more likely to know it as French Knitting or "corkwork". We used to make our own "Knitting Nancy" from a wooden cotton reel and four nails. The lucky ones among us had a manufactured version with staples, which was much easier to use. The I-cord is simply the same thing knitted on two double-pointed needles - see Knitting Daily blog here for instructions. You can use 3, 4 or 5 stitches depending on the thickness of cord required.
The second technique is the Cable cast on used in the hat - a good explanation of this technique can be found on the Knitting Daily blog here. This is a 2-needle cast-on which is more elastic than the normal method.
Happy knitting!

Outfits for 16 inch baby doll - part 2

Cardigan, trousers and hat

Materials:

4-ply yarn in white and kingfisher

Pair size 3.25 mm (UK 10) needles

Pair size 3 mm (UK 11) needles

4 buttons

Shirring elastic (to match trousers)

Tension:

7 sts to 1 inch over st st

Measurements:

To fit a 15 to 16 in baby doll: chest 11.5 in, waist 12 in, sleeve seam 3 in, leg seam 4 in, head circumference 12 in.

Trousers

(make 2 pieces)

Using kingfisher and 3.25 mm needles, cast on 40 sts. K 3 rows.

Change to st st, inc 1 st at each end of next and foll 6^th rows until there are 50 sts. Work straight until piece measures 4 in (another 7 rows) or inside leg length required.

Cast off 2 sts at start of next 2 rows. Dec 1 st at each end of next 3 rows (40 sts).

Work straight until piece measures 6½ in (another 19 rows) or length from ankle to waist.

Change to 3 mm needles and work 6 rows k1, P1 rib. Cast of loosely in rib.

Join front and back body seams. Join inside leg seams. Thread 3 double lengths of shirring elastic through the back of the ribbing and tie off to secure.

Cardigan

Back

Using white and 3.25 mm needles, cast on 43 sts. Work 5 rows in K1, P1 rib.

Join in Kingfisher and work 2 rows st st (do not cut white yarn, but carry yarn not in use up the side of the work, taking care not to pull it too tight.)

Work 2 rows st st in white. Continuing the stripe pattern,. Work until piece measures 3 in (22 rows st st).

Cast off 2 sts at start of next 2 rows. Dec 1 st at each end of next and following alt rows until 17 sts remain. Leave these sts on a stitch holder.

Left front

Using white and 3.25 mm needles, cast on 19 sts. Work 5 rows in K1, P1 rib.

Work 22 rows in st st stripe patt as for back.

Cast off 2 sts at start of next row. P 1 row.

Dec 1 st at start of next and following alt rows until 10 sts remain.

Continuing to dec on alt rows at armhole edge, cast off 2 sts at neck edge at start of next row, then dec 1 st at neck edge on next and every alt row until 2 sts remain. K2 tog and fasten off.

Right front

Work as for left front, reversing all shapings.

Sleeves (make 2)

Using white and 3.25 mm needles, cast on 33 sts. Work 5 rows in K1, P1 rib.

Continue in stripe patt as for back, work 22 rows straight.

Cast off 2 sts at start of next 2 rows. Dec 1 st at each end of next and following alt rows until 7 sts remain. Leave these sts on a stitch holder.

Neckband

With RS facing, using 3.25 mm needles and white yarn, pick up and knit 7 sts up right side of neck, K across 7 sts at top of first sleeve, then 17 sts from back and 7 sts from top of second sleeve, and finally pick up and K 7 sts down left side of neck (45 sts). 

Work 3 rows K1, P1 rib. Cast off loosely in rib.

Button band

With RS facing, using 3.25 mm needles and white yarn, pick up and knit 33 sts along left front edge.

Work 5 rows K1, P1 rib. Cast off loosely in rib.

Buttonhole band

With RS facing, using 3.25 mm needles and white yarn, pick up and knit 33 sts along right front edge.

Work 2 rows K1, P1 rib.

Buttonhole row: Rib 2, (yfwd, K2tog, rib 7) 3 times, yfwd, K2tog, rib 2.

Work 2 rows K1, P1 rib. Cast off loosely in rib.

To make up

Join raglan seams. Join side and sleeve seams. Darn all ends into seams. Neaten buttonholes and attach 4 buttons to correspond.

Hat

Using white and 3 mm needles, cast on 80 sts. Work 5 rows in K1, P1 rib.

Change to 3.25 mm needles and work 12 rows in stripe patt as for cardigan.

Next row: (K8, K2tog) to end

Next row: P

Next row: (K7, K2tog) to end

Next row: P

Continue to dec in this manner until there are 16 sts.

Next row: (K2tog) to end.

Cut yarn leaving a long tail, thread through remaining 8 sts and pull up. Sew to secure gathering, then join seam.