Category Archives: Doll Berets

A New Knitting Pattern

A beret knitting pattern is now available for the Little Darlings! The pattern will also fit other dolls who wear a size 7-8 wig such as Linda Macario’s Penny and Polly.

This beret is knit in the round on DPNs with fingering weight wool. If you’re looking to learn how to knit on DPNs here’s a quick project for you. While you’re learning something new, you can make something cute at the same time. I include tips that helped me learn this technique.

It took me quite a few tries to finally get comfortable with DPNs, and now that I have, it’s one of my favorite ways of knitting. There are three reasons for this: no purling, no seams to sew up, and a nicer looking piece. The hats especially benefit from being knit in the round. I don’t like how the seam ruins the patterning of the decreases, and adds stiffness.

Out of all the YouTube videos this one was the one I watched again and again. I remember watching it for the first time and thinking to myself, “no way was I ever going to be able to knit with all those needles”. It seems very daunting at first, but once you get it you wonder why it seemed so hard.

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Does your Little Darling need a new beret . . . or two . . . or three? How about one in every color?

The beret pattern can be purchased on Ravelry.

“Holiday Ready”

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As I sit here on this dark December morning there is a bit of anticipation in the air. We are awaiting snow, and it is almost here! I’m not sure how much we’ll get, it’s barely freezing, but it’ll be a treat watching it fall.

How are your holiday preparations coming along? We are moving along nicely here. Most of our indoor decorating is finished, and we are enjoying our cozy holiday lights, Christmas tree(s), and the many holiday decorations. It was extra special (and a little sad) this year as I got to unwrap (for the first time) Christmas decorations and ornaments from my parents. I think that we will maybe (hopefully) get some lights outside . . . or a wreath . . . or something.

My Little Darling, Alice, is very holiday ready in her new ensemble. I had an impossible time passing up (so, what’s new!) this snowman print by Lori Holt for Riley Blake Designs. It came in a few different colorways, but I decided on yellow because it reminded me of those super sunshiny days after a snowstorm . . . and it is such a happy color.

I wanted to make Alice’s set as Christmasy as possible so I picked the red and green from the snowmen’s scarves to include in the ensemble.

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The snowy white fuzzy mohair sweater is embroidered with more festivity—holly and evergreen motifs. Sparkly bright red crystal beads are used for the buttons. Alice’s beret is hand knit with hand dyed wool which is in matching bright red. Her snowball pom pom matches the sweater’s yarn. A pop of green was needed at the neckline so a skinny green scarf with red/white fringe does the job.

holiday-ready-146 Delicate white lace tights, a snowman miniature ornament, and sparkly bracelet (with snowflake charm) complete Alice’s festive look.

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“Holiday Ready” for the Little Darlings will be available tonight (December 4, 2016) at 7:00 pm CST, cindyricedesigns.com.

Bit of News and “A Peek at Christmas”

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I’m wondering if you all have forgotten about my patterns that I promised to start writing! Definitely not! My first one is almost ready to be published. The pattern is written, but this morning I realized my cover photo may be too small pixel-wise, so I want to redo that. Also, there have been technical things that I needed “husband help” with. He needed to figure those things out when he wasn’t at work. New things always take time; it’s getting real close though. Thanks for being so patient with me!

I’ve been looking at my stack of Christmas fabrics for months now. I actually felt like starting to make something Christmas-y in August, but I held back. I didn’t want to skip making fall ensembles. But now, it is time to dive right into Christmas sewing!

My smiling Little Darling, Lucy, got the first ensemble for Christmas 2016! Lucky girl! I call this ensemble “A Peek at Christmas” because it is “just a bit” Christmas-y.

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This fabric is a lively red and green floral on a darker ivory ground. It is a cozy print, but not drab. My newest lace from England matched perfectly. I added it to the hemline for the green tights to peek through. A couple of red hand made bows at the hemline tie into the red waistline sash.

I felt this ensemble needed green tights, nothing else came close. For a whole day I worked on mixing and dyeing what I thought was the perfect shade of green. My fabric stayed in the dye bath for 1 1/2 hours; I stirred it every 15 minutes. Then, it stayed in the fix bath for another hour; I stirred that every 15 minutes too. The fabric came out uneven and, really too light. The next day, I kept my fingers crossed as I headed to the fabric store. Usually when I am looking for something in particular I don’t find it. Not only did I find the perfect green, I also found it in a different fabric; it’s a lighter weight Lycra® rayon blend; it has a bit of a sheen to it, so is a little bit dressy. And a bonus, it sewed up very nicely. Needless to say, this all made me very happy . . . and feeling lucky.

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For the sweater’s embroidery I used the same style of blossoms as on the fabric; I had tiny pearlized Delica beads that matched, so used those for the center of each blossom. Two shades of green and some burgundy bud flowers complete the mirrored embroidery. Mother-of-pearl beads in natural added the perfect touch for the buttons.

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A tinier version as what’s used for the sweater decorates the back of the dress as faux buttons.

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The last item I made to complete this ensemble was the crocheted drawstring bag. It is crocheted with the finest cotton thread in a color that matches the background of the fabric and the lace. For fun, I added a colorful and jingly dangle. Inside Lucy’s bag is her contribution the the Christmas tree, a bright red ornament!

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