COMFORT DOLLS

The beauty of this pattern is that you stuff, seam the arms and legs, and apply facial features as you go. When you finish the hair (or hat) you are through…the doll is completely finished

MATERIALS:

  1. Size 8- 40” fixed circular needle for magic loop.( If you have an interchangeable set of knitting needles, you can make your own)
  2. Size 8-12” circular needle
  3. Size 8 DPNs
  4. Stitch Markers---Round and Safety Pin Style
  5. Tapestry Needle
  6. Scissors
  7. Sharpie Fine Point Permanent Marker
  8. Purple Air Erasable Quilt Marking Pen
  9. Worsted Weight Yarn (Acrylic is fine)
  • Hobby Lobby’s I Love This Yarn (there are a lot of solid colors with variegated or striped yarns to match).
  • Walmart or Red Heart Web Site (there are also a lot of coordinating solids, variegated, and striped yarns to match)
  • Odds and ends of leftover yarns appropriate weight
  1. Fiberfill

ABREVIATIONS:

  1. BM—Beginning Marker
  2. SM---Slide Marker
  3. JMCO—Judy’s Magic Cast On
  4. TCO---Turkish CO
  5. M1R---Make One Right
  6. M1L---Make One Left
  7. KFB---Knit in the front and back of the same stitch
  8. STS---Stitches
  9. RW---Row
  10. K---Knit

TECHNIQUES:

  1. Judy’s Magic Cast On---There are great tutorials on youtube.com. I particularly liked the one demonstrated by Judy Becker
  2. Turkish Cast On---There is a great demonstration of this on Blooming Knitter’s site on you tube under how to make a toe up sock
  3. M1 L and M 1 R---I learned how to do this by watching the Blooming Knitter Site on how to make a toe up sock
  4. Changing Colors In the Round (Many good videos on you tube). To change color in the round, cut the color you are finishing leaving a tail about five inches in length. In the beginning stitch of your next round, insert your working (right) needle into your left needle, loop the new color around your working needle and pull it through. Take the tail of the old color and put it over both the tail and the working thread of your new color and finish knitter the first row of the new color. In the beginning stitch of the next row, take the right leg of the stitch below and put it on your left hand needle. Knit this stitch going through both loops (This will prevent a jog). Tug on the yarn tail two or three times to tighten thread up and this will prevent a big stitch or a hole.

NOTE: I usually weave in my ends after I have made all of the shoe and knitted at least 2-3 rows of the pants color. On the rest of the sections, weave in old and new color after you have knitted 4 rows of newest color. Always make sure your yarn tails are tugged tight enough to prevent a hole, but not so tight as to alter your st tension.

When doing duplicate st for facial features, insert your needle on each feature, leaving a tail about 3-4”, after you have done the eyes or nose or mouth, take your working yarn and your yarn tail and tie a knot and clip thread.

With your Size 8---40” circular needle

FOR A BOY (SHOES)

  1. CO 16 STS
  2. RW 1: Knit the 16 sts on each needle
  3. RW 2: K 1 st, M1R, K to the last two sts, M1L, K the last st. Reposition your needles and do the same thing on the other side, Substitute the KFB for the M1R or M1L if you had rather do this…this is just a doll, not a sock
  4. RW 3: K the 18 sts on each needle
  5. RW 4: Repeat RW 2, increasing one st on each end of each needle
  6. RW 6: K the 20 sts on each needle
  7. RW 7- 10 K the 20 sts on each needle
  8. Cut Yarn, leaving a tail of about 5-6”. Counting the loops on your needle, you should have 11 rows.

FOR A GIRL (SHOES)

  1. CO 14 STS
  2. RW 1: Knit the 14 sts on each needle
  3. RW 2: K 1 st, M1R, K to last two sts, M1L, K the last st. Reposition your needles
  4. RW 3: K 16 sts on each needle
  5. RW 4: Repeat RW 2, increasing one st on each end of each needle
  6. RW 5: K 18 sts on each needle
  7. RW 6: Repeat Row 2, increasing one st on each end of each needle
  8. DO NOT CUT YARN AT THIS POINT
  9. Add the color yarn you are using for your sock (i.e.white, a color to match your shirt or hat)
  10. RW 8 & 9 (the loops on your needle will count as the 7th row) Knit. Cut yarn the length suggested.
  11. Place sock yarn color over shoe color and Knit two more rows. Cut yarn. Counting the loops on your needle, you should have 11 rows

PANTS

In the color of your choice, placing the tail of your shoe yarn over the new yarn Knit 6 rows. On 7th

Row with a Sharpie marker, between the 10th and 11thst draw a line down to the shoe. From the

Line you have drawn, count 20 sts and draw another line as you did in the front. This will mark the

Line to follow when making your leg seam & shoe seam. Knit 11 more rows for a total of 18 (Remember the loops on your needle will make 19 rows). Finish drawing you line for your leg seam. Cut Yarn

SHIRT:

In the color of your choice Knit 6 rows. Remember to change colors as instructed pulling your yarn

Tails tight to prevent a hole. On the 7th row count 6 sts from the BM. Between the 6th and 7thst on

The row below, with your Sharpie, draw a line down to where your pants start. Now Knit 8 more

Sts and between the 14th and 15thst on the row below draw another line down to where the pants

End. From this second line you have drawn on the front of your shirt, count 12 sts and draw a line

On the back of your shirt. Count 8 sts from this and draw your fourth line. Knit 20 more rows and

Cut yarn. Complete drawing your line up until you reach 9 rows from the top. You do not want to

Go all the way to the top as you did with your pants. If you have not weave in all your yarn tails

Turn your tube inside out and do so now. Sometimes I do them as I go, and sometimes I wait

Until I have done a few rows of the face and do them all at one time. Just be sure and pull your

Tails tight to prevent holes before you weave in your ends. Counting the loops on your needle,

You should have 28 rows.

FACE:

Change colors as instructed always tugging on your tails several times to prevent

holes. Knit 3-6 rows. Stop here and weave in ends of face and shirt.

Stuff your doll with fiberfill…about an inch thick. I use a tad more. Take the pants color

Yarn and using the backstitch embroidery st, st you pants seam using the two lines to sew over.

Pull your yarn tight after each stitch. Tie a knot at end and cut yarn. I use yarn the same color of

Shoe to do it using the line you have drawn for the pants as a guide. Use the shirt color &

Backstitch your arm seams the same way.

Now continue knitting your face.

On the eighth row of your face, knit 6 sts (in the front of your doll), place a safety pin marker in

Row below between the 6th & 7thst. Knit eight more sts and place another safety pin marker in the

Row below as you did the first marker. This will be

The center of your dolls face. Continue knitting until you have 18 rows (19 counting the loops on

Your needle). You will count five rows from the top and six rows from the bottom to center your

Face. You can run embroidery thread throw loops or eyeball it. Five rows from the top you will

Mark two sts toward center from where the safety pins are, using the quilt marker. Four sts from

The two marks you have made, mark another two sts (I mark the V like part of the stitch).

Two rows below the eyes and counting 3 sts from each side where you placed you safety pin you

Mark two sts for the nose. Three rows below the nose you have two sts for the lips with one st

In row above on each end to make a smile. Put more fiber fill into the head and with the same

Color yarn

You used for the face, cut a length about 8-9”and thread it through tapesty needle. Weave over

And under each stitch of the first row of the neck. When you reach the starting place, pull both

Ends of yarn tight to form the neck and tie a knot. Clip ends. Keep stuffing your face and hair as

Go.

HAIR

Rw 1-2---Knit

  1. RW 3---*K 8, K 2 tog, PM (Have 3 markers that are different from BM), K 8, K 2 tog, PM* Repeat from * to * 2 more times
  2. RW 4---K 36 sts
  3. RW 4---*K 7, K 2 tog, PM* Repeat from * to * 3 more times
  4. RW 5---* K 32 sts
  5. RW 6---*K6, K2tog, PM* Repeat from * to * 3 more times
  6. RW 7---K 28 sts
  7. RW 8---K 5, K2 tog, PM* Repeat from * to * 3 more times
  8. RW 9---Change to DPNs. K 6 sts onto a dpn needle four times
  9. RW 10---*K 4, K 2 tog* Repeat from * to * each needle---20sts
  10. RW 11---*K3, K 2 tog* Repeat from * to * each needle----16 sts
  11. RW 12---*K2, K 2 tog* Repeat from * to * each needle----12 sts
  12. At this point if you think you need a bit more stuffing add little at a time. Cut yarn. Thread tapestry needle and run through all 12 loops on needle. Pull tight. Run needle through a second time. Knot yarn and run needle (popping knot through as you would in quilting) through fiberfill and out head and cut yarn
  13. YOUR DOLL IS TOTALLY FINISHED!

I ORDER ALL OF MY NEEDLES FROM HANDSOME FIBERS. JUST SPECIFY CHIAGOO-METAL-RED CORD-12” OR 40” CIRCULAR NEEDLE. THEIR PHONE NUMBER IS 1-406-233-9276. THEY HAVE LOW SHIPPING RATES. THEY DELIVER WITHING 3 DAYS. THE 12” IS 12” is $8.50 and the 40” is $8.50 I HAVE TWO 12” AS I HAVE TWO DOLLS GOING AT THE SAME TIME AS I DO MY SOCKS.