Sweater girls and mohair

A work-in-progress purple mohair re-root is my first attempt at covering a Blythe scalp from Cool Cat. Nothing like jumping in head first! Meanwhile, some of the girlz show off their sweaters, in the 90-degree June heat. Oh, to be a Blythe!

At top Virginia shows off her sweater by DeeBear, knitted just for us, and complemented by a crocheted bubble hat by her daughter MandyLynn. I had the pleasure of meeting these two talented Canadian ladies a couple years ago in Michigan. Check out the crocs I found on Ebay! They had Minnie Mouse heads on them, which popped right off, just like real Croc decorations. The knitted wool socks are by Dolly Dress Up. All can be found on Etsy and the crocs by Leo Toy on Ebay.

Also on Etsy are the darling sweaters with felt appliques and felt mascots, like Hello Kitty (seen on Charlotte) and Paul Frank's Julius (seen on Abby). The are made in Brazil by nanistore. And lastly, Cookie wears a crocheted halter top, granny square wrap skirt and headscarf by an unknown maker.

More Tiny Knitting and Crocheting

Inspired by Alice's Megipupu sweater (top) and Daisy's green mohair sweater jacket by DollyDressUp, I have been trying to learn to knit. Had a second lesson yesterday, in fact. Although I had crocheted for many years, knitting is a totally different process.

During the past week when I was supposed to be doing my knitting homework, though, I squeezed in some crochet time, making the sweater for Alice (third from top) and another tiny Momoko hat.

Not only was I pretty pleased with my first tiny sweater effort, although it is a bit bulky, but I was practically shocked when it actually started resembling a sweater. It was crocheted in four squares: front, back and two sleeves and then attached by crocheting the yoke around all four. It was a mess for a minute but the, suddenly, it was a butterfly.

Batty for Hats and Hooks vs. Needles

I am just so crazy about the knitted hats and sweaters directly above by Megan a.k.a. Megipupu from Finland. She is just so talented, has a huge international following, and sells out of stock in her Etsy shop faster than you can click "commit to buy." Literally. Bunny models the green set I was able to get second-hand on Plastic Paradise. Yes, it has come to this. Blythe clothing is a hot commodity in tiny, virtual re-sale shops.

I like to crochet hats, like the fuzzy lavender one Alice is wearing. I added the store-bought felted wool flower for a jaunty look. But my hats are always sort of big and floppy as opposed to detailed and tight like Megan's. I knew I'd have to take up knitting if I wanted to achieve that look.

The mint green hat on Barbie is still crochet, but I started working with finer yarn and smaller hooks after seeing Theo's Momoko hats, boots and mittens at our recent Blythe meet. This pattern is from Crochet Today! magazine, January-February 2010, and was adapted from a 1964 pattern for Barbie.

But beyond the reduction in size, I have also started a knitting class and have my second session this weekend. I learned to knit once, the same time I learned to crochet, early in college, and haven't knitted since. At the first class it was clear I remembered nothing. And, learning to use two hands and two needles and moving the yarn with one's dominant hand is a lot different than one hook, one hand, and using one's other hand primarily. I felt like a duck out of water, but I'm enjoying our homework so far. We'll see what creations develop.

Knit vs. Crochet

Daisy in a sweater by nanistore on Etsy and Zena in an earflap hat by me. Mine is a Barbie pattern from the current issue of Crochet Today magazine. I simply enlarged it. Nanistore or Nanipatch makes darling felt mascots and knitted dolls items and toys.

Tiny Needle Mad Skills

Aren't the tiny mittens and sweaters adorable? I admire anyone who can knit or crochet in the small. I made the hat above, and although the photo is tiny, the work is not. I'm usually happiest with about a G to K hook. I cannot imagine the tiny needles or hook necessary to make the mittens especially. Or the patience!

I got the mittens from Felicity (Flissy) on This is Blythe or etsy. They are straight from the U.K. She makes them in a gazillion colors, with or without the string. And, she takes custom orders and has some pretty cute hats on Etsy right now.

The sweaters are from Brazil in a trade with Nanipatch on Flickr. She also has an Etsy shop, Nani's Store and adorable pictures of her stuffed felt items on Flickr. The Blythe-size felted bag is from Lusitania on Etsy. She also has great people-sized felted items, too.

A post about Blythe knitting and crocheting would not be complete without mentioning the talented Zoe Aarden, author of GrrrlieDesigns, available from Blurb (and edited by Moi!). She's busy getting her master' thesis published right now, but she has great items on Etsy also. And finally, the lovely Rima of Willy-Nilly Waterlily has darling Blythe crochet and sewing and also amigurumi on Etsy.

Please check out my sweet Blythe friends for your holiday shopping!