Sew Cool

Since my mom introduced me to the imaginative world of Ellowyne Wilde seven years ago, it’s fitting that she also introduced me to the world of tiny knitting needles a few years later (sizes 2 and below, though the tiniest I’ve gone is 000). The former created in me a surprising obsession (within financial reason, of course), and the latter put my knitting skills to use and fed my obsession at the same time.

The patterns are designed by Becky Colvin of sew-coolseparates.com, a talented seamstress and knitter who has, over the years, created dozens of patterns for several different makes of posable dolls. Interested in a sweater (or pair of pants) for your doll, but not interested in making it yourself? Visit her Etsy shop, SewCoolSeparates.

Though I have knitted a couple of things over the last several months, my needles have gone untouched since mid-November when I finished my Santa phone case. So imagine my delight when I received an email from Becky informing her followers she needed testers to knit some American Girl Doll patterns, as she’s looking to sell patterns via pixiefaire.com. I jumped at the opportunity and ransacked my arsenal of tiny knitting needles.

Here is the result for the sweater I knit-tested:

It took me three weeks to complete, because I only allowed myself to knit at night after my girls had gone to bed. (Right now, I spend much of my time involved in the online writer’s critique group and preparing for a couple of upcoming writing contests.) I couldn’t tell you exactly how many hours I spent making the sweater, but I can tell you it went fast. And it’s knit from the top down, so for those who don’t like to sew seams after the knitting is done, this is right up your alley with only two small underarm seams to sew.

I hope to test-knit another AG sweater for Becky, but Ellowyne has informed me she’s feeling neglected. I suppose I should make her something, huh?

How about you? Do you know of another skilled artist who offers fun, intricate knitting patterns for dolls? I would love to hear about him/her–I’m always on the lookout for new patterns to try!