Ravelry: Cap Sleeved Dress for Calico Critter & Sylvanian pattern by Dawn Smith

Cap Sleeved Dress for Calico Critter & Sylvanian by Dawn Smith

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> Cap Sleeved Dress for Calico Critter & Sylvanian

Pattern

details

Teal - Nature Spun yarn,, thinner: size 1 needles. Red - Palette yarn, thicker: size 0 needles. No change from pattern on either. © Dawn Smith

All three are the same thin, Brown Sheep Nature Spun yarn. L to R, size 2 needles, size 1 needles, size 0 needles. I made the third one the short version because it was fitting the daughter critter who is shorter. © Dawn Smith

Pattern variations. All Palette yarn, size 0 needles. Pink is short verson. Red has purl bumps at waist. Green doesn't have the purl bumps. © Dawn Smith

by 34dahdah

by StarburstAcres

by monicarose51

Oh, la, la! Mother Bear is tres chic. © Dawn Smith

Cap Sleeved Dress for Calico Critter & Sylvanian

by Dawn Smith

Published in

Bay Creek Knits

Craft

Knitting

Category

Doll Clothes → Other

Published

September 2023

Suggested yarn

Knit Picks Palette

Yarn weight

Fingering (14 wpi) ?

Gauge

9 stitches and 12 rows = 1 inch
in stocking stitch

Needle size

US 0 - 2.0 mm

Yardage

14 - 17 yards (13 - 16 m)

Sizes available

3" Calico Critter or Sylvanian adult

Languages

English

This pattern is available as a free Ravelry download

This elegant little dress for Calico Critter and Sylvanian Family mothers is knitted in one piece, top down with no seams. It is knitted flat until it is joined in the round under the critter’s tail.

Some thoughts on yarns and gauge

Any fingering weight yarn should work just fine to knit this dress. You only need 14-17 yards, so this is a good use for those little balls you’ve probably been collecting. Having said that, fingering yarns seem to vary quite a bit in weight. Here are the yardages of some popular fingering and light fingering yarns from heavier to lighter.

Knit Picks Palette
50 grams = 231 yards

Red Heart Baby
50 grams = 280 yards

Brown Sheep Nature Spun
50 grams = 310 yards

I listed my gauge, but I wouldn’t worry too much about doing a test square. There are a couple of easy ways to check your gauge when knitting this pattern.

For these little critters, and especially since they are not all exactly the same size, it’s easier to just start and see if it will fit your critter rather than knit a gauge square. Since it’s knitted top down, you can try the dress on your doll as soon as the armholes are in and then get a really good idea of how it will fit once you join it in the round under the tail. This is a good time to check the fit for length too.

Also, I have put in the measurement that I got at the end of round 3. If your measurement is much shorter or longer than stated on the pattern, you might want to go up or down a needle size. You might also need to add extra rows in length if you are using a thinner yarn.

Most of my test garments were knitted with Knit Picks Palette, one of the thicker fingering yarns, but I did use Brown Sheep Nature Spun, one of the thinner fingering yarns, on three of the dressesto compare. Please look at the photos and read the captions for further information on gauge and needle size.

Finally, these dresses are quick to knit. I suggest you consider your first one your gauge sample and adjust the needle size and number of rounds before the hem trim depending on how it fits your critter.

This pattern is free, but if you want to say “thank you”, please create a project page here on Ravelry.