My daughter loves dolls. My son, too (thought not as much). Now, it’s great to go to the store and buy toys for your kids but there’s just something irreplaceable about making those toys yourself--especially a “baby” who will be the receptor of so much love and adoration. I know it’s silly, but I feel like making my children special toys is almost like a physical representation of how much they mean to me! I hope my children see my love for them in every aspect of their lives--even in a detail as minute as their handmade toys.

I’ve made tons of these dolls over the past five years. Some for my daughter, some for her friends, and a couple for my Etsy shop. As I’ve knit one after another of them, I’ve worked on writing and perfecting this pattern.

This pattern is for one 9 inch doll, one dress, one pair of underwear, and one pair of shoes. The pattern includes lots of detail and clear photographs which depict some of the steps of making the doll as well as row by row instructions. It is written in English and includes a glossary of knitting terms.

I usually use scrap yarn to make these dolls. You’ll need about 100 yards (probably less) for the doll itself, as much for the hair, and trace amounts for the clothing. You’ll need a color for the skin (I dye some white wool with a little red and yellow food coloring to make peach), color for the hair, and color for the dress, underwear, and socks.

This is an advanced pattern, knit on size 5 double pointed needles with worsted weight yarn and some lace/sock weight yarn for hair.