Knitted dolls with knitting needles - step-by-step manufacturing scheme

Girls play with dolls - adults encourage the motherly instincts of the future woman. But the variety in the "daughters" shops for the child is confusing. Many mothers-craftswomen think about how to knit a doll with knitting needles or a crochet hook to make a unique toy for their child.

Specifics of knitting dolls

Exclusive homemade dolls have become a trendy pastime. Knitted dolls are a popular type of handicraft. Toys are created for children's fun and as an unusual element of interior decor. Unique and original things are made with knitting needles. It is impossible to confuse such a craft with plastic specimens in the yard or kindergarten.

Rag dolls have been made for a long time. Through them, children learned about the world, learned to care for their neighbors, and developed harmoniously physically and mentally. It is important to use natural materials for work: cotton threads, sheep wool. Clothes are sewn from linen, silk, lace. Such a soft toy can be safely put in a child's crib - he will be warm and cozy.

Dolls knitted by their mothers are dear to girls, because they contain the warmth of their hands and the love of their closest person. Little girls are also involved in the process, they get their first skills in using a needle and scissors. Such experience will be useful to the girl in the future, and joint creativity strengthens family ties.

The peculiarity of knitted dolls is that you can sew a variety of clothes for them, bathe them and do their hair. The costs of production are minimal - there are always skeins of yarn, buttons, ribbons, pieces of fabric in the house.

Choosing yarn for knitting dolls with knitting needles

The variety of yarn for knitting "girlfriends" can be confusing for a girl. You should not approach the matter intuitively and at random. Craftswomen proceed from the following criteria:

• Yarn composition.
• Weight and length of threads in a skein.
• The correct knitting needle size for this yarn.
• Recommended knitting density.

The appearance of the finished product depends on the quality of the threads. Therefore, it is better to use thick and smooth matte yarn that will not form pellets, stretch and wear out quickly. The main thing is to choose several compatible tones to create smooth transitions from the body to the face.

Necessary materials

Yarn and knitting needles are the main materials for work. You should also use the advice of professionals on how to make a beautiful knitted doll:

• You shouldn’t use threads that are too thick – the products will come out rough and untidy.
• The yarn must contain 60% natural wool.
• The needles should be the same size as the yarn (2.5-3.0 mm) or slightly thinner. If the tool is thicker than the threads, the knitting will be loose and the stuffing will poke through it.
• For the body, choose beige yarn - white looks unnatural.
• It is better to knit clothes and accessories with colored threads.

You will need a darning needle and stuffing for the body, half beads for the eyes, and glue.

Description of work on knitting dolls step by step

If you patiently and diligently perform each detail, you will get a beautiful final result. There are many schemes with step-by-step descriptions of how to knit a doll with knitting needles for beginner craftswomen. But there are only two technologies:

• Each piece is knitted separately, then they are sewn together into a product.
• The doll is knitted in one piece.

The product looks better knitted with the front or back surface. But you can alternate: 2 front loops, 1 back loop.

Knitted dolls, master class

You need to start with the base of the product - the body and head. The doll's body can be thin or full - for this, a different number of loops is collected, but it is always even. Knitting density is 26 loops per 36 rows with knitting needles number 2.5 or 3.0 mm.

As an example, beginner needlewomen are recommended to cast on 40 loops, knit with the front surface. Easy technique: one row of front loops, the second - all purl. The first loop in the fabric should simply be removed from the left knitting needle to the working right one, the last one should be knitted with the back side. This is a mandatory condition for the edges to be even.

The height of the body can be chosen arbitrarily, but 30 rows are enough. When the rectangle is knitted, it must be sewn along the sides. For this, a darning needle and the same threads are used to knit the main product.

The bottom needs to be sewn like a bag, the top pulled together in a circle, having first stuffed the torso with filler.

For the head, the fabric should be made wider than for the body - cast on 10 more loops. Knit with expansion: for this, in the front rows, add 1 new loop every 3 loops. Repeat this 3 times. Then knit 10 rows with an even fabric and begin to decrease according to the same pattern: in the front rows, knit the 3rd and 4th loops together. Repeat 3 times.

The detail must be sewn together at the sides, filled with stuffing, the upper and lower openings must be pulled together, and sewn to the body.

Making limbs

The doll's legs and arms are knitted with hosiery needles so that the parts come out without seams. For each limb, you need to dial half the number of loops from the number of the body - 20. The process is done in a circle with face rows.

The arms/legs can be made of the same thickness, the length is determined depending on the doll's height. The limbs are knitted without heels, feet and toes. The finished elements are stuffed with cotton wool and sewn to the base.

For those who have a high level of knitting technique, a more complex version of the limbs is possible.

Knitting legs (2 pcs.), work starts with soles:

1. Cast on 5 stitches, knit 2 rows, mark the center with colored thread.
2. In each of the next 3 rows, add 1 loop on both sides. You will get 11 loops.
3. Knit 1 row, add a loop on each side, then add in every other row until you get 17.
4. Knit 11 rows.
5. In the next 2 rows, decrease 1 loop on both sides – you should get 13.
6. Knit a row, decrease by 1 loop – in the end there should be 11 loops left.
7. Knit several rows, making decreases, so that 7 loops remain in the row.
8. Knit another row and close the loops. This will be the lower part of the leg.
9. For the top section, cast on 8 stitches and knit a row.
10. Add 1 loop in the next 5 rows, knit a row.
11. Add a loop on both sides of the next row, then another to the 2nd row – you should have 22 loops.
12. Add one loop at a time – 24 loops in total.
13. Next row – add a loop on both edges and once in the second row – a total of 28 loops.
14. Knit 2 rows to get 36 loops.
15. Make marks on both sides of the fabric, in the next 2 rows reduce the number of loops to 32.
16. Knit a row, decreasing stitches to 28. Round off the front of the leg.
17. Next, the final touches of the leg: 2 together knitwise, 10 knitwise, close 4 loops and knit in stockinette stitch to the last 2 loops.
18. Knit them together, mark the middle of the 4 closed loops.
19. Reduce 1 loop at each end and once for the 2nd row. In total, 7 loops should remain. At the end, reduce the loop - 6 loops.
20. Reduce on both sides – 4 loops.
21. In the following rows, decrease by 1 loop - 2 loops will remain.
22. Knit them together, fasten the thread.

Turn the work over with the wrong side facing you, tie the thread, and knit the second leg.

Knitting of arms begins with 5 loops:

1. Knit a row.
2. Add 2 loops on both sides and one more at the end.
3. In a new row, add up to 12 loops, then up to 14 loops.
4. Knit 6 rows.
5. Begin reductions: 3 rows of 13 stitches, 9 rows of 11 stitches (remove one stitch at the end of the first two rows).
6. Knit 8 rows with an increase of 1 loop at the beginning of the 1st row. In total, there are 8 rows of 12 loops.
7. Next, in each row, decrease one loop until there are 4 loops left.
8. Then decrease to 1 stitch by knitting 2 together.

Fasten the thread. Tie the second hand. Then start assembling the finished product.

How to make hair for a doll

For the hairstyle, it is better to take 100% cotton or wool of a suitable color. Manufacturing technologies are varied. The simplest: cut the threads of the required length, taking into account that they will be folded in half. It is better to work with a crochet hook.

You need to start from the top:

• Mark the outline of the hairline.
• Insert hook #1 into the loop, grab the folded thread and pull it out.
• Pull the ends through the loop and tighten – you get 2 hairs.
• Do this through each loop, moving in a circle.

Having reached the hairline on the forehead, evaluate the density of the hairstyle. If desired, you can evenly add hair to the hairstyle, trim it. Then braid the pigtails, do a haircut.

Decorating knitted dolls

The doll's face requires a creative approach. Detailed MK on face design:

• Eyes - half beads (can be embroidered or drawn using a template).
• Eyelashes - cut false eyelashes into pieces, glue each one with transparent "Moment", starting from the outer corner of the eye.
• Eyebrows - glue on threads of yarn of a suitable color.
• Cheeks - use artistic pastel or dry blush. Light makeup is applied using a stencil and shaded with a brush.
• Lips – the outline is embroidered separately on the fabric and between the lips with small stitches. Lips – with large vertical stitches. Color – bright scarlet. Cut out the embroidery, coat the back side with glue, stick it on the face.

During the work you can use tweezers, colored pencils, dry cosmetics. Then clothes are sewn for the craft: skirts, dresses, hats, shoes.

Hand-knitted dolls are a nice gift for a little queen. No one else will have such a toy. Mothers can look for a master class on forums to make their first model. Then creativity awakens imagination – dolls become more complex and interesting.