- oky_katie 9 Comments

Waldorf Doll – part 3

(You can read more about my adventures making my first Waldorf Doll here.)

Hair.

This was the part that I was really nervous about. I knew that I wanted the doll to have a shaggy haircut, because the little boy who’s going to play with him has shaggy hair too. And I think it’s the most appealing ‘boy’ haircut. Particularly for dolls.

But even the book warned that it was pretty much the hardest hairstyle to pull off. So I went in, expect it to take ages. Luckily I read (somewhere on the ravelry waldorf dolls group forum – though I can’t find the exact post now), that someone was using the knitting pattern stitch from Grrr by ‘Housemate Alice‘ (because sometimes the world is that small. 🙂 which I thought seemed like a genius idea.

So I played around with a bit of a swatch to work out my gauge, measured around the head and got stuck in.

Waldorf Doll - Hair (in progress)

The yarn is Oxford Kitchen Yarn sock yarn in Biscuit (the other half of the ball used to make the Earl Grey Tea and Biscuit sock) which I held double, to get as much hair as I could.

I don’t have an exact pattern – basically the plan is to make a close fitting cap, so I decreased pretty much as I would for a hat, all be it one where I didn’t want the decreases to line up exactly. After a while, with the decreases it becomes a bit of a judgement call as to whether you should knit two loop stitches in a row, or alternate them as usual. But it’s not that hard – I just erred on the side of not wanting any bald spots.

The knitting probably took me a couple of days. The loop stitch looks complicated when you first try it but becomes second nature very quickly so I was able to knit in the garden while FB played without him being any the wiser.

Once the cap was complete I got to do what turned out to be the BEST BIT.

I cut all the loops and suddenly had hair in my hands.

Waldorf Doll - Hair (after cutting the loops)

(Cousin IT?)

After that it was just a case of fitting the cap to the head and sewing it down.

One of the things I love about this stitch is that tugging the hair actually tightens the stitch, so it should be able to handle being played with by a toddler. 🙂

Waldorf Doll - with hair and nappy

So there you go – I made a boy, with hair!

Waldorf Doll - with hair and nappy
Waldorf Doll - with hair and nappy

In conclusion – making shaggy doll hair is really not hard. It also didn’t take very long in the grand scheme of things. And it was fun.

And, personally I’m really happy with the results.

More soon.

- oky_katie 2 Comments

Tabs that I Can’t Seem to Take Off my Browser

In the lead up to the move (and No2’s arrival), various tabs have made a permanent (?) home on my browser.

I thought it might be fun to share them with you:

Peppermint Candy Cane Hat (Ravelry Link) – Yes, I want to knit this for No2. I think it could come in useful too, depending on how many drafts we manage to plug before October. Mind you this is on my list without having the yarn picked out of my stash (since I’m trying not to buy any new yarn for a bit.)

Oh Baby Baby Booties (Ravelry Link) – These have been in my ravelry queue since FB was small, but I’m determined to knit some for No2. They will be great for wearing on the little feet poking out from they carrier. With FB we were less prepared, and he had the boots from his snowsuit or just socks. Poor lamb.

PurlSoho homepage – They recently had a redesign and I just find the homepage really inspiring. I love the use of colour. I could sit and watch it for ages. (Not that I do. But you know…)

The Parenting Passageway: Transitioning the Only Child to Older Sibling, Even More about Transitioning the Only Child to Older Sibling, and
Siblings Are The Most Precious Gift – I really really love this site. There is a ton of information and support there even if you’re not planning to homeschool (we aren’t), or aren’t particularly interested in Waldorf education. It is my parenting happy place, and has definately shifted my life for the better. (And you can’t say fairer than that really.)

Soulmama: Fresh Corners and For this Busy Table of Ours – This reminds me of things I am working towards in our new home: a play kitchen corner (that the big christmas plan), a craft cupboard (given that both mine and FB crafting will happen here in our backroom), and a proper home for our preserves (turns out that in boxes in the garage wasn’t the best plan – bye bye very old forgotten jam. 🙁 )

Shivaya Naturals: A Circle of Stones – in the months leading up to FB’s birth, it became apparent to both W and I that I was looking at the people in my life, and working out who I could depend on. It caused me some heartache, but it was an important (if subconscious) thing to do as I moved closer and closer to an important new part of my life. It’s happening again, though to a much lesser degree, and so this piece is comforting to me right now.

BBC Weather – Shall I do the washing? What shall we do today? Best consult the weather.

Actually while I’m sharing links I read a great book which I would recommend to any British woman who is pregnant – Am I Allowed? by Beverley A Lawrence Beech, published by the Association for Improvements in the Maternity Services.  It’s only 112 pages long, but it’s packed full of information about your rights as a pregnant women, especially with regard to your care, and the say you have about your care. I wish I’d read it before I’d had FB.

Aims has some other great books that I wish I’d read before – including one on Induction which you can buy as a pdf download- very useful if you find yourself asked to make a decision within a limited time frame.

Hope that helps someone.

- oky_katie 2 Comments

Getting Ready for Christmas – Three Days of Squares Day 3/3

The final piece of Sunday sewing:

Getting Ready for Christmas - Taggy Blanket for No2

I wanted to make No2 their own Taggy Blanket, like FB has, given that he still plays with his sometimes, and it didn’t seem fair to hand it over to the baby.

Getting Ready for Christmas - Taggy Blanket for No2

(Again, please pretend that I found time to iron it – though in my defense, all my fabric is still in a moving box next to my desk/sewing table.)

I LOVE this fabric – it came from a scrap pack from Danielle Stewart – lovely lovely stuff. I managed to use the entire piece here.

The tiny scrap of edge I cut off to make it square I put on the back, with the fleece.

Getting Ready for Christmas - Taggy Blanket for No2

As before I added a button hole so that it can be strapped to the pram or the car seat. Very useful.

All in all, I’m really pleased with what I managed to get done. I only had a couple of hours or so during a nap to get them all made, and now No2 has three presents ready for their first Christmas. o/