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Knitting for Dolls

Let the weeds take over the garden. Call for pizza delivery because the kitchen is closed. I just found Steph Wylie on Ravelry. This is a screen shot of some of her designs!

Doll Clothes

Doll Clothes

Although I haven’t looked at them, I don’t think 2 year olds need an American Girl Doll, but that doesn’t mean a 2  year old’s granny can’t start making a whole wardrobe for an 18″ doll so that some day Addie will have the best dressed doll ever and maybe even some matching sweaters.

A Google search for 18″ dolls reveals that there are lesser expensive 18″ dolls but even so, Addie isn’t quite ready for hand knitted sweaters for her dolls but this granny is so ready to start making those kinds of things. 

Do any of you have experience with the lesser expensive 18″ dolls? I’m sure eventually Addie will have an American Girl Doll but there’s something inside me that screams NO at paying that price for a doll but yet, that voice inside is completely silent when I spend that much on yarn to make one sweater . . maybe the meds are affecting my brain!  🙂

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Comments

  1. I don’t knit at the moment but I bought this for a friend who does and who has new twin gd’s. Really cute stuff

  2. Have bought 3 18″ non-American style dolls. No problems with them. Haven’t knitted any clothes but have sewn a bunch.

    JudyWhittaker

  3. Don’t wait! Get started immediately! It doesn’t matter if Addie has an 18″ doll yet. The window of time during which a girl plays with these dolls is roughly equivalent to grammar school. My daughter just turned 12 and is far more interested in fashion for herself than her doll. While she won’t be getting rid of her doll (Kit), she really doesn’t play with her any more, and all her cousins are older than she is.

  4. When she’s old enough, and if the money isn’t the problem, spend it and buy an AG doll. They are truly lovely. Sometimes you can find them at garage sales at much reduced prices, too.

    If you want to sew for the doll, Liberty Jane doll patterns are charming, and not terribly hard.

    http://www.pixiefaire.com/collections/18-inch-doll-clothes-patterns

    I did this for our 2 older girl grands, and had such fun sewing and knitting the patterns. The almost 12-year old is now displaying her dolls rather than playing with them, but she still loves them. The 10 year old is still into them, I think.

  5. Whoops, I forgot to mention Bitty Baby or the little twins. They are very small child friendly and a great way to begin.

  6. I gave both of my granddaughters a “practice” doll – Madame Alexander 18″. They had to prove that they could take care of it, especially the hair, before they could have an American Girl doll. Any doll is good at first. After they start school – or have a cousin with one – only an American Girl doll that looks like them will work. Start knitting now. Bitty Baby’s are good for an earlier doll.

  7. My grands were probably 7 or 8 when they got AG dolls. They were the last dolls and are the keepsake dolls even though they were well played with. If you want to knit and sew for them it would be great to start now, otherwise it is like having a new child to provide for. I didn’t knit, but my daughter and I both sew clothes. My husband made beds and desks. W made canopies and bedding. We found generic trunks for storing dolls and clothes. We have Samantha who looks just like one grand and I don’t remember the book character for the other one. Blonde with blue eyes. They also have a set of the books for each one. I was an elementary school librarian!

  8. There is always the possibility your gd won’t be interested in the AG dolls. Mine did not want one and tho she did play with dolls some, not nearly as much as a stuffed dog she became attached to. I was disappointed some, but I was okay with it. Her puppy was precious and we made clothes for it. Yes, dresses, shirts, pillows and quilts.

  9. Judy: i got my granddaughter the 18″ doll from Target ( she’s 4) because I wanted to make doll clothes and knit doll sweaters. 🙂 When she is old enough maybe an AG but $24 was better yhan $ 110 so gramma could have her way. Haha

  10. Some of my grands have cheaper versions, and some have the actual AG dolls w trips to the store and parties….What ever!

  11. Your granddaughter is close enough to visit the AG store in St Louis! Then there is Chicago. Anything you make will be made with love. My granddaughter had the generic Target dolls and furniture first. I didn’t like seeing AG on their Christmas wish lists but I will say the furniture is well made.

  12. I have purchased dolls, not AM girl ones but the ones from kohl’s ( http://www.kohls.com/product/prd-1427132/Dollie-Me-Blonde-Floral-Dollie.jsp?pfm=rrrecs-pdp-hor ) and made doll clothes for four of my gd’s when they were 4-6 years old, two of them loved it, the other two could care less. My dd had an AM girl doll when she was about 10, she was too old by then. I had fun making the clothes and giving them to the girls. I was discouraged when they liked the clothes that came on the doll the best!

  13. My girls have My Generation dolls from Target. They are the same size and good quality. It worked fine until they realized they “weren’t the real thing”! Ugh! Marketers drive me nuts!

  14. I got an American Girl “Bitty Baby” for my 1st granddaughter when she was about 3. I had a cradle made and made a quilt to match the one I made my granddaughter. The head of cradle was painted with flowers to match the quilt. I bought and made a number of clothes. This all sounds great, but she and her younger sister did not care a thing about dolls! So poor Bitty Baby has been played with very little…mostly just undressed and forgotten. So if Addie shows no interest in dolls you might be better off finding what she does like and go from there! Mine both are horse lovers, so paying for riding lessons was a much better gift for them even if it did not involve much sewing. I did make “horse” quilts for them!

  16. “Santa” brought my first daughter a set of Bitty Baby twins for Christmas when she was two. I bought the twins off of craigslist for $40. We are family with a SAHP, and I wanted to be sure my kids still had a few things like their peers.

    My first daughter is now almost 7 and does not play with the twins much, having moved on to the 18″ AG dolls.

    My second daughter is now 2, and is starting to play with them.
    The dolls are still in quite good condition, and I have been very pleased with the quality.

    My first daughter is requesting clothing so she and her 18″ doll match.

  17. All three of my girls LOVED their AG dolls. And I had fun sewing and knitting clothes for all of them.
    I will say my girls were very much into dolls and imaginative play so the price was worth it. Everything will get passed down to their kids eventually. For kids who are not into doll play, or who don’t take care of their toys, they might be a bit much. (I’m waiting to see where my niece falls.)
    Doll clothes are nice and small and easy to finish!

  18. Ditto the previous comments…Grandma bought my daughter a Bitty Baby when she was 2 or 3, and it wasn’t played with much. She got the AG doll when she was 6 and she is finally at the age where they are played with, unless it’s a Barbie day! I have many of those patterns queued and I’d better get started since this phase seems to be short, LOL.

  19. You’re a goner now! Both my grandgirls had American Girl dolls and played with them for years. I wasn’t knitting at the time but I was sewing – there are some darling patterns for the doll clothes. Hope you’re feeling better. Take care and happy knitting.

  20. Because an American Girl doll was out of the budget, I bought my daughter one of the Target 18″ dolls when she was 2 or 3 years old and she promptly named her “Knee — like the part of your leg.” I still haven’t figured that out. Knee, unlike any other doll in our house, managed to survive my girl AND her three younger brothers. So I’ve got no complaints about the quality (which may have changed in the past decade.)

    I know that Jo Kramer and her adult daughters have real AG dolls and good things to say about them.

    Looking at those Ravelry pictures makes me want to rescue Knee from the attic, clean her up, and knit a wardrobe…. Maybe my niece has an 18 inch doll or her mommy plans to get her one soon…

  21. Thank you for finding these patterns. Just so happens I have been thinking of knitting for AG doll as both my granddaughters have one. Thanks again

  22. Yep, Bitty Baby is better for younger girls. Even at ages 7 and 8, the girls do not know how to care for the hair of the larger dolls, and that is a lot of work for mom to keep it untangled! But, the messy hair usually means the doll is loved and played with. AND, it is such fun to make clothes for the dolls!

    My daughter is 18; she has 14 large dolls and two bitty babies. (I bought only one of them…the rest she has purchased either at an AG store, bid and won on ebay, found at yard sales, and some even rescued from Goodwill! One of those was sporting a very sad haircut; I evened it to a cute, short, easy-care haircut for the now wheelchair-bound doll!) She has them on display in her room, and she changes the clothes with the seasons. She loves to watch videos online and do different hairstyles. Some girls absolutely love them and will be enamored with them for life.

  23. Some girls don’t like dolls. My daughter was one of them. She liked stuffed animals and Legos.

  24. I bought a real AG doll in anticipation of my first granddaughter’s birth. She didn’t like dolls. Go figure! I put it on a shelf. When granddaughter #2 arrived, the AG doll had been joined by several from the Goodwill or Target. The dolls now get played with ALL the time. They have an extensive wardrobe of items sewn and knit by me. The quality is very comparable across the ones I have. The only difference I can see is that the bodies may be stuffed a little differently and the legs might be skinnier in one that in another. The big three pattern companies carry a line of patterns for clothes that fit most. The sweaters I knit can also work on Bitty Baby type dolls. In my mind, no child needs a $100 doll. They all ‘play’ the same.

  25. My granddaughter is 19. She had a corner of her room set up with AG dolls and furniture until she was 14. She played with them until she was about 13 and they were all loved! She got bitty baby first when she had a little brother. She graduated to a Target 18″ doll that probably stayed together for a year before the hair began to disintegrate. Altho that didn’t cost much I wouldn’t buy one again. The AG dolls’ hair stays nicer by far. They are worth the investment if the child likies to play with dolls. Go for the bitty baby first! Lots of fun there too.

  26. I gave my daughter Molly as a 2nd grader. she took good care of her. The year before she got a doll with hair that she had to take reasonable care of to prove she would take good care of Molly. Her leg or arm came off ( it just happened not from abuse) and we sent Molly to the doll hospital, she came back good as new. Gramma gave her Felicity when she was a 3rd or 4th grader along with the AG trip to Colonial Williamsburg. It was a wonderful trip. I was not knitting then but I did sew both dolls lots of wonderful clothes.
    A friend has 3 daughters the older 2 had AG dolls that they got at 9 or 10, when the youngest was 4 or 5 she asked for one and was told she had to wait but she said if I have to wait that long I won’t be able to play dolls with my sisters. Great argument and she good the doll.
    I will start knitting dolls clothes as soon as I have a grand daughter.
    Ann

  27. We have gotten the Our Generation doll from Target for our granddaughters. made a mattress, bottom sheet, top sheet 4 pillows and pillow cases, several doll quilts. I just got done making a slew of clothes, ready to send this weekend. I found a simple crochet sweater pattern online and made like 4 of them in different sizes. Most of the time all the sewing patterns will fit the Our Generation doll, some will be a bit big and only a time or too they came out too small. For those who would play with any 18″ doll, it’s all about the clothes and assessories. Places like Jo Anne Fabrics has patterns on sale at times for like $1.00. I got done making a jeans jacket…it’s so darn cute. I had a Crissy and Velvet doll when I was their ages. Anyone remember them? You pushed a button in the stomach and pulled on their hair and it grew? LOL gosh I’m old!!!!! There is a website called ana-white.com and she has 18″ doll bed directions DIY and a darling DIY horse stable. We’re going to try to make that for the kiddies hopefully soon. Lots of fun!

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