At Christmas we love decorating our tree with ornaments that were purchased from our local church craft fair and throughout the years one dear lady has been gifting my family with miniature sweaters as ornaments.
I found a little book about how to make miniature sweaters in a yarn shop in Pt. Reyes Station and was so tickled to be able to knit them myself. They are adorable little things to give away any time of the year.
My miniature socks, hats, and sweaters have become quite the collectible items in my circle of friends. Sometimes it’s really funny when they open up the tiny package and find the miniature whatever, the puzzled looks on their faces crack me up. They say politely, “Oh it’s a tiny sweater, what do I do with it?” I just laugh and recommend they put it on a bottle of whiskey, to keep it warm naturally. They also make great drip catchers for wine, no more dirty tablecloths!
With the yarn left over from my Oakland Shawl I made a few sweaters. First I knitted the sweater body.
I divided the stitches to make the sweater back.
On the other needle I knitted the sweater front and the shoulders.
I sewed together the shoulders using the three needle bindoff.
Making the neckline is next, knitting the stitches left on the two needles plus picking up four on each shoulder.
It’s kind of messy looking at this point with all of the loose threads hanging about, but I just ignore this and begin to sew up the sides of the sweater. Everything at this point is done with the miniature sweater inside out.
When I divided the sweater for the front and back in natural armhole is created. In order to match the armhole on the other side I use my finger as a guide.
With the sweater body done I weave in the loose threads to tidy up the sweater,
The tiny sleeves are fun to make, just twelve stitches!
To sew the sleeves on the sweater body again I use my finger to hold the sleeve in place while I seam up the edges.
Ta da! A darling miniature sweater is done, perfect for any occasion. If only knitting a person-sized sweater was this easy.
The Kauni yarn gradually shifts colors going from orange to red, and I like the color variations in the miniature sweaters. I used a little bit of leftover sock yarn to make the third sweater.
Making these tiny things really cheers me up and so do the colors. I will probably be making more over the next few weeks.
The Inadvertent Redhead 