Tinas Kinda Simple Guide to Resizing Knitting Patterns

From Human-Size to Resin-Size!

Its All In the Math

First, a very important disclaimer: I am not an expert in resizing patterns, and in fact, Im still learning a lot about all things related to knitting including how to resize a pattern. However, I do have an elementary understanding of how to knit something that fits using some of the math involved in resizing patterns that I want to share with you. Hopefully, the bits and pieces I know can help get you started on your very own knitting adventure. For more expert instructions, try these sites instructions and tutorials: } Knitty } Knitting Daily } Sizing Knitting Patterns } Elann.com

Gauge
If I knew that knitting involved so much math, I would have picked a different hobby! ~a classmate in my Fresh City Life knitting class

Its something most knitters hate to do, but it really makes a HUGE difference in the results of all your hard work knitting a test swatch to figure out the gauge. This usually means taking your yarn and your needles and knitting a patch of fabric about 4 inches by 4 inches in a simple stockinette stitch and then measuring the stitches running horizontally and vertically to come up with the following: ____ stitches = 1 inch ____ rows = 1 inch

Actually, Theres More To It

But its actually more involved than that, but in a nutshell its about the stitches and rows. Technically, you should knit and measure at least 4 inches by 4 inches so you find out how many stitches it takes using your specific yarn, needles, and knitting tension to make 4 inches of fabric, , but for dolls, I find that 1 inch X 1 inch is close enough. There may be some variations from inch to inch due to your knitting tension (i.e. how tightly or loosely you tend to knit) and characteristics of the yarn itself, so knitting 3 or 4 or 5 inches can help reveal those variations and you can average the number of stitches it takes to knit 1 inch by 1 inch of fabric. People knit at different tensions and that is why one person who uses size X needles and brand Y yarn comes out with a totally different size swatch than someone else using the exact same needles and yarn.

Tinas Way
By the way, I should probably mention that I have a tendency to take a human pattern and just start knitting it with finer yarns and thinner needles than called for. After a couple of days of knitting, I quit kidding myself and accept that the item is going to be too big. But then instead of ripping it out and starting over, Ill rub my hands together and with an evil laugh Ill take a ruler and start measuring the thing. See? I usually try to get out of knitting a test gauge and then end up having to salvage the pitiful results of my laziness. Hah!

Other things to consider before measuring your test swatch is how heavy your finished garment going to be because longer items weights means that gravity will pull down your knitted garment and this may shorten how many stitches to the inch that youll need. I just learned this from a cape that Im knitting for his doll. My test garment came out longer than he wanted, but it draped beautifully and all. The shorter (by 3.5 inches) length that he wants means it doesnt drape the same, and suddenly I need to do what Chanel used to do and sew lead or chain weights to the hem to make up the difference. Its a bit too convoluted to explain in this tutorial, but how heavy your finished garment is going to be impacts your swatch in that you should weigh your swatch down to match the finished weight and THEN measure the vertical and horizontal stitches.

To Block or Not To Block

Additionally, you should block your swatch before measuring it if youre going to block your finished product. That way you wont knit something that fits beautifully fresh off the needles , but when you block your item it turns into something horrifyingly big enough to fit a Cabbage Patch Kid doll. I usually dont bother to block my test swatch because I dont block the finished item when I knit.
(Then again, my doll knits are not as beautiful as other talented knitters who make clothes for dolls, so maybe I should stop being so lazy! One day I will go through all that trouble, but for now, approximately works well enough. Hey, Im still learning, give me a break!)

Helpful Reading is Knittys Swatch Out article or Mary Smiths Understanding Knitting Gauge.

After you finish knitting your test swatch, count how many stitches there are in an inch of that swatch . If youre more of a perfectionist than I am and want to count more than 1 inch (say 2 or 3), you can figure out the average number of stitches to the inch (i.e. if there is 30 stitches in 3 inches, you can see that there are 10 stitches in 1 inch. That is, 30 3 = 10).

Count how many rows are in an inch. Perfectionists you can go ahead and count more than 1 inch (say 2 or 3) and let us know if you can figure out the average number of rows to the inch (i.e. if there is 15 rows in 3 inches, you can see that there are 5 rows in 1 inch. That is, 15 3 = 5)

Now What?
Ok, say youve knit your swatch with the yarn and needles you want to use. Now you should have some numbers ready for that formula mentioned earlier. For example, Ive used Knit Picks Alpaca Cloud yarn on US000 needles and found that I have to knit approximately: 14 stitches = 1 inch 6 rows = 1 inch Write this down on a piece of paper youll be consulting it OFTEN.

Doing Math All Night Long

Next, whip out your calculator along with your measuring tape, because youre going to be taking a wild trip down memory lane right back into Mr. Branstons 7th grade Algebra class.

Good: Dolls Measurements

With the measuring tape you want to take your lucky* dolls measurements. I typically look for the following: } Circumference around upper torso (bust) underneath the arms. } Circumference around waist } Circumference around upper hips } Length from neck/shoulder to armpit } Length of arm from shoulder to the point where you want the sleeves to end } Length from shoulder to point around waist/hip area where you want the sweater to end } Circumference around neck or where the neckline is going to be Theres a bunch of other measurements that you may find you need to take depending on the pattern, but these are good ones to start with.
*Lucky cuz she/hes going to be getting her/his very own knitted jumper by yours truly no, not yours as in ME, but yours as in YOU!

Better: Your Dolls Best-Fitting Sweaters Measurements

Every doll has a sweater (or a t-shirt or some top) that fits beautifully. You could just measure THAT to figure out the math that will produce the best fitting sweater for that specific doll. Its a lot easier to measure a sweater than a slippery resin doll that doesnt want to sit still. Lay the sweater flat and measure the front across the bust and multiply it by 2 to get the circumference. Do the same for the waist. Measure the sweater from the shoulder to the hem and then measure the sleeves from the shoulder to the hem. And there you have it! The measurements for the perfect sweater for your beloved doll!

On With the Math

Lets say that your dolls upper torso/bust measurement is 9.5 inches. Taking your numbers from your test gauge, you will multiply the number of STITCHES per inch in your swatch by 9.5 inches (example: 14 X 9.5 = 133 stitches) this is how many stitches that youll need on your needles to knit a fabric big enough to fit your dolls chest. Likewise, if the total length of the sweater needs to be 7 inches long , then youre going to multiple 7 inches by the number of ROWS in an inch from your swatch (example: 7 X 6 = 42 Rows). Brilliantly simple, yes?

Uh Oh!
However, things can get pretty complicated pretty fast! If the waist measures 8.5 inches, then youre going to need only 119 stitches by the time you get to the waist line youll need to DECREASE the number of stitches from 133 to 119 if you want a fitted sweater. If its 3.5 inches to the waistline from the bustline, you multiply 3.5 inches by the number of ROWS it takes to knit 1 inch (3.5 x 6 = 21 rows). So somewhere within the 21 rows of knitting between the bustline and the waistline, you need to lose 14 stitches (133-119=14). Unless you want your sweater to look like someone tied a string tightly around the waist line, youll want to decrease these 14 stitches evenly on both sides, and gradually down each row.

Whoa MORE Monkeys!

Yeah, you knew it was too good to be that simple, right? Well, its partially, maybe even mostly true. But theres all these lovely little variables that can throw a monkey wrench into your work such as:
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Intricate cables or lace or other design stitches will require that your test swatch has the same cables and lace and design stitches because cables and lace and other design stitches may contract or expand your swatch in very unexpected ways. That 16 stitches to the inch that you knit in stockinette in your test gauge is useless if youre trying a patterned knit because 16 stitches in stockinette is wider than 16 stitches in a cable stitch. Much wider.

WMM, cont.
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Knitwear designers LOVE to concoct complex instructions that means youll have to practically cook your brain down to the stem in order to figure out how your new numbers fit into the scheme of things. Things like increase stitches evenly by 23 which may have made sense when you were knitting a human sweater, but suddenly makes NO sense if youre knitting for a doll and 23 stitches in your yarn would add like 5 inches to your dolls sweater which was fitting beautifully up until that point. . I really dont have an answer to that. I sometimes spend days stumped by those instructions before I figured it out, or figured something else out to substitute for the written instructions. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesnt. Its all about my knitting skills, which isnt as advanced as some may think. Some day these things will make sense, but right now I havent figured it out yet. Thank Goodness for the Internet and Google, right?

WMM, cont.
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Necklines that stretch when knit in human-sized sweaters doesnt always work so well when knit doll-sized because our dolls heads are sometimes rather big. I almost always have to re-figure necklines. It isnt fun yet. Maybe someday it will be Hand openings ditto. Fitted sweaters are great unless you have rigid, unyielding, and inflexible resin limbs. Nuff said. Lots and lots of other things that you dont think of until youre all done with your labor of love and are unsucessfully trying to put something on your doll. Hindsight is such a pain sometimes!

Human Patterns
Ok, on to human patterns. Pick up a copy of Interweave Knits or some other knitting magazine or a knit book from the library, and youll find some really gorgeous sweaters that youd love to knit for your dolly. But you see that its going to be HUMONGUOUS on your doll if you knit it according to how its written. You need to do some resizing, and that will require the test swatch and all that fun math stuff. Most of the time there will also be a very handy and simple diagram of the sweater in your book or magazine. Sometimes there will also be some measurements printed on it.

Draw or trace that diagram onto a sheet of paper, and then simply swap your dolls measurement (or your dolls Perfect Sweaters measurements) for the ones printed on the pattern. This will give you a visual guide as to what youre going to be knitting. Next, take the pattern and swap out the number of stitches needed to create your dolls sweater from all that math you did previously for the ones printed in the pattern. For example, the human sweater might say CO 180 stitches. You know that at 14 stitches to the inch you wont need that many. If your dolls hem (most sweaters are knit from the bottom up) only requires 11.5 stitches, then youll only need to cast on 161 stitches. Pretty cool, huh?!

Thats All I Have, Folks

So, thats all the wisdom that I can share about resizing things for your doll. It isnt the whole story and Im sure Im missing some important things, and it may not even be 100% correct, but its a start, and it works for me (so far). Hope this information is helpful for you or will at least give you a renewed appreciation for all those talented knitters out there that makes INCREDIBLE knitwear for our dolls. I know Im still very much in awe! Remember, its a lot of work, a labor of love. I dont know how everyone else feels, but I love it and Ive committed 2011 to be all about Adventures in Knitting! Happy Knitting to You All! ~Tinooseus! (aka Tina, Ms. Moser, Tinoose, Hana Soahs mom....)