At long last, I give you a pattern for a functional Pullip hoodie. Since I don’t own a Blythe doll (yet), I’m not sure how this will fit her (my suggestion would be to scale the needles up* a size; bonus points if you can use half sizes). You will need to know how to do a provisional cast on and graft stitches; the upside is that you will not have to sew the hood together with a bulky seam! If you plan on keeping the hood down for pictures, I would either recommend making a second “non-functional” hoodie (i.e. one with a proportional-sized hood) and one like this; if you have one of each then you can have some interesting pictures!
Although I do say that you need circular and double-pointed needles, there is no circular knitting and almost no sewing. Second, where I normally slip every first stitch of every row (with the exception of rows beginning with decreases), I’m not so sure that’s helpful here since you will be picking up stitches all the way around the front edge, and this particular can make that more difficult. Your edge stitches don’t have to look neat anyway since you will be hiding them! Finally, I did not include gauge (I almost never do; I knit normally, not loosely or tightly) because any gauge differences are going to be minute. If you knit especially loosely or tightly, you might consider changing your needle size up or down, but that may cause a drastic change in size; unless you can get your hands on half sizes (
Knitpicks has them; I shamelessly promote that site because they are AWESOME) then you might want to use a stretchy yarn like sock yarn and just block the crap out of the finished piece.
*Edit as of 10/4/11: It has come to my attention that Blythe dolls are larger than Pullips. This has been edited accordingly.
Pullip Hoodie (with functional hood)
Revised January 13, 2010
You will need:
- Circular needles (recommended length: 24”) – sizes 1 US, 2 US, and 3 US
- Double-pointed needles (set of 3): size 1 US
- Crochet hook, size F-5 US (if you do a provisional crochet cast on)
- Scissors & a ruler
- Blunt-tipped tapestry needle (I used one just larger than a #22; make sure yours isn’t too big or grafting and seaming will be a pain)
- Smooth (cotton) waste yarn for provisional cast on
- Snaps, hooks and eyes, or the closure or your choice
- Sock or sport weight yarn; used for example: Knitpicks Palette Fingering Weight (100% Peruvian highland wool, 231 yd/50g ball) in 2200 Fairy Tale
- A note about yarn: Pullip clothes are forgiving since, well, their owners will not be using them the same way a human does. Although I used a bit thicker cotton yarn here, your choices are almost limitless, as long as the yarn is thinner than sportweight. Sock yarn would be perfect; it’s going to end up a little smaller, but that is what blocking is for. Stretch sock yarn hoodies a little when you block them, and the stitches will open up nicely and drape well. This is a perfect end for that last odd ball of sock yarn you had leftover from the 2 ½ balls you used to knit dad’s socks for Christmas.
You will need to know:
Hoodie:
Provisionally cast on 50 stitches. This will be picked out later and you will knit the other way from the live stitches.
Using size 3 needles, knit for 3.25” straight in stockinette stitch.
Begin neck decreases (you will go from 50 sts to 25 sts):
Row 1: k2tog, (k6, k2tog) 6 times. 43 sts.
Row 2 and all even rows: P all sts.
Row 3: k1, (k5, k2tog) 6 times. 37 sts.
Row 5: k1, (k4, k2tog) 6 times. 31 sts.
Row 7: k1, (k3, k2tog) 6 times. 25 sts.
Change to smaller needles.
P 1 row, k 1 row, p 1 row.
Begin raglan increases (I've done the math for you so you don’t really need a marker; just be sure to concentrate and not lose count!):
(mkm) for this section means: m1, k1, m1
Row 1: k3, mkm, k4, mkm, k7, mkm, k4, mkm, k3.
Row 2 and all even rows: P all sts.
Row 3: k4, mkm, k6, mkm, k9, mkm, k6, mkm, k4.
Row 5: k5, mkm, k8, mkm, k11, mkm, k8, mkm, k5.
Row 7: k6, mkm, k10, mkm, k13, mkm, k10, mkm, k6.
Row 9: k7, mkm, k12, mkm, k15, mkm, k12, mkm, k6.
Setup for sleeves & body (slip all sts pwise):
Slip 9 sts onto smaller circular needle (if you are already knitting on the circular needle, just slip them to the other end).
Slip 14 sts onto size 1 DPN.
Slip 18 sts onto circular needle.
Slip 14 sts onto another size 1 DPN.
Slip 9 sts onto holder.
Work sleeves (stitches on DPNs) with the other end of the ball for the length desired; finished long-sleeves should be about 2.75” long. I ended with 1x1 ribbing for 2 rows, but you could switch to your trim color and do 2 rows in garter st for consistency. BO.
Body:
K all remaining sts onto one needle of your choice (I kept them on the circular). When you come to the gaps, k2tog with each stitch on either side on the gap to close them. K for length desired for body. Change to trim color after a p row, k2 rows, BO. Do NOT cut yarn; you will use it to transition to the edging (without having to weave in 2 extra ends). Hang on to the last stitch (I put it on a safety pin). You will now finish the hood.
Hood:
Change back to larger needle. Remove provisional cast-on yarn and pick up 50 live stitches.
Row 1: k all sts.
Row 2 and all even rows: p all sts.
Row 3: k 21, ssk, k4, k2tog, k to end.
Row 5: k 21, ssk, k2, k2tog, k to end.
Row 7: k 21, ssk, k2tog, k to end.
Purl one last row.
Setup for kitchener stitch (grafting): pull your needle cord through the middle of the stitches, so that you have half the stitches on one tip and the other half on the other tip. Hold the pieces wrong sides together; graft the stitches together. Adjust the tension of your stitches so they look like a regular knitted row and fasten off.
Edging:
Pick up that last stitch you left from the bound-off row. Using your medium needle now, pick up and knit stitches all the way around the front edge, from bound off edge around the front of the hood to the bound off edge on the other side. Be sure to pick up your stitches with the RIGHT side facing. I picked up one stitch every two rows for the sections knitted on the smaller needles and one stitch every row for the section knitted with the larger needles. K 2 rows and BO all sts.
Sew sleeve seams. Weave in all ends.
Block, using the wet method or the pin-and-spritz method, especially if you used cotton yarn. Sew on your closure. You’re done!
Embellishment ideas: I chose pink and green so that I could sew on black seed bead “seeds” and have a watermelon hoodie. Other ideas? Use a furry yarn for the trim for a snuggly anorak; sew bunny or kitty ears to the hood (or devil horns and a tail, if your dolly is so inclined); use a self-striping sock yarn or other patterned yarn for minimal effort. A cropped hoodie (shorten the body length) or cap-sleeved hoodie would be fun too (only knit a couple of rows for the sleeves and then bind off). Or go the other direction and make a knee-length hoodie for a glamorous look (or a boxer-style robe). The possibilities are limited only by your imagination!
