christmas craftin' part one

Oh my goodness, I am so far behind in the blogosphere that I haven't even shared the Christmas crafting.  A limited amount of Christmas handmades go out from these parts, and only to those whom I know will really really appreciate the time gone into them. Nothing worse than pouring love and time into creating something special as a gift for a littlie only to discover it's never used or appreciated, or worse seen as second rate because it is "homemade".

Anyway, this little poppet appreciates handmade, and her mum certainly does too.  

Can you believe that the Rainbow Dress pattern has been around for two years and I've never knit Tully one? I've knit her little sister one, but not her!!!!  Issue now resolved.

This is knit in some Utiku yarn that I bought many many years ago to knit Tully some longies.  The fact that Tully is now five and a half might give you some idea of how long this yarn has been languishing in my stash.  I used a couple of balls of Patons Merino Totem DK for the bodice and lace hemline.

The girls got Australian Girl Dolls  for Christmas, and so I decided that Tully's obviously needed a matching dress.  This is a complete doll size version of the new Rainbow Dress pattern.  I do think it is a bit cute!!!!

And to give you some idea of sizing and the importance of negative ease. Note how the dress fits on Tully, it is form fitting around the bodice yet still comfortable. That's because I followed the pattern's fitting notes (ok so I did write them) and chose the sizing based on her chest size NOT her age.  Tully has a 20 inch chest so I knit her the 20 inch size even though she is five. Had I knit her the chest size corresponding to the approximate size five, it would be too big.

My patterns are designed around the standard sizing as set out by Yarn Standards. Writing patterns to those standards is useful for me for if I ever try to get my patterns published elsewhere. They're also useful for knitters for designers to try and get some uniformity in sizing.

So yep, standard sizing even though most kids don't seem to be standard sizes.

christmas craftin' part two to follow .... soon, I promise!