Tuesday, April 2, 2013

Molly McIntyre Sweater

The American Girl bug is going around our house and our oldest is in love with her doll Molly. Unfortunately, you can't buy an outfit to match the historical dolls. And that is all she really, really wanted for her birthday. So here is my adaptation of the dolls sweater.



Materials:
Size 7 circular needles
Lion Brand Wool-ease worsted weight three skiens Navy, one Ranch Red, one Avacado
yarn needle

I used a basic raglan pattern based on Paton's Classic Wool's Family Raglan Sweatshirt for the sweater. The doll sweater is cut and sewn, but we made the raglan front and adapted the pattern to work. The pattern is written in size 4 with changes for sizes 6, 8, & 10 in parenthesis

Sleeves (make 2):
Using navy yarn, cast on 33 (35, 35, 37) stitches. Work 1 1/2 inches in K2, P2 (first row, K1, *P2, K2* repeat from *) ribbing ending on a reverse side row. Next row knit entire row increasing 4 stitches evenly across. 37 (39, 39, 41) stitches total.

Knit in stocking stitch increasing 1 stitch at each end on the 5th and following 6th (4th, 6th, 4th) rows until there are 53 (47, 45, 67) stitches.
For sizes 6 & 8: increase 1 stitch on each end of the needle on every following 6th row until there are (61, 63) stitches
All sizes: continue in stocking stitch until the sleeve measures 10 1/2 (12 1/2, 14, 15 1/2) inches  ending with a right side row.

Shape Raglan: Cast off 2 stitches at the beginning of the next two rows.
1st row: (K1, P1) twice S1, K1, psso. Knit to the last 6 stitches. K2tog, (P1,K1) twice
2nd row: (P1, K1) twice, P2tog purl to the last 6 stitches, P2tog, (K1, P1) twice
3rd row: Repeat 1st row.
4th row: (P1, K1) twice, purl to last 4 stitches (K1, P1)
Repeat these 4 rows 0 (2, 1, 2) times

Continue to shape raglan as follows:
1st row: (K1, P1) twice S1, K1, psso. Knit to the last 6 stitches. K2tog, (P1,K1) twice
2nd row: (P1, K1) twice, purl to last 4 stitches (K1, P1)
Repeat these rows until there are 7 (7, 9, 9) stitches remaining. Place remaining stitches on a stitch holder and set aside.
Back:

With navy yarn, cast on 72 (78, 84, 88) stitches. Work in K2, P2 ribbing for 1 1/2 inches ending in a reverse side row. Work in stocking stitch for 8 1/2 (9 1/4, 10 1/2, 11 1/2) inches ending with a right side facing for the next row.

Shape raglan:
Cast off 2 stitches at the beginning of the next 2 rows.
1st row: (K1, P1) twice S1, K1, psso. Knit to the last 6 stitches. K2tog, (P1,K1) twice
2nd row: (P1, K1) twice, P2tog purl to the last 6 stitches, P2tog, (K1, P1) twice
3rd row: Repeat 1st row.
4th row: (P1, K1) twice, purl to last 4 stitches (K1, P1)
Repeat these 4 rows 0 (0, 1, 1) times
Continue to shape raglan as follows:
 1st row: (K1, P1) twice S1, K1, psso. Knit to the last 6 stitches. K2tog, (P1,K1) twice
2nd row: (P1, K1) twice, purl to last 4 stitches (K1, P1)
Repeat these rows until there are 26 (28, 30, 32) stitches remaining. Place remaining stitches on a stitch holder and set aside.

Front (this panel with be significantly less stretchy, so it is knit with extra stitches):

Using navy yarn, cast on 82 (88, 94, 98) stitches. Work in K2, P2 rib for 1 1/2 inches, ending with a wrong side row.

Using the following chart, work pattern across stitches (don't worry if you end mid-pattern). Work pattern in stocking stitch (Knit across front, purl across back) for 8 1/2 (9 1/4, 10 1/2, 11 1/2) inches ending with a right side facing for the next row.

Shape raglan (still using chart):
Cast off 2 stitches at the beginning of the next 2 rows.
1st row: (K1, P1) twice S1, K1, psso. Knit to the last 6 stitches. K2tog, (P1,K1) twice
2nd row: (P1, K1) twice, P2tog purl to the last 6 stitches, P2tog, (K1, P1) twice
3rd row: Repeat 1st row.
4th row: (P1, K1) twice, purl to last 4 stitches (K1, P1)
Repeat these 4 rows 0 (0, 1, 1) times
Continue to shape raglan (still working pattern) as follows:
 1st row: (K1, P1) twice S1, K1, psso. Knit to the last 6 stitches. K2tog, (P1,K1) twice
2nd row: (P1, K1) twice, purl to last 4 stitches (K1, P1)
Repeat these rows until there are 36 (38, 40, 42) stitches remaining. Place remaining stitches on a stitch holder and set aside.

Place the pieces on the circular needle as follows with right sides facing: sleeve, front, sleeve, back. Starting with sleeve/back seam, begin working stitches in a K2, P2 rib. Work 1 inch and cast off loosely. Turn inside out, sew all seams together and work in ends.



 










5 comments:

  1. Thank you for sharing this. Molly was the choice for my daughter, now age 29! Looks a bit like my daughter, and had GLASSES.

    You are a great mom.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thank you for this! My daughter just got a Molly doll & immediately asked if I could knit her a Molly sweater. I can't wait to pick up the yarn for this!

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  3. As insane as it sounds, I'm 22 years old and into costuming and a group of friends and I are trying to make as many of the classic American Girl historical character costumes as possible. Molly was always my favorite so I've been looking for an adult-sized pattern for her sweater. I think I'll be able to manage it if I use the pattern you provided for the argyle and probably the Patton's raglan pattern! Do you have any other tips?

    ReplyDelete
  4. It should work - that is basically the same thing I did. Just keep an eye around the raglan decreases to make the pattern work. That was the trickiest part. Good luck!

    ReplyDelete
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