At least crop tops are in now, right??
So, one sweater complete and one still (yes) on the needles, and one of my best friends asks me if I can knit her some sweaters for her teddy bear. Lillian works at University of Wyoming as an assistant property manager, meaning she works a lot with students and resident assistants in on-campus housing. Her teddy bear lives at her desk as a friend to cuddle when students come to talk with her about anything, so Teddy needed six gender-neutral sweaters.
I'm pleased to say they're all finished and ready for delivery! I learned some important lessons along the way though that I wanted to share in case you, too, decide to make small sweaters for a stuffed animal!
1. Measurements needed: length of bodice (collar to waist), diameter of waist and length of arm
2. You can use needles larger than a size 2 to make small sweaters! I used sizes 5 and 7, found my gauge and went to work.
2a. New to knitting? Gauge is how many stitches, both across and up, are in a 4x4 square using
the needles and yarn you desire. Always use the larger size needle to get gauge!
3. Small sweaters = perfect way to use up some smaller balls of scrap yarn. I somehow managed to have the right amount of yarn for each of these and didn't have to go out and buy new skeins!
4. You will have to write your own pattern for these, because they're made specifically for a specific-sized stuffed animal. I adapted my human sweater pattern and reduced the amount of stitches that needed to be decreased in shoulder and neck shaping. This is going to take trial and error, but don't get "flustrated!" Remember if your sweater is a finished length of 3.5 inches, it's going to take at least half an inch to decrease and shape your shoulders on each panel. So measure to three inches and start decreasing until the armhole measures 0.5 inches, and then continue as the pattern directs.
5. Be creative! Not all sweaters have to be long-sleeved or solid colors. I played around with what Lillian requested and made two shorter-sleeve sweaters as well as two varsity sweaters in addition to the traditional long-sleeve. And on those I did colorwork because I'm cool like that.
Need help creating your tiny sweater pattern? Shoot me a message from our Contact Page!