Three-Stripe Sweater for 18″ Dolls – Free Knitting Pattern

These sweaters were made to use up the little bits of grey, black and white I had left from other projects. I made these to sell, and I decided to write down the pattern while I was at it so I could post it here!

(At the time this post was written, the blue sweater is still available to purchase here.)

The body is knit flat, and the sleeves are knit in the round. There is a garter stitch button band all the way down the back (that you can either sew snaps onto or work buttonholes into) for easy dressing.

If you’re planning on making this for a doll with longer arms, like Maplelea, I suggest adding a few rounds to the sleeves.

Enjoy! If you make this sweater, feel free to send me a photo, I’d love to see!

---

Needles: 3.25mm straight needles and set of 4 or 5 dpns

Yarn: Loops & Threads Woolike (light fingering weight) in grey, black, white and a colour of your choosing

Gauge: 15 stitches and 19 rows in 2 inches.

Other: 3-5 snaps for the back, stitch holders (or waste yarn), stitch markers

PM = Place marker

---

In GREY, working on the collar:

1. cast on 76 sts using the long tail method (or whichever you prefer)
2. K1P1 rib 3 rows
3. K4, P10, PM, P12, PM, P24, PM, P12, PM, P10, K4. Make sure to always knit the first and last four stitches of every row on the body, to make a garter stitch band in the back for sewing snaps onto.

Switch to MAIN COLOUR to work on body:

1. Knit across, increasing on the stitch before and after each marker. (There are four stitch markers, so you will increase 8 times during each RS row)
2. K4, purl across to last 4, K4

• repeat those two rows once more, for a total of 4 purple rows.

Three-Stripe Portion:

1. knit across in BLACK, increasing before and after each marker
2. purl across in WHITE, knitting the first and last four stitches
3. knit across in WHITE, increasing before and after each marker
4. purl across in WHITE, knitting the first and last four stitches
5. knit across in BLACK, increasing before and after each marker
6. purl across in GREY, knitting the first and last four stitches
7. knit across in GREY, increasing before and after each marker
8. purl across in GREY, knitting the first and last four stitches
9. knit across in BLACK, increasing before and after each marker
10. purl across in WHITE, knitting the first and last four stitches
11. dividing for sleeves: in WHITE, knit to the first marker, cast on 2 sts, put all the sts from that marker to the next on holder. Knit across to third marker, cast on 2, put all the sts from that marker to the fourth on holder. Knit to end.
12. purl across in WHITE, knitting the first and last four stitches
13. knit across in BLACK (no more markers, so no more increases)

In MAIN COLOUR:

Work 24 more rows in stockinette, remembering to always knit the first and last four stitches.

In GREY, working on the bottom ribbing:

1. knit four, purl across to last 4, knit 4
2. K1P1 rib four rows
3. cast off

Sleeves (same for both):

1. in WHITE, use dpns to pick up the XXX sts from holder, and also pick up 4 more sts from underarm (where you cast on sts).
2. knit 1 round in WHITE
3. knit 1 round in BLACK
4. knit 29 rounds in MAIN COLOUR
5. knit 1 round in GREY
6. K1P1 rib 4 rounds in GREY
7. cast off loosely

Sew snaps on back, weave in ends, and you’re done!

---

Math Stuff for raglan portion:

 co + (r – 1)inc = sts

sts = number of sts you should have

co = number of sts you initially cast on (a constant number, in this case 76)

r  = number of increase row you’re on

inc = amount of increases in the row (a constant number, in this case 8)

Example:  You want to know how many stitches you should have after the first white increase row. It is the fourth increase row, because we increased twice in purple and once in black already. So:

co = 76

r = 4

inc = 8

and we’re solving for sts.

 co + (r – 1)inc = sts

76 + (4 – 1)8 = sts

76 + (3)8 = sts

76 + (4 – 1)8 = sts

76 + 24 = sts

100 = sts

You should have 100 stitches after this row. 🙂

This math stuff won’t work for everyone, but I find it useful when I realize that I’m not paying attention to what I’m doing and want to make sure I’m on track. Definitely not necessary to do though! Just wanted to include it in case anyone found it helpful.