Miniature Knitting: Which Thread to Use

I learnt to knit when I was 7 years old but only discovered miniature knitting some 15 years later. I came across a miniature knitting kit in a gift shop which consisted of what can only be described as hat pins to serve as needles and some thread of indeterminate type. Excited by the idea of knitting a tiny teddy, I set to work. Let's just say that although the teddy did get knitted in the end, the equipment/materials provided made the whole experience something of a struggle and I very nearly gave up in disgust on the whole concept of miniature knitting.

People who don't know me say I must be very patient to make miniatures. People who do know me know that patience is very far from being one of my virtues; stubborn, on the other hand, is a word that describes me very well. And it was my stubborn streak alone which saw that first teddy into existence.

I can still feel the points of those "needles" sticking into my finger ends and drawing blood with every stitch. A certain amount of pressure is required to effect a K2tog and I winced every time the pattern required this. Which it did. A lot. The horrid scratchy thread seemed to be made of several strands of fibre which had absolutely no give in it at all and kept splitting, making it difficult to knit even the simplest row of the pattern. The more I struggled, the stickier my hands got and the more difficult it became to get anywhere at all. But, eventually, Bear was finished. Scarred (literally!) by the whole experience, I was determined that he would be an Only Bear and that he would just have to get used to it.

But then I went to my very first Dolls House Fair and saw knitting needles for sale with points which didn't involve me knitting into the front and back of my index finger as well as every stitch. I resolved that perhaps Bear might like a sibling after all (he had such a sad and lonely expression on his little face...) and decided to have another go using acrylic thread, the "wool" that is widely available for sale at dolls house fairs.

This was better, in that I didn't bleed all over my work this time. But I still found the yarn difficult to work with. Stitches have a tendency to split and the overall effect is quite stiff and  "woolly". Which is fine if that is the effect you want, but I found a lot of the detail of my knitting was lost amongst the general wooliness. At my second dolls house fair I discovered cotton tatting thread and, in conjunction with the decent needles (from Meadowcroft Miniatures), everything fell into place....

I now use a selection of different threads, depending on the project. Some of these are pictured above.

My thread of choice for most of my work is DMC 80 tatting cotton (shown here in rose pink). It comes in fairly good range of colours, although most of the darker colours they used to manufacture have now been discontinued. It can also be obtained in a finer thread, DMC 100, but this is only available in ecru and white. It knits up smoothly and the stitches in a pattern are well-defined in the finished fabric, a bonus in lace patterns. The finished garment/item can be washed in a weak solution of biological washing powder if required and the nap doesn't rub up.

A good alternative to DMC is Anchor Mercer Crochet 80 (Fil a Dentelle). An example is shown in the photo in yellow. It comes in a good range of colours and I often mix DMC 80 with Anchor 80 in fair isle/intarsia patterns to good effect as its qualities are, to me, indistinguishable.

The green thread shown in the picture is sold at dolls house fairs as an equivalent to DMC and Anchor. It is a Turkish cotton and the label says "Oren Bayan Solmaz Dantel Ipligi 70". I have to say that, although I love the fabulous range of colours this thread comes in, I don't find it comparable to these threads at all. For a start, it is, to me, a finer thread, so it throws my guauges out when I am knitting things which need to be a certain size. It also has a tendency to knot while knitting and is far less easy to disentangle than DMC or Anchor; often it snaps while you're trying so you're left with yet another end to darn in when it comes to making up your work. Although it knits up finely and produces a nice soft fabric, I do find that it has a tendency to rub up a little if you're not careful. I tend to launder all my finished work but I try to avoid doing so if I have used this thread so that it doesn't rub up still more. That said, I do still work with this yarn simply because of the wonderful range of colours but find that it doesn't mix particularly well with DMC or Anchor in fair isle/intarsia designs.

The cream ball of yarn is another thread made by Anchor; Pearl Cotton or Coton Pearle. It is a much thicker yarn than those previously described and is sold in larger 10g balls (the finer threads come in 5g balls). It comes in a very good range of colours and knits up beautifully with a lovely lustre to the finished fabric (hence the pearl). It is widely available in needlework shops and not just at specialist fairs. Because of its relative thickness I would only really use this for blankets using size 18 needles - but it does then have the advantage of growing quickly.

Another Anchor thread is the skein of embroidery floss shown here in a salmon colour. It is 100% cotton and some patterns call for you to use two strands of it. I avoid this if possible. Not because the results aren't acceptable but I find it irksome having to first of all separate out and wind the strands onto a bobbin and secondly having to effectively knit two together with every stitch....Did I mention that I am impatient as well as stubborn?!

The large, partial, bobbin of thread shown in navy blue is actually machine sewing thread. I'm not sure whether it's pure cotton or a cotton/synthetic mix. It comes in huge bobbins in a massive range of colours and knits up quite nicely. It's equivalent to knitting with the Anchor 80 or DMC 80. I use it occasionally when I cannot source the correct colour in my preferred thread. It is expensive to buy full spools (generally I only use small amounts of yarn in a miniature project), but if you have a supply of it available to you (mine comes from a friend's mother in law when she has bobbin-ends left over from a project) it can be an economical option.

Some patterns call for the use of one ply cotton such as the small bundle shown in red. I buy mine from Jan's Minis at dolls house fairs; she can supply a wide range of lovely colours. It knits up nicely and produces a nice soft fabric, but I do find it somewhat thicker than the DMC 80/Anchor 80 yarns so it affects size-ings (unless a pattern specifically requires its use) and won't combine with the 80-guauge threads successfully. I keep mentioning this because, unless a yarn will combine sucessfully with another brand, you are left with no option in multi-coloured designs but to buy all the colours you need in that particular yarn. This can get rather expensive. And when you own as much thread as I do, storing your stash can also be a problem (basically if it won't fit in my wardrobe then I can't have it!).

Finally, the spool of purple thread is pure silk thread made by Gutermann. It is widely available in needlework shops in a wonderful range of colours. Although not as cheap as some of the alternatives given above, a single spool will last a long time. It is a finer thread which knits up beautifully into a lovely fabric which drapes and hangs well. It has a fine sheen to it and is particularly suited to lace knitting and 1/24 scale knitting. I use it a lot in miniature crochet.

At the end of the day, every knitter will have his/her own preference. For those new to or struggling with miniature knitting, I would say keep trying different thread and needle combinations until you find one that suits you. I have friends who can only knit on long needles which they can tuck under their arms; I on the other hand can only work with short needles. I know people who knit on cocktail sticks and some who can work perfectly well on those vicious hatpins. Some knit perfectly happily on size 24 needles whereas I find anything smaller than a 21 is way too flexible and slippery (especially when working with silk, which is slippery enough all by itself!). I prefer to knit using pure cotton and pure silk but others swear by acrylic yarn/pure wool. The key is to be comfortable and to enjoy what you are doing. I take the view that if you are happier using a slightly larger/smaller needle or a slightly thicker/finer thread, then just do it. Unless you are making clothes to fit a particular doll, the difference in the size of the finished product is often not worth worrying about.

I mentioned that some of the colour ranges are somewhat limited; orange was, for a time, the colour I could not find for love nor money when I was relatively new to miniature knitting. So I decided to dye my own. How hard could it be? I set to work with white cotton tatting thread, a large stew pan that had belonged to my grandma, a fabric dye and my mother's wooden jam-making spoon. Some time later I was the proud owner of several balls of lurid orange tatting cotton. And the only bright orange stew pan and jam-making spoon in the county.

Until next time, Happy Knitting!
Kathryn x

Homely Touches

Some years ago I went through a period of designing and knitting miniature novelty tea cosies to fill a dresser I had left over from another project. Very few remain in my collection as they sold quickly at the fairs I used to do before my children were born. As any parents of young children will appreciate, I haven't quite found the time since then to replace them! The dresser is, as it ever was: empty.

Recently though, I discovered some wonderful tea cosy patterns designed by Jan's Minis. Inspired, I bought the lot and set to work. So far I've knitted them all but only had the time to make up and finish a few of them.

I bought the teapots from The Dolls House Emporium and, to be honest, they are a bit on the large side. Quite a lot on the large side actually. I had to knit the cosies up using bigger needles than those stated in the pattern to make them fit. One day I plan to re-knit them all as written and will make sure I purchase smaller pots this time! But it does mean that perhaps that dresser might at last get filled....Still to finish are a hedgehog, a snowman, a mouse, a penguin, a rabbit and an elephant. I also found a whole booklet of tea cosy patterns by Mini-Mad Mates of Australia. Again, I have knitted (adapting them also to fit those confounded teapots!) but not yet made up a wonderful pineapple and cupcake.

I don't know about you, but although I can knit things quite quickly, even in semi-darkness, I do find it irksome making them up. I have to be in the right frame of mind for a start. Which excludes most of my waking hours since becoming a parent! And it gets even more tricky after that Saturday night glass of red wine when it somehow becomes more difficult to focus....For a long time I struggled with just my eyes and daylight when I could grab it. Which was not very often. So the pile of Things To Make Up began to grow. And grow.  I progressed to magnifying glasses and a floor-lamp but wearing strong glasses I don't need made watching anything on TV at the same time an impossibility. So I kept knitting and not making up, to the point where I would look at the pile of randomly shaped tiny bits of knitting with all the long ends tangled up with each other in my knitting bag and wonder quite honestly what it was intended to be in the first place.

Then I discovered my wonderful MightyBrite floor lamp with LED lights and adjustable magnifying lens. Hallelujah! I can watch TV, drink wine and make up all night long if the fancy takes me. Now I just need the fancy to take me.

In between tea cosies, I have knitted and crocheted several bits and pieces for my dolls house. Some of my favourites were these draught excluders by Buttercup Miniatures:

Another of Frances Powell's patterns was this wonderful Poodle designed to conceal a toilet roll in your smallest miniature room in a tasteful way....

Cute she may be but oh! how I struggled to stitch, turn, stuff and stitch in place those teeny tiny paws, ears, snout and top-knot. Just as well there is only one bathroom in my dolls house.

I always think that a few homely touches add realism to any dolls house or scene; these are some blankets I crocheted for the dog baskets in my house:

They are crochet at its most basic but I am particularly proud of these as I am entirely self-taught when it comes to crochet. The first thing I ever crocheted was the afghan rug made up of tiny granny squares. It took me an absolute age to make using a size 0.6 crochet hook and tatting cotton. It is so stiff it literally stands up on its own, although it does fit nicely into the dog basket I made for it. I use silk for the dog blankets I make these days but back then I didn't know any better.

Another attempt at crochet was this doiley:

Again, not knowing any better, I used cotton thread so it's a little thicker and stiffer than I'd like it to be. But one day I will make a matching one and crochet them together to make a pretty cushion. Who was it that said the road to Hell is paved with good intentions?!

I think knitted doileys work and drape much better; this is a two-needle version designed by Margaret Sitch and knitted by me using the same cotton thread:

I'm not entirely happy with my attempts at blocking these two doileys but blocking is right up there with making up when it comes to choosing how to spend my Saturday evening!

Enjoy yours....until next time
Kathryn x

Displaying Miniature Knitting

So far in my posts, I have shown you some of the stand-alone pieces that I have knitted. It's not always easy knowing what to do with them once they're finished. I like to be able to see the things I've made but, as they are made from silk and cotton, I need to protect them from dust and moths. Not to mention the attentions of my two cats who like to interfere with anything originating on two needles...preferably while it is still ON those needles! How many times have they swiped my tiny ball of yarn and scampered off with it, leaving a mess of unravelled work behind them?! Anyone who knits and has furry feline friends will have come across that one - and trust me when I say it's never the just-started or straightforward work that they take. Oh no. Frankie & Jess have exacting standards when it comes to entertainment; Knitted lace and Fair Isle work are particular favourites of theirs.

Neither do I want to fix my work permanently using glue. Grip wax is also a no-no as you can never satisfactorily remove the stuff once applied, even if items can be repositioned. But as I often take my work out and about to exhibitions held, or talks given, by the Dolls House & Miniatures Club of which I am the Secretary, I needed a way of both fixing and protecting my work.

This toy shop was a dolls house fair purchase some years ago. I made all the toys myself, some from patterns designed to be knitted up as miniatures, but most using full-size patterns that I scaled down (see my previous post). As you can see, they are behind glass so they stay clean and moth-free. The glass is removable so there is nothing permanent about the arrangement if I wake up one day and decide to change things around a little (I do that a lot). But all the toys are fixed in place using a method which I devised myself.

I buy one of those packs of jewellery findings which contain the blank posts and butterfly backs sold in craft shops for making earrings. I take one of the posts and insert it into the leg (or other appropriate place!) of my toy/critter. I then use grip-wax to fix the round disc attached to the earring post to the shelf in my shop (the posts come with small discs or larger ones attached; the small ones will be adequate in most cases). My work never comes into direct contact with the grip-wax, it can be repositioned endlessly or removed completely, leaving my work undamaged. This method holds everything firmly in place, even on car journeys.

Pleased as I was with this solution, it doesn't work for everything. Flat pieces such as items of clothing need a different approach.

These are three themed displays that I made using those cheap brown cardboard trunks you can buy at dolls house fairs. I lined each trunk with dolls house wallpaper and covered the outside with pieces of leather. The joins are covered with braid. The purpose of these trunks was to display a collection of things which I had made. Again, I needed to fix my things in place without damaging them.

 The solution here was simple: double-sided sticky tape. I find that it is not actually as sticky as you might think, so it holds things in place but - crucially - it will peel away from miniature knitting leaving no residue or staining. It tends to be either white or transparent so is discreet, and you can use pieces as big or small as you like. It can also be removed from hard surfaces by rubbing it with your finger until it goes "gummy" and comes off. Incidentally, I have a miniature teddy bear shop where all my bears are held in place with double-sided tape and they can be removed and repositioned without having their bottoms waxed smooth in the process (something we're both happy about).

This tree is around 12 inches tall and each decoration measures less than an inch .

This Christmas Tree is decorated with tiny toys knitted from Jean Greenhowe's full-size patterns. I put it on my mantelpiece every Christmas. Neither earring posts nor sticky tape was appropriate for this project so I used invisible sewing thread to attach each toy to its branch. It works pretty well and is completely reversible, leaving both surfaces undamaged.

You may have noticed that I tend to group similar items together so that they have maximum impact. It's just a preference of mine. I don't tend to build traditional room boxes; the scenes I build are chosen solely because they will display my work effectively. Below are some more "grouped" displays of my knitting.

The panelling in this scene is made from lolly sticks, stained using black wax boot-polish.

The knitted tea-cosy is another of my own original designs.

These two scenes were built inside glass-fronted shadow-boxes which used to be sold by IKEA. They're just a basic kitchen scene and potting shed scene, right? Well, yes; but what if I was to tell you that all the fruit and vegetables you can see, as well as all the cacti, are knitted using my own designs?

Truth is, I got a little tired of knitting all the sort of stuff people expect. Baby clothes, hats & scarves, blankets, that kind of thing. Sure, it sells, but I wanted to keep things interesting. These two scenes are displayed every year at the Dolls House Club's summer show and most people who see them don't even realise that they're looking at knitting. I kind of like that.

Until next time...
Kathryn x

Knitting Miniature Animals using full-sized patterns

I love knitting tiny critters, but finding good miniature patterns is a perpetual problem. The obvious answer is to design my own...but with two young children running me ragged, I haven't quite got around to doing it. Even if I knew where to start! I did try one idea that I had and found that it is far from being as simple as it looks...but more on that later. In the meantime, I found myself wondering whether it would be possible to knit full-size patterns up as written, but using tiny needles and thread.

Here are some of the results using patterns by Jean Greenhowe, Alan Dart and from amongst my burgeoning collection of knitting books: (but who's counting? Not me!)

Run!

I used sequins as scales on dino's back to add interest.

This bunny's arms and legs are fully articulated so she can sit or stand, as required.

I used tiny goggly eyes to add character to this little fella

I was pleased that the patterns translated so well into miniature; this isn't always the case. Of course the toys still turned out pretty large in miniature terms - as a general rule, a pattern which produces a 6 inch toy in full size (using size 14 needles and double-knitting yarn) will produce a toy approximately one third of the size when knitted on size 21 needles and using DMC 80 tatting thread. But as I tend to knit my critters for their own sake, rather than for inclusion in a miniature scene, I don't lose any sleep over it!

But it is possible to find patterns that knit up small enough to satisfy the more purist amongst us:

Knitting chicken feet in 1/12th scale didn't really work so the chicken's feet are pieces of yellow pipecleaner.

The following critters were knitted using patterns designed specifically for the miniaturist so you can see how the results compare:

I have made all these pieces up using the traditional technique of stitching pieces together on the wrong side, turning and stuffing them. This is far from easy with tiny knitted pieces, even with the help of tweezers and haemostats (scary scissor-type clamps used in the medical profession). These days I am rather less purist about it and tend to make pieces up right sides out. Sooo much easier and you can see immediately whether your seam is as neat as you would wish. I have even been known to glue some really teeny tiny parts in place, but don't tell anyone.

Finally, as I mentioned, I did try designing a tiny critter of my very own. Just one. And, even though he is a simple little soul, I'm proud to call him All My Own Work.

Until next time, happy knitting!
Kathryn x

More Tiny Dressed Dolls

Last time, I showed you some of the tiny porcelain dolls that I've dressed using my own patterns. I was pleased with the results but, since porcelain dolls can be rather expensive, I needed a rather more economical option if I was to fill a whole shop. I collected a whole pile of, frankly, rather nasty plastic dolls from various sources. The cheapest were just £0.20; the dearest £0.50. I set to work to make them look rather more attractive than they did in their birthday suits.

Once dressed, these dolls looked much more acceptable, and less like the sort of baby only its mother could love. A useful feature of these dolls was the tendency for their (jointed) arms and legs to pop out of their sockets, which made dressing them so much easier. I think that as a means of displaying baby clothes in a shop (as mannequins) they work pretty well. All the clothes they are wearing were knitted using my 1/12 scale patterns as written; no tweaking was required, which is always a good thing!

Next came these rigid plastic dolls whose arms and legs did not move and which were not quite so accommodating when it came to getting dressed. I wigged them using bunka and knitted their clothes using my existing 1/12 scale patterns but instead using pure silk thread and tiny needles. The clothes came out pretty much the right size.

Finally, I moved onto some truly awful dolls. My friend had bought some and sawed their arms and heads and legs off to make "body parts" for the miniature Doll's Hospital she was working on. Frankly, I thought that was the best thing to do with them! But I persevered, gave them the bunka treatment and got knitting.

In fact, they turned out better than expected and are great for filling space in toyshops or for putting into a tiny doll's pram or bed (where you're not really going to look at them too closely!).

I've only shown a small number of the dolls I actually dressed, but the whole lot cost me less than £10.00 to buy - far less than just one of the porcelain dolls I featured last time. And, if I'm honest, I like them even more for that!

Until next time
Kathryn x

Tiny Dressed Dolls

One of my many 'phases' over the years was to knit lace edgings taken from vintage patterns on size 21 needles and using silk thread. All very pretty and enormously satisfying, but then what was I to do with them?  It occurred to me one day that some of them might just lend themselves for use as miniature clothing. So I got busy adapting them as necessary to dress some 1/24 scale porcelain dolls that I bought many years ago from Meadowcroft Miniatures. Here are the results; I'm pretty pleased with them!

And so began my next 'phase': dressing 1/24 scale porcelain dolls! I think my skills as a knitter far exceed my skills as a wig-maker. I just CANNOT get on with viscose hair fibre! The last time I attempted viscose fibre ringlets, my cat knocked them off the windowsill into the toaster, which was on at the time...and they melted onto Ian's breakfast toast -  which did nothing to improve either my mood or marital relations.... So I used bunka (unravelled fringing of the type you get on lampshades) to wig them and I think it works quite well on these tiny dolls. Here are some more pictures, with a standard stainless steel thimble to show the scale:

Of course, once I'd exhausted my supply of these expensive porcelain dolls, I rather fancied the idea of making a miniature doll shop. But for that I would need a LOT more dolls. I needed a cheaper option! Next time, I'll show you that even if you can't "get owt for nowt", as we say in Yorkshire, you can at least get quite a lot for not very much.

Until next time
Kathryn x