Knitted Top for 18-inch Doll

Free Doll Top Knitting Pattern

This seamless top is worked top-down back-and-forth with short raglan sleeves and button band on the back.

Skills Required/Techniques Used:
-Knit & purl, cast on & bind off
-Increasing

Materials: Knit Picks (affiliate link) Palette fingering weight 100% wool yarn 231 yds (210 m)/ 50 g – 1 ball

Needles: US #1.5 (2.50 mm) circular OR SIZE NEEDED TO OBTAIN GAUGE

Gauge in stockinette st: 30 sts x 40 rows = 4" x 4" (10cm x 10cm)

Notions:
5 sew-on metal/or plastic snaps, size 2/0
4 stitch markers
yarn/tapestry needle
Sewing needle and thread of color matching the yarn for attaching the snaps

Abbreviations:
K – knit
P – purl
St – stitch
Sts – stitches
co – cast on
RS – right side
WS – wrong side
m 1 - make 1 increase - I used the increase described by Elizabeth Zimmerman: make a backward loop over the right-hand needle and in the next row/round purl/knit it as a regular stitch.
bb – button band


Pattern Notes:

Stockinette Stitch:
Row 1 (RS) - knit
Row 2 (WS) - purl
Repeat 2 rows

Garter stitch:
All rows knit

The selvedge/edge stitches are worked as follows: slip the first stitch knitwise and purl the last one.

Raglan increases: Increase for raglan by making 1 st (m1) on each side of indicated, marked, stitch in every right side (RS) row.

Button Band (bb) is worked in garter stitch on 3 stitches in the beginning and in the end of each row.


Top

The top is worked top-down back-and-forth with short raglan sleeves and button band on the back.

Cast on 52 sts. These include: 1 edge - 3 button band - 4 right back - 1 raglan - 10 right sleeve - 1 raglan - 12 front - 1 raglan - 10 left sleeve - 1 raglan - 4 left back - 3 button band - 1 edge. (=52 sts)

You might find helpful to place a stitch-marker before each raglan stitch and slip them while working.

Row 1 (RS): sl 1, k50, p1.

Row 2 (WS): sl 1, k3, p44, k3, p1.

Row 3 and all RS rows: sl 1, knit all sts till the first raglan st /marker, m1, slip the marker, k1 (raglan st), m1, knit all sts till the second raglan st/ marker, m1, slip the marker, k1 (raglan st), m1, knit all sts till the third raglan st/marker, m1, slip the marker, k1 (raglan st), m1, knit all sts till the forth raglan st/marker, m1, slip the marker, k1 (raglan st), m1, knit all sts to the last st, p1.

In every RS row the number of sts will increase by 8:

Row 3: 52+8=60 sts
Row 5: 60+8=68 sts
Row 7: 68+8=76 sts
Row 9: 76+8=84 sts
Row 11: 84+8=92 sts
Row 13: 92+8=100 sts
Row 15: 100+8=108 sts
Row 17: 108+8=116 sts
Row 19: 116+8=124 sts
Row 21: 124+8=132 sts
Row 23: 132+8=140 sts
Row 25: 140+8=148 sts
Row 27: 148+8=156 sts

Row 4 and all WS rows through row 26: sl1, k3, purl all sts to the last 4 sts, slipping the markers, k3, p1.

Work 27 rows.

Row 28 (WS): sl1, k3, p18, k36, p40, k36, p18, k3, p1.

Row 29 (RS): as row 3. (=164 sts)

Row 30 (WS): sl1, k3, p19, k38, p42, k38, p19, k3, p1. Remove markers.


Divide for sleeves and bodice:

Row 31 (RS): sl 1, k 22, bind off 38, k42, bind off 38, k22, p1. (=88 sts)

Row 32 (WS): sl1, k3, p19, co1, p42, co1, p19, k3, p1. (=90 sts)

Row 33 (RS): sl1, k88, p1.

Row 34 (WS): sl 1, p89

Repeat rows 33-34 four more times.

Work 6 more rows in garter stitch, all rows: sl 1, k 88, p1. Bind off. Cut yarn.


Finishing:

Weave in yarn ends. Sew on 5 snaps on the button band.

Enjoy!

Pattern was updated on August 28, 2018.