Vintage Double-Breasted Jacket for 18-inch Doll

Free Doll Jacket Knitting Pattern

50s fashion is back in style! This retro double-breasted jacket was designed to go with the American Girl Doll Pillbox Hat.

Skills Required/Techniques Used:
---Knit & purl, cast on & bind off
---Increasing: yarn over (YO), make 1 (m1)
---Decreasing: knit 2 together (k2tog), central double decrease (cdd)
---Working in the round on double pointed needles (dpn)
---Picking up stitches

Size: fits 18-inch dolls like American Girl, Our Generation and other dolls with similar body.

Materials: Knit Picks (affiliate link) Wool of the Andes 100% wool worsted weight yarn 110 yards (101 meters) / 50 grams – 1.5 skeins.

Needles: circular and double pointed needles (dpn) US #5 (3.75mm) OR SIZE NEEDED TO OBTAIN GAUGE

Gauge for stockinette st: 19 st x 28rows = 4" x 4" (10 cm x 10 cm)

Notions:
yarn needle, 4 stitch markers, 3-6 buttons, sewing needle and thread of matching color, .

Abbreviations:
k - knit
p - purl
k2tog - knit 2 together
cdd - central double decrease: slip 2 sts together as if to knit, knit the next stitch, pass both slipped sts over just knited.
pu&k- pick up and knit
m1 - 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 as a regular stitch.
yo - yarn over
RS - right side
WS - wrong side
sm - slip marker
pm - place marker
rm - remove marker


Pattern Notes:

Stockinette in rows:
Row 1 (RS): knit
Row 2: purl
Repeat 2 rows.

Stockinette in rounds:
All rounds knit

Seed stitch in rows: All rows: *k1, p1 - repeat from * across

Seed st in rounds
Round 1: *k1, p1 - repeat from * around
Round 2: *p1, k1 - repeat from * around
Repeat 2 rounds

Raglan increases: in every right side (RS) row, work till marker, make 1 (m1), slip marker (sm), k1, m1. There are 4 raglan lines, and 4 markers, repeat on each raglan line, thus the number of sts in each RS row will increase by 8.

Side line increases: are worked in every 6th RS row on both sides to shape the body of the jacket: work till marker, m1, slip marker (sm), k1, m1. There are 2 side lines and 2 markers, thus the number of sts in each 6th row will increase by 4.

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

Button Bands (bb) are worked in seed stitch on 7 stitches in the beginning and in the end of each row.

3 Button Holes are worked in the end of the RS rows 5, 15 and 25 in the following way: k2tog, yo.


Short Overview of the Pattern:

The jacket is worked top-down, seamlessly, back and forth in stockinette stitch with wide button bands in seed stitch. The raglan increases are worked in every RS row till the stitches are divided for sleeves and bodice. The sleeves are worked in rounds on dpn, in stockinette, the cuffs are worked in seed stitch. A-shape of the jacket is achieved by increasing the number of stitches on side lines in every 6th row.

Jacket

Cast on 46 sts and work 4 rows in garter stitch: all rows knit.

Check the stitches and place markers:
1 edge - 7 left bb - 1 left front - 1 raglan (place the first marker before this st) - 8 left sleeve - 1 raglan (place the second marker before this st) - 8 back - 1 raglan (place the third marker before this st) - 8 right sleeve - 1 raglan (place the forth marker before this st) - 1 right front - 7 right bb - 1 edge = 46 sts

Row 5 (RS, with a button hole): (k1, p1) x 4 times, k1, m1, sm, k1, m1, (k8, m1, sm, k1, m1) x 3 times, k1, (k1,p1) x 2 times, k2tog, yo, k1, p1. = 54 sts

Row 6 (WS and all WS rows): k1, (k1, p1) x 3 times, k1, purl till last 8 sts, (p1, k1) x 3 times, p2.

Row 7 (RS and all RS rows): (k1, p1) x 4 times, *knit till marker, m1, sm, k1, m1 - repeat from * 4 times, k till last 8 sts, (k1, p1) x 4 times

Repeat rows 6-7 three more times, repeat row 6 one more time.

Row 15 (RS, with a button hole): repeat row 7 till last 8 sts. The last 8 sts: (k1,p1) x 2 times, k2tog, yo, k1, p1

Repeat rows 6-7 four more times, repeat row 6 one more time.

The number of sts after
row 5 = 54
row 7 = 62
row 9 = 70
row 11 = 78
row 13 = 86
row 15 = 94
row 17 = 102
row 19 = 110
row 21 = 118
row 23 = 126


Divide for sleeves and bodice:

Row 25 (RS, with a button hole): (k1, p1) x 4 times, k12, rm, transfer the next 28 sts to a piece of waste yarn, rm, co3, k30, rm, transfer the next 28 sts to a piece of waste yarn, rm, co3, k12, (k1, p1) x 2 times, k2tog, yo, k1, p1. = 76 sts

Row 26: k1, (k1, p1) x 3 times, k1, purl all sts till the last 8, (p1, k1 ) x 3 times, p1. Place a marker before each middle (second) cast on underarm stitch.

Row 27 (RS): k1, p1) x 4 times, k till last 8 sts, (k1, p1) x 4 times.

Row 28 (WS): k1, (k1, p1) x 3 times, k1, purl all sts till the last 8, (p1, k1 ) x 3 times, p2.

Continue to work as established: repeat rows 27 and 28, except for rows 29, 35, 41, 47. In these rows the increases are made on side lines, work these rows as follows: (k1, p1) x 4 times, *k till marker, m1, sm, k1, m1 - repeat from * 2 times, k till last 8 sts, (k1, p1) x 4 times.

After row 29 the number of stitches = 80; row 35 = 84, row 41 = 88, row 47 = 92.

Work 5 more rows (rows 48-52) as established.

Work the next 10 rows (rows 53-62) in seed stitch: *k1, p1 - repeat from * across the row. Bind off.


Sleeves

Work one sleeve at a time.

Transfer 28 sts from waste yarn to 3 dpn, distributing them evenly, pu&k 3 underarm sts = 31 sts. The round starts on underarm sts.

Work rounds 1-3 in stockinette - all rounds knit.

Round 4 (decrease round): cdd over 3 underarm sts, knit 28. =29 sts

Work rounds 5-16 in stockinette - all rounds knit.

Row 17: k1, *k1, p1 - repeat from * around.

Row 18: k1, *p1, k1 - repeat from * around.

Repeat rounds 17-18 three more time.. Bind off,


Finishing:

Weave in all yarn ends. Block the piece. Sew 3 buttons on the left button band under the button holes. Sew 3 more buttons on the right bb.

Have fun!