Velvet Cape and Beanie for 18-inch Doll

Free Doll Cape and Hat Knitting Pattern

Create a stylish outfit for your 18-inch doll with this Velvet Cape and Beanie set. The cape is worked seamlessly from the top down with simple raglan increases and a neat garter stitch hem. The matching beanie is worked in the round from the bottom up, completing this cozy ensemble.

Skills Required/Techniques Used:
- Knit & purl, cast on & bind off
- Increasing: make 1 (m1)
- Crocheting chains

Size: fits 18-inch dolls like American Girl, Our Generation and other 18-19-inch dolls.

Materials: Velvety Smooth Sparkle by Yarn Bee, bulky weight yarn, 3.5 oz/100g, 161 yd/147m, polyester 94%, metallic polyester 6% - 1 ball

Needles: circular and double pointed needles US #9 (5.5 mm) OR SIZE NEEDED TO OBTAIN GAUGE

Gauge: 12 sts x 16 rows = 4" (10 cm) in stockinette st

Notions:
yarn needle, 4 stitch markers, crochet hook 4.5 mm

Abbreviations:
k - knit
p - purl
m1 - make 1 increase - make a backward loop over the right-hand needle and in the next row/round purl/knit as a regular stitch.
RS - right side
WS - wrong side
sm - slip marker
pm - place marker
rm - remove marker
k2tog - knit 2 together
ch – crochet chain

Pattern Notes:

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

Stockinette in rounds:
All rounds knit

Garter st in rounds
Round 1: knit
Round 2: purl
Repeat 2 rounds

Garter stitch in rows: All rows knit.

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

The selvedge/edge stitches are worked as follows: slip the first stitch and knit the second one, work till 2 sts remain, knit the next stitch and purl the last one.


Short Overview of the Pattern:

The cape is worked top-down, seamlessly, back and forth. The piece is worked in stockinette stitch with raglan increases, the hem is worked in garter stitch.

The hat is worked bottom up, seamlessly, in rounds. First 4 rounds are worked in garter stitch, then several rounds in stockinette stitch. Starting with round 15 decreases (k2tog) are made in every odd round until only 6 sts remain.


Cape

Cast on 30 sts and knit 2 foundation rows.

Check the sts and place the markers:
2 edge sts - 4 left front sts - 1 raglan st (place the first marker before this st) – 3 shoulder sts - 1 raglan st (place the second marker before this st) – 8 back sts - 1 raglan st (place the third marker before this st) – 3 shoulder sts - 1 raglan st (place the forth marker before this st) - 4 right front sts - 2 edge sts

Row 1 (RS): sl 1, k1, *knit till the marker, sm, m1, k1, m1 - repeat from * 3 times, knit till last 2 st, k1, p1. + 8 sts

Row 2 (WS and all WS rows): sl 1, k1, purl till last 2 sts, k1, p1.

Repeat rows 1-2 five more times.

The number of sts after
row 1 = 38
row 3 = 46
row 5 = 54
row 7 = 62
row 9 = 70
row 11 = 78

Row 13 (RS): sl1, knit till the last st, p1

Row 15 (RS): like row 1. (86 sts)

Row 17 (RS): like row 13

Row 19 (RS) like row 1. (94 sts)

Work 7 more rows, all RS row like row 13, all WS rows like row 2.

Work the last 6 rows in garter stitch.

If you prefer a longer cape, work more rows in stockinette before starting the hem in garter stitch.

Bind off, cut yarn.


Hat

Cast on 36 sts and distribute them equally on 4 dpn. Join in circle.

Rounds 1 and 3: knit

Rounds 2 and 4 : purl

Rounds 5 – 14: knit

Round 15: (k4, k2tog) repeat 6 times (30 sts)

Round 16 and all even rounds: knit around

Round 17: (k3, k2tog) repeat 6 times (24 sts)

Round 19: (k2, k2tog) repeat 6 times (18 sts)

Round 21: (k1m k2tog) repeat 6 times (12 sts)

Round 23: (k2tog) repeat 6 times (6 sts)

Cut yarn, leaving about 6" (15 cm) tail. Pull through all the remaining sts and secure.


Finishing:

Weave in all yarn ends. To make neck ties, attach a length of yarn to the edge st on a neckline and crochet a chain about 4” long. Fasten yarn and cut. Repeat for the other side of the cape.

Alternatively you can use ribbons to make the ties.

Have fun!