Crafts

Get crafty: Little Boy Blue knitted doll

May 19, 2015

Cilla Webb, author of Knitted Nursery Rhymes, via New Holland Publishers has provided Starts at 60 with exclusive access to the Little Boy Blue pattern from her book which was reviewed by Vivienne Beddoe here.

Little Boy Blue

Little Boy Blue,

Come blow your horn,

The sheep’s in the meadow,

The cow’s in the corn;

Where is that boy

Who looks after the sheep?

Under the haystack

Fast asleep.

Will you wake him?

Oh no, not I,

For if I do

He will surely cry.

You will need:

Wendy Merino DK; 116 m (127 yd) per 50 g (2 oz) ball;
100 per cent Merino wool
25 g (1 oz) Wind Chime
25 g (1 oz) Phlox
50 g (2 oz) Cloud Dancer
25 g (1 oz) Funghi
25 g (1 oz) Otter
25 g (1 oz) Crêpe
3.5 mm (US 4) knitting needles
Tapestry needle
Safety toy stuffing

Little Boy Blue 2

Head and Body

Using Wind Chime, cast on 13 sts.

Row 1: [Kfb] 13 times (26 sts).

Rows 2–4: St st, beg with a P row.

Row 5: [K1, Kfb] 13 times (39 sts).

Rows 6–8: St st, beg with a P row.

Row 9: [K1, Kfb, K1] 13 times (52 sts).

Rows 10–20: St st, beg with a P row.

Row 21: [K1, K2tog, K1] 13 times (39 sts).

Rows 22–24: St st, beg with a P row.

Row 25: [K1, K2tog] 13 times (26 sts).

Row 26 and all even rows: Purl.

Row 27: [K2tog] 13 times (13 sts).

Row 29: K1, [K2tog] 6 times (7 sts).

Row 30: Change to Phlox and Purl to end.

Row 31: K1, [Kfb] 5 times, K1 (12 sts).

Row 33: [Kfb] 12 times (24 sts).

Row 35: [K1, Kfb] 12 times (36 sts).

Rows 36–46: St st, beg with a P row.

Row 47: [K1, K2tog] 12 times (24 sts).

Row 49: [K2tog] 12 times (12 sts).

Row 50: [P2tog] 6 times (6 sts).

Break yarn and thread through the rem sts. Pull tight and fasten off. Sew along the edge using mattress st and stuff. Using back stich sew a smile across the face and add two eyes using satin stitch. Close the rem gap in the head.

Arms – Make 2

Using Cloud Dancer, and starting from the top of the arm, cast on 6 sts.

Row 1 and all odd rows: Purl.

Rows 2–3: Cast on 3 sts at the beg of the next 2 rows (12 sts).

Rows 4–7: St st, beg with a K row.

Row 8: Purl.

Rows 9–15: Change to Wind Chime and st st, beg with a P row.

Row 16: [K2tog] 6 times (6 sts).

Break yarn and thread through the rem sts. Pull tight and fasten off. Sew along the edge using mattress st and stuff. Attach to each side of the body.

Little Boy Blue 3

Legs – Make 2

Using Funghi and starting from the sole of the foot, cast on 13 sts.

Row 1: Knit.

Row 2: K2 [Kfb] 10 times, K1 (23 sts).

Rows 3–8: G st.

Row 9: K4, [K2tog, K1] 5 times, K4 (18 sts).

Row 10: K4, [K2tog] 5 times, K4 (13 sts.)

Rows 11–22: Change to Wind Chime and st st, beg with a K row.

Cast off. Using mattress st, sew the sole of the foot and along the back edge, leaving the top part open. Stuff and connect to the bottom of the body.

Hair

Using Otter, cast on 54 sts.

Rows 1–4: St st, beg with a K row.

Row 5: [K2, K2tog, K2] 9 times (45 sts)

Rows 6–8: St st, beg with a P row.

Row 9: [K1, K2tog, K2] 9 times (36 sts).

Rows 10–12: St st, beg with a P row.

Row 13: [K1, K2tog, K1] 9 times (27 sts).

Row 14 and all even rows: P.

Row 15: [K2tog, K1] 9 times (18 sts).

Row 17: [K2tog] 9 times (9 sts).

Row 18: P1, [P2tog] 4 times (5 sts).

Break yarn and thread through the rem sts. Pull tight to fasten off. Sew along the edge using mattress st and attach diagonally to the top of the head with running st.

Dungarees

Cast on 15 sts in Phlox.

Row 1: Purl.

Row 2: K1, [Kfb, K1] 7 times (22 sts).

Rows 3–10: St st, beg with a P row. Break yarn and knit a second leg, leaving the first 22 sts waiting.

Row 11: P to end and P across the next 22 sts (44 sts).

Rows 12–20: St st, beg with a K row.

Row 21: Cast off 17 sts, P to end (27 sts).

Row 22: Cast off 17 sts, K to end (10 sts).

Rows 23–27: St st, beg with a P row.

Row 28: K3, cast off 4 sts, K3 (6 sts).

Rows 29–36: Working on the first 3 sts, st st, beg with a P row.

Cast off and repeat rows 29–36 for the other 3 sts waiting. Starting from the bottom of the dungarees, sew along the side edge using mattress stitch and then position the straps straight or crossed and attach to the back of the dungarees.