This is a sweater made for my daughter's Poppy doll, whose neck is only 4 inches around. It is based loosely on this cardigan. I used 30g of Aran weight wool, worked on size 10 needles at 4 stitches to the inch. I planned from the beginning to work in the round and steek the front, but you could certainly knit back and forth instead.
Cast on 20 stitches. If you are going to work in the round, distribute them among your needles and join. You'll keep the first two stitches and the last two stitches of the round in plain stockinette for your steek. If you are going to knit flat, then you'll keep the first two stitches and the last two stitches in seed stitch all the way down the sweater. Whichever you're doing, work three rounds or rows in seed stitch and one round/row in stockinette.
Next, you'll begin the raglan increases for the sleeves. Work the first two stitches as established (stockinette if working in the round, seed stitch if working flat), knit one, place a marker in the next stitch and increase on each side of it, knit three, place a marker in the next stitch and increase on each side of it, knit four, place a marker in the next stitch and increase on each side of it, knit three, place a marker in the next stitch and increase on each side of it, knit one, work the last two stitches as established. Work the next round/row in plain stockinette.
Continue as you've begun: work to a marked stitch and increase on each side of it, and then work even for the next round/row. Keep going until the sweater is armpit length for your dolly. (For me that was 4 increase rounds.) On the next round/row, work as established up to the first marked stitch (don't increase before it, though), and put that stitch plus all the stitches up to and including the next marked stitch on waste yarn. If you've done four increase rounds, that will be 13 stitches. Cast on three and knit across to the next marker. Again, put the sleeve stitches on the waste yarn. Cast on three and work to the end. From here you'll work in plain stockinette, with seed stitch borders if you're knitting flat, until your sweater is almost as long as you'd like it to be. Work three rounds/rows of seed stitch, keeping your steek stitches in stockinette if you're steeking. Cast off in pattern.
Put one set of sleeve stitches on the needles. Join the yarn, leaving a longish tail so you can use it to close any gaps later, and knit around. Pick up and knit three stitches at the underarm; mark the center stitch. Join to work in the round. On the next round, decrease on each side of the marked stitch. Continue to work in stockinette, decreasing every fourth round until the sleeves are a hair short of the right length. Work three rounds of seed stitch and cast off in pattern. Repeat for second sleeve.
If you were knitting in the round for the sweater body, this is where you whip out the scissors. Laugh maniacally and cut right down the middle. (I did not reinforce because I was using nice sticky wool. Also because I like to live on the edge. Google "Eunny Jang steek" if you want directions on reinforcing.) Pick up three stitches for every four rows and make yourself a buttonband (this one is 3 rows of seed stitch, bound off in pattern); repeat on the other side for a buttonhole band. I actually didn't make buttonholes, because with small buttons and big yarn you can just ease the buttons in.
Give to the little girl whose dolly you have been surreptitiously measuring (as you can see in the picture, I neglected to weave in the ends first), and bask in her smile.
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