DOLL’S SLEEVELESS SWEATER
WHEN she came back, Mary Frances had the rice; and she soon finished
the little bean bag.
“Won’t Mary Marie be delighted with this surprise?” she said. “I feel
almost like waking her up.”
“Oh, don’t do that,” said Fairly Flew, “because we will soon have
another surprise for her if you will work hard.”
[Illustration: “Another surprise.”]
“Indeed I will,” promised Mary Frances. “I wonder what it is?”
“Guess!” said Crow Shay.
[Illustration: “Guess!”]
“A—a wash rag?” guessed Mary Frances.
“No,” said Fairly Flew. “Guess again.”
“A—a stocking?” guessed Mary Frances again.
“Oh, no,” laughed Crow Shay,
“It’s something better—
It’s a sweater.”
[Illustration: “It’s a sweater.”]
“Is it?” cried Mary Frances. “Is it? Why, that’s just exactly what I’d
wish for most of all things!”
“It is,” answered Fairly Flew, “and this time Wooley Ball is going to
give the directions.”
“Oh, I am so glad!” exclaimed Mary Frances. “I have wondered and
wondered why she is so quiet.”
Everybody looked at Crow Shay. Crow Shay looked ashamed.
“I’ll tell you about it,” he said at length. “You see, I talked so much
that Wooley Ball made a bargain with me. She said that if I would talk
only half that I wanted to, she wouldn’t talk at all, and we’ve both
kept our bargain.”
Then everybody began to laugh. Wooley Ball laughed most heartily of all.
[Illustration: Wooley Ball laughed.]
“You see, it isn’t hard for me to keep the bargain,” she said,
“because, while I like to tell about yarns, I’m not much of a yarn
spinner. Still, if our Fairly Flew wishes, I shall feel honored to tell
how to make—
DOLL’S KNITTED SLEEVELESS SWEATER
(See frontispiece—color plate)
[Illustration: Blue floss and gray yarn.]
Material: Turquoise blue double wool floss, and gray teazle yarn
for trimming.
2 Bone knitting needles No. 3, crochet hook No. 3.
Directions:
_To Knit the Back of the Sweater_
1. Cast on 32 stitches and knit plain for 15 ribs. A
rib is made by knitting a row across and a row back
again. Two rows form a rib in knitting.
2. To form the waist line, knit 2 stitches and purl 2
stitches for 6 rows.
[Illustration: Fairly Flew.]
3. Knit 15 more ribs plain. This will reach the
shoulder of the sweater.
4. _To Knit the Shoulder._—Knit 10 stitches, and slip
them off on a safety pin. (See page 186.)
[Illustration]
_To Slip off Stitches Needed Later_
(See picture on page 185)
In doing this work, point the safety-pin toward the
last stitch on the right-hand needle, and slip it off
the needle on to the pin. Slip the rest of the stitches
in the same way. Clasp the safety-pin. Very large
safety-pins are made for the purpose.
5. Bind off the next 12 stitches to form back of neck.
6. Knit 4 ribs on the remaining 10 stitches to form the
shoulders. (See picture on page 187.)
7. Now increase the number of stitches. Make 1 new
stitch on every other rib (that is, on one row of every
other rib). Add the extra stitch to the neck end of
front of sweater.
[Illustration: Slip stitch.]
_To Increase or Add a Stitch in Knitting_
Knit 1 stitch on the front thread of 1 stitch, and
without slipping a stitch off the end of the left
needle bring the right needle over the point of the
left needle. Knit another stitch on the back thread
of the same stitch. In doing this, point the needle
through the back thread away from you. Slip top loop
off left needle.
8. Increase the number of stitches as explained in No.
7 until you have 16 stitches on the knitting needle,
and continue to knit in ribs without increasing until
there are 20 ribs from the starting of the shoulder.
9. Then knit 2 and purl 2 stitches for 6 rows.
10. Then knit 15 ribs plain and bind off the work.
11. To start making the other shoulder, unclasp safety
pin and hold knitting needle pointing toward point of
safety pin.
[Illustration: “Won’t she be surprised?”]
Take 1 stitch at a time off the safety pin on to the
knitting needle. _Fasten the wool at corner of neck._
Then make other front like the one just finished.
[Illustration: To form armhole.]
Sew fronts and back together along line a b, pinning a
to a, and b to b. The space between a and a will form
the armhole. (See frontispiece.)
[Illustration]
_To Make the Collar_
(See page 188.)
1. With gray teazle yarn cast on 26 stitches, and knit
2 ribs.
2. Break off the gray yarn and tie on the blue yarn.
3. Knit 8 ribs of blue.
4. Knit 8 stitches. Slip them on to a safety pin.
[Illustration: Slip on safety pin.]
5. Bind off 10 stitches for the neck, and on the other
8 stitches knit 11 ribs of blue. Break off yarn.
6. Join the gray yarn and knit 2 ribs. Bind off the
work.
7. Take the 8 stitches off the safety pin on to the
knitting needle and make the other side of the collar
in the same way. Sew the collar to the sweater with
blue yarn.
_To Make the Tie_
Crochet 15 chain stitches and hang a tassel to the end
for trimming; or instead of making a tassel, crochet
single crochet stitches over a little brass ring if you
have one; or
Wind the yarn around a lead pencil 8 times. Without
breaking the yarn slip the ring thus formed off the
pencil. (See picture p. 189.)
[Illustration: Wind on lead pencil]
(_a_) Tie it together with sewing thread.
(_b_) Make single crochet stitches over the ring until
it is filled, and without breaking the yarn, make a
chain of 15 stitches.
Sew the chain to the sweater at the end of the collar.
Make another tie in this same way.
[Illustration: THE COLLAR]
When the beautiful little sweater was finished, with the help of the
magic knitting needles, Mary Frances was too happy for words, and Mary
Marie danced up and down with joy.
“’Et Mary M’rie see herse’f in the glass!” she begged. “Please, Mamma,
’et her loot at et!”
[Illustration: Danced with joy.]
[Illustration: TO MAKE THE TIE]
So Mary Frances stood her before the doll’s bureau.
[Illustration: “Isn’t I tweet?”]
“Isn’t I tweet?” said the proud doll-baby, “I mean, isn’t it tweet?—I
mean, isn’t we tweet?” and set everyone laughing.
[Illustration: Everyone laughed.]
“Oh,” exclaimed Mary Frances, looking out of the window, “here comes
the postman. I hope he has a letter from mother.” And she ran to the
door.
[Illustration: “The very thing.”]