Making the Transition to Miniature Knitting
Knitting in miniature is a lot like knitting in full size. For experienced knitters it is a fairly easy transition to make, but it will require a bit of practice. Some difference are:
- Dropped Stitches are very difficult to pick up. Use a fine crochet needle or start over.
- Drape With such fine stitches, the drape or hand of the knitting varies greatly with the thread used. Cotton thread sometimes produces a better drape for articles that will be set over the backs of furniture.
- Casting on must be elastic in order to more easily dress dolls. Other methods are fine for bedspreads or edges where elasticity is not important.
- Tension is harder to maintain with wool threads as in fine weights, fibres tend to pull when you are trying to set the tension. If you have trouble with tension, try knitting with crochet cotton.
Experiment before you give up. You may need to adjust your methods to work with finer threads and needles. Start with a simple blanket or vest in straight stitch to perfect your technique before moving to more complicated projects.
Hints for Beginners
If you are just beginning to knit, you may want to practice with full scale projects until you are comfortable with the knit stitch, the purl stitch and a stretchy casting on method like the continental cast on method (sometimes called the long tail method in the United States.) Knit cast on stitches or other non stretchy cast ons are difficult to work over small doll parts.
Always work with clean hands. Otherwise your work may discolor as it ages.
Beginners may find it easier to knit with crochet cotton instead of wool, the crochet cotton is less prone to separating, making it easier to pick up with the knitting needle.
Should You Try Before You Buy?
It is tempting to try knitting in miniature without buying proper equipment. It is very difficult to handle small short needles as an attempt to knit. At the very least, try using tape to attach your turkey skewers or crewel needles to a chopstick handle if you are going to try to use them before you buy proper knitting needles. My thinnest turkey skewers are 4 inches long and close to 1.7mm wide. Miniature knitting needles are usually at least 8 inches (20 cm) long. You can try using 100 or 80 crochet cotton, one ply sock darning wool, or two or three strands of embroidery thread to get a feel for the technique. It is much easier to knit using proper needles and threads!
Needles
Miniature knitting is most commonly knit on needles 1mm needles US size 5/0 or Uk size 19. These needles are available from a range of miniature knitting suppliers with several different handles, or as straight steel needles with ground tips. If you need to order a pair of needles you can often order them as a beginner's kit which comes complete with patterns and wool. Choose a small, simple project to start while you get used to working in small scale. If possible, try the needles in your hands to see if you prefer the needles which are set into larger handles, or if you are comfortable using bare wire needles.
Wools and Threads
Depending on the pattern, the project may call for cotton, silk or single ply wool. As a gauge, single ply wool knits at about 14 rows and 14 stitches to the inch on 5/0 (1.0mm) (#19) needles. Usually the pattern maker sells the threads used for their patterns. Until you are used to knitting in miniature, you may want to buy thread or wool from the supplier when you buy a pattern. If you are trying this without investing in supplies, try single ply darning wool, dmc 100 crochet cotton, or two or three strands of embroidery thread.
| Knitting Needle Sizes | ||
| US | Metric | UK |
| 0 | 2.00mm | 14 |
| 3/0 | 1.50mm | 16 |
| - | 1.70mm | 17 |
| 4/0 | 1.25mm | 18 |
| 5/0 | 1.00mm | 19 |
| - | 0.90mm | 20 |
| - | 0.8mm | 21 |
| 6/0 | 0.70mm | 22 |
| 7/0 | 0.61mm | 23 |
| 8/0 | 0.55mm | 24 |
| - | 0.50mm | 25 |
