One reason I love knitting 18” doll clothes is that you can try new stitches and styles on a small scale without committing to a human-sized garment. And for my latest project, I’m going to declare “mission accomplished” on that sentiment…
It turns out that reverse stockinette is not my jam. I kind of guessed it wouldn’t be, but I’m glad I tested the theory. But before I go further, I’ll stop to celebrate my success! Here is my completed Penelope Cardigan, designed by Steph Wiley, knitted up in Knit Picks Mighty Stitch Fingering, which is fast becoming a favorite yarn of mine.
Isn’t the little belt cute?? That’s one of the things that drew me to this pattern. That, and the name “Penelope” caught my eye as I was binge-watching Bridgerton at the time.
Now, that we have celebrated, I’ll tell you my reverse stockinette woes.
Woe #1: I don’t love to purl. This is actually kind of a false woe because most of the piece is knitted flat, so it was exactly the same as knitting regular stockinette except on the sleeves. Bu it felt like I was doing a lot of purling. And, man, those reverse stockinette sleeves were a real challenge for me!! I knitted them on DPNs and I had a heck of a problem with laddering:
I’ve all but eliminated laddering as an issue when I’m knitting almost everything else, but switching needles while purling felt so awkward and my usual techniques clearly didn’t cut it. If I knitted this again, I would use magic loop or try alternating where the needles join. (I didn’t do either because I was being stubborn.) Knitting the sleeves inside out would have been complicated because there is a leaf motif going down the sleeves that I would have had to reverse-engineer.
Woe #2: I always row out. So, the not-loving-to-purl woe may have been a bit in my head, but the fact that I tend to row out when knitting stockinette flat is very real. Rowing out happens when you purl at a different gauge than you knit. The knit side of your fabric usually looks fine, but the purl side often has little ridges. Luckily, the heathered yarn disguises the effect a bit, but it’s there. You can prevent this by doing the purl rows on a smaller needle than the knits, but I didn’t because, again, I was being stubborn.
I’ll stop complaining now. As you can tell, those woes are unique to my knitting preferences and style, so I would never universally declare that this is a challenging or frustrating knit… it was just that way for me. I bet continental-style knitters would probably zoom through it.
And, at the end of the day, the cardigan is super cute. In fact, I’m considering knitting it again “inside out” so the knit side faces the world. I’ll just have to math out how to reverse the leaf motifs, but I’m sure I can manage.
Before I close, I’ll clue you into Woe #3 for this project, but it’s a secret, okay? So, here is what’s going on at the back of the sweater underneath Athena’s long hair:
Arg! Can you believe that after all of this work, the darn thing didn’t fit!? Since we’re telling secrets, I’ll confess: I didn’t swatch. (And I got what I deserved.) Truthfully, I pretty much never swatch for doll clothes. They are so small that the garment itself can serve as a swatch. Usually, once I’m a few inches into the project, I do a gauge check and just rip back and start over if I’m way off. I forgot to do that this time because I was flustered.
Luckily, I used to watch a lot of Top Model back in the day and saw them use clips to make clothes fit in the photo shoots. I knew that knowledge would serve me someday! BTW, if you don’t have little Wonder Clips like this, I highly recommend adding them to your toolbox. They are primarily made for sewing, so you can clip fabric together instead of using pins, but they are handy for all sorts of craft and household uses. I got my off-brand clips on Amazon. Or you can usually find the original ones by Clover at craft stores or big-box stores.
I’ll put all my project details below. You can also see a bunch of pictures and notes of the work in progress here. And, if you love knitting doll clothes, check out all of mine here!
yarn details
Knit Picks Mighty Stitch Fingering in Mulberry Heather
Fingering Weight
80% Acrylic, 20% Wool
437 yards / 100 grams
Purchased November 2025, Lot 2406
project details
pattern: “Penelope” by Steph Wiley (purchase on Ravelry)
size knit: one size
needles: US size 1.5 (2.5 mm) circular needles and DPNs for the sleeves
yarn used: 241 yards (55 grams) – a little over half the ball
duration: April-August, 2026
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