Wednesday, April 02, 2008

She's creepy and she's spooky

Ladeeez and Gennelmen! It is my absolute pleasure to introduce Ms Wednesday Addams! And don't let me forget her pet spider, Homer!
(thunderous applause from the stands...or at least from me! I can't help but say that I loved making Wednesday and most especially her clothes - so addictive!!!)

So I cannot resist flashing a few of Wednesday's outfits. You can see the rest on flickr. I made Wednesday, along with a few other things which I'll blog later this week, for the Ravelry Australian Knitters Bag Lady Swap. My pal, who lives in Darwin and has a 7yo daughter and twin 2 yo boys, posted that she loves Wednesday Addams. And so I got this crazy idea that I'd make her very own Wednesday, that she might even just share with her daughter!

Details

Pattern: Knitted Babes by Claire Garland. Both for the doll and for most of the outfits (except the Wednesday dress and the denim skirt, which I "designed" (iemade up)). I made lots of modifications to the patterns, mainly to knit them in the round where possible, rather than flat. Even the doll body is knitted flat in the book, which seemed crazy to me (the only reason it makes sense is that it makes it easier to sew on the facial features, but even so, it wasn't that hard to do it after knitting in the round). For the arms and legs I did i-cord (my first time!) rather than knitting them flat (they are supposed to be done in stocking stitch, so they curl in anyway - why not use i-cord?) The gauge of the patterns seemed to be totally off as well, so I made the doll body first, and then made the clothes to fit.
Yarn: For the doll body, Rowan 4ply cotton. For the Wednesday dress, Rowan Cotton Glace. For the denim skirt, Rowan denim. For everything else, I used a bag of 4ply cottons given to me by Shazmina Bendi before her departure for colder climes! The clothes are a great way of using up scraps of leftover yarns!Sticks: For the doll, 3mm dpns. For the clothes, I ranged from 2.5mm sticks (leotard, undies, cream top) to 2.75mm dpns, 3mm dpns, 3.25mm dpns/sticks (party dress), and 4mm dpns (denim skirt, Wednesday dress). I also used a 2.5mm crochet hook for her bag and shoes (mary-janes, ballet slippers and slides)Time: I started Wednesday on 3 March 2008 and finished the last of her clothes the night before I posted out the package, 26 March 2008.

What I learnt: Making doll clothes is the best fun ever! And that a wrap-top for a doll has just as many ends to weave in as an adult garment!! Gurk! I hope you love Wednesday. A couple of my work colleagues didn't want me to post her off as they wanted to keep her for themselves. Maybe, if they are good, I might make another one so we can play dress-ups at work. Except I'll make lots more red clothes and far fewer pink ones!!

27 comments:

amy said...

I love her!! I saw her pop in Ravelry and I admit, I was a bit baffled. You knit a Wednesday Addams?! But I LOVE her! I doubt I'd have the patience.

m1k1 said...

I was going to say that I think the ballerina outfit takes the biscuit. Then I had a moment of doubt about the phrase. COED to the rescue. Can mean most amusing, but also annoying, and that was definitely not my point.
SO: I liked the ballerina best.
If only there had been some witty pun with the biscuit bit. But no.
gloom
You are one enthusiastic swapper. Well done.

lilypotter said...

Sooo cute!! It's all adorable, but I think the little purse is my favorite. It's so tiny; I love it!

Anonymous said...

Saw this on Ravelry as well, and I LOVE her! And her clothes! Your pal is very very lucky :)

Bells said...

My dear you are so very good to have gone to such trouble for your swap pal. She's just a work of art. It would never have occured to me to do this and I can just tell you loved every minute of it. Well done. She's fabulous.

Anonymous said...

Hi RRed
Makes me wish I could knit. I love Wednesday. It strikes the little girl in me who wants a dolly to love.
You're so clever!
Adele (Bellknits sister)

TinkingBell said...

She is so gorgeous - I must have one - and the clothes - you are an absolute corker! What fun!

Georgie said...

She is fabulous, well done! And excellent that you had so much fun doing her and her outfits. The potential for fun is enormous!

Bron said...

Ooooh she is amazing!! I love the outfits - the little wrap top is gorgeous! =)

Jo said...

She is gorgeous!!!! Gotta love her pet spider ;-)

Janette said...

Adoreable, adoreable, adoreable!

I'm going to have to make a couple for my little Princess.... so, so, sweet.

Sarah said...

She is just fabulous. You are a champ for thinking of her - all those mods to sort her out and she looks totally perfect - as for her clothes, wow - and I'm glad to see you didn't neglect the shoes :o)

Snoozen said...

Hey RoseRed are you taking orders, I think she is amazing. Can I pay you to make a couple for my girlies? I have not been able to do any work on my secret project for a couple of weeks and feel craft deprived so thanks for the inspiration.

SadieandLance said...

Oh she's just gorgeous and what a great model she is in all her different outfits!

AVKAJ said...

As the very, very lucky recipient of Wednesday (and many other goodies) I want to assure you all she is being well loved here in Darwin! My daughter has been taking her to bed at night and playing with her as soon as she gets home from school--I have to figure out how to get her distracted so I can take her to keep me company at work for at least a day or two!
-Vanessa (aka twinsane on Rav)

Linda said...

She is fabulous! I love the spider and she looks so good! I think that mine should join her as Morticia.

Donna Lee said...

What an adorable project! What a great swap pal to make something so perfect. I always wanted to be a ballerina and I love the toe shoes!

Anonymous said...

That has to be one of the cutest projects ever! And those clothes are great! What patience & skill. Great job.

Olivia said...

She is amazing, Rose Red! The few other knitted babes I have seen online looked a bit odd with the super-skinny limbs, but they seem to suit Wednesday perfectly. Great work with the clothes too. An inspired project!

Anonymous said...

She's definitely not ookey!! Wow, I saw her on The Ravelry but here, in all her Wednesdayness: she's fabulous!! The clothes are gorgeous!!!!

Diana said...

She is wonderful!!! Lovely clothes and her shoes, Oh my! I think I need to look into that book.

DrK said...

she really is very special and you are very clever! i seriously want one, which surely is not right :)

Denise said...

Oh wow, she is very very cool! I bet it was hard to send her off to a new home...!

Ann said...

Wednesday is gorgeous & I love her clothes. You did a beautiful job.

Michele said...

waaaaah i want to knit doll clothes. and only doll clothes. she's almost as adorable as you.

Honeygo Beasley said...

How adorable! Love the whole concept and the design.

Kate said...

This is quite the most beautiful knitted doll ever. And I love her limbs; they remind me of The Nightmare Before Christmas animations - so cute and creepy! As for the colthes, the fact that you contemplated and then produced a wrap for a doll this size has me gob-smacked! What are you, crazy? Still, it looks wonderful. But I think Wednesday needs red shoes too : )