Using up old yarn - can anyone beat this?

Although I have used some of my very old stash and resolved not to buy any more yarn - I jut couldn't help it when I saw some in the sale.

I saw this on local tv about a knitted garden displayed at the Malvern Spring Festival, which a widow started in memory of her husband. People have donated knitted hearts from all over the world:
www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-gloucestershire-43541923

Nothing in my stash is that old !, but I do have a lot of odds and ends, can’t throw anything away. I am just finished a granny square blanket for my niece’s little girl, it’s just nice size for a single bed, then with the really little odd bits left, I have made a matching one for her baby dolls crib. She was thrilled with it, and it didn’t cost a penny.

Amazing to be able to make a fabric bouquet, aspeas - that's another thing I'd never be able to do, at least not one that any bride would want to be seen with!

I did do the table - except top table - flowers for dd's informal wedding, though - there were a lot of tables so cost was a factor. I'm not at all artistic but copied a picture I'd seen somewhere. Jam jars! But carefully covered with heavy hessian from John Lewis, and filled very simply with greenery, gypsophilia, and a white rose. Tied ribbon and a plain label around each with table number. Though I say it myself they did turn out very well.

When my son married two years ago his brides bouquet was made by me using fabric left over from his christening robe that I made 22 years previously , it made it even more special

We still have Bonny. She was my dd doll but she never played with her but my ds loved her. He does not know it but she sits in the top of my wardrobe in case he has any dc in the future.

I had a tiny doll (the sort with elastic bands to hold the arms and legs on) given as a present when I was born. She was dressed in a knitted one piece suit in one/two ply wool, with similar knitted underwear in white. She was given to a cousin when she was born, back to my DC when they were born, then back again to her DC. Not sure where she is now - hope she's still going strong because we all loved her.

Well done Hilly! keep going
who's going to be the lucky recipient?

Sorry pedants, animals'.

When I was expecting DD1, now 36, I bought a kit to sew Noah's Ark and lots of different animals to go in it. I cut it all out, sewed round a few animals then lost interest. When DD2 was on the way I sewed a few more and gave up.
I found it again when my first grandson was born and got as far as sewing the ark to the backing fabric. I still had all the animals tails to sew up, I did a few when my GD was little but it was so fiddley I gave up.
A year ago GS2 was born and a few months ago I found it again. I have finished ALL the animals (including their tails), stuffed them all and finished the top and bottom of the fabric so it will hang up. I just need to neaten the side edges........

I'm a lifelong sewer and crafter and have a HUGE stash of fabrics, threads, wools and other materials, many of them inherited from my mother and grandmother. I have just made a silk covered Journal for my GD's birthday, the silk was bought by my grandmother on her honeymoon in 1910. A nice link with a past generation. I regularly sew with threads made before 1900 and they are as good as the day they were made. I also sew with my grandmother's black & gold Singer machine given to her by her mother when she married. It's only a straight stitch machine, but it still works like new and is great for heavy materials. I do also have a modern machine.

My mother was a superb knitter. I am not - too slow for me. But I have many knitting patterns, mostly from the 1940s and 50s, but some earlier, together with some beautiful wools in 2ply and single ply. I love the styles from the 40s but sadly I am no longer the right shape for short, snug fitting cardigans and jumpers. It's interesting how standard sizing on patterns has changed over the years, or perhaps people have just got bigger!

I still have some of my childhood dolls, and last year I reclothed them (and rewigged a few) thinking that my younger GDs might enjoy them when they visit. As we had three sons I never got to make dolls clothes for my children. Sadly DGDs are not interested! My dolls don't do anything, they don't talk or transform into something else. So now they just sit in a cabinet where I can admire them. I found lots of vintage patterns available on the internet, but also had to make a few myself for the smaller dolls.

Using up fabric - I recently used a bit of leftover curtain material (stuffed in a drawer for 10 years) to make one of those tube things you hang on a hook for storing plastic bags, for a dd. So easy, and it freed up some of her very limited kitchen drawer space.

I still have two Tiny Tears dolls from when my daughters were small, 40 years ago , I knitted lots of outfits for them , My granddaughters play with them when they come to visit and I still knit clothes for the dolls from my stash when the telly is boring, I could never part with Tiny Tears, such happy memories of my daughters playing with them ,

Over the years as relatives and neighbours have died I always seem to end up with their sewing stuff and wool. I recently sewed something up with a reel of thread which had a price label in shillings! My friend cried when I showed her the crochet blankets I made from her late mum's left over wool.

GabriellaG I'm assuming you mean the story about the jumper and not the one about same DGD and the Sindy dolls!!

HannahLoisLuke

Is it Lagenlook (not sure of spelling)
I too like some of their linen items and buy them from eBay. Even then, they're not cheap.
It was a clever idea to copy the pattern.

Jalima
A very nice story.

My grandmother knitted all my dolls clothes including woolly knickers.

In my airing cupboard I still have blankets crocheted over 50 yrs ago by my grandmother using up all her left over wool.
Can't bear to part with them but feel sad that they are just left in a cupboard.

Taught myself to knit socks over the longer winter and I am now knitting socks with all the many odd balls of wool I have. I have also just starting making simp,e dresses and shorts the young children of the salt workers who live in appalling c9nditions in a place near where we stay most winters. Not sure what to do with the socks

Ive got lots of odd balls of yarn which I finally donated to a charity shop. I don't knit dolls clothes or blankets so thought somebody else would enjoy doing that. By the way isn't it expensive to knit your own these days? I don't like acrylic or man made fibres so the yarns I buy are always at least a fiver a 50 gram ball. I try not to overbuy but inevitably end up with at least one spare ball.
I did recently use up a three yard piece of cotton fabric that must be about twenty years old. I have a linen tunic style dress from a rather expensive Swedish range that I'm very fond of but didn't want to spend more money buying another. As its a simple shape I made a copy pattern with grease proof paper and made myself another one out of my "free" fabric. Very satisfying.

Farmor, I have recently used a Sirdar pattern no. 3124, clothes to fit doll from 12 to 22 inches. The pattern is very fiddly so I did it in a much simpler stitch. It's for hat, jacket, trousers and bootees. TBH I think my version is nicer than the fiddly one!

I have also recently made an 'angel top' dress from King Cole (relatively simple) pattern no. 5000. It was actually for a bigger doll, so I knitted it on smaller needles and it was fine.

sunnyday here is a link, and Ravelry could have some free patterns for dolls' clothes:
www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/462111611748586300/

Try your local library, they may have books of knitting patterns, otherwise you will need to hunt in charity shops for magazines from the right time.

Actually, I find that baby dolls' measurements have changed least, so you may find a book of patterns for one of the newer dolls, like "babyborn" that you can use.

How big is Jane? Sometimes the smallest size of patterns for babies can be used for dolls' clothes.

A magazine that existed when we were small and is still in print may even have the old patterns in their archives, or again a library should be able to find a copy of say Women's Own or women's illustrated.

Yes I have a stash of wool left over from knitting for DGC. I keep thinking I should find ways of using it up to make things for charity. Five years ago while I was away ( a rare occurrence when Mum was alive) Mum got my DH to order some yarn as she wanted to make a shortie type cardigan from a pattern she had found in her People's Friend magazine. It was quite a complicated lacy pattern and she started and undid the knitting several times. She was 96 at the time. When she died 3 years ago I vowed to knit it in her memory. The thread has reminded me so I must get the yarn out and start it. Thanks for the reminder.

I used to knit my daughter enormous jumpers (at her request) as she had long arms and was quite tall and thin and nothing in the shops fitted her ....I knitted a cowl neck one year, and she loved it so much I was required to knit four in different colours .......she still wore them at Uni ! The wool I had left I used , much to her embarrassment , to knit wooly scarves and pom pom hats for my garden gnomes in the winter (for fun ! it amused next doors small children !) she said DON'T EVER let my friends see that (by then she was a teenager !) all leftover wool (an enormous chest full of it) I gave to the Church for their knitting circle.........................sorry to say I still tend to buy wool but only ever knit cat blankets for the homeless cats home near me ! (and my own two !)

witzend , or anyone else - have you a pattern for the doll’s clothes you knitted? I’ve looked online and though there would seem to be patterns out there, I only found one with free download. I’m looking for ones for smallish (10-12”) baby doll.
My grandmother knitted me doll’s clothes, which I loved. I’ve already sewn some for my granddaughter but like the idea of using up wool scraps.