Nicky Epstein Knits for Dolls: 25 Fun, Fabulous Outfits for 18-Inch Dolls

Although I'm a longtime fan of well-known knitting designer Nicky Epstein, I was a little disappointed by NICKY EPSTEIN KNITS FOR DOLLS. The outfits are cute, but are mostly for dolls' everyday wear (dresses, sweaters, shrugs, coats, bags, fanciful hats). I was expecting more themed-costume designs, for activities like horseback riding, ballet dancing, gymnastics, cooking, role-playing, etc. Of course, there is a "royal princess" costume ("All That Glitters"), an ice-skating/skiing costume ("Winter Wonderland"), and a "tennis" costume ("Perfect Match") consisting of leggings with hoodie (not a short-skirted tennis dress).My personal favorites are: (1) "Skullduggery" (a black pullover with a big skull-and-crossbones on the front, a red ribbed turtleneck, and striped sleeves and hem); (2) "Winter Wonderland" (an ice-skating pants suit with a pretty blue-and-white Fair Isle design on the hooded, fur-trimmed jacket); (3) "Ruffles and Roses" (a party dress with a three-tiered skirt in shades of pink attached to a rose-embroidered top, completed with a matching basket-of-roses handbag); and (4) "Mirror, Mirror" (a lavender top and long skirt, both decorated with a diamond pattern formed from tiny, knitted-in beads).These patterns are designed for 18" dolls. Many of the patterns call for sportweight, DK weight, or fingering weight yarns, and for US 3 needles. Some designs call for US 6 or 7 needles. However, because these are doll clothes, the average gauge is around 6-8 stitches to the inch. A notable exception is the lovely but challenging "Mirror, Mirror" design with its tiny beads, which is knit on a US 0 circular, at a gauge of 10.5 stitches to the inch.Most patterns use written-out instructions; a few patterns include simple charts for easy Fair Isle or textured design elements (e.g., "Winter Wonderland" (Fair Isle jacket); "Fairy Tale Blanket" (textured turreted castle knitted-in using reverse stockinette on stockinette)' "Skullduggery" (skull motif); "Modern Masterpiece" (Fair Isle yoke)). The patterns appear simple to knit, without much shaping, so most should be easy enough for an advanced beginner to knit.The book has full-color photographs of each design (modeled by a doll in a theme setting); and the Table of Contents is a photo gallery that illustrates the entire pattern collection. Although the patterns aren't as varied or inspired as I'd hoped they'd be, NICKY EPSTEIN KNITS FOR DOLLS provides good value for the price (currently about $14).

This book has the CUTEST patterns! I am a beginning knitter, and I thought this book might give me a chance to learn different techniques on smaller pieces - e.g. less frustration; quicker results. The patterns run from simple to advanced and offer good tips and instruction on doing the different stitches, so it's sort of like taking a course. My more advanced knitting friends were enchanted, and we all picked the skater outfit as our favorite! However, few of us knew how to do charts, so while the book is good for beginners, it's also good to stretch more experienced knitters.However, BE WARNED...if you buy this book, it will eventually be very costly!! Here's why: I thought I would just learn to knit using this book. Then I realized I would want to try the clothes on a doll - DUH! I haven't had a doll in 50 years! So, of course, I had to have a doll. I'd known about the American Girl Dolls, and I thought I'd get one of them. When I started googling dolls, I remembered the Sasha dolls from the 60's. They were gorgeous. That led me to the German Gotz dolls. They were even better than Sasha or AG dolls. So, I bought one - it was a little more expensive than the AG dolls, but now, she needs shoes, other clothes, maybe furniture, etc. See what I mean?In my "research" on dolls, I've learned about the AG size and the "slim body" dolls. Mine is a slim body, so these clothes should fit, since I usually crochet and knit tighter, but be forewarned about the size differences. It would be nice if this info were given in this book, but you can Google "doll clothes patterns" to find a blog that shows how to measure dolls to get the best fit for each body type. Then you'll be all set to knit away. Enjoy!

The photos and ideas for the projects are great but I was disappointed with this book. The most popular 18" doll is American Girl but the doll used for the book was a Madame Alexander doll. This doll is 1" smaller in the hips and shoulders so if you knit the patterns as is some of the clothes do NOT fit the American Girl doll.Five women in my knitting group bought the book and we've started knitting some of the outfits. We've discovered errors in some of the patterns. Don't know how many more we'll discover as we work our way through the book. Went to the publisher's website and discovered some of the errors had been posted. I emailed them about another error and that has been posted as well.Visiting the publisher's website is an eye opener. Their page of corrections to patterns in their books is incredible. Can't believe they publish books without testing the patterns from the "proof" or whatever it is called before publication.Another comment from my knitting group is about the yarns used in some of the outfits. We would prefer a yarn type or weight be listed as opposed to a specific yarn especially if it is a specialty yarn. It would be easier to substitute if you wanted to as some of the yarns are quite expensive. Fine if you are knitting a project for yourself but not exactly suitable to make for a child to play with.

While the designs are very sweet, the knitting patterns are badly written and in some cases almost impossible to follow. The one for ‘My cozy Valentine’ has a cable repeat, which I had to write out in order to get started, as it only gave 2 rows and then said continue in pattern as established although one cable repeat was 6 rows and the other 8 rows and therefore did not make sense. I had similar problems with another of Nicky Epstein doll pattern books. Also the yarn suggested is usually very expensive and difficult to source, or even to find a suitable substitute.

Low star rating because the yarns quoted are unobtainable in England ,you will need to experiment with yarns and needles to obtain the correct tension. A simple DK or 4ply or Aran weight etc in the instructions would have fixed the problem. The designs themselves are very cute.

I liked the variety of fashions for different seasons. The colours in the pattern book were vibrant. Easy to knit and follow the patterns. Have knitted most of the patterns for a 18 inch doll.

Love this book of knits for dolls. I was knitting like mad for my 2 granddaughters as I had already bought the 18" dolls they fit. Have made quite a few of the outfits, bags and hats but there is still more to do. Glad I bought this book and I must say that as the author is American some of the wording of a few patterns made me stop and think a little as to what I had to do. I have only been knitting again for the last 3 years or so after a long break and I managed to produce lovely items so I am very pleased with my purchase.

Great, mainly knitting book. A few stitches of crochet to pretty and finish off the clothes. if you can't crochet it doesn't matter .All of the patterns are straight foreward with all of the abreviations fully explained. The patterns are so trendy and modern, The coloured picture on the front of the book showing the outfits are so inviting needing immediate knitting . Enjoy