Short rows may look off putting, but in their very simplest form can provide a way to shape knitting, in this case adding enough shaping so that the doll can sit up on her own if required. There are several ways of working short rows, the instructions below show only one way of working. The notes and Row numbers in the text refer to the doll pattern first released as the 2017 Advent Calendar.
Short rows at their simplest will leave stitches unworked at the end of a row and the work is then turned, so knitting can commence in a different direction. The first stitch of each turn is slipped purlwise, to avoid gaping holes in the work. In the photo below the last 2 stitches of the first shaping row remain unworked – outlined in red.
Turn the work and purl to the last 2 stitches, leave these unworked (outlined in red, previous rows unworked stitches outlined in blue):
The unworked stitches from this row are shown in red, the green and blue circled stitches are those unworked from the two previous rows.
When the halfway point of Row 23 has been worked the work will look like this, (unworked stitches circled):
After the halfway point stitches are added back onto the needle with each turn, remember to slip the first stitch after the turn. Less turns will be made from this point:
By the end of Row 23 one unworked stitch can still be seen at the end of the needle in the lower photo below:
The last stitch is worked at the end of Row 24:
Note: Sometimes the two shaping rows will be combined and written as Rows 23-24, with Row 24 being tagged onto the end of Row 23. The shaping rows are only worked once if the pattern is written in this way.
After Row 24 is complete all the stitches will be back in use and your work will look like this:
