My granddaughter, who is just two years old, received a small and very nondescript stuffed baby doll when she was maybe one, and she loves it still. What I love about this particular stuffed baby is the simplicity and the size of it. I have so much fun watching what she loves and what works when it comes to imaginative play for a child her age.

My intention with this design was to create an adorable hand-knit baby doll with lots of personality and charm, and at the same time keep it about the same size and feel as my granddaughter’s original doll. If I may, I think I hit it out of the ballpark with this one. My granddaughter loves these hand-knit babies. The First Baby is about as perfect as you can get for little hearts and hands, plus it fits right in a coat pocket or backpack as an easy take-along.

There is a lot of room for making your First Baby your own with color and style. Why not make a bunch of them, all different? Add the hair buns, or leave them completely off for short hair. If you’re worried about the face embroidery being pulled out by really little ones, leave it off and add it on later as the child grows.

Enjoy making and gifting your own First Babies. You’ll be the hit of any baby shower with this one. And, more importantly, this baby doll would be perfect for any age person, not just toddlers. I am planning on making more clothes for the First Baby in the future so stay tuned for that.

Finished Measurement

Baby: 8 1/2 - inches from the tip of the toe to the top of the head

Bloomers: 2-inches in length from waistband to bottom front

Shirt: 2 1/4-inches from neckband to hem

Yarn

Barrett Wool Co. Home Worsted, 100% American Wool, 230 yards / 100 grams, small amounts needed (listed below) in four colorways per baby.

Home Worsted Colorways used in samples:

Baby 1:

Skin tone - Bear (brown)

Hair - Peppercorn (charcoal black)

Bloomers - Snowy Pine (icy mint green)

Shirt - Wood Violet (purple) and Snowy Pine

Baby 2:

Skin Tone - James (light peach)

Hair - Marmalade (pumpkin orange)

Bloomers - Grassland (green)

Shirt - Scout (teal blue) and Grassland

Baby 3:

Skin Tone - Acorn (beige)

Hair - Bear (brown)

Bloomers - Wood Violet (purple)

Shirt - Red Flannel (red) and Wood Violet

Baby 4:

Skin Tone - Picket Fence (creamy white)

Hair - Humble Gold (golden yellow)

Bloomers - Priscilla (light pink)

Shirt - Bluff (medium blue) and Priscilla

Approximate Amounts Used in Grams:

Baby: about 30 grams

Hair cap with two buns: about 10 grams

Bloomers: about 10 grams

Shirt: about 10 grams

Needles

Baby and Hair: US size 5 / 3.75mm, set of double-pointed needles

Clothes: US size 5 / 3.75mm and US size 6 / 4mm, set of double-pointed needles

Or size to obtain gauge.

Gauge

6 sts per inch on smaller needles in stockinette stitch

5.5 sts per inch on larger needles in stockinette stitch

Materials

Yarn needle
Locking stitch markers
Fiberfill
Waste yarn
Black embroidery floss or crochet cotton size
Optional: Sewing pins to hold the hair cap in place while attaching to head.