You just hold the knee-hi up against the doll,
band top at the waist, and stick a straight pin where it hits her toe and and
another at crotch height.
Then, you sew them before you cut them, which prevents the ravels. Set your
zigzag stitch to "fine" (that's more than 20 stitches per inch), at buttonhole
stitch width (which on my machine is 2 1/2, but is different on every make and
model). Stitch straight across the knee-hi where you have the toe pin.
Fasten off. Put your needle into the stitching line about 1" from the edge
and stitch up toward the crotch straight pin at a gentle angle, turn, stitch
straight across1/4", turn again, and stitch at a gentle angle down to the
bottom stitching line, ending 1 inch from the edge.
NOW cut, very close to your stitching lines. Then, to fix it in place, zigzag
stitch over your stitching again, catching in the raw edges. Turn right side
out and presto, instant tights. People with sergers do it more elaborately,
but I don't have a serger. I discovered this one day when my old 1974 Singer
got stuck in buttonhole stitch when the nylon cams wore out.
Once you have made a pair of trouser sock tights--if you cut thriftily, you
can get a short-sleeved coordinating tee shirt out of the heel portion of the
sock you just used and the other trouser sock in the pair. I did it this
morning for a 16" My Friend, so I am sure that it will also work for the
smaller GF dolls. I haven't tried it yet for an 18" AG or HO. They might
require the longer socks for a bit of extra yardage.
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