American Girl Easter

I'm slowly working my way through the holiday donation outfits for the 18 inch dolls. I haven't even started on the baby dolls yet.

This Easter outfit is Maggie's Crochet Ready For Spring pattern and it can be purchased here. When it was originally published on Annie's Attic I had the hardest time getting it. It was sold out and back ordered before I even had a chance to get my order in for it. At that point I wasn't much for digital copies. However, I did eventually get my copy.

I tried making this a couple of times and until I finished Cinderella's outfit this year I never realized why I was unable to finish this outfit. My mistake was in confusing the many types of shells. This pattern also uses multiple shells. In fact I still had to pull it out once when I realized I'd mixed up the 5 stitch shell with the 3 stitch shell making for a much smaller skirt.

There is no brand color cited for the trim. The yarn for the dress, trim, and headband was TLC and I don't even know if it is still available for purchase. I couldn't find it the last time I tried to make the outfit. I originally tried acrylic variegated in a shade close to the picture, but I didn't like the way it looked. I had some pastel kitchen cotton and I used that and thought the look was better. I also used the cotton to make the headband and I liked the way it turned out.

For the basket I used two strains of my friend's acrylic that I've been trying to finish off. It's a little larger than I needed but it worked.