Stacie Coat and Hat

Stacie won my guage doesn't match the pattern designers lottery this week and ended up with an outfit I'd been trying to make for Chelsea. It's no great loss as with adjustments I think I can make this for Chelsea and now I have a pattern that will work for Stacie since there are so few patterns that are designed specifically for her.

This is a Petite Creative Designs pattern that can be purchased here.

The pattern calls for size 10 cotton thread and a 1.75mm thread hook. I used a 1.8mm hook. I'm thinking of going down significantly for Chelsea or perhaps if necessary switching to size 20 thread.

I followed the coat pattern as written with the exception of the arms. Stacie has one bent arm and this makes the coat sleeves two different sizes. I made the straight arm first and when I tried to make the second arm the same length it was too long for the bent arm. I pulled out some rows and crocheted it to a length that fits the arm as bent. Off the doll it is clear the arms are different sizes but it fits the doll.

This Stacie has a good size bun for this style of hat. In order to accomadate the hat I left the last 6 stitches unworked as I got to the section where her bun interfered with the hat sitting on the head. I then chained 6 and joined to the start of the hat row. As I continued I crocheted into the chain rows and continued around. This allows the hair to go through the hole.

Lots to Love 14 Inch Baby Doll Sweater, Hat, Pants, and Booties

This was the outfit I started to make which gave the Our Generation doll a cardigan with pants set. I used an F hook for the sweater and it resulted in a better fit. I used a G hook for everything else and it seemed fine.

The striped yarn is Lion Brand Ice Cream Lemon Meringue. The solid yellow is Bernat Baby Big Ball Sport in Yellow. Again I want to say I got this at Walmart as I've been finding the color selection less than ideal online for this brand and have a large selection in my stash for the doll projects.

The pants hat and booties came out fine as written. I've made the sweater twice now and while I like the look of it, not quite the look of the project picture. I take the responsiblity for this. I likely have missed a direction some place. Not unusual for me and with the additional challenge of using UK terms I can make mistakes.

Stacie Crop Top and Shorts

This is the final outfit for the 2024 donation from Annie's Fashion Doll Crochet Club's Cool Crop Tops and Shorts FC0104. I'd previously made the outfits for Barbie and Skipper and then things oddly got busy at the end of the summer and has continued into the fall season. I finished this outfit right before Labor Day and she's been waiting patiently for her picture and a return to the model bag to hang with her friends.

I love the idea that with one pattern I can make outfits for three of the Barbie dolls with minimal changes. I used Lion Brand Ice Cream Yarn and Baby Bernat Sport for this project. I used a C hook with the Medium directions to get the fit for Stacie. I can only imagine this will be on my to do list for 2025 as it works up quickly for all three dolls and gives a nice summer outfit that may not be exciting in the winter when the doll is received but will be something to return to as the weather thaws.

Our Generation Cardigan and Pants

Over the years and working with so many different sized dolls for the donation I try to recycle items if they end up too big or too small for the original doll. In this case the sweater is from a Petite Designs Baby Doll pattern that can be purchased here. Clearly it was too big for the baby doll but on further reflection it seemed like it would be a nice selection for the Our Generation Doll. Now she needed pants.

For the pants I freestyled a pair based on a Maggie's Crochet pattern I've used forever but can do without even really reading anymore as I've made them so often. Abby, Allie and Annie pattern that can be purchased here.

I finished this and a Stacie outfit that will post tomorrow around Labor Day and the dolls have been patiently waiting for the pictures to be taken so they can return to the model bag. I've been busy with other things but last week was my week for tackling things I really shouldn't be ignoring anymore. I'm preposting these so they will be documented for my own records.

The sweater was made with Big Ball Baby Bernat Sport yarn. I don't see the purple online much anymore. I still find it occasionally at Walmart of all places. The blue is Red Heart Super Saver.

I was pleased to find two of the JC 16 inch Hispanic Baby Dolls on sale. Doll prices have been crazy with inflation. My solution to this problem has been to put the dolls I'm interested on wish lists at the stores I shop at so I can monitor the prices and purchase when the price is at a price point I'm willing to pay and I have the resouces available for the donation project. The sales are sometimes quick so if there is something specific I'm looking for I will check frequently to see if the price has changed at all. I happened to stumble into this price drop. It appears they've gone up again when I checked while writing this blog.

Thankfully my doll room looks a little like an episode of hoarders as I buy on sale and some years when the prices are high I can go without needing to buy certain dolls. That being said to avoid truly becoming a doll hoarder I donated a Ken and Barbie doll to our Church's free botique as they still have play life in them but they aren't the new standard we look for to donate to Aztec Wishes. These look like they've been doll models. However, I take all the original pieces and store in a baggie until its time to donate so they have all their original clothes and accessories. Ken has plastic hair so he actually looks pretty good. Barbie's hair, well she shows the dark side of life as a doll model.

I am almost finished with remaking this outfit for the intended doll. One more bootie and it will be ready to roll.