16 Inch Baby Doll Dress for Summer

I believe with this last outfit made from the free Dress for February pattern found here I'm done with the pattern for this donation year. The La Baby 16-inch Baby Doll is the fourth outfit made from this pattern this year so I've gotten quite a bit of mileage from a pattern that wasn't designed to fit any of the dolls.

I'm still targeting yarn in the stash that needs to go. The green is Michael's Craft Smart yarn. I bought a few colors on a whim shortly after AC Moore closed and I've never been crazy about the feel of the yarn. I've promised myself to finish off my supply though and this dress was a great time to work on that goal. The pink is Red Heart Super Saver, Pretty n Pink I had left over from the Lil Cutesies Doll Moses Basket. This is the second outfit I've used it on since than and I still haven't finished it off yet. The yellow is Joann's Big Twist.

The free pattern for the shoes is the one I'm always writing about and can be found here. The hat is a work in progress. I don't quite have a pattern mastered yet which is why I've been taking the extra brim shots. I used the pictures from the Fall outfit when I was working on this hat. At some point I'm going to have to get around to writing down the actual pattern.

16 Inch Baby Doll Dress, Hat, and Shoes

This is the second outfit made from the free Linmary Knits pattern for the second JC Toys - 16-inch Baby Doll that will be donated for the holiday toy drive. Since there really aren't specific patterns for this doll I try to duplicate the patterns I do adapt so I have equal outfits for both dolls I donate. On occasion as with this pattern its worked well for other dolls being donated as well. You can find the free pattern here. It's hard to find shoes to fit this doll so I tend to stick with the shoes from the free pattern set Peachy Keen found here.

This pattern is designed for a 14" baby doll. To make it fit I used a g hook added 4 additional purple rows to the top and two additional rows to the skirt to get the length I wanted for the doll. I've experimented with the hook size on the hat on the previous 2 dolls and this time tried it with an f hook. It is a snug fit so either the f or g is likely a good fit depending on the yarn. The shoes require an I hook.

This outfit was made with now unavailable Red Heart Comfort Sport yarn and Bernat Baby Big Ball Sport Yarn, Baby Yellow. The shoes were made with RED HEART Super Saver Yarn, Amethyst.

16 Inch Baby Doll Carrier

I looked at my stash yarn as I approached this project and realized I didn't have 3 skeins of the same colored purple yarn but I could mix and match to finish the project. This seemed like an ideal solution as my goal is to reduce my rather large stash of yarn to a more manageable size. Using up yarn on larger projects is always a great way to start. I came close to finishing with the 3 skeins I started with but the 2 Red Heart skeins gave out at the very end when it came time to make the handles. I had enough left from a partial pounder and found 2 slightly different Red Heart Super Saver purple shades to finish off the handles. I thought the finished look was fine.

I'm already scanning my stash to decide what to use for the last doll carrier. I need to give my hands a rest as working with the 3 skeins at once is hard on my hands and wrists, but time is moving quickly. The deadline will be here before I know it. I'd like to have the stuff ready early if possible.

For those of you interested this is a free pattern and you can find it here. I've modified the pattern to make it slightly smaller as I found the original to be rather large. I crochet the first 10 rows of the pattern with an I hook and finish the remainder with the suggested K hook.

The granny blanket came courtesy of a donation from a MO member of Crochetville. I'm fortunate that she and others help me with this doll donation each year. It means more kids get dolls with clothing and accessories each year.

16 Inch Baby Doll Bib Round 2

I finished the second bib for the JC Toys 16-inch Soft Body Baby Doll and now only have to adapt the pattern to fit the JC Toys - Lots to Love Babies 14" Doll which is close it fitting but will need some adjustments. I tried this one on the 14" doll and it was too long and just a little wide. I suspect it is closer to the original free pattern found here.

After I finish the bibs I have to working on the changing pads. I'd like to see if I could design one that folds rather than rolls but we will see how that works out. If all else fails I know the roll works. I have one doll carrier started but the going is slow as working with 3 strands together is hard on the hands. I'm hoping if I spread out the work the damage to my hands will be less.

Notes:

I mentioned this in the previous post but next year when I go looking I want to make sure all the posts have the info I need to make these again if my notes go missing. To make this fit the 16" doll I need to chain 16 to start and then complete 20 rows before beginning shaping round. To make the bib ties I chain 40.

Peachy Keen

I've made this pattern several times now but ironically this is the first time I've had peach on hand when I decided to make the outfit.

I've been talking online with other crocheters about the difference between using yarn you consistantly use and destashing. For me destashing is targeting yarn that will leave permanantly and not be replaced. For instance in this project I used some Craft Smart Value Yarn I bought from Michael's ages ago right after AC Moore closed. I know its been that long because I don't often shop at Michaels. I've been trying different "house" brand yarns and some like Joann's Big Twist I really like. While I've read Craft Smart has improved I would not be rushing back to buy more. The skein I have is full of knots and the texture is what many who hate acrylic yarn think of when they discuss why they won't use it. However, I am determined to finish off yarn in my stash and this was peach and would work for a doll's outfit. However, to distinguish between finishing off yarn that you buy and destashing I will finish off the skein of white and replace it if not with the brand I have on hand another of similiar type. When this skein of Craft Smart is done I will likely get more peach at some point but it won't be this brand.

I love this pattern. It does remind me of my childhood when we still had dress coats for church and play coats for being outside in the mud. Our "dress" coats might be home made or hand me downs but they were easily distinguishable as the coat you wore to Church on Sunday as were the shoes. I think I was in Jr. High or High School before I slipped into church in sneakers.

This pattern works up quickly despite the layered look. I used a flower button instead of crocheting one. I did not add one tot he hat.

Notes:

I added additional rows to the skirt and then forgot to add them to the coat. This required me to pull out the edging and add rows to the coat before finishing as the coat looks better when it is longer than the skirt.

The shoes require an I hook to fit the JC Toys 16-inch Baby Doll or they are too tight. I added an extra row at the top before making the shoe strap and the shoes fit better.

This time I did have the 7 hook to use instead of the H and the fit was better. The pattern alternates between a G, 7, and a H hook. The last time I made this I'd misplaced my 7 and went with the H. The 7 makes for a better fit.

As an additional note the buttons I've been using from a long ago swap no longer have a complete set of larger sized buttons that can be used for this coat. I put this note here to remind myself when I pull this up next year to buy coat buttons or there won't be any to finish this project. I've been very blessed that the supply has held out this long but as with all things they do come to an end.

Baby Doll Wipes

I try to be dilegent about linking to pattern designers so people can find the patterns for items I write about but patterns disappear, sometimes temporarily, sometimes forever. I'm not sure what happened with this pattern set. The pattern is for a doll's diaper bag set. The designer at one point sold it with the patern for a doll but I bought it when she was selling it just with the diaper bag and accessories. It included the bag, a bottle, a changing pad, and these wipes. It was a nice set to give a child to play with a baby doll. I have two more of these wipes to make. If the pattern reappears in that time I'll add a link to all the posts for people to find.

One of the things I like about this set is that it adds to the pretend play by giving the child wipes to use in their diaper bag but they are reusable. They don't run out and need to be replaced. I saw an empty plastic bottle in one doll set and another with "wet wipes" but the first requires complete imagination and the second will be a disapointment when they run out or will require constant replacement by some other refill method. This allows the child to pretend and reuse unless you have a doll that really does require changing not just a pretend change.

First Doll Donation for 2021

Some where along the line Mom and I got our messages crossed. She sent me donations over the summer and I thought we were done for the year. She got busy and the day before Thanksgiving there was a rather large box at my door filled with doll clothing. Since the donation has already left for this year I have almost a complete bag of doll clothes for the Our Generation doll started for next year.

I was on the fence as to whether I was going to switch to the My Life dolls next year instead of doing both as most of the donations fit the My Life Doll but Mom's fit the Our Generation doll best so the day before Thanksgiving I found a pre Black Friday sale and got a buy one get one half off and already have my Our Generation dolls for next year's donation. Mom is promising more clothes before next year's deadline. I also find sometimes an outfit I make does fit one doll better than the other so it doesn't hurt to have both to send off.

While most items on this blog are crochet, as our most of the items donated for the toy drive from our group, Mom is the only knitter.

Mom sent me her first baby doll outfit. She is interested in making more so I picked up some patterns a Mary Maxim's $.99 sale the day before Thanksgiving for the different sized baby dolls I send. I also found her a few new 18" doll patterns as well. One of the free crochet bloggers that I get baby doll patterns from also makes knitted patterns so I downloaded and printed some of those for her as well. I'm hoping to get them off in her Christmas package.