I have always been a fan of fairy tales, the original harsher versions and the more sanitized Disney versions. I've noticed lately there seems to be more interest in the classic tales in various genres of books, movies, and TV offerings. I've also seen more toys, especially dolls devoted to the topic. Until recently, I hadn't come across much in the way of crochet patterns for the 18" dolls. Joan Hinds published several sewing books on the topic that I purchased for my Mom, but not being a sewer myself, they were only pretty to look at, not terribly helpful to use.
Recently though, I came across a series of patterns on Etsy from SweetSilverCreations and my DH was kind enough to get me started on my Princess collection as part of my Valentine's gifts. I made Cinderella last month and you can read about that here. Today we have Snow White. The pattern can be purchased here.
Having made two of the patterns in this series I can say I like the way she's designed the dresses. This one is similar, but different from the Cinderella dress. When I first looked at this dress I was very curious to see how she would create the point in the bodice of the gown and it is a creative and very easy look to achieve. For the 3 I've worked on so far, she's used Red Heart yarn so the colors are easily acquired, affordable, and less likely to go out of availability before I pick up these patterns for next year's donation. This is a big factor for me when I'm working on donation projects. While I treat myself to a couple of specialty yarn doll projects each year, for the most part I stick to projects that allow me to use the less expensive brand name yarns.
The only real challenge this project presented were the sleeves. I couldn't work the sleeves the way described and had to sew them together, use a gathering stitch and sew them to the sleeve opening. For a more accomplished sewer the original instructions would likely not create an issue. However, as I've mentioned many times, sewing is not one of my major accomplishments. I created 5 sleeves before getting these two to set. It was a battle royal. I am only glad I didn't destroy the bodice in the process and have to start again. Generally, I try to avoid having to set a sleeve when possible. Even when the directions state otherwise I'll start the sleeve in the armhole and crochet it in. However, to create the effect, it was necessary for these sleeves to be set.
The shoes are not part of this set. However, I had a small ball of yellow left and I hate having little balls of yarn sitting around, so I used the shoe pattern from the American Girl Sailor Dress to make her a pair of shoes. Now Snow White has shoes and I have no annoying ball of yarn.
I'm hoping to have Sleeping Beauty finished this week and I have it on good authority that the Easter Bunny may be dropping off some more of SweetSilverCreations princess patterns. Well I've hinted at least.
