American Girl Hearts and Flowers

This was another project I finished but never got posted. It is the Valentine's dress for the 2nd 18 inch donation doll. This is another free pattern that can be found here. I would like to thank the designer Darski who has been a dear friend and amazing contributor to this donation for several years. Her patterns continue to inspire me every year. The shoes are not part of this pattern but they are available in another free pattern here.

I print a number of free patterns every year and I buy or am gifted a number of new patterns each year. One of the fun parts of this donation is to flip through the books and find something to try that I haven't either made before or to revisit a pattern I've not made in a while.

This pattern was such a cute fun pattern and it met goal of a second Valentine's pattern and the chance to visit a pattern I hadn't previously added to my donation project.

Little Miss Firecracker

I like to make at least one Patriotic outfit to cover the various Patriotic holidays. DH bought me a new pattern for Christmas, Little Miss Firecracker that can be purchased here.

I've been having a challenging time with gauge so I expected to use a larger hook. I had no issue with the dress. However, I did add more rows to the vest to get it to be a little longer. Again it could just be me, but I wanted it to cover the back of the dress where all the buttons show. The vest trim is very creative and I have plans to use the vest for other patterns. It makes a nice cover for an outfit.

The only holiday I have left to make is Halloween. I have a couple of options, but I'm working on a Dr. Seuss themed outfit at the moment. I found a free hat pattern a while back that I've wanted to make in honor of Dr. Suess' birthday March 2. When I was teaching we always had Cat and the Hat themed decorations for the day and various reading themed events.

I am thinking it would be nice if each doll had outfits for each holiday. We'll have to see if I get there. I have been fortunate in the years I've completed one holiday set along with the regular outfits. I still have to get those baby dolls done, too.

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.

American Girl Valentine's Outfit

I discovered Tara Cousin's Heart Tee and Skirt Outfit last year and decided it would be my Valentine's holiday outfit. You can purchase the outfit pattern here.

I've made peace this year with the idea that I have to play with gauge. I had to use an I hook to make the outfit fit and use up my friend's yarn on this outfit. With anything smaller the sweater was just too tight. I pulled out my first attempt prior to starting the blankets after using the suggested hook and decided to try the I hook after finishing up the doll blankets.

After finishing this project I've decided to tackle an Easter dress I've never completed. I've already pulled it out once when I realized I'd confused two of the shells. One shell has three stitches the other five. It makes a much smaller skirt when you only use three stitches. However, I'm back on track again and working to see how if I can make it work this year.

American Girl St. Patrick's Day

I love doing holiday outfits for my donation project. I've had this one on my list of projects to make for years and just never gotten there. This year seemed to be the year to attempt it.

Darski's free pattern can be found here.

This was a fun project and it again allowed me to use up some of the yarn I inherited from a friend who passed away. The pants have a very interesting construction method. I had to pull the hat out as I misread the directions and it wasn't forming at all as the picture showed.

One of the things I've been most excited about this year's projects is I'm taking the time to pull stuff out and redo them. Many times in the past I'd have abandoned a project and moved on to something I could finish faster and felt more productive. This time I slowed down a bit and figured it out. I'm still not a fan of the reverse SC.

American Girl Valentine's Sweater

I love adding holiday outfits to my doll donations. I'm not sure if the kids love them as much as I do, but since I'm the one doing all the crocheting I like giving myself some projects I enjoy, too.

Valentine's Day has always been a challenge for me as I didn't have anything specific for it. However, when I bought the Tara Cousin's set, it had a heart sweater that was perfect for my project. You can purchase the pattern here.

While this outfit required buttons, I was glad because it had a better fit to it. The heart pattern while charted was easy enough to follow. I changed it to more seasonal colors and I really liked the way it came out. One more holiday outfit finished.

Barbie and American Girl Doll Free Patterns are listed on my blog at these locations:

Barbie Crochet and Sewing Page

Barbie Knitting Page

Ken Page

Kelly/Skipper Page

American Girl Doll Crochet and Sewing

American Girl Doll Knitting

Doll Blankets and Pillow Patterns

Baby Doll Patterns:

Baby Doll and Cabbage Patch

Additional Doll Patterns also Available on the Holiday Blogs:

Christmas

Valentines

Easter

Graduation

Patriotic

Halloween Page

Thanksgiving

Pictures may not be used without permission.

American Girl Witch

I have completed the first four donation outfits and they are all holiday related. Last year I put off doing the holiday outfits and I never got them done. This year I thought that by starting with them I would be more motivated to work on other types of outfits during the year.

The dress is a modified version of Darski's free Pilgrim dress found here. I shortened the dress, added a few extra stitches to make the skirt wider and did sc ch2 sc borders to give it a different look. The hat comes from Bizzy Crochet's Witch outfit. She has a whole outfit you can make, but this is easier for me. You can find her free pattern here.

One of the things I love about this dress is you can really do so many different things with it by changing the skirt, the color, and adding little things to it. It works up quickly and it is easy to make.

Now starts my annual sale hunt for the Springfield dolls. AC Moore often has the 50% off coupons, but they often put the dolls on sale the same week at less than the sale coupon. They don't allow you to use the coupon on sale items. If I'm patient I can sometimes find the dolls and the coupons that match up so I do get two dolls for the price of one. When I start hunting in January, my odds are better.

I want to try the soft bodied 15 inch baby dolls from Mary Maxim this year. I suspect the best discount I'm going to find on those is shipping. This year I'm going to need one as a model and one to donate. Since I'm working on some 5 inch dolls to donate I think that will be a nice balance. It all depends on how many baby doll items I finish. It would be nice to work up to two next year.

American Girl Mrs. Claus

I love sending off a Mrs. Claus dress with my Christmas doll donation. I didn't get one finished last year, so I was determined to finish one for 2014.

The dress is adapted from the free Pilgrim dress pattern found here. The free Santa hat pattern can be found here. I'm using the dress pattern to work on a Halloween witch dress. I'll post the link to the free witch hat pattern when I finish it.

I'm also working on some scarfs and a reader's shawl. These are a departure from my usual projects, but I wanted a hooded scarf to deal with the cold and I saw the shawl on Annie's Attic and wanted to try it out. I couldn't decide on one scarf so I'm experimenting with a few different patterns. We'll see how they all work out.

Barbie and American Girl Doll Free Patterns are listed on my blog at these locations:

Barbie Crochet and Sewing Page

Barbie Knitting Page

Ken Page

Kelly/Skipper Page

American Girl Doll Crochet and Sewing

American Girl Doll Knitting

Doll Blankets and Pillow Patterns

Baby Doll Patterns:

Baby Doll and Cabbage Patch

Additional Doll Patterns also Available on the Holiday Blogs:

Christmas

Valentines

Easter

Graduation

Patriotic

Halloween Page

Thanksgiving

Pictures may not be used without written permission.

American Girl Pilgrim

I finished the first doll outfit for the 2014 doll donation in time to show it off for Thanksgiving at my house.

This is based on a free pattern found here. I've made this pattern so many times that I've adapted it and it looks a bit different from the original. It is the basis for my Mrs. Claus outfit and my Halloween witch, too.

I didn't get the time to make this one for the 2013 donation, so I wanted to make it a priority to get it completed. Working on it while preparing for Thanksgiving felt right. I have since finished the Santa Hat for Mrs. Claus and have started on a holiday dress. I like a break between repeating a pattern. While the dress is slightly different for Mrs. Claus, it's nice to work on something that is completely different in between. My goal is to finish all the Christmas themed outfits before Christmas and then hopefully turn to other types of outfits. I usually reach a point where I have to stop crocheting doll clothes and work on amigurumi's or some other type of crochet for a while. I am hoping to build up a stash before that happens.