Barbie Capris, Shirt, Hat, and Purse

I've been going through my Barbie binders from the old patterns I made from a decade ago to the "new" patterns I've been picking up from out of print sources trying to choose a variety of patterns. Some are just quick to have a variety of outfits to send off with the donation. Others give my hands a break in working with the small hooks and crochet thread. Others let me explore something fun and creative.

While looking through the binders I came across a pattern set I bought at the end of my last round of Barbie doll clothes making and then never used. The pattern is still available at Maggie's Crochet here. My purpose for buying the pattern back then was that it didn't use thread. The patterns were designed with Red Heart Luster Sheen, which back then was readily available. Not so much now although I still have a few odd shades in my stash.

With Luster Sheen not an option I looked online for suggested substitutes and baby sport yarn came up as a suggestion. The pants are made with my now unavailable Red Heart Sport Comfort Yarn. The Shirt is Bernat Baby Sport White. If you are looking for a break from thread crochet for Barbie this is a nice pattern set. I tried the capris first as I thought they'd be an easy way to check for yarn substitutes.

While several of the older Barbie patterns use double crochets for the legs of Barbie/Ken patterns I like the single crochet look better that is used in this pattern. Since pants are pretty basic I think I'm going to experiment with some other patterns to see if the leg sections can be done with more rows of sc and thus eliminate some of the holes in the pants that are less than attractive.

Barbie Bathing Suit

I started working through the Summertime Blues Fashion Doll pattern set designed by Lori Zeller and found in Crochet World June 2009 when I made Ken's swim trunks. Summertime Blues which includes Ken's swim trunks and beach accessories is found on Dolls, Doll Clothes and Accessories, an Annie's CD Rom, it is also on the Crochet World Collection 2001-2010 DVD computer disk if you happen to own those.

I've been using these smaller projects between other projects I'm working on. Along with Barbie's swim suit I'm also working on the beach accessories to add to the donation as well. I plan on posting them as a set when they are finished.

While I had to use a considerably smaller hook to fit Ken I returned to my Tulip Etimo Steel Hook-Size 4/1.25mm for Barbie's outfit. I decided on Aunt Lydia Crochet Thread Size 10, Maize because I've almost finished off this cone and I hate having left over fiber. These small projects are a great way to use up the thread so it doesn't end up getting lost in the stash and wasted.

I've been hunting out of print books and leaflets recently. I was thrilled when my second hand copy of Bathtime Buddies arrived in the mail today. I've been searching for weeks for an affordable copy in good condition and I found one in great condition that wasn't a library discard. It took forever to ship but I can now return my library copy! I had a back up PDF copy which I plan to print the patterns to cut out the cloth sections of the animals but I really didn't want to print the books or work from a computer screen. This solves that problem. I also got a copy of an out of print Annie's Fashion Doll book that I'd been hunting for a while this week. I'm pleased with my finds.