Chelsea Shorts and Shirt

I pulled some of the quicker Barbie family patterns to make from my binders thinking it would be best to add the various Barbie dolls to the rotation for fear of making it to November only to find the dolls had no clothes. This pattern is actually based on a free dress pattern from Rebeckah's Treasures found here.

I've adapted this dress pattern a couple of times and I'm hoping to get a few more outfits from it this year again. However I did orginally intend to make a dress with the green but as I was finishing the top section something just said summer short outfit and I stopped and went with it. The bottom of the shirt is finished in reverse sc stitches.

Notes:

I used a 1.8mm hook for this pattern.

I joined the top without the suggested overlapping to fit the version of Chelsea doll I'm working with for this project.

The shorts started with a chain 27 and join. I then sc in rows adding some increases to make the future legs a bit wider until I reached the crotch and split evenly with a chain for for the short legs. I started rows on one leg until I got the desired length fininshing with a slip stitch hem. I matched the second side to the first.

Chelsea Swim Suit

I've decided to add swimming clothes to my camping theme. Who knows at some point I might add winter clothes for winter camping for some of the dolls. I purchased the swim suit pattern for Chelsea at Charpatterns here.

Notes

This pattern requires size 20 thread. The blue comes from Creative Yarn Source french blue

The variegated is Lizbeth Springtime

I have no trouble getting Creative Yarn sources size 20 thread but Lizbeth which I use for the contrasting variegated colors has been harder to find so I've been buying it as I can find it for the doll clothes.

I used Tulip Etimo size 1.25mm for this pattern.

Chelsea Drop Waist Dress with Flared Skirt

This was part of my folder of birthday patterns. DH asks me for a list and from that he selects patterns to buy me for gifts. I repeat lots of patterns but I love having new stuff to try. With some dolls I've needed to increase my pattern selection as they are new to me or they've changed size considerably from the older patterns I do have.

Chelsea is one of those dolls. I had patterns for the smaller Kelly and when I made them a decade ago they did fit the smaller doll. When I came back to Barbie's the larger Chelsea required new patterns because I found it was hard adjusting the smaller Kelly patterns because I couldn't increase the yarn size as the outfits became too bulky and if I increased the hoook size the gaps became too large. Last year I didn't do well dressing Chelsea for her journey to her new home. I've made a much better start this year. I started with free patterns and then decided to try some paid designers to see if I could get some variety.

I decided to try Charpatterns Chelsea patterns and put one on my birthday list. You can purchase this one here.

This pattern calls for Lizbeth size 20 Watermelon. I didn't have Lizbeth on hand but I did have solid color Size 20 from Creative Yarn source on hand and decided I wanted to see if I could get an idea of how easy the pattern would be to use while I searched for some variegated size 20 thread. After a quick search I realized Watermelon was not happening. I did eventually find some variegated Lizbeth 20 on sale at Joann's and hopefully when my order arrives I will try this pattern again giving it a slightly different look.

Notes:

I used Creative Yarn's size 20 thread French Blue, Bright Yellow and White. The pattern calls for a size 10 steel crochet hook but numbers are not as helpful as they once were and mm are actually a more stable measurement across hooks. I made the dress with a Tulip Etimo 1.25mm Steel Crochet Hook. I think I could have used a smaller hook. It's always a balance between a good fit and having it too hard to get on and off the doll for little hands. The smaller the doll the harder it is for kids to manipulate the clothes. I went down to my Tulip Steel .9mm for the hat, undies, and shoes.

Chelsea Simply Bluetiful Dress

Last week I mentioned that I was determined to send Chelsea off with a wardrobe this year after such a sad showing with the 2021 donation. I found a great free pattern here that required just a little adapting as it is designed for a slightly smaller Chelsea doll.

I stuck with the size 10 Crochet thread. The pattern calls for a 1.65mm or 1.75mm crochet hook I used a 1.8mm to make guage and I found the fit worked well for the doll. Row 7 decreases the stitch count from the previous row and I won't give away the designer's secrets but I found this was too small for the Chelsea I'm working with so I kept with the previous rounds stitch count and joined the row with a ss and continued on with the directions.

I like the look of this style and the way the dress comes together. I'm thinking of making another dress shorter without the finishing at the bottom. I'm also thinking about splitting the skirt for shorts and making this into a romper style outfit for Chelsea. The more outfits the better. I prefer a style that goes together quickly and easily.

I have never tried making shoes for fashion dolls before. However the website also has a free shoe pattern for Chelsea here. Not sure I'm a fan yet but at least she has shoes. I used the 1.8mm for the shoes as well.

Chelsea

The last time I worked on Barbies this small the doll was Kelly and she and her friend Tomi were 4 1/2" high. The current small doll in the line is Chelsea and she is 6". This meant finding a new model. I picked the Chelsea Can Be a Builder Doll since I was able to pick up several on sale under $5 each. I'm using one as a model to fit the clothes and the rest will be donated. It also meant finding patterns that would fit the larger doll.

I've used Sweet Silver Creations 18" doll patterns for years. I never noticed her Barbie patterns as I'd not had an interest in revisiting Barbie clothes in years. However, when I went searching to find a starting point for Chelsea her name came up in my search. Instead of buying a pattern set, I decided to settle on one single pattern to get a feel for how clothes would fit this doll. While you can start from scratch and design your own outfits, sometimes I like having a skeleton to work from to learn how to make items fit.

With that in mind I purchased the Strawberry Shortcake pattern. You can purchase it here. While I've made her character patterns for the 18" dolls I really wasn't as interested in making the Strawberry shortcake outfit. What I wanted were the bones of a dress that could be converted into other pieces and played with and adapted.

For this project I made the dress and the apron to get a feel for how clothes fit this doll. While larger than the original Kelly doll there still isn't a great deal of doll to dress so it is something to get used to, especially since I spend most of my time working with far larger dolls.

I used a size 5 1.65mm hook. The suggested size is 7 but there is no mm size listed so I'm not sure exactly what size hook was originally used. I found the outfit roomy with the 1.65 hook and size 10 thread. I added elastic to the waist of both the dress and the pantaloons. I went back and read old Barbie posts and one thing I noted was how often I added elastic to patterns and how helpful I found it. I decided to start working more with it and I found it helpful in this outfit.

I've been experimenting with new methods for doing things and I did try crocheting the first arm and sewing it on as suggested. I didn't like the look. Instead I crocheted around the open arm hole and reduced until I had the look I liked and continued to a 3/4 sleeve. It was worth the experiment but it just isn't a method I like using. I find it challenging to set the arm correctly into the arm hole and as a result it doesn't fit right.

The hat is made with beads so I skipped the accessory. I also skipped the shoes. My focus is on making some basic outfits. If I have time I'll work back towards accessories.

One challenge of this pattern is there are no stitch counts. It is one of the things I depend on when working on a pattern that helps me check to make sure I'm following directions I may not be sure I understand. If I get to the end and my stitch count and the designers match, there is a good chance I've followed the directions correctly. However, if my count doesn't match the directions there is a high probability I need to go back and fix my mistake.