American Girl Nightgown

This is the second year I've made the American Girl Little Bluebell Nightgown with the free pattern found here. The only pattern I haven't tried from this designer yet is the sweater and I'm hoping to get to that this year. Her patterns are quick to make and I like the look of them when finished.

One of the things I love about this project is it allows me to use up yarn I have on hand. The last two years I've used blue because I had it left over from other projects but this would work up nicely in a variety of shades.

Now for my project notes, I used an H hook for this project. This project works well with heavier worsted weight yarn. I haven't tried it with my lighter worsted yarns to check for gauge. I used snaps to close the opening in the back.

American Girl Flamenco Dress

This is not a traditional Flamenco dress but I respect the titles people give their patterns. I missed out on the chance to buy a crochet Flamenco pattern when a designer closed her pattern shop a few years ago. This is a bright and easy free pattern found here. This pattern does not come with shoes I used the pattern from the Sun Dress I wrote about yesterday to finish this outfit. You can find the pattern here.


Pattern notes:

There was no yarn specified on this pattern, but I used Red Heart Super Saver Fruity Stripe for my doll dress and I liked the look. In order to make gauge I used an H hook.

This pattern works up really quickly if you need a doll dress. I tried it on the 16 inch baby doll and I think this pattern will work for the baby doll, too. I will change the colors to more baby friendly colors.

I want to thank the designer for offering up her patterns for free. I've completed two so far and have another one printed to make.

American Girl Granny Square Dress

I originally started out to make Red Heart's free pattern My Doll's Easter Frock found here. I ordered the yarn, began the squares and thought I'd made a good start. It didn't work out quite as I'd hoped and I had to play with the squares to get them all to fit together. I also ended up creating a top that would work with the skirt as the one from the pattern wasn't working for me. Having made all the squares I wasn't going to abandon the project, but it wasn't quite as easy as I'd hoped.

I was pleased to have rescued this outfit. I hate wasting time and yarn on projects that don't work. This one is came out to be a cute spring dress rather than the Easter outfit I had hoped to create.

American Girl Princess

I am always grateful to those who design and donate their patterns for free use. It means I can stretch my donation dollars even farther. I downloaded this free pattern last year and it looked far more complicated than it was to make so I didn't make it for last year's donation. This year I've been targeting projects that I can make with yarn on hand and this one seemed possible. You can find the pattern here.

The pattern designer focused on the beads when she named her outfit, however, I loved the medieval princess look. I actually didn't include the beads. One I didn't have pearl beads on hand. Second, I'm not a huge fan of sewing beads into my crochet. Lastly, if the doll is going to be displayed those beads have a good chance of survival. If the doll is going to be played with and changed frequently the odds are less likely the beads don't end up on the floor of her new home. I went without.

What surprised me was how easy it was to make the underskirt and then crochet the over skirt after the fact. It was one of the reasons I hadn't approached the project in the previous year. It looked complicated to me. However, it was easy once I got started.

American Girl Dovetailed

I have made many outfits over the years from free patterns designed by Darski. Most of them are available on Crochetville, but I can't find the link to this pattern there. If I get a link to the pattern I will add it to this post.

I've had this pattern in my binder for some time, but this year seemed to be the year to attempt it. It was much easier than I expected and I think I will return to it again.

The hook size was accurate for me. I didn't need to change it, which has been unusual with my gauge issues this year.

This project helped me with my destashing project as well. I finished up a ball of yarn left over from the Pilgrim outfit. I also was able to use a button from the bag of buttons I received from a swap partner a while back for the hat. It's nice to be able to shop in your own stash to be able to finish your projects.