Barbie's St. Patick's Day Dress 2012

I wanted to try something new for St. Patrick's Day and found a pattern in Shady Lane's Crochet Hookup Number 4 July/August 1987. While I purchased my copy at a vintage site, for those of you that are interested Shady Lane still has this issue available under the section back issues as of this writing.

The Shady Lane pattern had one challenge I could not overcome and one I ran out of time to complete before this dress had to be packaged for mailing. The pattern has a beautiful overskirt with the pineapple look. However, according to what I have read, not the actual pineapple stitch. While I tried the pattern several times, I could not get the overskirt to work and decided to abandon it until I have time to understand where I am missing the part that creates the pineapple. Do to the time I spent with the skirt, after playing with the collar once and not liking the outcome I decided not to continue and wait for another shot at it.

One of the problems I had was the pattern was written for sports yarn and I had run out so I was trying to adapt the pattern to fingering and baby yarn, which I had stocked up on a while back and never used. This required multiple hook changes to keep the pattern to gauge. I do not think that made the issue with the overskirt, as I did have white sports yarn and still did not get it to work. However, I think some of the other issues would have resolved more quickly with the yarn required by the pattern.

My favorite part of the outfit was the hat. Wrong size yarn or not, I do like this pattern and want to try it for an Easter outfit with sports yarn.

The important thing is Barbie does have a new outfit for St. Patrick's Day and the package can go out this week.

Barbie Pink Valentine Ball Gown

As I mentioned before I have a guest coming for Valentine's weekend to visit and instead of mailing her presents I will use them to keep her entertained during her visit. Pink is one of her favorite colors so Barbie got a pink formal ball outfit. This is the Annie's Attic Winter Formal Pattern from Annie's Fashion Doll Quick and Easy book number 87D20. Solid red seemed overwhelming, but the solid pink seemed fine so I made the dress from pink sports yarn. The cape benefited from some pink yarn I picked up at a Church sale prior to Christmas and used for the trim.

I finally finished her American Girl Doll dress, too. I combined separate patterns and experimented with ribbon for the first time when making a hat. I think I will be making another hat to add to my charity projects this month. I liked the way it came 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

Additional Doll Patterns also Available on the Holiday Blogs:

Valentines

Easter

Graduation

Patriotic

Halloween Page

Thanksgiving

Christmas

Pictures may not be used without written permission.

Barbie Strapless Gown

Slowly I have been working through my spring holiday doll patterns. This is the Annie's Attic Strapless Gown Pattern from Annie's Fashion Doll Quick and Easy book number 87D20. I believe this will be Barbie's Easter dress for the Easter package. I added an elastic waist as I did with the Valentine dress.

This dress used baby fingering yarn. The best part of creating this outfit was the skirt. I enjoyed using the shell stitch in a new way to create the skirt pattern.

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

Additional Doll Patterns also Available on the Holiday Blogs:

Valentines

Easter

Graduation

Patriotic

Halloween Page

Thanksgiving

Christmas

Pictures may not be used without written permission.

Barbie Valentine Ball Gown

As part of my Valentine's packages, I had the idea of doing a Valentine's Ball theme for the dolls. Since Skipper will not be traveling until the spring, this meant dresses for Kelly, Barbie, and the American Girl doll. I have not decided if Ken will be involved. His is usually a last minute decision. Even Hello Kitty is getting into the theme. I am working on a pink outfit based on the techniques used for the American Girl Colonial outfit.

This is the Annie's Attic Winter Formal Pattern from Annie's Fashion Doll Quick and Easy book number 87D20 I discussed yesterday. This Winter Formal outfit benefited from the large amount of red sports yarn I had ordered anticipating a need for both Christmas and Valentine's Day projects. This meant I did not have to try to play with the skirt. I had enough to finish the pattern requirements. I also used an elastic waist with this version as well.



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

Additional Doll Patterns also Available on the Holiday Blogs:

Valentines

Easter

Graduation

Patriotic

Halloween Page

Thanksgiving

Christmas

Pictures may not be used without written permission.

Barbie Winter Formal Take One

With the confidence gained from practice with some of the free Barbie patterns I made over the holidays, I decided to return to some of the Annie's Attic vintage books I have been collecting. This dress is based on the Winter Formal gown found in Annie's Fashion Doll Quick and Easy book number 87D20.

There are a couple of reasons this dress is based on the original and not the pattern. The first is a mistake on my part. After making the Skipper outfit, I mistakenly thought I had enough blue sports yarn to complete another dress. Instead of having a skein and a half, I had about 3/4 of a skein to complete the outfit. This meant the dress was going to be shorter than the pattern requested.

The second reason had to do with some lessons learned in making the free patterns. I am making these outfits for little hands not display. The elastic waist lines do make creating and dressing the dolls easier. Once I did that I had to play with the top of the dress to accomadate the new waist. I realized I had made a good faith estimate at making the top small enough but without straps Barbie was not able to hold up the dress. Then I remembered my Grandmother talking about strategic pieces of lace being used to cover necklines. In my case I did not want to cover the neckline I needed to tighten it, but the strategy was similar. I used the white yarn I have been trimming my outfits with to decrease the stitches at the bodice and now Barbie's gown is fitting the way I hoped it would.

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

Additional Doll Patterns also Available on the Holiday Blogs:

Valentines

Easter

Graduation

Patriotic

Halloween Page

Thanksgiving

Christmas

Pictures may not be used without written permission.

Kelly Pink Skirt and Top

This was the last of the set of outfits I have made so far experimenting with the free overalls pattern. The free pattern is available here.

The skirt is in fact the overalls pattern with a skirt bottom I learned to make from a Hello Kitty pattern. I experimented with it until I got it the way I wanted it to give Kelly a different look than the straight dress look I had made the first time. I previously showed this same top with the pants. The three pieces will be given to the child that test-drove them on New Year's Eve for Valentine's Day. I will make another set to ship across country for my Valentine's package.

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

Kelly/Skipper Page

Barbie Crochet and Sewing Page

Barbie Knitting Page

Ken Page

American Girl Doll Crochet and Sewing

American Girl Doll Knitting

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.

Kelly Pink Dress

I had originally intended this to be Kelly's Valentine's dress and was going to mail it out with my Valentine's package. However a funny thing happened on the way to getting my Valentine's packages ready. I had a guest on New Year's Eve who informed me while she had a Kelly doll, the doll had no clothes. This dress was finished unlike the top that needed a snap, so it went off to a new home. I will have to make another one to ship out.

This is actually the overall pattern I discussed in the previous blog. The free pattern is available here. Instead of breaking for the legs I continued the skirt by adding stitches to give the dress a wider skirt. It is fun to see what you can do with these patterns.

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

Kelly/Skipper Page

Barbie Crochet and Sewing Page

Barbie Knitting Page

Ken Page

American Girl Doll Crochet and Sewing

American Girl Doll Knitting

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.

Kelly Red Pants and Pink Shirt

I have had several discussions with people about making Barbie and her friends and family outfits. What I have come to realize is there some of us focus on practical use and others on fashion and look. I would love to be able to make the thread outfits, but I lack the skills. However, this weekend I unexpectedly had a relative visiting. When she picked up this outfit to play with, I realized it was only because it was not made of thread that it survived the encounter.

I also focus need to focus on ensuring that snaps will not pop off and the buttons stay on tight. This does not always lend itself to delicate creations. Little hands are not always gentle, but they do love their dolls. This sometimes calls for practical and functional solutions, not always the most beautiful, delicate, and dainty looks. Others will argue that one can do both, however, this weekend reminded me that one should know the intended audience of one’s gifts. I do and for it is finally sinking in that each of us has a calling and a reason for our gifts. Mine is to make dolls clothes that can withstand tough little hands. I have a different audience than other doll clothes makers, but there is room in the world for all of us.

It made me think about my motivations for learning to crochet. Unlike many people, I know who knit and crochet, I did not learn as a child. I have only been at this a less than two years. One of my motivations was to be able to make dolls clothes and toys. I had looked at some of the junk that passed for Barbie's clothes and knew there were better options if one knew how to knit or crochet them. I have had store bought outfits almost shred as I have removed them from model dolls to try on outfits I was making. That is not what kids should have to deal with when playing with their dolls.

In the last year, I have gotten more adventurous about exploring and experimenting with patterns. This in fact is the pants and part of the shirt portion of a free overalls and shirt pattern available here. I started with the intentions of finishing the pattern as written. Before I was done, I had another dress and skirt finished. The overalls and the shirt have yet to be made as written. I am sure I will get back to it at some point, but it was fun experimenting to make new outfits for Kelly.

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

Kelly/Skipper Page

Barbie Crochet and Sewing Page

Barbie Knitting Page

Ken Page

American Girl Doll Crochet and Sewing

American Girl Doll Knitting

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.

Barbie Witch Knitted

I cannot claim credit for this beauty. Mom made this costume for a relative on my husband's side of the family to share. The free pattern is available at Knitting on the Net. I found this pattern early on in my research. It convinced me I had to convert Mom to making doll's clothes. At that time, I could neither knit nor crochet and I wanted my nieces to have access to the wonderful doll's clothes I was finding patterns for on the Internet. Well my crocheting skills have progressed to the point I can make Barbie clothes, but Mom is still the only one producing knit clothes for the dolls in our family. I do not see that changing any time in the near future.

Barbie’s outfit will be leaving for her new home soon. I was fortunate to have the chance to take a picture using my dress model before the outfit left. I have some other great stuff Mom sent me for to give for birthday and Christmas gifts. I will photograph and share these outfits too before sending them off as well. She has expanded into sewing dolls clothes as well as knitting. I cannot wait to show off the items.

I am still waiting on my yarn shipment from JoAnn's to get started on my first doll project in ages. I have two Pilgrim outfits to make and ship before Thanksgiving. I needed lighter weight yarn, as the first outfit I made was a bit bulky.

It is not too late for those of you who want to make doll Halloween costumes. I have free patterns available on the Halloween page. Those who crochet are in luck. There are several free crochet patterns for Barbie, Ken, and even Kelly available on the Internet. I located three American Girl free crochet Halloween Patterns. I apologize to the knitters this is the only free Barbie Halloween pattern I have discovered. I have no Halloween patterns for the American Girl Dolls. I will update the Halloween page as soon as I find any to add.

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

Halloween Page

Barbie Crochet and Sewing Page

Barbie Knitting Page

Ken Page

Kelly/Skipper Page

American Girl Doll Crochet and Sewing

American Girl Doll Knitting

Additional Doll Patterns also Available on the Holiday Blogs:

Patriotic

Thanksgiving

Christmas

Valentines

Easter

Graduation

Pictures may not be used without written permission.