Our Generation Sleeping Bag

One positive of having a shared goal of completing certain projects for all the dolls is it helps me not to neglect certain dolls, only to panic as the deadline approaches and I realize I haven't completed projects for certain dolls. Sometimes I just get more inspired for certain dolls than others in a year and focusing on finishing certain items helps me to remember each doll.

This brings me to the first of the 18 inch doll sleeping bags. While I've made clothes for the My Life dolls I've been neglecting the female Our Generation Doll. Some patterns just seem to be easier to fit to the My Life Dolls but it doesn't excuse not including the female Our Generation Doll. So when it came time to make start the shared projects for the 18 inch dolls it seemed important to start with the Our Generation Doll.

You can find the free American Girl Sleeping Bag pattern here.

I love the texture used in this pattern. Especially with the striped yarns it makes for some fun patterns.

For my notes for future projects to get this to fit the Our Generation Doll I used a K hook rather than the suggested I hook as it was tight getting on and off with the suggested hook.

I have 3 more sleeping bags to make and this part of the collective project will be completed. I saved the biggest ones for last.

Our Generation Neon Dress

The Our Generation doll joins the rest of the larger dolls with using the free Flamenco pattern found here to add to the donation.

Several years ago I went nuts picking up different selections of Red Heart's stripe and variegated yarns to make fun scrubbies for my kitchen. It doesn't take much yarn to finish a scrubby so my next task is to use up the yarn I acquired. This yarn has been popping up in various doll projects.

Our Generation Dovetailed

This is another of Darski's free patterns found here. I feel like I'm making headway with my promise to have outfits for the Our Generation Dolls this year, not leaving the task to my Mom.

My guage has been odd and I've always found the Our Generation doll to require different adjustments than the My Life dolls but these seem more extreme than normal. However, my documentation is soley for my own purposes so I can come back and figure out what I did the next time I make this outfit for this doll.

I ended up using a K hook to get the top to fit. I started with the suggested I hook but found the top wouldn't close. I switched to a J hook once the colors changed. I did not record the hook for the skirt but I did not use elastic and did measure the skirt to make sure it could slide on easily and stay up after the first 4 rows. I wrote a note to myself to remind me to do the increases on both side seams for the skirt in each row starting on row 3. I pulled out the skirt several times as I kept forgetting the side increases.

The shoes are from Sweet Silver Creations School Girl Uniform that can be purchased here. As I mentioned earlier my guage has been odd lately. I needed to use an f hook to get the shoes to fit the doll.

Our Generation Seashell Summer Dress

Every year I make an attempt to work through fiber that has taken up residence in my stash and really needs to find a purpose. I bought this size 3 yarn last year to make this dress and then ended up using different yarn for the project. When I started this project I decided it would go to which ever 18" doll it fit best. It turned out to be too big for the My Life Doll so it is the first item I made for the Our Generation doll this year.

I tried the suggested C hook but it was too small for either doll. I moved to a G hook and found while it was large for the My Life doll it fit the Our Generation Doll. I'd start with the F hook next time for the My Life Doll.

Notes:

Dress:

It took slightly under 3 containers of Aunt Lydia's size 3 cotton to complete the dress, hat, and purse. I used a size g hook for the top of the dress to get the right fit. I then used an e hook for the skirt as it was too full with the g hook. I slipped stiched the back closed to the wasit and required only one button to close the back.

Row 6 clarification in case I lose my pattern notes Ch 3 3 shells 4 fans with sc in sp between shell, 5 shells, 4 fans with sc in sp between shell, 3 shells 1 dc in last dc

Hat and Bag:

I used an E hook for both.

You can find the free dress pattern here, the hat pattern here, and the bag pattern here.

Our Generation Dovetailed

This is another one of my favorite free Darski patterns found here.

I love the historical look of the pattern and that it works up quickly without being too challenging. I've been making this outfit in pink and grey for years, but I'm thinking about possibly making this for the My Life doll in different colors to try something new this year. We will see what happens.

I originally intended this outfit for the My Life doll. I'm trying to keep a balance for the donation but I didn't use elastic for the waist band and as a result the waist was a little too big for the My Life and fit the Our Generation Doll a bit better. The top was also made with the suggested H hook and fit well for both dolls.

Our Generation Elizabeth Skirt and Summer Jacket

While I repeat many patterns each year for the donation I like the challenge of trying new patterns each year. This is a free pattern set found at ABC Knitting here. Don't let the name confuse you this site has free crochet and knitting patterns. I am not much of a knitter so you can guarantee when I make doll clothes they are crochet.

As you may have come to expect if you read this blog I played with this pattern just a little bit. The pattern called for size 3 thread. I'm not a huge fan of working with crochet thread so I wanted to see if I could make it with baby yarn. It was a bit bulky for the My Life Doll but it fit the Our Generation Doll. I did make the skirt and the jacket longer as they were both short on the Springfield Doll I was using to size the outfit. However, when it was finished it looked a little boxy. I tried in on the Our Generation Doll and I liked the fit better, thus another Our Generation outfit completed for the donation.

Notes for myself: I used Red Heart Comfort Sport and Bernat Baby for this project with a C hook.