Skipper Mermaid

I bought some Red Heart Unforgettable Gossamer for a different doll project but it turned out to be too dark. I eventually found the color suggested in the pattern and will be trying that soon. However, that left me with a supply of yarn to use. While this was not the right fit for my other project I really liked the color stripes for Skipper.

While I love the look of this yarn it is a bit unforgiving. I find it can be hard to frog and this was challenging as I had to experiment with hook size to figure out what would work with this yarn and Skipper.

The suggested hook size for this yarn is J and that did work with my other doll project despite not being a good color fit. I had previously used an E hook with the Caron Simply soft. Thankfully, I was able to save most of my experiments but I did lose some of the chains as they knotted and wouldn't release when I needed to start again with a smaller hook.

You can find the free Mermaid pattern here.

Notes:

I dug out my new Tulip Etimo 2.5mm hook for this project.

Some of my old Bates Bamboo hooks are starting to wear out. I broke a B hook not long ago and decided not only did I need to replace my smaller ergonomic hooks but I wanted to have some of the in between sizes so I could experiment not only with changing fiber but fine adjustments in hook size. Sometimes I do find myself needing something just a little bigger or smaller than what I have on hand.

I started with a 2.0 and jumped to the 2.5mm to get the fit I wanted. I didn't have that option with my Bates Bamboo hooks.

As with my Stacie Mermaid I chose not to make this a pull on top as this yarn was not going to accomadate that kind of stress. I added an additional row to the bottom which let me connect my finished sides without having to do each side stop and do the other. This allowed me more space to add the snaps.

I followed the directions for the tail and fin adjusting for length as this yarn is a bit thinner than the Caron so I had to play a bit more with rows to get it long enough.

Skipper Sleeping Bag

As I mentioned on Ken's sleeping bag post I lost track of some of the accessory projects last year and ended up scrambling to finish them in the fall.

I looked back at Skipper's sleeping bag post and it hit on Halloween last year. Since I prepost it might have been earlier but still I like getting these projects in the donation bags early in the year. Having them waiting in the fall wasn't going to work for me this year.

It is the first weekend of May as I prepost and Skipper's bag is ready to go. This leaves me with Stacie, and two Chelseas to finish the donation year.

This bag is made using a combination of two free patterns from Suzie's Stuff Blog. The first is her Fashion Doll Sleeping bag found here. The texture comes from her Beanie Bag Sleeping Bag found here.

I use the fashion doll pattern to establish the pillow and width of the pattern. The shells come from the beanie pattern. I find sc the entire sleeping bag to be a rather tiresome project. The shells make it work up faster for me. I also like the textured look.

Notes:

This was made with Red Heart Ombre Violet. I'd use this again for Skipper if I had it on hand.

I need an I hook to get this to fit Skipper.

Once the pattern is established I stop counting rows and follow the pattern until it covers the doll's feet and then I close the bottom of the bag.

Skipper Sleeping Bag

I'm slowly working my way through the sleeping bags using them as my travel/waiting/appointment projects. I've been rotating between the Barbie family and the 18 inch dolls and it was time for Skipper to have hers.

Every year I try to finish off balls or small skeins not yet made into balls left over from previous projects. I don't remember the brand this particular yarn came from but it was used on several different projects before being finished off for Skipper's sleeping bag. The yarn has an odd striping pattern and it had some large patches and other small ones. It was a bit of a game of yarn chicken and I did end up adding some purple to the bottom to finish off the sleeping bag when I lost the game. However, it was worth it have another partial skein turned ball finished off.

This is a free pattern for a fashion doll slepping bag found here.

I used an I hook for this project and wished I had read my project notes from last year as I wrote it needed to be 12 inches long but not knowing I had previously measured I ended up carrying Skipper with me on my various outings.

This makes a great travel/waiting project. I had it almost complete after my last outing and decided to finish it off Sunday night so I could start on one for one of the larger 18 inch dolls. They are less great as travel projects when they get to the end as you have to be more careful about not making them too long and then finishing them off. It is easier to travel with a project that is past the pillow stage where it needs to be stuffed and before you reach the toes where you have to start being careful as to where to end. That's when I tend to pull it out of the bag and finish it off. I still have a few more to make so I will have travel sleeping bags for a little while longer.

Skipper Mermaid

Last month I wrote about making this outfit for Barbie. You can find the free pattern here.

I decided to see if I could adapt the pattern for Skipper using Caron Simply Soft Paints Oceana that I had left in my stash and seemed like it might be a good fit for this project.

To make this fit Skipper I had to make some adjuatments to the original Barbie pattern as she is a smaller doll.

Notes:

I used an E hook for this project and the lighter Caron Simply Soft Paints rather than the Mary Maxim Prism I had used for Barbie.

These changes were enough for making the top fit.

The tail was long for Skipper so I needed to adjust the pattern. I followed the tail pattern and stopped at row 27 as this was the length best suited for Skipper. I finished the tail with row 33. I made the fins and added them as described in the pattern. They fit fine.

Skipper Easy Dress

I've come across some free Barbie patterns recently and decided to try some out for the 2024 donation. I've found over the years that some Barbie patterns will fit Skipper and as I'm making a gown I will usually try it on both dolls to see which doll it fits best. I had intended this for the Barbie Vet doll. This is her last year with the donation as she is no longer available. After trying this outfit on both dolls it was a better match for SKipper, so I added some stitches to the base row and have begun a second outfit for the Barbie Vet. You can find the free pattern here.

Notes:

One of my goals every year is to dig into my stash and start using old yarn that seems to have been forgotten. I used Red Heart Big Ball Sport Yarn for this project. I had honestly forgotten about this yarn as it had gotten buried. This was some of the earliest yarn I used for Barbie clothes and I believe blue is the only color I have left. I still have some small skeins of the Red Heart Sport Yarn and know have been using Hobby Lobby's sport yarn and Herschnerr's yarn for these outfits.

The e hook worked for this outfit along with the suggested starting chains. I needed to add two chains for it to fit the Barbie Vet and likely will need more chains for the Zoologist.

One thing I didn't do for this outfit but am doing for the Barbie version is marking the stitches as it is was hard for me to differentiate between stitches and chains. For the second outfit I've marked each stitch to see if I can get the same skirt pattern as the picture from the pattern. It was not enough of a concern to start again with the Skipper dress, but I do return to these notes when I start again the following year so it is helpful to make note of useful tools.

Skipper Simply Beautiful

This is Rebekah's Treasures free patterns Simply Bluetiful for the Teen Fashion Doll found here. I wasn't sure which doll this was going to fit as I have two "teen" dolls in the Barbie line Stacie and Skipper and even when the pattern specifies one with the way the dolls change sometimes a dress fits one better than the other. In this case the dress went to Skipper as suggested.

Notes:

I used Aunt Lydia's Size 10 Wood Violet and my Tulip Etimo thread 1.25mm hook.

This dress comes in 3 sizes for the fashion dolls. I don't overlap in row 11 for any of the dolls but join as the fit can be tight when I don't.

I've been able to get a few different outfits using this as a base for the Chelsea doll. I'm hoping to adapt it a bit for Skipper. I also pulled some size 20 thread from my stash to see if I can get this pattern to fit Stacie. I have so few patterns for these 2 dolls that I'm trying to learn to stretch them as I can.