16 Inch Baby Doll Summer Christmas Dress

This is the last of the Christmas outfits I need for 2026 and I think I have enough of this yarn for next year's outfits.

The dress for this outfit is the Summer Dress pattern from the out of print newsprint House of White Birches Baby Doll Fashions to Crochet. The hat and shoes are from two different free pattern sets. The shoes can be found here and the hat here.

Notes:

To get this to fit the 16 inch baby doll with this yarn I used an e hook for the entire dress not changing to a D for the skirt as it would have been too tight.

As I mentioned in the post about the other 16 inch baby doll Christmas dress this is a sport weight metallic yarn of unknown origin. It is lighter than my baby weight sport yarns.

I repeat row 5 once thus changing the row numbers all the way down. I add skirt rows to get to the length I want. This time I added a sc trim to the top and arms. I used a sc skip 1 5 dc in the next for the bottom trim.

I need a J hook for the shoes with sport weight yarn. I used a G and f hooks for the hat.

16 Inch Baby Doll Summer Dress

This pattern for the dress and the hat are from an old out of print 1981 newsprint House of White Birches Baby Doll Fashions to crochet that I've found myself exploring more each year since I purchased it.

This has been my go to pattern from it but last year I found myself exploring more patterns and I've identified a few more I'd like to experiment with this year. The shoes are from my got to free shoe pattern for this doll found in Darski's Peachy Keen pattern found here.

Notes:

In order to get this to fit the 16 inch baby doll I started with an E hook and repeated row 5 once. Thus rows 3-6 follow the original directions for 3-5 moving each row directions down one. For the original row 6 now row 7 that starts the skirt I moved to a D hook to decrease the skirt size as it was too large with the e hook.

I finish around the back top and the underarms with sc. I do some decreases to improve the fit. It is closed with a snap in the back.

I started the directions for the 13 inch Baby Doll Bell hat and increased the rows prior to creating the brim to account for the larger 16 inch baby doll head.

Some of you may recognize my go to shoe pattern. As I mentioned before the shoes are part of a free pattern called Peachy Keen. I used an J hook and continued with the Bernat Baby yarn I used for the rest of the outfit. Note to myself I'd use the solid color baby yarn the next time to have consistant colored shoes.

16 Inch Baby Doll Shell Stitch Dress, Cap and Shoes

This is the Shell Stitch dress for the second of the JC 16 inch baby dolls to be donated this year.

Notes:

This is the Shell Stitch Dress and the Cap pattern from House of White Birches black and white newsprint leaflet Baby Doll Fashions to Crochet. It was published in 1981 for anyone who might wish to find a copy. The shoes are my favorite free doll pattern found here.

Dress:

I used the suggested D hook for this project with Bernat Baby Sport Baby Baby yarn.

Rows 2-4 teach you a pattern for increases for this outfit. The original pattern keeps this going through row 8 I need to go to row 10 before doing the original row 9 to create the arms to have enough length in the bodice.

The shell pattern for this dress is 2dc ch1 2dc. I tried this and the dress was huge. Not at all as pictured. I pulled it out and tried a shell dc ch1 dc and had a better fit.

To cover the white onesie this doll is constructed with I needed to add rows to the skirt. The skirt ends at row 23. I went to row 29 which when you change the row counts becomes row 30 for the whole pattern.

I finished the back up to the neck before doing the trim this allowed for a cleaner back and made putting the snaps on easier. I also did the trim for the arms.

The original dress has a higher waist which I tried when making this outfit for this doll but I found it was harder to fit with the doll's construction so I lengthened the bodice. It is a different look than the original but I rather like it for this doll.

Cap:

The cap is another pattern in this book that I decided needed a rework if I wanted it to fit this doll. The original has dc increases around twice and I found the hat was unshapable afterwards. For my own records this is the cap pattern on page 46. There are directions for multiple dolls.

I used a G hook and used a magic circle and 12 DC. From there I increased by an additional stitch each row until row 9. Row 9 I did a DC 1 decrease 1 around to make a tight fit. Row 10 I turned and dc in the back loops so cap would turn upwards and did one more dc row in this direction and finished off.

Shoes:

I've been trying the shoes with lighter yarn this year and it seems to be working out OK. They still look better with the worsted 4 yarn but they look odd when the shoes tend not to match. I need a J hook with the lighter yarn to get them to fit.

16 Inch Baby Doll Shell Stitch Dress

While I've revisted old favorites this year I've been pleased to venture into new territory for the JC 16 Inch Baby Doll this year. It keeps it interesting to try new things each year.

This outfit is mostly from the Shell Stitch pattern and cap pattern found in the out of print House of White Birches black and white newsprint leaflet Baby Doll Fashions to Crochet. It was published in 1981 for anyone who might wish to find a copy.

One thing I've learned with making clothes for baby dolls is the size of the doll is only a starting point when looking at patterns as the pattern rarely tells you more than the length of the doll. This is actually a pattern for an 18 inch baby doll but I had to add to the pattern to get it to fit this doll likely because it is a padded baby doll. I tried it on the Lots to Love 14 inch doll and because it is so chubby it might actually work for the original pattern I changed but not for the changes I needed to make for this doll.

The shoes for this pattern are my go to free pattern you can find here..

Notes:.

Dress:

I used the suggested D hook for this project with Bernat Baby Sport Baby Baby yarn.

Rows 2-4 teach you a pattern for increases for this outfit. The original pattern keeps this going through row 8 I need to go to row 10 before doing the original row 9 to create the arms to have enough length in the bodice..

The shell pattern for this dress is 2dc ch1 2dc. I tried this and the dress was huge. Not at all as pictured. I pulled it out and tried a shell dc ch1 dc and had a better fit.

To cover the white onesie this doll is constructed with I needed to add rows to the skirt. The skirt ends at row 23. I went to row 29 which when you change the row counts becomes row 30 for the whole pattern.

I finished the back up to the neck before doing the trim this allowed for a cleaner back and made putting the snaps on easier. I also did the trim for the arms.

The original dress has a higher waist which I tried when making this outfit for this doll but I found it was harder to fit with the doll's construction so I lengthened the bodice. It is a different look than the original but I rather like it for this doll.

Cap:

The cap is another pattern in this book that I decided needed a rework if I wanted it to fit this doll. The original has dc increases around twice and I found the hat was unshapable afterwards. For my own records this is the cap pattern on page 46. There are directions for multiple dolls.

I used a G hook and used a magic circle and 12 DC. From there I increased by an additional stitch each row until row 9. Row 9 I did a DC 1 decrease 1 around to make a tight fit. Row 10 I turned and dc in the back loops so cap would turn upwards and did one more dc row in this direction and finished off.

Shoes:

I've been trying the shoes with lighter yarn this year and it seems to be working out OK. They still look better with the worsted 4 yarn but they look odd when the shoes tend not to match. I need a J hook with the lighter yarn to get them to fit.

16 Inch Baby Doll A-Line Dress Part 2

With the 18 inch dolls I have enough patterns that I don't have to revist each pattern to make enough outfits to send each doll off with a decent wardrobe. I do send some out because I like the outfit or its a quick add but often they leave with very different wardrobes. However, for the 16 inch Baby dolls I have fewer patterns to outfit the two dolls and most patterns are repeated once proven to be succesful.

The A-Line dress was a new addition this year as I continue to explore the out of print Margaret Funk's Baby Doll Fashions to Crochet to adapt them to the dolls I donate. I liked the first outfit I made but I made a note that trying it with lighter baby yarn would be a better fit and I do believe I will keep with that option when I make this next year.

Notes:

I used Baby Bernat Sport yarn with an I hook for this outfit. As with the previous outfit to fit this doll it requires additional rows to cover the white leg coverings.

The back is closed with a snap.

Darski's free Peachy Keen pattern is my go to shoe pattern and you can find that here.

Rag Doll Summer Dress

I bought these blond haird Rag Dolls from Factory Direct for several years for the donation after someone sent me one they had dressed for the donation and I took on the challenge of trying to dress one. The last time I ordered my replacement dolls they came in a version that I had replaced when I found these. The hair is thinner and a bright orange/yellow color. I tried finding a replacement for this doll but I it is not meant to be. If my inventory is correct the Rag Dolls I ordered will see me through 2026 as I don't wish to waste what I ordered. However, I've already started working on adding the Calico Critters this year which will eventually replace the Rag Dolls in the donation rotation.

Notes:

This is an adaptation of the baby doll summer dress from Margaret Funk's House of White Birches Baby Doll Fashions to Crochet.

I need to add an additional sc row before starting the changed directions for the 16 inch baby doll that I've documented several times.

I started with an E hook and repeated row 5 once. Thus rows 3-6 follow the original directions for 3-5 moving each row directions down one. For the original row 6 now row 7 that starts the skirt I moved to a D hook to decrease the skirt size as it is too large with the E hook.

The top is slightly large for this doll so I finish the top and the arm holes with a sc 4 decrease around. It isn't even but it does help make the outfit fit better.

This was made with Lion Brand Ice Cream Cookies and Cream Yarn.

16 Inch Baby Doll A-Line Dress

Having found a second copy of Margaret Funk's Baby Doll Fashion's to Crochet, I promised myself this year I was going to work at adapting more of the patterns to use with the donation. For my notes this is the A-Line Dress pattern found on page 16 designed for a 16 inch baby doll.

I used Herschnerrs Worsted 4 Yarn for this dress. I need a second dress for the second 16 inch baby doll so I'm planning to try the lighter baby yarn I have on hand. This worked but still feels heavier than I had hoped. For a previous outfit from this leaflet I used Lion Brand's Ice Cream Yarn, so I'm hoping a lighter sport weight baby yarn will work for the second outfit.

Notes:

I used a g hook for this outfit and needed to add rows as I like to cover the white leg section of the doll when I make outfits for it. I suspect the dress is designed to be slightly shorter.

I also chose to finish the arms with a sc round around the arms. I didn't like the look with the unfinished rows. I would continue this practice in further outfits.

The headband was a oops from a previous Lots to Love 10 inch Baby Doll project which came out larger than expected. It seemed a wise choice to repurpose for the larger doll.

The shoes are my go to pattern for the 16 inch baby doll and can be found in Darsk's free Peach Keen pattern here.

16 Inch Baby Doll Dress for Summer 2

I've been keeping to some simple doll projects the last few weeks. Every project finished is another item in the doll bags.

This is the second one I needed for the two 16 Inch dolls that will go out in December. This pattern is from an old Margaret Funk newsprint leaflet, 1981 House of White Birches Baby Doll Fashions to Crochet, that I'm hoping to dive into more this year for the donation outfits. I've been using this particular pattern but I've realized there are more that can be adapted.

The shoes are from a free Darski Pattern Set Peachy Keen which I use for all this doll's shoes as they are the only one's I've been able to get to fit this doll. You can find that pattern here.

Notes:

I returned to Lion Brand Ice Cream Yarn for this project with the exception of the shoes which require worsted 4. This is made with Black Cherry. The shoes are made with scrap yarn from a previous project.

I use an e and d hook for this project.

Start with e hook completing rows 1-5 repeat row 5 changing all further row counts.

For the actual Row 6 which now will be Row 7 that starts the skirt round change to D hook to keep the skirt from becoming too big.

I keep playing with hats. I started with a circle until it fit the head and then I started with alternating 4 front post and back post stitches to create some texture to for the hat. The edges are made with triple crochets alternating with a sc around rather than a dc that I've tried previously.

16 Inch Baby Doll Summer Dress

Some times life is just odd and amazing. As I was getting ready to prepost this project I realized I hadn't checked my used sites in a bit to find a replacement for my Margaret Funk's 1981 House of White Birches newsprint leaflet Baby Doll Fashions to Crochet.

My sweet loving youngest Sheltie chewed a corner off the booklet last year and I realized having a second copy would not be the worst idea as it is hard to find and clearly is attractive to certain members of my family. I haven't had great luck but today on a whim I decided to search and found a back up not only of this but of her fashion doll book that I also rely heavily on to finish my donations each year. I was so pleased to find both at a reasonable price after not finding a hint of the first in a year.

This is the Summer Dress pattern from that leaflet.

The shoes are made from a Darski's free Peachy Keen pattern found here. This really is my go to pattern for this doll's shoes as they work up quickly and stay on. I use an I hook an worsted weight yarn with an I hook for the shoes.

Notes:

I normally use Lion Brand Ice Cream for this project but this is made with Herchnerrs Worsted.

To get this to fit the JC 16 Inch Baby Doll I started with an E hook and repeated row 5 once. Thus rows 3-6 follow the original directions for 3-5 moving each row directions down one. For the original row 6 now row 7 that starts the skirt I moved to a D hook to decrease the skirt size as it was too large with the e hook.