I'm always on the look out for patterns for the Barbie family that I think I will actually make. I especially wanted this pattern for Ken and possibly Stacie as I lack patterns for both. There is a Todd pattern with him wearing overalls that may also fit Stacie since the version I have is a camping doll she's clearly active. There are parts of the Barbie pattern I like and I may make that as well. Lately I have also had luck getting stuff to fit Skipper from the Barbie side so we will see.
This is JudysDollandPatterns Christmas Playtime Pattern that can be purchased here.
While I often include holiday themed outfits in the donation. I find them fun to make and I hope the kids enjoy being able to dress their dolls for the holidays, I try to make sure the dolls have enough daily outfits before focusing on the holiday treats. This seemed like it would be a great option for a winter outfit for Ken if I avoided the Christmas colors. It hopefully allows more potential for these pieces to be mixed and matched with other Ken items.
I made a "ski" outfit for him a few years back with Knit Picks fingering yarn and I'm thinking about pulling that out of print pattern out and giving Ken a nice winter wardrobe.
Notes:
I used various brands of size 10 crochet thread for this project.
I used my Tulip Etimo 1.8mm hook for everything but the sweater sleaves when I went down to a 1.5mm hook as the sleeves were too bulky.
While the sweater appears large in the front it isn't in the back where I added the snaps to close it. I added a finishing row and it closes but it is a nice close. I'd experiment with a 1.5mm next time to see how the fit works perhaps going up in sizes in certain places and using a smaller hook in others.
I suspect I had an issue when I made the shoulders for ths pattern because the arms are made and joined and I couldn't get the arm to set. I then reverted to sc around the armhole and made the arm going down from the shoulder. If this is a problem in the future I suggest making the cuffs ahead and adding them at the end. In this instance I alternated with dcfp and dcbp to get some texture for the cuffs. It would be easier to make them and join.
Had a similiar problem with the collar and used the same solution. For next time I would suggest sc around the collar to even it out and count how many rows of the collar I'm going to need to make it fit.
I chose not to add the fringe to the scarf or hat. I had no intention to try with the hat but I did try with the scarf and wasn't thrilled with the look so I pulled it out.
Regarding labels for dolls Ken is listed as Christmas Boy with size (12") listed under title. This confused me until I saw the 12". I likely will make this same mistake next year so a note is useful. Barbie is Christmas Girl, Stacie, Christmas Sister and Todd, Christmas brother.
