Our Generation Boy Basketball Uniform

I've mentioned on several occasions I haven't found many crochet patterns written specifically for the boy doll. However, there are some patterns that are generic enough that they work for either the boy or girl doll. I already made the doctor scrubs and now I'm starting in on some of Adoring Doll's sports patterns. You can purchase the basketball uniform here.

Notes:

Shirt:

This is made with Caron Pounder Kelly Green, Red Heart White and Black. I wanted the specific shade of green for future reference I tend to use what ever shades/brands of white or black I have on hand.

I used an I hook for the shirt and I'd stick with that for future projects as the fit was good for getting on and off the doll.

I made the button hole while trimming the neckline and finishing the back in white.

Shorts:

The shorts lists an f hook I needed an I.

I've never been good at adding ss along the edge of something so I ss to add the yarn to the side than did a row of ss not attached to the end of the shorts and ss to the end of the shorts. I left a long end and sewed the ss to the shorts. Not the most effective method but better than the mess I was making trying to ss directly to the shorts.

Shoes:

I used the suggested G hook and followed directions as written. I would likely use an H hook if making these for the My Life Doll.

Our Generation Boy Firefighter

Adoring Doll's Firefighter pattern, available for purchase here, was one of the first patterns I bought when I decided to include a male doll in the donation and oddly this is the first attempt I've made at making it.

I made the pattern out of order as I have a tendancy to do because there are certain items I need to fit to make sure I'm going to continue with a pattern.

Notes:

Turn Out Jacket:

I used an I hook for the jacket instead of the suggested H hook. In the future I'd move back to the H hook for the sleeves as the sleeves are a bit big with the larger hook.

One challenge I'm finding is some of my newer acrylic yarns from brands I've bought for years aren't as thick as previous versions and when I mix them the rows can be a little harder to keep even and I found that with the color changes in the coat I needed a finishing row to try to clean some of this up. Still didn't get quite the look I wanted but I might try to buy yarn from all the same "year" next time I make this outfit.

Turn Out Pants:

I used the suggested H hook based on previous experiences with this doll and Adoring Doll's pants patterns.

Helmet:

I ended up making 2 as the first one just wasn't right. For the second one I wrote out the repeats and the hat had a better form to it than the first one that just looked weird. I used the suggested G hook. There are directions for ridges but I couldn't get them on right and the directions were a little unclear and after having made 2 helmets I didn't want to risk destroying the second one. I was OK with how it looked without the bumps.

I do have some other fire fighter patterns around and I might look at how the hats are made to get some ideas for a better styled hat.

The boots were made with the suggested G hook.

Our Generation Boy Hockey Player

Back in March I asked some of my friends over on Crochetville to help me find patterns I could use with the Our Generation Boy doll for the donation. I was open to free or paid patterns but while I hadn't worked through my library of available patterns specifically for the male dolls, I knew my supply was limited. That's when people challenged me to think about how to adapt patterns to fit the male doll.

This is Darski's free Detroit Bunnies pattern which was designed as a hockey outfit for the girl dolls. You can find the pattern here. There are a number of sport patterns originally designed for the girls that I'm looking to adapt for the boy doll before he leaves for the donation. This was my first attempt.

Notes:

The skates were purchased from CR Crafts. So I can find them and buy them again they were listed as Skates - Ice - 2 5/8" Black Item 69151. You can purchase them here. I've not purchased many shoes for either the Our Generation or My Life doll. Making shoes for them has told me the My Life dolls feet are a bit larger based on hook sized required to get the crocheted shoes to fit. This is something to remember when ordering shoes for them in the future perhaps.

Hockey Pants:

When ever possible I avoid making the legs and joining. It just rarely works out for me so unless it's something like footed PJ's I try at all costs to avoid this method.

The directions called for two strands of yarn and K hook. I used Red Heart Super Saver black and crocheted over a pony tail holder to give the pants an elastic waist to make sure they stayed on the doll. I continued crocheting in the round until I needed to split for the crotch making sure I had decreased the total number of waist stitches to 40 before splitting. Sometimes it takes more stitches to cover the pony tail fully. It wasn't as much of an issue with the double strands.

Row 1 sc around elastic band to cover it.

Rows 2-6 hdc in 40

Row 7 split for legs adding 3 chains to join crotch.

Rows 8-11 on each leg crochet around 23.

Darski includes directions for suspenders for her uniform. I chose not to include them.

Hockey Hose:

This was Darski's wording not mine. I'm not an expert on hockey uniforms. I made one and then remade it as it was larger than I expected. I stuck with my original yarn choices although Darski mentions using baby yarn. The color options were not going to work for me with baby yarn.

I started making 20 rather than 25 rows of chain 4 ribbing. This helped it stay up on the doll's leg.

When I crocheted on top of the ribbing adding the suggested extra stitches I ended up with 26 both times so that seems to be the number.

Shirt:

I played with the colors a bit so I had to change some of the pattern to accomadate additional color changes.

I started with 2 strands of yellow as while this is a worsted 4 yarn it is lighter than the white and black. I also changed the directions to get the stitch count to work for me.

Row 1: 2sc in 3 (1 sc followed by 2sc) until last 3 stitches, 2sc in last 3 stitches. The stripes on the bottom of the sweater need to be hdc or dc. I chose sc and the sweater gets a bit smaller as a result. I would likely choose the hdc option to keep it even with the rest of the sweater.

I used snaps to close the shirt. I had planned on buttons but with the shrinkage at the bottom I finished the edges in blank and used snaps to close.

Helmet:

The helmet is worked in two strands of black and a K hook. I worked as written until row 7 when I needed to add increase rows because this doll needed a larger helmet before moving on to the fp sc of rows 9-10.

I found the shaping directions confusing so I marked the temples of the doll on the helmet and proceeded with rows 11-13. If you don't stop for these locations and turn you end up with a hat not a helmet.

I found the first side of the chin strap worked well I'd be more careful looking at the way the first one sits before placing the second one. I'd pulled out the helmet a few times to get the face to work by the time I reached the strap so I had less patience than perhaps was best for this type of project. However, hopefully with these hints I'm hoping my next attempt at the helmet will prove easier and I can focus on a better second strap joining.

Our Generation Boy Prince Charming

My Life had pretty much phased out their male dolls when I thought about adding a boy 18 inch doll to the donation. I looked to the Our Generation line and discovered Daniel.

Last year I didn't do as well as I'd hoped with his clothing. This year I decided I needed to make Daniel and Ken priorities because it takes more time to search out patterns and then make them fit the male dolls. There are fewer options and sometimes it takes patience to adapt them to the doll you are donating.

I had actually forgotten about this set which is why this year before I started the donation I made a point of returning the doll patterns to their binders and then I started going through the binders to look at real possiblities for patterns I hadn't tried or haven't done in a while.

This pattern is from Adoring Dolls Snow White set that can be purchased here. It includes Snow White, the Evil Queen, and Prince Charming. However, you can also purchase the Prince as an individual pattern here. Just a note the crown is actually part of the Evil Queen pattern but I wanted a crown for the Prince since the outfit can be used with multiple stories. I just like people to know where items come from when they want to find the items to make themselves.

Notes:

This outfit was made with Red Heart Super Saver.

I made multiple changes for fit and to make the outfit work for children rather than a display. The ability to get an outfit on and off is always important when I'm putting something together.

I used a I hook for the Pants and Shirt section. I added an additional 2 rows to the pants section. In the future I might make that 3.

The hook for the boots suggests a G and I stuck with that as the Our Generation feet generally do well or go smaller than the hook size. This was a good size for the boots.

I substituted black for brown. The browns I had on hand weren't a good fit for this project.

This is were I made a design change to the pattern for the sake of little hands getting the clothes on and off rather than displaying the doll fully dressed. The shirt and pants are made as one piece and this is easy enough to get on and off. However, the pattern calls for the boots to be attached to the pants once they are made.

This sounded like it was going to make the outfit hard to put on as boots tend to be solid not like soft footed Pj's. After making the first boot and trying it on my suspicions were confirmed. If I attached the boots to the outfit it was going to be frustrating for a child to take it on and off. However there was no reason to sew Prince Charming's boots to his pants. It works with the boots as a separate piece.

The second change I made with the boots came as a result of not sewing the boots to the pants. I worked the first round of the boot cuff in the front loop so it would bend over the top of the boot. Then I continued on with the pattern.

I ended up using a K hook for the belt. Also to make it easier to get on over layers I added a snap rather than joining the belt. It made it easier to add to the shirt/pants combo or over his tunic. I like to decrease frustration and wear on the outfit when possible. The friction of sliding the belt on and off would likely leave it with a short life span. Again the difference between a play model and a display. To fit this doll I needed to chain 50 to get the belt to fit.

I used a K hook for the tunic and a G hook for the trim.

I used Amethyst for the cape instead of Red. I wanted that Royal look and purple is royal. I needed a K hook for this item as well. I used a g for the black sections.

As I mentioned previously the crown is part of the Evil Queen pattern. Daniel's hair is pretty puffy so I'm not sure if that was the issue with needing a huge hook to get this to fit. I'm hoping to make the other patterns for the female 18 inch dolls so we will see if their heads are any smaller with their hair styles. To make this fit Daniel I need an M hook. I didn't use the red yarn. I just didn't see the need. This look suited my project.

Our Generation Boy Sleeping Bag

This was my travel project through most of January for various appointments and I finally finished it during the Super Bowl sewing in the ends during the final moments of over time.

Since I'm preposting this I'm sure I'll have another one started and in my travel bag for upcoming appointments. It's a great waiting project as it engages and distracts the mind a little more than a simple repitition of one single stitch over and over but no so complicated that I find myself pulling out rows when I get home because despite the stitch count being correct, the item still isn't right.

Last year I used Latte Stripes for the boy doll's sleeping bag. This year for something different I went with Red Heart Jumbo Stripes Sutherland Stripe. I like both choices and would use either again for this project.

This is a free pattern you can find here.

Notes:

I use a K hook for the 18 inch dolls.

I don't count rows once the pillow is finished and the basic pattern established for the sleeping bag. I measure it against the doll. I believe this is around rows 23-24 which begin to repeat to end at that point.