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 Neon Dress, Hat and Purse

A while back I needed to make more kitchen scrubbies and to entertain myself I picked up brightly colored striped and variegated yarn to make them. The scrubbies finished I of course had left over yarn that has been sitting in my stash wondering when it would be put to use. Every year I promise myself I will tackle the orphan yarns in my stash during the doll project and I make some progress each year. This year with the COVID crisis I've been making more of an effort as my choices are limited to using up my stash or ordering online. So, I've been pushing myself to find ways to use up that yarn that catches my eye when I go into my yarn storage and wonder when will I ever find a use for.....

While pulling the yarn to make the dress for the My Life doll this neon yarn called to me and it just seemed like a good fit for the Our Generation doll.

To make this pattern work for the Our Generation doll I needed to increase the hook size to an I hook. I also added rows to make the skirt longer. The hat was an experiment. The purse was simply a square made with front post and back post stitches. I joined yarn on the starting row and made the back with dc's. I crocheted around the edges joining them with the purse strap chains to get to the other side. Not elegant but it worked.

For those of you who are interested you can find the free pattern for the dress here.

Our Generation Skirt and Short Sleeved Sweater

I bring you 2 more free patterns for the 18 inch dolls. The skirt can be found here and while I decided on a short sleeve version the sweater is actually a long sleeved sweater found here.

I rarely have to make items smaller for the Our Generation Doll but I ended up going from a g to an f hook for the skirt as it fit better with an f hook. I used the prescribed hook for the sweater but it was bulky and I'm thinking I might try a lighter yarn if I use this again for the My Life doll.

Our Generation Ribbed Effect Skirt and Tank Top

I've been searching through my pattern collection to find separates to match up for the annual doll donation and as happens every year I am surprised by something I've forgotten in those pattern binders. This year I came across a Doll Picnic pattern I'd purchased from Maggie's crochet several years ago that you can buy here.

At some point I'm going to revisit this pattern and make the whole picnic set. I think it would be a fun item to donate. However, my mission this round was tops and bottoms. In this case I wanted the tank top.

This top was a little different from others I've made in that it used seed stitch to give the top some texture. I like the look of the top and as I said I'd like to revisit the whole pattern again at some point and make the set.

I thought I'd need a larger hook to fit the Our Generation doll and started this pattern out with an I hook but it was too large. When I make this for the My Life doll it will likely require a G hook. Marking the front was important for me because the first time through I made the reduction for the arms on the wrong side which made joining them unlikely. These are all notes to help me in the future.

The skirt is the same free pattern I used for the My Life doll found here. As this skirt uses an elastic waist band cut to the size of the doll no additional adjustments to the skirt pattern were required. The stitches adjusted around the elastic and the designer leaves you to determine the length of the skirt.

Our Generation Doll Poncho and Pants

I mentioned in a previous post that I've been experimenting with the Our Generation Doll as it is slightly more padded in places that the Walmart's My Life Dolls and the Springfield Doll's I'd previously used for donations for years. The first project I started for the Our Generation Doll inspired me to order a My Life Doll so I'd have some place to put the clothes that didn't fit the Our Generation Doll. I'll be donating one of each this year.

I've been making items from Maggie Crochet's Crochet Pattern Abby, Allie & Annie PA972-Rsince I started this donation project. The pants are my favorite pants pattern. I've even made them into shorts and on at least on occasion a skirt when I needed it. It just has a nice simple fit.

I needed to alter the pattern to fit the Our Generation Doll and I'm including my notes for the next time I attempt this project for the OG doll. Your gauge and experience may be different but I share my experience.

Rows 1-3 I used an I hook I may experiment with an H hook at some point to see how the fit works. The fit was too tight with a G hook a little loose with an I but not slipping
Row 4 I used an H hook as having passed the more padded section of the doll I wanted to work my way back to the g hook in a tapered manner
Row 5 onward I was able to complete the pants with a g hook

I used a g hook for the poncho. I might have been able to use an f hook but with the pony tails having the neck a little looser made getting the poncho on and off easier.

I was able to complete the hat with a f hook.

This is another one of those orphan skeins of yarn I've been targeting in my yarn supply. I was given this at one point and wasn't sure what to do with it and it got buried. When I was thinking about what yarn to use for the poncho and hat this seemed to call out to be used.

I'm still working on the Lil' Cutesies donation project. The doll outfit is completed I'm working on the accessories for the play set at this point. I've been doing a little on the play set and then working on another doll outfit for the other dolls. It should be quite cute when finished.