Rag Doll Nightgown

I'm always thrilled when I finish off a category for the donation and this week I have the pleasure of posting about two. With this nightgown all the dolls now have night wear going into the 2026 donation. I need to get caught up on swim wear but what better time for swimming than the heat of the summer.

This is the same free pattern I use for the 18 inch girl dolls that you can find here.

Notes:

I had bought a bunch of Big Twist yarn when Joann was going out of business for projects like this one. I find it a bit light for the larger dolls but does well with some of the smaller dolls. I realize the brand has been picked up but I'm still working through my stash and have not needed to refill yet. For my own notes this is Jade Green.

I do need to shorten the rows before the final trim rows for this doll. I would trim it back a few more next time as this felt a bit long.

My notes indicated I should use the suggested hook size but that was with heavier worsted. If I used lighter worsted in the future I'd go with the next size hook up.

I finished the back and closed with a snap.

Now to finish off the swimsuits before the fall hits.

My Life Little Bluebell Nightgown 2

After rushing to finish off the nightgowns and swimsuits for the 2025 donation I've been trying to weave them into the early stages of the 2026 donation and get them off my to do list. With this second My Life nightgown the My Life dolls are complete for 2026. It is a small success but each one is a step forward.

I had mentioned previously that having experimented with nightgowns for the 2025 donation I'd settled on Patricia Klonski's free pattern found here. It's quick and easy and looks nice. It's a great way to use up some of my left over yarn from previous larger projects.

Notes:

I believe this is left over Caron Pounder Lilac that I'm trying to finish off.

The project calls for a g and h hook I substitute an H and I hook to get the fit right.

I finish the back and crochet around the top. I close the back with a snap. This time I did finish the sleeves and added a sc chain 3 sk around the arm holes.

My Life Little Bluebell Nightgown

Of all the nightgown patterns I tried for the larger dolls last year this was the quickest and easiest to make so I'm sticking with it for 2026. You can find the free pattern here.

I started alternating pattern types at the end of the season last year to finish neglected categories. I've started this new season hoping to avoid neglecting categories. So you will see night wear, sleeping bags and sacks, and swim suits mixed in with a variety of outfits so I don't have them all to make at the end as I did last year.

Notes:

I used Red Heart Super Saver for this project.

The pattern calls for a G and H hook I found I needed an H and I when I made it previously and continued with that for this project.

I followed the project as written and finished the top and back with sc before adding a snap to close. I had finished the arms in previous projects but this time didn't feel it was needed.

Rag Doll Nightgown

Notes:

This is the free pattern I used for the My Life doll found here.

I used the suggested pattern hook sizes for this doll rather than going up a hook size as I did with the My Life Doll.

Due to height differences I decreased the number of rows before rows 20-23 to allow for the bottom finish.

I am close to finishing the Our Generation Nightgown and about 1/2 way through the last My Life gown both are different patterns. I have started the My Life swimsuit and hope to get started on the Our Generation swimsuit so they all finish at about the same time. I'm preposting the second weekend of November so my hopes are good that I can finish despite some pressing family stuff.

My Life Nightgown

I had forgotten this nightgown pattern and while searching for nightgowns for this year's donation I rediscovered this free gem which you can find here.

After completing this item one of the My Life Doll's is ready to pack!!

Notes:

This works up quick and not hard to follow. I plan on using this for the Rag Doll as well to finish off that donation as well.

I used the H hook rather than the suggested G changing to an I hook when the pattern suggested changing to an H. I found this fit the doll nicely.

To close the nightgown I finished the back and added a button and buttonhole. The pattern suggests ribbon but the button seemed a bit more likely to survive.

Our Generation Deep Teal Ombre Flamenco

I'm slowly working through my staple patterns for the larger dolls. The dress is another version of the free pattern found here.

Notes: I used Red Heart Deep Teal Ombre for this pattern. This would also be great for a mermaid outfit.

The shoes are part of Sweet Silver's Sailor pattern that I did finally locate. This is one of my favorite shoe patterns for the dolls but she is not currently selling it in her Etsy store.

I made a note after making shoes for the first outfit for the Our Generation Girl doll that they fit better with a G hook for this doll than the H I use for the My Life Doll.

Hats continue to be a work in progress. I continue to experiment but haven't found the hat pattern I'm ready to record.

My Life Flamenco Fruity Stripes

There are certain pattern that work well across multiple dolls and I try to fit them between other projects as I don't like doing multiples of the same item one after the other. This is a free pattern that can be found here.

I picked up the Fruity Stripes Red Heart Super Saver at Joann's specifically for this project as it is my favorite of the striped yarns for this outfit although I use multiple colors to make enough for all the dolls. I was a bit disappointed with this year's skein. I looked back at previous year's offerings to make sure I wasn't remembering the outcome differently and there is just something about this skein that it is striping oddly. There are patches rather than stripes of color. I guess some years are just better than others.

Notes:

I used an I hook for the dress.

The hat was something I experimented with for the 16 inch bavy doll and still haven't quite finished with enough to write down the pattern.

The shoes are part of Sweet Silver's Sailor pattern that I did finally locate. This is one of my favorite shoe patterns for the dolls but she is not currently selling it in her Etsy store.

I used an H hook for the shoes.

The shoes were made with Red Heart Bright Yellow. I am trying to get better about recording brands and colors when it isn't a left over ball I'm using up and long forgotten the brand and/or color because it does make it easier to find and use again. In the past the bright yellows have been Joann's Big Twist and it can be a little lighter making the shoes a bit smaller.

My Life Flamenco Dress, Hat, and Shoes

This is a one of those free patterns I return to year after year. You can find it here. It adapts not only across all the 18 inch dolls but I also use it for the Rag doll and the JC 16 Inch baby dolls. It works up quickly and it adds to my stash without a huge effort.

Notes:

I used an I hook for the dress this year.

I've been challenging myself to try patterns that have been gathering dust in my binder so the hat was in a daily crochet calendar that they sadly no longer publish. Michelle Crean submitted the Vanilla Ice Sunhat. She suggests a lighter yarn and a smaller hook. I was trying to continue with the yarn I had used for the dress. I'd follow her directions next time as the brim is too heavy for the hat.

I seem to have misplaced my favorite shoe pattern Sweet Silver Creations Sailor pattern which I'm going to have to locate soon. However, I did dig out Sweet Silver Creation's Sundress pattern, available for purchase here, which I believe is the same or almost the same as the sailor shoes. I'm continuing to search through my unfiled patterns as I'd hoped to make the sailor outfit again and I do like the shoes. She no longer offers the sailor outfit so I can't replace it either. Therefore I have even more incentive to find my copy of the pattern.

My Life Dress Hat and Shoes

This pattern appears yearly for a reason it works up quickly and it adapts to most of the larger sized dolls without much effort.

The dress pattern is a free pattern found here. The shoes are part of a paid Sailor Dress pattern, found here, that has become my go to shoe pattern for the 18 inch dolls as they work up easily and they stay on the doll. Every year I experiment with creating a hat pattern I'd want to keep and record the pattern for future purposes but I've yet to discover my final hat so I keep playing around with my options.

This year I restocked my striped/variageted yarn collection and picked the Tuity Fruity Red Heart Stripes yarn the pattern suggests. I'll use other colors for the remainder of the dolls this pattern fits but I do like the original when I can get the yarn.

I used an H hook for all items.