Skipper Ski Outfit

As with Barbie and Ken this ski pattern comes from the out of print House of White Birches leaflet Crochet Wardrobe for 11 1/2 inch Fashion Dolls.

With minimal adaptations, Barbie's outfit fits Skipper pretty well.

Notes:

I follow Barbie's pattern for Skipper which for my own notes starts on page 32 and skips to left column of 47.

This requires a 2.5mm hook for everthing but the hat which like the other two requires an E hook. Knit Picks's Palette is my go to yarn for all three ski outfits.

Barbie's pants pattern is too small for Barbie but fits well for Skipper as long as I keep the total rows to 18.

I finish the arm and leg holes with ss as this helps with the hands and feet catching on the yarn.

I would consider making the arms slightly larger around the elbow bend as Skipper's bend is sharper than Barbie's and it makes getting the sweater on and off a bit more challenging.

Skipper Mermaid

I bought some Red Heart Unforgettable Gossamer for a different doll project but it turned out to be too dark. I eventually found the color suggested in the pattern and will be trying that soon. However, that left me with a supply of yarn to use. While this was not the right fit for my other project I really liked the color stripes for Skipper.

While I love the look of this yarn it is a bit unforgiving. I find it can be hard to frog and this was challenging as I had to experiment with hook size to figure out what would work with this yarn and Skipper.

The suggested hook size for this yarn is J and that did work with my other doll project despite not being a good color fit. I had previously used an E hook with the Caron Simply soft. Thankfully, I was able to save most of my experiments but I did lose some of the chains as they knotted and wouldn't release when I needed to start again with a smaller hook.

You can find the free Mermaid pattern here.

Notes:

I dug out my new Tulip Etimo 2.5mm hook for this project.

Some of my old Bates Bamboo hooks are starting to wear out. I broke a B hook not long ago and decided not only did I need to replace my smaller ergonomic hooks but I wanted to have some of the in between sizes so I could experiment not only with changing fiber but fine adjustments in hook size. Sometimes I do find myself needing something just a little bigger or smaller than what I have on hand.

I started with a 2.0 and jumped to the 2.5mm to get the fit I wanted. I didn't have that option with my Bates Bamboo hooks.

As with my Stacie Mermaid I chose not to make this a pull on top as this yarn was not going to accomadate that kind of stress. I added an additional row to the bottom which let me connect my finished sides without having to do each side stop and do the other. This allowed me more space to add the snaps.

I followed the directions for the tail and fin adjusting for length as this yarn is a bit thinner than the Caron so I had to play a bit more with rows to get it long enough.

Skipper Nightgown

I'm continuing on with my quest to send the dolls out with nightgowns this year.

This was an AG Mini pattern I found from Sweet Silver Creations last year and was able to adapt for Chelsea, Stacie, and Skipper. You can purchase the pattern here.

Notes:

This outfit was made using Hobby Lobby's Artiste size 10 Orchid thread and their size 10 multi-colored thread.

Skipper requires a 1.8mm crochet thread hook to adapt this pattern to fit.

I do not add arms to any of the dolls for this nightgown pattern as it makes it much harder to take on and off.

There are several places for contrast color trims, I only use the trim on the bottom of the outfit. The nightgown closes with ties and I used the contrast color for the ties.

Skipper Sleeping Bag

As I mentioned on Ken's sleeping bag post I lost track of some of the accessory projects last year and ended up scrambling to finish them in the fall.

I looked back at Skipper's sleeping bag post and it hit on Halloween last year. Since I prepost it might have been earlier but still I like getting these projects in the donation bags early in the year. Having them waiting in the fall wasn't going to work for me this year.

It is the first weekend of May as I prepost and Skipper's bag is ready to go. This leaves me with Stacie, and two Chelseas to finish the donation year.

This bag is made using a combination of two free patterns from Suzie's Stuff Blog. The first is her Fashion Doll Sleeping bag found here. The texture comes from her Beanie Bag Sleeping Bag found here.

I use the fashion doll pattern to establish the pillow and width of the pattern. The shells come from the beanie pattern. I find sc the entire sleeping bag to be a rather tiresome project. The shells make it work up faster for me. I also like the textured look.

Notes:

This was made with Red Heart Ombre Violet. I'd use this again for Skipper if I had it on hand.

I need an I hook to get this to fit Skipper.

Once the pattern is established I stop counting rows and follow the pattern until it covers the doll's feet and then I close the bottom of the bag.

Skipper Swimsuit

As I was working on my swimsuit challenge for 2025 I had to adapt patterns for Skipper and Stacie as there are very few pattern written specifically for these dolls. I chose the swimsuit pattern from an out of print Leisure Arts leaflet 2132 Hawaiian Honeymoon Fashion Doll Wardrobe for this project and decided to stay with it for 2026.

Notes:

I used a B hook with no longer available size 5 Bernat Handicrafter thread for this project.

I had looked into purchasing more size 5 Artiste from Hobby Lobby but the color selection is a bit low at the moment. However, Creative Yarn Source does carry size 5 in more colors and I'm thinking of getting a supply. I'm discovering I have more Goldilocks projects which are too small with size 10 thread but bulky with size 3. With no color options its been a bit challenging to move to size 5. I'm hoping to correct that soon.

One of the notes I made previously was that the piece needed to be even after row 2. This became clear to me and once again I adjusted as I was off. I took a picture to remind myself of how the crotch needs to be balanced or the whole piece is off center.

After row 1 on shaping don't count slip stitches.

I generally sc around leg openings but this time I opted for hdc and the look was better to close the gaps.

Skipper Christmas Dress

I am always excited to find free pattern that I can make to use for the donation. This is a free Barbie Santa Claus pattern you can find here. It required little adaptation to make it fit the smaller Skipper doll.



Notes:

I used Aunt Lydia's size 10 Atom red and white for this project with a size B hook.

I changed the directions for joining and joined after row 6 of the bodice using only 2 snaps to close the back.

Skipper is shorter than Barbie and flatter chested so I only did 4 rows of the white trim on top. I originally added more but it was too overwhelming for the dress.

This is designed as a Mrs. Claus outfit but I decided to leave it as more of a Christmas dress as I thought if you took off the Santa hat it could be used for other dress up play.