Lots to Love 10 Inch Baby Doll Sweater Set

Thanks to Darski's free patterns for the Lots to Love 10 Inch Baby Doll I've gotten a good start on the donation bag for 2024. This is the sweater from her Sweetly pattern set found here.

In years past this sweater has come out large enough to fit the Rag Doll and the Lots to Love 14 inch Baby doll so this year after realizing I was headed down that path again I decided it was time to make changes and record them.

Notes:

I used Bernat Big Baby Sport Pink and Baby Baby. Sweater:

The pattern changes from a G to an F hook I stayed with the F hook for the entire sweater.

Row 1 as written.

Row 2 skip one skip one stitch between pattern directions this reduces overall stitch count making sweater less bulky and a better fit on the doll.

Row 3 dc in every dc 2dc in every chain space. This adds stitches back to original pattern but not nearly as wide as original.

Row 4 dc in 3 2 dc in next. Slows down increase from original pattern.

Row 4a as written with different number of total stitches.

Row 5 I had to fudge row 5 to make the numbers work for the armholes based on new number of stitches. I didn't record because it took me a few tries to make it work.

Rows 6-8 were worked as written based on the new stitch count.

Pants:

As I mentioned in previous posts I've been using my own basic pants pattern. I finally recorded the chains required for this doll's waist.

Chain 44 for waist. For this set I did a row of sc prior to finishing rest in dc. I would do that again it made for a better waist. I did not use elastic for these pants. I did a chain 3 and join to split for legs.

Booties:

I keep playing with the adaptation for this pattern trying to get the best fit but this is what I've been working on recently

Complete row 1-3 of the booties.

Row 4: sc in back loops around

Row 5: sc reducing 4 times at toe

Row 6: sc evenly

The headband is a work in progress. Still a little larger than I wanted. I'd likely go down to a D hook the next time. I did a row of sc to fit the doll's head and then crocheted around the row on both sides finishing with a sc chain 3 edging.

My Life Artist Print Dress

This is another one of Michelle Ratman's designs that can be purchased here. Just for my reference this is the Military Dress pattern 1101.

Notes:

Generally I love when I don't have to add buttons or snaps because the outfit can slide on and off the doll but after having made another one of her patterns for the Our Generation doll and finding it some what challenging to remove and put and not being able to get it on the My Life doll I decided I needed to redesign so I could add a back opening to make it easier to slide on and off the doll. My first priority is making it easy for a child to use, even though I really do love simplicity for myself. It is a waste if the child doesn't end up using it because it is too hard to dress the doll.

I used an f hook and chose Red Heart Super Saver Artist Print for this outfit. The pattern calls for sport weight 3 cotton yarn but the only place I found was loose after going down to the f hook was the shoulders which I tightened by finishing the back and the top at the end.

I followed the directions for the first 8 rows with the exception of not joining until I completed the 8th row. This created a back opening which made the dress easier to slip on and off. I joined after completing row 8 and continued with the directions as written.

When I finished the dress I finished the back and dealt with a slightly looser top when I reached the top by sc in 3 decreasing in the next across. This gave the top a better fit through the chest and shoulders.

Lots to Love 10 Inch Baby Doll Sweetly Pants and Top

I've been working on a series of Darski's free baby doll patterns to fill the baby doll donation bags. The Lots to Love 10 inch Baby doll has two pattern sets to work from. This pattern comes from her Sweetly pattern found here.

While I haven't restricted myself from getting new yarn I've really been pushing myself to use up the older orphan yarns in my stash some of which seem to magically appear when I think I've used them all up. The yarn for the shirt is an old skien of A.C. Moore's sport yarn that I'd stocked up on before they'd closed because it was a good doll weight yarn. I am really trying to finish off these older skeins to reduce the look of a hoarding yarn room.

Notes:

For the top, I used the suggested F hook with the A.C. Moore yarn which is a slightly heavier sport yarn than the baby yarn I generally use with the baby doll patterns. I used one button to close the top in the back.

Another challenge I've given myself is to try some of the designs I've avoided over the years because the techniques bother me. So I did attempt to make the pants legs up rather than waist down using Bernat Baby Sport yellow. I found the legs were both tight and short so I changed to making the pants waist down as I always do and added a trim at the bottom of the pants. Sometimes it just isn't worth fighting with my preferences but I did try. I did not use elastic in the waist for these pants.

I keep playinng with the booties but this seems to be the best fit yet.

Complete row 1-3 of the booties.

Row 4: sc in back loops around

Row 5: sc reducing 4 times at toe

Row 6: sc evenly

I did a sc ch 3 around the top.

I thought I'd worked the the bonnet worked as written last time but this is actually closer to what the bonnet is designed to look like. Not sure I mind as this way the doll has two different bonnets.