16 Inch Baby Doll Sundress

As I mentioned in a previous post I've decided to devote the rest of my donation time to balance between where I still see some needs and projects I want to finish for me. This project for the 16 inch baby doll is about filling in gaps. There are so many accessories that get made at the beginning of the donation year that the number of outfits tends to be less than many of the other dolls. There are also two dolls to rotate through the baby doll crochet project slot creating a disadvantage. It is time to even that out.

This pattern is a free an oldy and one of my first for the larger baby dolls. While out of print it is still available through the Wayback machine here. It has been a few years since I have made this one and I love the dress and the hat but I really need to create straps that join as I go. That is the only part that makes me crazy about the dress. I hope to fix that for the second baby doll.

The shoes are my go to free shoe pattern from Darksi's Peachy Keen set found here.

Notes:

The dress and hat were made with a K hook, the shoes with an I. I found this yarn at my local Walmart and I picked it up thinking it would be perfect for projects like this one and for next year's snuggle sacks. I hope to pick up more as I like how it worked up. This is Red Heart Jumble Speckle Bubble Gum. It's nice to see something I bought get used quickly and not get lost in my stash. I still have quite a bit left to use as I bought the jumbo but it will be useful for the baby doll projects.

I always join after the first row and because of this I often forget to turn the rows. I really prefer the look when I turn. Mark the front. I will be working on a way not to have to sew on the straps. This never ends well for me. Took me several tries to get these lined up and sewn on correctly.

This dress slides on and off the doll easily and no snaps or buttons are required. The designer didn't join but sewed it together later.

Chelsea Cinderella

I picked up Sweet Silver Creations mini AG pattern set last year and I've been using it for Chelsea, Stacie, and in some cases even Skipper. You can purchase the individual Cinderella pattern here or the set here.

Notes:

To be clear these are not Chelsea patterns so I need to adapt them to fit. I've had more luck adapting her AG Mini patterns than the 6 inch Kelly patterns. I've tried both but the AG's were easier to fit.

I use size 20 thread from Creative Yarn Source and a .75mm hook for this dress. It is the smallest hook I need for these outfits. I was playing a little bit of thread chicken as I havne't ordered the Cinderella colors in a bit. I reordered over the weekend and believe I found a lighter blue I couldn't get the first time.

With the .75 mm hook I did not need to increase the number of rows to get the bodice to fit as I had to do for Stacie and Skipper. Like the other two dolls though I did have to decrease at the neck to get the neck to fit the doll. I did a sc 4 than decreased around the neck.

For the skirt I did rows 1-14 as written. I then completed rows 21-22. This gave me the floor length the pattern required.

I would not do the suggested additional chains at the waist as this made it harder to close and I needed an extra snap. I don't believe I did them last time but decided to try the directions to see what would happen.

I suggested adding a row to the headband and the collar and both worked better with an additional row. The snaps are tight even with the additional row for the collar and those are the smallest I have.

This year I followed the overskirt directions as written and liked how it looked. I plan on continuing this for Stacie and Skipper.

Glitter Girl Thread Shorts, Shirt, Hat, and Shoes

As I approach the end of this donation season I'm trying a different approach as I'm in a pretty good place with the donations this year with my new method of spreading out projects.

I stopped to look at where the needs are greatest among the dolls. Most have pretty good wardrobes. With some outside donations some have great wardrobes. However, some are lacking in certain areas of their wardrobes and that's where I want to focus some of my remaining time.

Then there is my creative time. I want to make some things I just haven't had the time to make this year and why not.

This project falls under the first category. The Glitter Girl has a decent wardrobe but almost everything is a dress. So before the season ends I want to add some casual clothes as one accessory kit is camping and that doesn't go well with some of her more dressy clothes. Along with this project I have a couple more thread and one yarn project I hope to add that will give her some casual play clothes as my Mom used to call them to go with her more dressy outfits.

This pattern is available for purchase here and also includes a pattern for pants that I'm hoping to include as part of her casual wardrobe.

Notes:

I purchased a bunch of Lizbeth size 3 variegated yarn a while back and found myself using the same colors again and leaving certain colors abandoned because I wasn't quite sure how the pattern would work up. I've decided it is time to attack these orphans and this project was the first outing.

The shirt is made with Lizbeth size 20 Wildflower Garden trimmed with Aunt Lydia's Fashion 3 white. The purple is Thread Art Size 3 Lilac which is only labeled 20 on the carton.

I followed the directions using an e hook through out the pattern. Since I plan to return to this pattern for the pants I'm thinking of decreasing the hook size to a D as they seemed a little large. I'd also use a D for the shoes. I've never worked with a Wellie Wisher doll so I don't know if those doll's feet are larger. The cap worked well with an e.

The shorts were long for me as written so I ened at row 12. This may change if I move to a D hook.

This pattern includes directions for shorts, capris, pants and a collar for the shirt to change the outfit.