Barbie Bella

My time is winding down to finish the 2026 doll donation and I'm focusing on finishing up some fairy tale/fantasy outfits for some of the dolls and a few practical outfits for the Glitter Girl. What ever is finished I am grateful as this has been one of my better years for completing items.

This is one of Mel Garcia Tello's patterns that can be purchased here. I've made Cinderella for Barbie already. I use a different pattern for Skipper. I hope to complete this for Skipper and Red Riding Hood for both Barbie and Skipper before the deadline.

Barbie's gown was made with Knit Picks for the first time this year. I got a wider skirt with Bernat Baby last year. I'm going to try an experiment with Skipper's dress to see if increasing the stitch count as I added rows changed the drape of the skirt. Neither Knit Picks or Bernat Baby are the suggested yarn for this project. Knit Picks is closer to the weight and color suggested so I'd like to make it work.

Notes:

I followed my suggestions from last year not realizing I had changed yarns. I used a 3.0mm hook for the bodice I'd try my D hook next time. It is a different Barbie version but I also think the change in yarn may require a larger hook.

I'd suggest a C hook for the neck trim. Just a reminder to myself so I don't panic the armholes are not formed until the neck trim is added. This gets me every time I clearly need a project note.

It is in the pattern but again reminder that bodice is not joined until after row 13. This is correct but it always seems late to me and I scramble looking for my note. It is now on the pattern and here to remind me when I review.

Thankfully, I followed last year's suggestion to order more yellow micro buttons as they were in my mini button container when I went looking.

I will add last year's reminders to not finish the back or add snaps until the top is finished.

Regarding supplies I would suggest having a full skein of primary knit picks color on hand for this project. I have enough left for trim for another project but I would need another full skein for Barbie for next year. There is a limited use for the trim color. I didn't note how much Skipper needed last year so I will try to take note of that when I finish her dress. I try to order my Palette when its on sale so tracking how much I need for specific projects is important.

I believe this was made with Canary and Saflower.

Sunflower Dishcloth

In the last few years sunflowers have become a favorite flower. One of the local farmstands sells boquets of them during the summer and there is just something about them sitting on my kitchen table that makes me smile. I thought adding a dishcloth to my kitchen rotation seemed like a great idea.

This is another pattern from Leisure Arts out of print leaflet A Dishcloth a Month 75558.

While I've been making a decent dent in my old dishcloth cotton I realized I'm starting to run out of certain common colors. Walmart has an in house brand Hello Hobby that is quite a bit cheaper than the other cotton I normally use but it has good reviews.

I decided to give it a shot. I will say it splits quite a bit less than the other brands I've been using from my stash and that is a huge plus. How long these last with use vs the other brands remains to be seen.

For my own notes I did the center with the suggested H hook and switched to a g hook for the petals as I found it was harder to get the triple combos to keep their shape with the larger hook.

Our Generation Mermaid

The 18 inch dolls are next up for the 2026 Mermaid Challenge. I have a couple of different patterns to try. The first is a free pattern you can find here.

While I've liked some of the designs over the years with the free Yarnspiration doll clothes patterns I've not always had the best luck with making them. This was one of the first I've completed in a bit and required the fewest alterations to the pattern to complete it

I used Lavender Big Twist that has been in my stash since the days of Joanns. The blue and pink are Red Heart Super Saver.

To get the top to close with the lavender I needed a K hook and to change the starting chain from 34 to 45. I think if I made this again I'd experiment with what it took to close with suggested I hook as I ended up switching to an H hook for the tail as it was bulky.

Changing the original stitch count changed row 8. I needed to sc in the first 19 skip 2 sc 5 dc in the next sc and sc in the last 19.

At some point I realized to make the tail point I needed to get down to the original stitch count. This happened by reducing the tail count to the original stitch count before starting reduction for tail point. This happens between row 19-20. Then I returned to row 20.

I started the first fin sc into the back bumps of the chain. This made it so much easier to start the second fin. I sc the fin to the body and then sc around the fin to give it a more solid finished look.

The first two rounds of the crown were made with a K hook to get it to fit on the doll's head. I made the final row of the crown with an H hook so I wouldn't ruin the spikes of the crown.

Chain 40 for the ties sc in center crochet around sl join and chain 40.

Neither of my other mermaid patterns has a crown so I'd consider using this with those patterns. It will be interesting to compare the three to see which one I prefer. This is the only one piece set.

I'd also like to make a tail for the Our Generation Boy like I did for Ken.