Victorian Snow Lady

This is another pattern I can attribute the starting points to Annie's Crochet Newsletter Nov-Dec 1986, Tiny Snow People. This is the wife of the Victorian Snowman I promised I would post after Christmas. She and her husband found happy new homes Christmas Eve and will be making their trek to Florida on New Year’s Eve, weather permitting.

These snowmen are a combination of the original pattern, Barbie, and Hello Kitty all wrapped up with some inspiration from some yarn I picked up at a Church sale.



Free Holiday Patterns Available on the Following Blog Pages:

Christmas

Valentines

Easter

Graduation

Patriotic

Halloween Page

Thanksgiving

Pictures may not be used without written permission.

Barbie Christmas Caroler Take Two

This was a lesson in why you need to keep your yarn stash organized. I was sure I had run out of teal that I used for several outfits this holiday season. Instead I had merely misunderstood how I had stored the color. I was thinking teal blue when I stored it and green when I searched. So I thought I was out when it came time to finish this outfit. Thus Barbie ended up with a black cape from some shimmer yarn I had been experimenting with on some other holiday projects. Shortly after finishing the cape I found the teal.

Since the exercise I have most of my yarns in see through plastic bins which has made finding stuff so much easier. I have a few more bins to buy and then all my yarn will be sorted and accessible when I need it. However, a black cape will go with other outfits that Barbie has more than the teal so in the long run I suspect this was not a bad thing.

Barbie and American Girl Doll Free Patterns are listed on my blog at these locations:

Barbie Crochet and Sewing Page

Barbie Knitting Page

Ken Page

Kelly/Skipper Page

American Girl Doll Crochet and Sewing

American Girl Doll Knitting

Additional Doll Patterns also Available on the Holiday Blogs:

Christmas

Valentines

Easter

Graduation

Patriotic

Halloween Page

Thanksgiving

Pictures may not be used without written permission.

Barbie Santa Take Two

I have been promising myself since I finished this dress the night before Christmas Eve that I would make a note on the pattern reminding myself NOT to join the top and instead add a snap. I still have not done it. I am hoping writing it here will be a reminder if I do not do it and find myself stumped once again next year.

I wrote about this all last week and did manage to finish, wrap and have it ready in time for the big Christmas Eve celebration. I have an Annie's Attic pattern to experiment with next year, but I may find myself returning to this pattern. Sometimes we do what works.

You can find this free pattern by using the Christmas Link below.


Barbie and American Girl Doll Free Patterns are listed on my blog at these locations:

Barbie Crochet and Sewing Page

Barbie Knitting Page

Ken Page

Kelly/Skipper Page

American Girl Doll Crochet and Sewing

American Girl Doll Knitting

Additional Doll Patterns also Available on the Holiday Blogs:

Christmas

Valentines

Easter

Graduation

Patriotic

Halloween Page

Thanksgiving

Pictures may not be used without written permission.

Plastic Canvas Ornament Vintage Book

I have mentioned several times that I use free Flickr or Morgue Files pictures when I do not have my own pictures to illustrate my blogs. I have received a number of inquires about the pattern for the plastic canvas ornaments on the Plastic Canvas Christmas page. Normally I have no idea where the photographer gets the items. The patterns could be orignal or from a book. However, while buying patterns for Christmas at a vintage site I came across the pattern for the items and bought the book for a family member as a Christmas present.

Please be clear I am not selling this item and since it was given as a Christmas present, cannot share it with anyone. However, I find it easier to search for patterns when I know the information I am seeking. It is hard to find a pattern based solely on a finished photograph of an item made.

The pattern booklet is Santa's Workshop in Plastic Canvas by Dick Martin. Leisure Arts published the pattern. The booklet is number is 361, published in 1985.

I know that is not as helpful as providing the pattern, but it is a start for those who want to track the item down. I will add a link to this information on the Plastic Canvas Christmas page for people who arrive there and want information on finding the pattern as well.

Pictures may not be used without written permission.

For those of you who arrived her looking for free plastic canvas patterns, please check out the following blog pages:

Christmas

Valentine's Day

St. Patrick's Day

Easter

Halloween

Thanksgiving

Patriotic

Graduation

Bookmarks

Coasters

Tissue Boxes

Toys

Snowman Lady Green Hat

I continue to keep my winter decorations out even after I put away my Christmas decorations after the first of the year. That is one of the reasons I have collected snowmen for years. There is something festive about keeping something up after the holidays have ended. I usually put the winter decorations away as I am getting the Easter stuff out. It keeps the winter blues away.

This lady was made for a family member. My original intent was to make another colonial lady. However, I ended up with more rows in her hat and she had a different look to her. Her nose also was longer and must represent a good carrot growing season. It just continues to demonstrate that I will never have a static ami line. Each one I make is always an original, no matter how many times I repeat the pattern.

As with the other snowmen ami's I have written about they all started with Annie's Crochet Newsletter Nov-Dec 1986, Tiny Snow People.

Free Holiday Patterns Available on the Following Blog Pages:

Christmas

Valentines

Easter

Graduation

Patriotic

Halloween Page

Thanksgiving

Pictures may not be used without written permission.

Merry Christmas

My Mom started a tradition when her oldest daughter started having kids of celebrating the "big" family celebration Christmas Eve so everyone could have the option of being at home on Christmas Day or being with their other relatives. I was ten when my nephew was born, so Christmas Eve celebrations have been a long tradition in my family.

Since many people are still working and finishing holiday preparations, Mom would have an open house where people could drop by and share the day. Her big meal would still be Christmas Day. Christmas Eve was generally snacks and some form of takeout food. Mom still had a large gathering of people who would come on Christmas Day for the real food.

When my parents moved down south, I continued the open house tradition. When I married, I introduced it to my husband's family. My MIL was convinced it was my solution to get out of cooking. However, with the number of finger foods we make, my husband has long been convinced a meal might be less work. However, we still face the challenge that drove Mom to this move many years ago. People arrive and stay all day. We have afternoon guests and post-Church guests. Therefore, there needs to be a range of food that can be stored and heated over the course of the day. A sit down meal would not work.

We still see more people than we would on Christmas Day itself. So many people have family commitments on Christmas. However, stealing an hour or so on Christmas Eve seems fun. We play holiday trivia games and my husband's family introduced Christmas caroling to the tradition. This year my niece is supposed to be bringing her violin to add to my husband's piano. The richness of the celebration continues to grow.

Christmas Day changes for us. This year we are likely going to spend the holiday at home together with the dogs. We like the Christmas morning peace, if there is peace with two shelties. If Bailey was impatient for his toys and bones, I can only imagine what it will be like with two. We have graciously accepted invites on Christmas and we have enjoyed the solitude of having time alone. This year I am looking forward to some time to enjoy our post Christmas Eve cheer.

I wish all of you a safe, happy, and enjoyable Merry Christmas.

Pictures may not be used without written permission.

Victorian Snowman

For those of you who have been following my blog you know I found and fell in love with a snowman pattern from Annie's Crochet Newsletter Nov-Dec 1986, Tiny Snow People. I adapted the pattern and have been making a variety of these snow people for Christmas presents. I wanted an old world look for this one. I labeled it Victorian because it reminded me of the capes and tall hats, but I could be off on the historical period. It might actually be an earlier time.

The hat is actually recycled from my failed attempt to finish Ken's Christmas Caroler outfit. I will never find the hat when I start on the project for next year, so I decided to use it for this project. I had some black shimmer yarn and decided to experiment with that for the cape. I have found the dishcloth yarn makes great noses. I experimented with regular orange worsted and found the dishcloth yarn stood a bit firmer.

This one had to be wrapped quickly because he was starting to look at home on the piano and I was afraid he might not make it into the intended package.

Free Holiday Patterns Available on the Following Blog Pages:

Christmas

Valentines

Easter

Graduation

Patriotic

Halloween Page

Thanksgiving

Pictures may not be used without written permission.

American Girl Doll Santa with Holiday Yarn

I finished the second American Girl Doll Santa Dress based on Darski's free Pilgrim Dress. You can find the links to the patterns for the dress and hat at my original posting about the dress here.

I have had the toughest time finding the holiday metallic yarns this year. I looked for them before and after Thanksgiving and they were not yet out at the stores, I was searching. Then I got busy and had other yarn I needed so I did not check online when I was ordering the other yarn I needed figuring I could find the holiday yarn locally saving the additional shipping. Well I did find some of the silver red and green yarn. I really wanted the color metals. Perhaps I will find an online after holiday sale. Although some of the places I looked last minute were already out.

I made the second American Girl hat with the Red/Silver and the White/Silver Bernat Holiday Yarn. I made Darski's Holiday gown with the Green/Silver and White/Silver Bernat Holiday. I found it a bit harder on the fingers than expected. I did like the second Santa hat, although I would make the hat a bit smaller next time. The pattern works up almost too small with Red Heart. The pattern is rather large when I followed it as is with the pattern as written. However, it is a cute design.

I would like to locate the Red/Red to try to make next year’s outfits. None of the girls has just one doll. I also would like to put aside some to donate for next year which means starting early.

Barbie and American Girl Doll Free Patterns are listed on my blog at these locations:

Barbie Crochet and Sewing Page

Barbie Knitting Page

Ken Page

Kelly/Skipper Page

American Girl Doll Crochet and Sewing

American Girl Doll Knitting

Additional Doll Patterns also Available on the Holiday Blogs:

Christmas

Valentines

Easter

Graduation

Patriotic

Halloween Page

Thanksgiving

Pictures may not be used without written permission.

American Girl Holiday Dress

This is my first attempt at Darski's Green Christmas pattern. This one did not make the Christmas box I sent out, but will be going to one of my Christmas Eve visitors. I am thinking about making a second one for a St. Patrick's box. After all, a fancy green dress for St. Patrick's Day is not unheard of for these dolls. Perhaps by then I will have tracked down the green/green metallic. If not the green/silver, it will be for the outfit.

I learned new skills and am still perfecting them because of making this dress. It is one of the things I love about crocheting. There is always something new to learn. I have not perfected the techniques, but finishing the gown was an achievement I am feeling pride in this holiday season.


Barbie and American Girl Doll Free Patterns are listed on my blog at these locations:

Barbie Crochet and Sewing Page

Barbie Knitting Page

Ken Page

Kelly/Skipper Page

American Girl Doll Crochet and Sewing

American Girl Doll Knitting

Additional Doll Patterns also Available on the Holiday Blogs:

Christmas

Valentines

Easter

Graduation

Patriotic

Halloween Page

Thanksgiving

Pictures may not be used without written permission.

Colonial Snowman Lady Crochet

This is an adaptation of Annie's Crochet Newsletter Nov-Dec 1986 pattern, Tiny Snow People. I have been working with different sized hooks and playing with the hat and cloak to get a different look for the snow people. This one struck me as having more of a colonial look. The hat in particular just reminded me of the patriot women even more than the previous one I made.

I made another one as a gift thinking it would have the same look, but a few changes and she has a different historical look. That has been the fun with this pattern. I have a Ken hat I did not end up using for his caroler outfit, so I plan to make a snow couple for my husband's parents who will be here Christmas Eve. I am thinking a black hat and cloak for the man and something more festive for the female. However, these things have been evolving on their own so we will see what happens.

Free Holiday Patterns Available on the Following Blog Pages:

Christmas

Valentines

Easter

Graduation

Patriotic

Halloween Page

Thanksgiving

Pictures may not be used without written permission.

American Girl Doll Poncho and Skirt

This skirt pattern is also from Maggie's Crochet Abby, Allie and Annie 18" Doll Outfits Pattern. I learned to do that pleated look which has since come in handy on several projects including the poncho and a snowman toilet paper cover I hope to complete once all my Christmas obligations are completed. The pants, poncho, and skirt are on there way in a Christmas box. I rushed to get the photographs taken and stored so I could post them later.

I never could have completed any of these three items last Christmas and with all the crazy Christmas rush it makes me feel good to stop and realize that is progress. It is important to realize that no matter how much I cannot yet do, I never would have completed any of these projects last year. It has been a year of learning and growth and I am thrilled about that achievment.


Barbie and American Girl Doll Free Patterns are listed on my blog at these locations:

Barbie Crochet and Sewing Page

Barbie Knitting Page

Ken Page

Kelly/Skipper Page

American Girl Doll Crochet and Sewing

American Girl Doll Knitting

Additional Doll Patterns also Available on the Holiday Blogs:

Christmas

Valentines

Easter

Graduation

Patriotic

Halloween Page

Thanksgiving

Pictures may not be used without written permission.

American Girl Doll Poncho and Pants

Back in November I wrote about making another poncho from Maggie's Crochet Abby, Allie and Annie 18" Doll Outfits Pattern. I donated that poncho and kept working on the patterns in the book. I really like the pants pattern. Do to the Christmas rush I was only able to complete the black pair, but I would like to make some in a few colors and then a few to put away in the donation box I hope to start once the holiday rush is over. The poncho pattern is also one I plan to put in the donation box for next year. My skills were limited last year. However, by the end of the year I was finally making outfits. Therefore, my hope is if I start early, I will have some clothes ready for both children's charities and the Church sales, along with my regular family gifts.

Barbie and American Girl Doll Free Patterns are listed on my blog at these locations:

Barbie Crochet and Sewing Page

Barbie Knitting Page

Ken Page

Kelly/Skipper Page

American Girl Doll Crochet and Sewing

American Girl Doll Knitting

Additional Doll Patterns also Available on the Holiday Blogs:

Christmas

Valentines

Easter

Graduation

Patriotic

Halloween Page

Thanksgiving

Pictures may not be used without written permission.

Female Snowman Crochet

Yesterday I wrote about the boy I made from the same Annie's Crochet Newsletter pattern. I started following the pattern for the hat for the girl and realized I liked the colonial look I got when I made more of a cap for the girl instead of a winter hat. Since the pattern called for giving the woman a cape instead of a scarf, I continued to play with the theme and I liked the way the pattern looked.




The Christmas box went out without Kelly or Ken's Christmas caroling outfits, so I have a Ken hat to play with and I am going to try to use it on one of the male snowman I still have to make. I am thinking about trying to individualize the snowman and add them to some of the Christmas packages I am giving out locally. I have one to finish to ship with a gift card. Since I am posting ahead, it should be mailed if all goes well by the time this post appears.

These two are happily providing some festive cheer in my husband's office. I may even be able to finish a few for the winter season for my own house. No guarantees they will be finished by Christmas, but I leave my snowmen out all winter long.

Teddy Bear Baby Blanket

I made this for a little boy for Christmas. The pattern is from B Is for Baby (Annie's Attic: Crochet). I thought it was a nice transition blanket. It is a combination stuffed animal and toy. It has the comfort of a blanket, but is shorter and more compact for travel. It has the cuteness of a stuffed animal, but the ease of throwing in the wash when dirty. Since I had never tried anything like this before I followed the pattern colors. I think for future purposes, I would avoid white. While I love the way it looked when finished, it is not practical for my intended purposes. I have a frog blanket that I want to try for either Valentine's or Easter which is all green that will likely be more practical.

I love these small projects that keep teaching me new skills and challenging me to learn how to do something new with my crocheting. I pulled this blanket out several times before I managed to get it to work. The pattern was not complicated, just different from what I was expecting and this was good. It was a chance to stretch myself and because it was a small project, I was still able to finish in a reasonable time period.

If you arrived her looking for free baby blanket patterns please check out:


Baby Blanket Page

Pictures may not be used without written permission.

Snowman Boy Crochet

As I have mentioned many times I have been collecting vintage patterns and magazines. This snowman was made from a vintage Annie's Crochet Newsletter Nov-Dec 1986 pattern, Tiny Snow People.

I have had a great deal of fun experimenting with this pattern and have had several requests to make more. The pattern comes with directions for a boy and girl with winter outfits. The boy has a winter hat and scarf, the girl an winter hat and cape. As you will see in later blogs, I opted to do a historical look with the girl while doing the winter look with the boy.

One skill I have never been good with is making good French knots. I have moved to using safety eyes and noses on my amigurumi projects. However, this project called for knots for the "coal buttons." I experimented with safety eyes. One downside is that it was tough to get the crochet holes to line up straight to make the rows look straight. Even looking at the pattern picture, you can see where the French knots have been "adjusted" to account for the holes and even then, they do not line up exactly.

I also changed from worsted weight yarn to cotton dishcloth yarn to make the noses and it worked out well. I had orange left over from some Halloween dishcloths and it made stronger noses for the snowman than the worsted orange I had to use.

Free Holiday Patterns Available on the Following Blog Pages:

Christmas

Valentines

Easter

Graduation

Patriotic

Halloween Page

Thanksgiving

Pictures may not be used without written permission.

Farm Cilo Crochet

This was one of those projects that as soon as I saw it come up in my Blogger reader I knew I was going to make. Bizzy Crochet had blogged about this over the course of the summer and posted the free pattern in August. Her pattern includes not only the barn cilo, but also the farmer and animals. I already had made animals and a bag from an Annie's Attic pattern but the cilo bag was a great addition to my Christmas gift. I will be making another for the second Christmas farm set I made to give at Easter. I just ran out of Christmas crafting time. The second farm will have to wait for Easter to get a cilo.





I had the bag finished before Thanksgiving, it just needed to be put together. However, I stopped to finish my Thanksgiving toys and then had other Christmas projects to be finished. I finally forced myself to stop and do the final assemble job so this can be mailed with the other toys.

This is a great addition to Bizzy Crochet's Castle Bag that will be going to a different family member in the same box I need to mail out soon.

Barbie Christmas Caroler

The two patterns I wanted to complete for Barbie for Christmas were the Santa and the Christmas Caroler outfits. Set one is complete and ready to ship. Set two needs to be finished by Christmas Eve. I need to get Ken finished. I think Kelly and the American Girl Doll will be projects for next year as I need to get started on the duplicates that need to be completed before Christmas Eve.

I am making two of these outfits for two girls who have both participated in our Christmas Eve caroling. I hope that it will remind them now and in years to come of a family tradition. After all Barbie continues to make a great holiday decoration long after her play days are over.

This is another free pattern that can be found on the Holiday blog page listed under Barbie. Many of these pages are listed as multiple page links so I am working on updating my links to match the way they can be reached.

Barbie and American Girl Doll Free Patterns are listed on my blog at these locations:

Barbie Crochet and Sewing Page

Barbie Knitting Page

Ken Page

Kelly/Skipper Page

American Girl Doll Crochet and Sewing

American Girl Doll Knitting

Additional Doll Patterns also Available on the Holiday Blogs:

Christmas

Valentines

Easter

Graduation

Patriotic

Halloween Page

Thanksgiving

Pictures may not be used without written permission.

Hello Kitty Christmas Caroler

I have been experimenting with Armina Ami-Nals Hello Kitty patterns for a while now. You can find links to her free patterns and others on the Hello Kitty page. Her witch dress pattern has provided endless opportunities to learn and adapt. In combination with Barbie patterns, my selection for Hello Kitty presents has grown remarkably. Eventually I hope to record what I am doing so I can recreate these for myself as well as sharing with others. However, I am going through a very experimental stage in trying to combine how one makes arms for doll's clothes with adding arms to Hello Kitty. I am also using different doll techniques on her outfits. Therefore, each try is not a pattern to be shared by a more of a crochet lab experiment. I hope at some point to be able to find a set pattern to create and be able to share as so many people have generously done to help me get started.

Christmas caroling has always been special to me. In high school, we had two traditions. A friend had a caroling party at her house each year where we did actually go out and entertain the neighbors getting hot cider and cocoa for our efforts. Our high school had a chorus tradition on the last day prior to school ending we would gather in the music room during last period and carol through the halls disrupting classrooms and gathering followers as we went. It was a great tradition, long gone.

My husband's family always sang Christmas carols when we gathered during the Christmas season. We incorporated that tradition into our Christmas Eve celebration. My husband would play his keyboard until we inherited his parent's piano when they moved. Two of my nieces have "helped" their Uncle with the tradition of playing while the family sings. Many visitors have been surprised to find multiple party harmonies visiting our home on Christmas Eve.

This Kitty is headed off to one of the little girls who no longer lives close enough to sit and play the piano with her Uncle. Hopefully the Kitty and the dolls which I will post later will remind her of the special tradition she shared with us.

If you arrived here looking for free toy patterns please see the following pages:

Hello Kitty

Crochet and Knit Puppets

Crochet Amigurumi Animals and Stuffed Animal Free Patterns

Knit Amigurumi and Stuffed Toys

Crochet and Knit Amigurumi and Other Dolls

Knit and Crochet Toys

Dinosaurs and Dragons

Teddy Bear Patterns and Clothes

Knit and Crochet Food Patterns Great for Play Food


Pictures may not be used without permission.

Barbie Family Holiday Photo

I wanted a picture of Barbie, Ken, and Kelly together. Next year I am going to have to figure out patterns for Stacie and Skipper, but thankfully those dolls have yet to be received so no Santa's are required.

I have always loved the movie White Christmas. When I was working on these outfits over Thanksgiving I received the highest compliments when someone compared the look to my favorite Christmas movie.

I still have another American Girl Doll Barbie Santa to make before Christmas Eve. However, I am thrilled with what I have accomplished so far. I could never have done any of this last Christmas.

Barbie and American Girl Doll Free Patterns are listed on my blog at these locations:

Barbie Crochet and Sewing Page

Barbie Knitting Page

Ken Page

Kelly/Skipper Page

American Girl Doll Crochet and Sewing

American Girl Doll Knitting

Additional Doll Patterns also Available on the Holiday Blogs:

Christmas

Valentines

Easter

Graduation

Patriotic

Halloween Page

Thanksgiving

Pictures may not be used without written permission.

Kelly Santa Crochet

One of the Christmas presents I am sending out this year is a Barbie/Kelly set so I wanted to make sure Kelly also had a Christmas outfit. In my travels, I have not encountered a Kelly Santa outfit. I have no experience with Kelly at all. I only recently acquired a few Kelly dolls to use as models. I ordered a Kelly/Stacie pack on clearance and then found Kelly and Tommie at a Church sale.

I started by playing with a Cupie doll pattern. The Cupie doll is not in any way proportional to Kelly. However, it gave me some general ideas about working with smaller sized dolls. My next goal is to work on some free Kelly patterns I have downloaded to get a better feel for how to work with Kelly to make her outfits fit. However, I do think this is a cute first start.

Thankfully, there is only one family member with a Kelly doll so I do not have to try to repeat this creation as it was done on the fly with no guarantees I could successfully repeat it. The Cupie pattern started at the neck so I did also. It actually created the armholes in the opposite direction, neck down, not bottom up, that I am used to, but it worked. I single crocheted the top area, but double crocheted the gown. I tried adding arms, but the sports yarn was just too thick. Perhaps when I try an established pattern I will understand how others have accomplished that task.

The hat ended up larger than I wanted to accommodate her hair. She has a rather hard fixed ponytail that forced the hat to be wider than I wanted for such a small face.

I am looking forward to making more Kelly outfits. I have Skipper and Stacie to work on after the holidays are over. I have some vintage Annie's Attic patterns for Skipper and I think some of them are also for Stacie as well. I have to check her measurements to see what fits. However, those I do not need until Easter/May period. As much as I am tempted to pull them out, they need to remain boxed until after the holiday rush.

Barbie and American Girl Doll Free Patterns are listed on my blog at these locations:

Barbie Crochet and Sewing Page

Barbie Knitting Page

Ken Page

Kelly/Skipper Page

American Girl Doll Crochet and Sewing

American Girl Doll Knitting

Additional Doll Patterns also Available on the Holiday Blogs:

Christmas

Valentines

Easter

Graduation

Patriotic

Halloween Page

Thanksgiving

Pictures may not be used without written permission.

Ken Santa Crochet

I really enjoyed this project. Once I understood the mistakes of Ken Pilgrim, Ken Santa was much more fun to make. In fact, I will go back and make another Ken Pilgrim to replace the old one once I get past the holiday rush.

The red I used for Barbie was from yarn I picked up at a Church sale last year. It finally ran out. Therefore, Ken has a darker yarn, which I purchased at a craft store recently that I actually like better. It has a more old world look to it. I have not even finished off the first skein of white yarn I bought at the Church sale I have been using for all my doll trims, including Ken’s beard. I loved the idea of including a beard in the pattern. I had seen a couple of free Ken and Barbie Santa hat patterns but this is the first free pattern I saw with a beard. You can find the pattern page one here page two here. I did much better with Ken's boots this time. I think I would use this boot pattern for the Pilgrim next time. I also opted out of the buckle on the belt. Instead, I used a snap in the back to hold the belt in place and just sewed a buckle on. Little hands sometimes do better with easier options.




I found an old Annie's Attic pattern for a Santa Ken and Barbie that I ordered from a vintage site. It will be interesting to see how the patterns differ.

Barbie and American Girl Doll Free Patterns are listed on my blog at these locations:

Barbie Crochet and Sewing Page

Barbie Knitting Page

Ken Page

Kelly/Skipper Page

American Girl Doll Crochet and Sewing

American Girl Doll Knitting

Additional Doll Patterns also Available on the Holiday Blogs:

Christmas

Valentines

Easter

Graduation

Patriotic

Halloween Page

Thanksgiving

Pictures may not be used without written permission.

Barbie Santa Crochet

I finally figured out the problems I was having with the free Barbie and Ken Pilgrim patterns and this first Barbie Santa was where the problems resolved themselves. You can find the free pattern here. Instead of a dress, the first Barbie is a two-piece outfit, a skirt and jacket. I do not believe I will have any problem making the next dresses I need to complete my Christmas list. Learning from my mistakes is half the journey.

I am going to try out the Christmas Caroler pattern before making my second Barbie Santa. I have until Christmas Eve before the second sets are delivered. However, I am running out of time as my shipping dates are closing in on the first set of Barbie items.

As I mentioned with the American Girl Doll post, I found some white yarn at a Church Christmas sale that has made wonderful trim for my holiday doll outfits.

Several people have commented about the thread vs. yarn issue with Barbie. Well Thanksgiving taught me that children like having Barbie clothes. Even the Barbie outfit I was not as pleased with was a hit. I fully understand thread looks better. For all those that think I need education, I do not. I have eyes and I can see the difference. Unfortunately, my hands do not seem to work with thread. However, I can still make clothes that send Barbie back to the time of the Pilgrims or make her into Mrs. Claus and that works for the kids who play with these outfits. Given a choice of these bulkier outfits or nothing, I have been told not to wait until I learn to use thread. Therefore, I will continue to admire the outfits people make with thread. However, I am not giving up making my bulkier alternatives leaving kids without clothes for their dolls.

I post the free patterns I can find for Barbie and company. Some are thread and some are yarn. If you cannot find what you want, I suggest you try the vintage market or look for people who sell their patterns to download. There are many thread patterns available. Not everyone generously donates his or her patterns for the rest of us to use. People are entitled to make money from what they create. I am truly grateful for those who donate the gift of their talents for our use. It has allowed me to create far more items this year than would have been possible otherwise. I have continued to buy new patterns and build my vintage pattern collection. However, the free patterns for Barbie, the American Girl Doll, and other crochet toys have extended my gift giving and charitable donations this year. I thank all those who freely give of their talents for the rest of us to enjoy. I hope all of them are blessed and able to continue sharing their talents with the rest of us.



Barbie and American Girl Doll Free Patterns are listed on my blog at these locations:

Barbie Crochet and Sewing Page

Barbie Knitting Page

Ken Page

Kelly/Skipper Page

American Girl Doll Crochet and Sewing

American Girl Doll Knitting

Additional Doll Patterns also Available on the Holiday Blogs:

Christmas

Valentines

Easter

Graduation

Patriotic

Halloween Page

Thanksgiving

Pictures may not be used without written permission.

American Girl Doll Santa Crochet

I wanted to make a Santa outfit for the two girls I make Springfield and American Girl Doll clothes for as Christmas presents. Locating a free Santa hat pattern gave me hope for the project. However, I did not find a free pattern for a dress and did not want to experiment with trying to download a purchased pattern as our printer only recently has come back to our network. I started thinking about alternatives after finishing the last of the Pilgrim outfits.

I am new to crocheting in general and even newer to doll clothes making. People who have done this for decades surround me. Therefore, I do understand my level immaturity when it comes to the process.

I wanted a pattern I knew I could have success with and complete. Darski’s free Pilgrim outfit had proven to be a wonderful pattern that I could follow and fit as promised when I was done crocheting it. Crocheting the Pilgrim pattern in red seemed a solution to making a Santa dress. After playing with a Barbie Santa pattern, I decided to experiment with adding some white trim. The yarn was a great find at a Christmas Church sale. I would not normally have purchased the yarn because I had no idea if it would work for this type of project. When I looked after the fact in our local craft stores, the yarn is generally $5-6 per skein. However, at the expensive price of $.50 per skein one can take afford to experiment.

The free Santa Hat pattern was a wonderful find. I had never used the popcorn stitch and the author did a wonderful job explaining it. I worked on this Thanksgiving Day. I have trouble just sitting still with nothing in my hands. This project was a great way to keep my hands engaged. That being said, I pulled the popcorn section out four or five times as I lacked the concentration needed to follow that section of the pattern. I think I will make the second one in a more focused environment.

I have at least one more of these to make before Christmas Day. This one needs to be packed and shipped across country. I am trying to work out a plan for a Christmas Caroler outfit. If not this year, then next year is always a possibility.

Barbie and American Girl Doll Free Patterns are listed on my blog at these locations:

Barbie Crochet and Sewing Page

Barbie Knitting Page

Ken Page

Kelly/Skipper Page

American Girl Doll Crochet and Sewing

American Girl Doll Knitting

Additional Doll Patterns also Available on the Holiday Blogs:

Christmas

Valentines

Easter

Graduation

Patriotic

Halloween Page

Thanksgiving

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