American Girl Little Red Riding Hood

I received the Hooded Cape pattern for Christmas and thought it would make an interesting start for a Red Riding Hood outfit. I then needed a simple skirt and sweater pattern to complete the outfit.

I went back into my 18 inch doll pattern binder and pulled out the Abby, Allie and Annie pattern set, from Maggie's Crochet, for the skirt along with an out of print Springfield Collection Sweater Trio from Fibre Craft FCM494 for the sweater. The Abby, Allie, and Annie set is not only one of my favorite 18 inch patterns, but likely the one I use the most every year. I plan to start the pants soon, as it is the easiest pair I've found to make. I often substitute these pants when I find another pair that looks similar, but is more complicated to create. Fibre Craft printed a series of patterns for the Springfield doll. While out of print, they are generally not too hard to find in the market place. I was fortunate to have been gifted a set by my Aunt. However, I see them offered frequently at places that offer used crochet patterns and the prices are generally pretty reasonable.

I'm working on a St. Patrick's Day outfit that is far more complicated than I first realized. It has extra pieces that were not evident when I was looking at the pattern and requested it on one of last year's wishlists. I am finding the challenge fun. It is also nice to finally use up the yarn I bought for this project and then never got to use.

I attempted yesterday to pick up my donation dolls at A.C. Moore after seeing the paper and my email had provided me with 50% off coupons. Usually I can catch one 50% off coupon where the dolls aren't marked down and I get my 2 dolls for one. I suspected my effort would fail when yesterday; I received an email with a 55% coupon. Sure enough, the dolls were on sale and the coupons not valid. However, I did pick up some shoes for the dolls using the coupons. I don't think I was the only one with that idea. There was a significant dent in the shoe population. I was also able to pick up some sale yarn, so the trip was not wasted.

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

Doll Blankets and Pillow Patterns

Baby Doll Patterns:

Baby Doll and Cabbage Patch

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.

Everything the Internet Didn't Teach You About Crochet Review

I borrowed Everything the Internet Didn't Teach You About Crochet from the library because the titled intrigued me. I was wondering what the author thought the Internet didn't cover.

The author was a bit pretentious in the idea that the Internet didn't cover the concepts she covered. I have seen all these issues addressed in various formats on the Internet. As a fairly experienced crocheter, I was wondering if she'd have some hints about more advanced concepts that aren't always well explained on the Internet. There I was disappointed.

This is a book designed for beginners and it does achieve that goal. I will say it is a very clear guide and the photographs and illustrations are some of the best I have seen. For instance, the explanation of where to place your stitch after making the turning chain was one of the best I’ve seen. I remember being frustrated at the illustrations in some of the books I purchased. This book has a clear illustration that leaves you no doubts about where the next stitch should be placed. Another explanation I found particularly strong was the explanation of how to make and measure a gauge swatch. This gave me a tip I hadn't considered trying before.

For the price, this is a nice guide for new crocheters. It is small enough to slip in a bag and provide basic references for new learners. The instructions for reading a pattern and getting started are worth reading. I suspect as the beginner moves on a more advanced reference will likely be wanted.

American Girl Pioneer Nightgown

I received the Pioneer Nightgown in the last round of Crochetville's wishlists. I ordered the Babybee Hushabye Camo from Hobby Lobby and then the holidays hit. I did get back to the project after the holidays and now have another outfit ready my doll donation.

I love this yarn and would like to order some in other colors to try with other projects. It was very soft and I'll be looking for other patterns where it would be useful. I'm also looking forward to seeing what other 18 inch doll patterns this designer creates.

Just as a pattern note, I needed slightly more yarn than the pattern called for, but I always order extra when I now I can't get the yarn locally so that wasn't an issue for me. I also adapted the pattern so I could use a button instead of velcro. I have found velcro that you can sew, but I still don't enjoy using it.

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

Doll Blankets and Pillow Patterns

Baby Doll Patterns:

Baby Doll and Cabbage Patch

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.

Leprechaun Dishcloth

I don't do as many swaps as I'd like but I did participate in two this month at Crochetville. This first was a KISS (Keep it Simple) Dishcloth swap.

I asked for a holiday dishcloth and as you can see, I got a beautiful Leprechaun Dishcloth from my partner. I believe you can find the free pattern here. I am thrilled. I love holiday dishcloths and this one is adorable. I love the facial details. I always find those items intimidating when I make something where the back shows. On an ami, everything is hidden inside. The back of this is beautiful.

Free Dishcloth and Holiday Patterns Available on the Following Blog Pages:

Free Crochet and Knit Dishcloths Patterns

Valentines

St. Patrick's Day

Easter

Graduation

Patriotic

Halloween Page

Thanksgiving

Christmas

Pictures may not be used without written permission.

Barnyard Amigurmi from Crochet Today

I have an old out of print Annie's Attic pattern for a barn bag with ami farm animals that I've been making for several years. The picture is posted above. When I post it or I show it to people I get lots of questions about where they can find it. It is hard to find. So I am pleased to say I found a new version, slightly larger in the February/March 2014 edition of Crochet Today. I don't have rights to publish the picture of the project, but you can see the picture here.

This pattern includes a pattern for a barn bag along with patterns for an ami cow, sheep, pig, and chicken. With a larger bag, these animals are a bit larger than the ones I normally make. With the bag, you can choose to make these animals or choose your own from a wide variety of patterns available.

If you want a free farm cilo pattern to go with that bag pattern to make a fun gift set check out Bizzy Crochet's Barnyard Gang. I've made this pattern a few times and it is always a hit.

If you arrived here looking for free patterns you may be interested in the following blog pages:

Dinosaurs and Dragons

Knit and Crochet Food Patterns Great for Play Food

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

Teddy Bear Patterns and Clothes

Halloween Page

Thanksgiving

Christmas

Valentines

Easter

Graduation

Patriotic

Pictures may not be used without permission.

American Girl Witch

I have completed the first four donation outfits and they are all holiday related. Last year I put off doing the holiday outfits and I never got them done. This year I thought that by starting with them I would be more motivated to work on other types of outfits during the year.

The dress is a modified version of Darski's free Pilgrim dress found here. I shortened the dress, added a few extra stitches to make the skirt wider and did sc ch2 sc borders to give it a different look. The hat comes from Bizzy Crochet's Witch outfit. She has a whole outfit you can make, but this is easier for me. You can find her free pattern here.

One of the things I love about this dress is you can really do so many different things with it by changing the skirt, the color, and adding little things to it. It works up quickly and it is easy to make.

Now starts my annual sale hunt for the Springfield dolls. AC Moore often has the 50% off coupons, but they often put the dolls on sale the same week at less than the sale coupon. They don't allow you to use the coupon on sale items. If I'm patient I can sometimes find the dolls and the coupons that match up so I do get two dolls for the price of one. When I start hunting in January, my odds are better.

I want to try the soft bodied 15 inch baby dolls from Mary Maxim this year. I suspect the best discount I'm going to find on those is shipping. This year I'm going to need one as a model and one to donate. Since I'm working on some 5 inch dolls to donate I think that will be a nice balance. It all depends on how many baby doll items I finish. It would be nice to work up to two next year.

Valentine's Day Hexagon Ribbed Dishcloth

After all the cheerfulness of the Christmas decorations, I need something to replace all the color that goes away. It just seems so dreary. Therefore, I leave some of the snowmen and winter decorations out and I start sneaking in some Valentine's colors.

This pattern comes from Learn-a-Stitch Crochet Dishcloths which I bought a while ago. I don't believe it still in print, but it is likely available at places that resell crochet books.

This is one of my favorite dishcloth patterns. I like it because it works well with variegated yarns and the ribbed texture makes it useful for scrubbing. This one is made using Bernat Handicrafter cotton.

Free Dishcloth and Holiday Patterns Available on the Following Blog Pages:

Free Crochet and Knit Dishcloths Patterns

Valentines

St. Patrick's Day

Easter

Graduation

Patriotic

Halloween Page

Thanksgiving

Christmas

Pictures may not be used without written permission.

Reader's Shawl

In the fall I decided for the first time to make something wearable for myself. I had looked at several reader's wraps and settled on one I found at Annie's called the Quick & Easy Cozy Crocheted Wrap. Quick fit my attention span and easy worked for my talent with wearables. I finished my shawl right after Christmas.

I thought I had enough Hobby Lobby yarn on hand, but found I had to reorder as one of the skeins was not the same color as the others despite the labels claims. I made mine slightly longer than the pattern called for, I wanted the pockets to fit comfortably. I find they are big enough they will even hold a skein of yarn while I'm crocheting.

I'm planning on experimenting with more wraps, but this has become my comfortable around the house warmer. I've never been a fan of sweaters, but this adds just the warmth I need on these cold days and when I'm too warm it shrugs right off.

Christmas Brought Crochet

I had a wonderfully long Christmas break with DH. I am fortunate to have a husband who supports my crochet habit. He always asks for a list of things I might be interested in having for my hobby and I can almost always expect to find some of them under the Christmas tree. The beauty is I never know just what he will pick.

This year I am starting to make some clothing items. I had looked at this book and put it on my list. Figure Flattering Plus-Size Fashions has some pretty looking items that don't look like they'll be too hard to make.

I'm still working on my doll projects and have another finished project to post this week. I got two cape projects. The first was a Capelet found here. The second was for a hooded cape that reminded me more of a Little Red Riding hood look found here. I've made my own patterns for capes in the past, but these had looks I haven't tried before and I wanted to make something different for my donation project this year.

From Annie's Attic I got Summer Styles for 18 Inch Dolls. I also got two Shady Lane patterns I've wanted School Girl Fashions and the Waterfall Wardrobe.

For my 5 Inch dolls that I love dressing up, I received Fall Costumes for 5 Inch Dolls.

I joined two swaps at Crochetville this month. I was not that involved last year with swaps, but this year they started with a dishcloth and magic ball swap that sounded interesting. My dishcloth is finished and ready to go. The yarn is ordered for the Magic Ball swap. I just need one more shopping trip to get the items that go in the ball. I'm looking forward to the Ami swap in the Feb-March swap. I just can't decide if I'll do the pet swap or the favorite color swap.