Friday, February 28, 2014

Itty Bitty Bunting


I finally got around to finishing the bunting for the little doll that came with the the Little Lullaby kit from Mary Maxim. For those of you who are interested this pattern is also available for purchase at Maggie's Crochet here.

This was a fun project and it worked up quickly. I had put the project aside and wanted to get back to it so the initial set would be complete. I still have hopes of completing some additional outfits Annie's Attic Itsy Bitsy Babies and their Bassinet Purses pattern, found here to make the donation a bit more fun. I have hopes that after I finish my Easter projects I might even get one of those bassinet purses made.

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.





Thursday, February 27, 2014

Thankful Thursday

I missed last week because I was sick. So first, I am grateful to be feeling better. I am also glad I recovered in time to have Valentine's dinner with my husband.

I am glad he is so supportive of my crocheting and of this doll charity. Only he will drive me to A.C. Moore on a Sunday before a big game because I can get one of my donation dolls for 50% off. That is love folks.

He also supports me by adding patterns to his gifts. Along with a very thoughtful Valentine's gift he added some patterns to my stash. This round I picked up a couple of doll patterns for my donation the Bitty Baby Sweater for the 15" Doll and the Burgundy Red Dress and Grey Poncho for the 18" Doll. To help me with my Easter and April birthday projects he picked up Cowboy Ducky and Marvello the Magician.

I love making crochet gifts for family and to donate. Having someone who supports me in that mission is a wonderful gift.

Wednesday, February 26, 2014

American Girl Winter Clothes


I know when you buy out of print patterns you can struggle to match yarns. I thought I got lucky when I went to make the sweater set from Edie Eckman's Crocheted Wardrobe for 18" dolls. (American School of Needlework 1278 published in 1999.) I actually found the name brand and the color online and I ordered it. I should have been suspicious when black was no longer available, but I found black in another brand and it worked out fine. However, when the other yarn arrived I realized it might be an issue. It didn't look like the picture. I decided to try making the scarf first. Sure enough, it was clear this was not the yarn from the original pattern. It would look awful for the sweater. However, it wasn't bad for the scarf pattern from the sweater set. I decided a change of plan for this outfit was needed. The mittens are from this same pattern set.

For those of you who loom knit the blue Knifty Knitter loom works great for the 18 inch dolls. I find the chunkier yarns are the easiest because I don't have to use 2 strands of worsted at once. If you follow the directions for the basic hat that come with the looms, it works up pretty quickly. I find making them is a nice break from crocheting from time to time.

The sweater was made using an out of print Springfield Collection Sweater Trio from Fibre Craft FCM494. This pattern becomes available pretty frequently in places that sell used crochet patterns if you are interested. It tends to be fairly affordable. The sweaters are cute and they work up quickly. The pants are from my favorite Abby, Allie and Annie pattern set, from Maggie's Crochet.

After my first attempt failed, I bought a color close to that in the picture in the same brand as the black to try to make the sweater set again.

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


Tuesday, February 25, 2014

Baby Doll Sweater, Pants, Hat, and Booties


As I mentioned in a previous blog entry I've been making clothes for the 15 inch Mary Maxim soft bodied dolls. These dolls present some unique challenges because their sizes are different from the more common hard bodied dolls. This time the biggest challenge seemed to be their feet. The booties fit without alteration on the hard bodied 15" doll I have. I had to rewrite the pattern to get them to fit the soft bodied doll. The clothes however, fit fine. I haven't tried them on the hard bodied dolls. I suspect they might be large.

I purchased a few out of print leaflets to help me provide some clothing for the dolls. This outfit comes from an American School of Needlework leaflet, Twin Baby Doll Clothes to Crochet, 1155. For those who might want to find it I will just mention there is a Annie's Attic leaflet, 872017 Crochet Twin Baby Dolls that has a very similar name. I now have both, but almost ended up with duplicates not being aware of the differences. The American School outfits are primarily made using sport weight yarn, the Annie's publication uses size 10 thread. While both are out of print they seem to pop up frequently on resale sights.

I was delighted to discover that some size 2 afghan yarn I purchased previously and didn't like for afghans worked out well for the darker contrasting color I needed for this outfit. Since I didn't want to use it for an afghan, I have been wondering what to use the big balls for, now I have a solution.

There's a set of footed pants I want to try. I am curious to see how it will work out having already had a challenge with the booties fitting.

I am trying to get as many doll outfits completed as possible before the end of the month. In March I'm switching to ami's. I'm doing an ami swap at Crochetville and I have Easter and birthday ami's to make. I'm hoping to still get some doll work completed and once the ami rush is done to get back to completing the doll projects. In the past once I've stopped it has been hard to get back into the groove again.

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







Monday, February 24, 2014

American Girl Suit


My Aunt gave me a set of the out of print Fibre Craft crochet patterns for the 18 inch dolls before she passed away. I decided I wanted to start working my way through them. This suit is from the Weekender, Springfield Collection FCM493. The pattern also includes a pair of pants that I'd like to eventually make, too. This is the first time I've used hooks and eyes on a pattern and that was challenging. I may try another go at the jacket to get it to fit a bit better, but I think this was a pretty good first try.

I think when I make the pants and another skirt I will use snaps. The hooks are not as user friendly as I hoped they'd be and the snaps are easier to sew, too.

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.




Friday, February 21, 2014

American Girl Coat


I finally finished my Crochetville's Games of Ancient Greece Project. This is the "Coat with Class" from Edie Eckman's hard to find out of print leaflet Crocheted Wardrobe for 18" dolls. (American School of Needlework 1278 published in 1999.) I added the muff from a much easier out of print leaflet from Fibre Craft's Springfield Collection Sunday Best (FCM479 published in 1997).

I'm glad the challenge arrived when it did because it pushed me to take on a challenge I might have put off in favor of easier projects that I could complete quicker and thus guarantee more outfits for my donation project. It is fun and I think important to take on these new challenges to keep growing and to keep my interest alive.

This project did require some adaptations along the road. I used the hat to test the gauge and it turned out to get the style pictured, I had to add rows. The yarn I was using wasn't the issue. This led to some panic before I started the project. That is one of the challenges of using patterns that have out of date yarns. You aren't sure if the yarn you are using is equivalent to the yarn used in the project. In this case, it was the pattern not the yarn that was my challenge.

It is actually also one of my frustrations with the current way many people have of publishing patterns that I pay for with obscure yarn choices for dolls. (When patterns are free I never complain.) Even when current, the yarns are hard to find. For those of us who come to the pattern later when the yarns are gone and nobody remembers them it is very hard to find the matching equivalents. I understand the creativity that is inspired by using quality beautiful yarns. However, these aren’t art projects. These are projects that people want to recreate. It is incredibly frustrating to find the yarns are impossible to find or even no longer being made just shortly after the publication of the books or patterns. That being said, I am grateful when they list the name of the yarn used even when obscure. It at least gives me a chance of finding a yarn option that is similar to the one pictured. I often buy a pattern and want the look that the writer created. Sometimes I'm OK with changing the color and look if I can use the yarn I have on hand. However, knowing what yarn was used is a great first step to getting close to that. Often times one type of worsted/sports weight yarn will give you a very different look than another. While I may or may not use the suggested brand, I do like knowing what was used. I am always grateful when pattern writers include suggestions for adaptations that lead you to finding matches. I find specific weights versus terms like sport weight can be very helpful. Sport weight varies so knowing a number and even some descriptions of the style of yarn can be so helpful in narrowing down the type of substitute I’ll need if I can’t find the brand used. I just want to send out a big thank you to those who do design patterns with easy to find yarns and threads. I am very grateful.

I chose to go a different route with the arms of the coat. I actually did crochet a separate arm to see if attaching it would be a new technique to try with my doll's clothes. However, after assembling the arm and looking to attach it, I wasn't happy with the fit. I went back to my more traditional route. The fact that it reduced my sewing was only an added bonus.

The muff pattern was fun. It works up quickly and it looks adorable. I added a strap so the doll can dangle the muff if not wearing it. I remember seeing that on a child's muff once and it looked like a practical addition.




Monday, February 10, 2014

Moses Basket for 5 Inch Doll


I promised myself I was going to finish off kits and yarn that I bought last year. So right after Christmas I dug out the Little Lullaby kit I was able to pick up on sale at Mary Maxim. I was crazy to think I would get it done for the donation last year, but getting it on sale was not a bad choice. For those of you who don't like buying the kits, the pattern is also available for purchase at Maggie's Crochet here.


I still need to make the outfit for the doll and I have some additional outfits from another pattern I am hoping to complete before the project deadline. However, I feel pretty good about finishing the cradle. At some point I really want to make a cradle purse. I have the Annie's Attic Itsy Bitsy Babies and their Bassinet Purses pattern, found here that provides you with the cradle pattern and clothes to outfit the 5" doll. I thought completing this would be a good starting point to prove to myself I would see the project to the end point.

For those of you interested in free cradle purse patterns I have links on my Doll blanket page here for free patterns to crochet, knit, or sew the cradle purses.

I feel good about my progress for my donation project. Getting this done was a huge push forward. The clothes will be easier to get finished in between other projects. The cradle was a project I needed to push through to complete.

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.






Friday, February 7, 2014

2014 Crochetville Games of Ancient Greece Winter Edition

This is my second time competing in the Crochetville Games. I competed in the previous summer games and it was a great opportunity to get focused and complete a donation project.

This year I thought I had my project all picked out, a doll jacket for the 18" doll. Just one problem, the pattern was from an out of print leaflet and the yarn no longer exists. This normally isn't an issue. I can usually find a substitute. However, for some reason the standard trade 4 weight yarn to 4 weight yarn wasn't working. I think I've solved the problem, but I'll need to order the yarn online to make the project. The odds of it arriving in time aren't great. So, I have decided to change my project.

I'm going to work on my Easter holiday outfit. I tried this outfit a few years ago and never completed it. A few weeks ago I decided this would be my Easter pattern and I bought new yarn to complete it. I tested the gauge last night and it will work. So the Easter outfit is going to be my challenge. If I can complete the coat that will just be an additional bonus.




Thursday, February 6, 2014

Thankful Thursday

I regret that finding a local crochet group hasn't worked out for me. However, I am very thankful for the online support I've found among fellow Bloggers and at Crochetville. Today I wanted to say thanks for all the support and encouragement I get. There are so many wonderful people who provide advice and encouragement and I wanted to acknowledge how important they are in keeping my work going.

I also received some special gifts in the last few weeks. As part of the Crochetville's wishlist a Fairy Godmother purchased the American Girl Flower Girl pattern to help me with my donation project. I also received a copy of Crochet Wraps Every Which Way as part of a giveaway at Cute Crochet Chat. This year I've just started making shawls and I love the patterns in the book.

I haven't given up on finding a local group of crocheters, but I have found some amazing people online that do fill the gap.

Wednesday, February 5, 2014

American Girl Mock Turtleneck Sweater and Pants


Along with holiday and dressy outfits I try to include some basic outfits with my doll donation. The pants are from my favorite Abby, Allie and Annie pattern set, from Maggie's Crochet. The sweater was made using a free pattern from Button Specialties. Unfortunatly, when I went to load the link I realized the website is no longer available. Perhaps the designer will post this again on another site. This is just a reminder of why it is important to download the patterns when you locate them. Links are wonderful, but websites and blogs do go inactive and you can lose some wonderful resources when they are gone if you don't have your stuff stored.

I did play a little bit with the pattern. I didn't sew the arms on the sweater, I crocheted from the arm holes created as the sweater was put together. I try to limit the amount of sewing where I can. I also had to play a bit with the collar to get it to fit.

I am in the process of trying to adapt this sweater for the 15 inch baby doll. I was experimenting with gauge when I first started and the smaller hook should fit the 15 inch doll using worsted weight yarn. It looks like I won't have to dig into my baby yarn to create the sweater for the smaller doll.

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.





Tuesday, February 4, 2014

15 Inch Doll Soft Bodied Mary Maxim Baby Doll Sundress


I decided to try adding the soft bodied 15 inch Mary Maxim dolls to my donation this year. They seem to be a little larger in the upper body than most of the patterns I've looked at that fit the hard bodied Mary Maxim dolls much better. I'm going to adapt because I think the soft dolls are a bit nicer for the children who will be playing with them after Christmas next year. While I've found that most of the 18 Inch dolls are close in size, the baby doll sizes really do range from one doll to the next. While I always try on the outfits as I'm working, I find with the baby dolls, it's even more important, because there isn't often a common understanding of size when one reads a pattern for a baby doll as there is when you read one for an 18 inch doll. The sizes even among the 12 or 15 inch sizes are pretty wide.

I am always so grateful for those who are generous and donate their patterns for free. I found this baby doll pattern on Hooks and Knives Blogspot here. It was designed for the smaller Fisher Price Little Mommy Doll, but I increased my hook size to a K and it fit. The blog used to have a picture of the doll and the outfit, but it looks like it was removed. Edited the blog has been taken down but I changed the link to allow you to see the pattern for a time.

Other than changing the hook size to make the pattern fit, I also decided I didn't want to sew the back up and since it was going to be a slip on, I crocheted the dress in the round from the first row and have no problems getting it on and off the doll. I tried the suggested H hook for the first row and it didn't fit the hard bodied 15 inch doll so I'm thinking I will still need to play with the hook size to get it to fit the hard bodied 15 inch doll.

This dress works up really quickly and it is a cute outfit. I added a scalloped border to the bottom, but even without it is a nice outfit which adapts easily to the many sizes of baby dolls on the market.

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.




Monday, February 3, 2014

American Girl Emerald Isle


I have been working on holiday outfits in between some practical basics and I finally finished an outfit a very kind Crochetville Fairy Godmother gifted me last year. I thought the Emerald Isle would be a good choice for my St. Patrick’s Day outfit. The pattern can be purchased here.

The directions were somewhat challenging because they were more general than specific. In the skirt, it wasn't as much of a problem because the location of the increases was not as important to the outcome of the outfit. I had some challenges with the shirt because the increases for the front part of the shirt needed to be specific to have the shirt sit correctly, but were listed as add evenly. This created a shirt that didn't fit quite as well as I would have wished. I had a similar issue with the hat where the increases really need to be on the side of the hat to create the brim. However, the directions just mention to increase evenly. When I did that, the hat came out round instead of the hat in the picture. I made a second one after realizing my mistake and after playing with it, I got a hat I liked.

I like this designer and made her doctor outfit for last year's donation. I just wish this one had been more detailed. She is very generous with her free patterns and she sells her doll patterns for very reasonable prices, which I appreciate when I'm trying to acquire a library to make my donations from each year.

My soft-bodied 15 inch Mary Maxim baby dolls arrived. I finished my first dress and I'll be posting about that tomorrow. The soft-bodied dolls are a little larger in the body than the plastic ones I donated last year and so far, I'm finding I have to work around that to get the clothes to fit. However, from a toy perspective, the soft-bodied dolls are nicer than the hard ones. I have one hard-bodied doll left over from last year, so I may work up some outfits for that doll and donate it with the other items I'm putting together.

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.








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