Baby Doll Bunting

I try to challenge myself with something different each year with the donation project. It keeps it interesting and it helps me to learn new things. This year I decided to try a baby bunting. This is an old out of print Annie's Attic Debbie Ann pattern Debbie Ann's Baby Bunting pattern number 87F48 for those of you who might be interested in locating. I believe the original Debbie Ann pattern came out when the Cabbage Patch soft doll craze was going. Annie's Attic had two soft doll patterns that you could crochet the soft doll patterns and then they offered several outfits you could buy separately. I'm no expert on the subject so if someone knows more feel free to leave a comment and I'll happily post it.

I've picked up a couple of the outfits and played with re purposing them. After failing with another baby doll bunting I thought I'd take a crack at this one. Sometimes patterns just work better for one person over another. Patterns are a matter of communication and when you have limited ability to have a conversation with the person who writes the pattern finding someone who writes the way you think about crocheting is always a blessing.

This pattern worked well for the JC Toys, La Baby 16-inch Doll which has become my baby doll donation now that the Mary Maxim dolls are no longer available.

This was the second bunting. The one major change I made was to use the bonnet from the first bunting that didn't work out for me. The head of Annie's soft sculpture doll is significantly bigger than the store doll. The body fits is similar so the outfit fit well. However, after making the bonnet for the first doll I decided to use the bonnet pattern from the bunting pattern I'd abandoned here. This bonnet pattern just fit the doll better. The Annie bonnet design is just too big for this doll's head.

This was my first try at the Annie's pattern. It had a couple of challenges. First I promised myself, no yarn purchases until after the New Year. So, when I went into my yarn room these pinks seemed like they were all the same shade. Not so much. However, I was determined to finish this thing. So it has shades of pink. The second one I made sure I had enough of the same brand and color before I started so this wasn't an issue. We live and learn.