Ken Swim Trunks

I had a feeling from my experience with Barbie that Sweet Orchard Farm Ken Doll and my Ken from a decade ago were not going to be the same size. My shock was how much smaller the new Ken was compared to the old. I have no formal measurements for you. I don't consider myself to be any kind of Barbie expert. However, I started with the swim trunks because I figured they'd be a simple pattern to play with while adjusting for changes in size since the pattern was printed in Crochet World in June of 2009.

Like many patterns this calls for size 10 crochet thread and a size 7 hook. I can't use the traditional steel hooks which I still have one of that size so I have to work around the current available sizes. The charts I've found online translate a size 7 hook to a 1.65mm steel hook. I have a 1.6mm size 6 and a 1.75mm hook.

I actually opted to start with a 1.5mm hook. Something just said this was going to be going smaller. At 1.25mm, yes I did make the waist a few times, the waist fit the old Ken nicely. I had to get to the .6mm hook before I could get the trunk waist to fit this modern Ken.

Now some of the disparity is my issues with guage. I always have to change hook sizes when making doll clothing so I've come to expect it. However, it was interesting to have the two dolls together to test my theory. One could wear the trunks at 1.25mm the other required me to use a .6mm hook to keep them from falling off and becoming indecent.

While I have been buying some old Annie's magazines for their doll patterns recently and I do have some old Crochet World magazines I've picked up over the years, this pattern set Summertime Blues which includes a Barbie swimsuit and beach accessories is found on Dolls, Doll Clothes and Accessories, an Annie's CD Rom, it is also on the Crochet World Collection 2001-2010 DVD computer disk.

This disks are no longer available so why mention them? It is actually a reminder to myself to keep checking through resources I own for patterns. There is nothing wrong with buying new and vintage patterns but there really is no need to buy duplicates. The Doll CD has all 3 Annie's fashion doll books on it. I had books 2 and 3 before getting the CD. Recently I started looking for book 1 forgetting it was on the CD and I can easily print the patterns off the CD. I also found a few of the Fashion Doll Club patterns I've not yet purchased on the CD and taken them off my wishlist. I can focus on picking up the patterns I don't have copies of rather than buying duplicates. I'd downloaded some of these before but with my adversion to thread, I'd chosen not to print them when I first bought the collections. Now I'm exploring them again and finding some resources I'd forgotten. I sometimes focus on the patterns in the binders over resources that I should be looking at outside the sorted patterns.

A note about the lounger, I want to thank DIY Barbie Blog for her post on Dollar Tree Fashion Doll Furniture. I was able to pick up a couple of loungers, a double seat with table, and a grill to add to the yearly donation thanks to her heads up. I've been reading her blog for years but hadn't really thought about acting on her tips until I added Barbie and family to the donation this year. I'll be reading to see what other items she finds that would work for the doll donation this year.