16 Inch Baby Doll Bib

Still working through the diaper bag items for the doll donation. While I"m buying some items like the feeding kits there are just certain things that work better when you make them to fit the doll. I like making the doll bibs because the generic bibs that come with the feeding kits are hit or miss on fitting the dolls I donate. Like the diapers, I generally have a Three Bears issue that for some dolls the bibs are too large and others too small. The projects are quick so making them is often easier than sending stuff that likely won't be used because it doesn't fit the doll.

For those of you interested this is a free pattern for a Baby bib and a food baby food container and spoon found here. I tried crocheting the baby food container and spoon for a few projects but while crochet play food has great play value the untensils and jars are not as useful as I'd hoped. I shop for sales on the baby doll feeding kits and store them for the donation. The play value is better and I'd rather spend my time making things that kids will use.

To get this bib to fit the larger doll I've made the following adjustments:

Start with a chain 16

Continue pattern for 20 rows

Row 21 do row 11 neck shaping

Chain 40 stitches for ties

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Always a fun holiday growing up. Best wishes to all of you on this day. I'm celebrating by remembering my holiday themed projects.

Irish Bunny

When I have the chance I try to add a few holiday decorations to my house. I try to keep them small as even small ones take up ever increasing space over time. I'm also an avid collector of out of print crochet leaflets and books. This bunny pattern is from an American School of Needlework leaflet Birthday Bunnies in Thread Crochet #1156. It was written by Jennie Black and published in 1993 for those of you who might be interested in the patterns.

While the title of the leaflet is Birthday Bunnies they are more holiday or monthly themed rather than what I have seen in other pattern books for birthday patterns. I have a pattern of doll outfits where each month has a different outfit dedicated to the birthday girl but not any specific holiday that occurs during that month. These seem much more holiday or event themed. June is a wedding dress and August has a bathing suit so not specific to a holiday but not what you'd normally think of as birthday either. That worked for me when I saw this at a second hand pattern site as I was looking for holiday themed amigurumi's rather than birthday outfits. I actually bought it with the November Pilgrim bunny pattern in mind but here I am making the March Irish bunny first.

The pattern calls for off white for the bunnies. I went with white as I wasn't sure how much thread I'd need and I have a giant size 10 white but only a standard off white partial. Having made one I think I will work the Easter one in off white should I get to that with all the other holiday projects I need to finish. I'm planning on making the May dress for the Easter outfit instead of the suggested Easter dress. I rather like the May dress for Easter and I'm planning on using the July dress for my Memorial Day through the end of summer decorations so it works out well. I'm hoping to have a bunny for each of the holidays. I'm even thinking of using January's for my ornament project for this year. We will have to see what happens.

Notes:

I used size 10 thread I had on hand with a 1.8mm Tulip Etimo thread hook.

I added a row to the hat and changed the black head band to yellow as I wanted a bit more color. I also had to add more chains to the band as the hat was wider.

The pattern calls for a single sided ear. I used the pattern to make an inner and outer ear one pink, one white and then crocheted them together before sewing to the head. I liked the added shaping and color.

16 Inch Baby Doll Bathing Suit

I mentioned I've been making bathing suits for the doll donation hoping it would usher in the warmer Spring weather. As I was making this one we had 6 more inches of snow followed by 50 degree weather. Old Man winter is fighting a losing battle.

This is one of Char's Bitty Baby patterns that can be purchased here.

As often happens when I start a doll outfit I started this project for the Lots to Love 14" doll but using the Herrschners worsted 4 yarn it was too large so I tried it on the 16" doll and an exchange was made.

I have another Dora the Explorer bathing suit pattern so I'm thinking of trying that one for the 14" doll. If not there are other patterns to keep exploring. I am hoping they will all leave with a bathing suit along with other outfits.

I was able to order the last of the dolls I need for the 2022 donation. I was waiting for a reasonable price for the Lots to Love 14" doll and found one at a price I was willing to pay. Next month it will be time to start looking for deals for next year's dolls. It is always wise to put them away when you can find them at a good price. With the cost of goods increasing not sure how many great deals I'll be finding near term but we can always hope. There are people with far greater problems than this in the world and I've been blessed to find all the dolls I do need for 2022.

I have 4 project tracks at the moment. There is the ongoing prep for the doll donation, summer and fall birthday presents, new baby gifts and gifts for big sisters, and ongoing holiday presents. I also have a few random house decoration projects but not a firm track. I'm hoping to divide my time to get all these projects completed.

Lots to Love 14 Inch Baby Doll Bib

Now that I've finished the wipes I'm moving on to the doll bibs.

Last year when I finished making the 16 inch baby doll bibs I realized the free pattern I used was too large for the smaller Lots to Love doll so I went searching through my patterns to find something else to try. I'd downloaded the Needlecrafts Shop's Sweet Cuddles 971016 leaflet from the Annie's Doll DVD that I've owned for years and found with a few added rows it is a good fit for the doll.

Notes:

I used worsted weight yarn and a g hook for this project. The trim was from another yarn bobbin I'm trying to finish off.

Lil Cutesies Irish Dress

When possible I try to make different outfits for the Lil Cutesies holiday outfits to send off in the holiday packages. The first one was based Amy Carrico Crochet World Bonus pattern. This outfit uses the hat and shoes from that pattern but the dress is based on the Lots to Love 8 inch Valentine dress I made from Annie Potter's Holiday Babies available for purchase here.

The dress and hat are made with worsted yarn. All the white yarn and the green for the shoes are Red Heart sport yarn.

16 Inch Baby Doll Dress

I'm continuing on my stash busting quest. Both of these are old skeins that need to leave the house and are slowly getting there as they crochet into doll outfits.

This is a free pattern from Recycle Cindy that I've been adapting to the larger baby dolls for years. You can find the pattern here.

Notes:

I used an I hook for the top switching to an H hook for the skirt. I might be able to try an H hook for the second doll as the top might fit better with the smaller hook. I join after chaining as this style of dress is easily slid on and off the doll without requiring buttons or snaps. The pattern suggests velcro but I hate sewing velcro so I never use it.

I used an H hook for the hat and added a row of front post dc and finished with a row of front post sc. I rather like this look and will think about continuing with this look.

The shoes are my go to free baby shoe pattern for this doll size and can be found in Darski's Peachy Keen pattern set here.

15 Inch Rag Doll Bathing Suit

Continuing on my quest for Spring I bring you the Rag Doll's bathing suit.

With her shoes the bathing suit may seem odd but it also works as a romper. This outfit was adapted from another of Darski's free patterns. This was one of her Dora the Explorer doll patterns Oceanside found here. I love the hat that comes with this pattern but with the big pony tails hats are not easy to keep on the doll so I tend to avoid them. I am considering it for one of the other dolls as it is adorable.

I used a J hook and Red Heart Super Saver Wildflower yarn for this project with the exception of the trims. I used white for the "skirt" and and I hook for the skirt and the arm trims.

The back works up a little differently which is why I wanted a picture of it for future reference. When you make the initial rows the back does not meet and this was a concern for me as I was adapting the pattern to a doll with a little different shape. I've used another one of her Dora patterns but the dress is less fitted. Since the top was a bit tight I found myself at the J hook but the back still didn't look like it would close. I decided to continue on to get a feel for how the suit went together since it might well fit one of the other dolls. That is when I realized the suit didn't need to close in the back it was designed for this fit.

My Life Claret Dress

I've been making a point of attacking orphan skeins of yarn in my stash. While looking for yarn to complete this project I came across a single skein of Lion Brand Wool Ease in Cranberry. I don't generally buy Wool Ease so this could have been left over from a specific project or it could be from one of my senior center/Church sale yarn pick ups that I've been working off over the last few years. It was close but one skein was enough to finish the dress. I used a skein of I Love This Yarn to make the shoes.

As for the dress pattern this is the second pattern included in the free Harriet set found here. Crochetville has now pinned the link to all Darski's patterns so if you decide you like this one you should be able to find a list of all her doll patterns while visiting the site here.

I've pretty much narrowed down my shoe patterns for patterns that don't include shoes to two from patterns I purchased from Sweet Silver Creations just because I can almost make them in my sleep now. This pattern is from her School Girl Uniform pattern and can be purchased here.

This was the last item I made for the donation last year and I'm getting it done a bit earlier this year. I had to use a larger hook on the top and I suspect that is a combination of my guage and using different yarn. I returned to the suggested hook once I joined the outfit.

Baby Doll Wipes Round 3

I mentioned previously this pattern is from a currently out of print Crochet 'n Play diaper bag set. I've slowly started moving to purchasing some of the items I previously made like the Melissa & Doug Feeding Set.

I'm also considering purchasing the diaper bags as I really don't like making bags and I don't have a regular supplier of them. I'm considering the HappyVk- Baby Doll Diaper Bag for two of the dolls as I still have one left over from last year's donations. I"m still researching my options so we will have to see what happens. I do like including the bags because they provide both play value and storage for all the clothes and accessories that go with the dolls. The toys are supposed to be a gift to the child and family, not add problems of what to do with all the stuff.

Notes:

The original pattern calls for an e hook and as I was trying to use up a small left over ball from my ball basket I decided to go with the e over the g hook. I didn't have quite enough to finish the project but thankfully had another skein in my stash to finish off the project.

I am pleased I've gathered the left over balls in one place as it has made targeting them for various projects so much easier.

Our Generation Harriet

Harriet is another one of Darski's free pattern sets found here. I hope to make the evening gown for the My Life doll later.

I thought I had organized all my misc yarn balls into a bin but I found a grey one while searching for the yarn for this project and there was almost enough to finish the hat.

I worked this pattern according to directions.

I've been sticking with 2 of Sweet Silver Creations shoe pattern for most of my 18 inch doll projects. If you have a pattern that works up easily and fits with the outfit it seems foolish not to use it. This pattern is from her School Uniform pattern and can be purchased here.

Granny Strawberry Dishcloth

Dishcloths are one of my go to projects when I need to clear my head from a project that isn't working or I want to learn a new stitch, etc. The beauty of a dishcloth is they are almost always useable. Some of my learn a stitch projects work really well for cleaning jobs I don't want to use my nicer dishcloths for so its always a win.

I came across this free Yarnspirations pattern here while looking for something else and decided it would be a nice project to make on a day I needed a break. The day I made this one was cold, grey, and rainy. The bright colors helped remind me Spring will come despite the stubborn New England winter weather.

This one is destined for my kitchen as I am pleased with the finished product.

Notes:

I used the cotton colors I had on hand but I rather like the brighter green. I needed an H hook to make gauge.

Lil Cutesies Irish Lass

Last year I dressed two Lots to Love 8-inch dolls to decorate my house for St. Patrick's Day. This year I returned to Amy Carrico's pattern which you can find as a Crochet World free bonus pattern here to make a dress for the Lil Cutesies Baby Doll St. Patrick's day project.

Since the pattern was adjusted from a 5-inch doll pattern changes were made.

I used worsted weight yarn acrylic yarn for the top and sport weight acrylic yarn for the rest of the project.

I finally finished off a skein of my Red Heart Sport yarn. While part of me is sad to see it go as it is a great size for these doll projects it also makes me feel good to realize I am using yarn I buy it isn't becoming part of a museum exhibit. I've used Hobby Lobby's I Love this Sport yarn and it will fill the gap once my Red Heart ancient supply runs out.

Notes:

I used a D hook with white worsted acrylic for the top. At some point it might be worth trying with white acrylic sport yarn and a larger hook to see if it would have a softer feel. The D hook with the worsted makes it a bit hard. However the white I have for this project is I believe Mary Maxim baby yarn and not suited to a larger hook.

In order to adjust this pattern I needed to add two rows prior to the arm hole row 3 to give the bodice the length required.

The panties and the skirt were both done in suggested colors and available sport/baby yarn with a D hook.

I used a B hook and sport and Baby yarn for the shoes.

For the hat I also used the sport yarn and D hook. However due to the hard plastic bow on the Lil Cutesies doll head I added an extra row of DC to make the hat fit better on the rim.

I prefer not to repeat patterns in the same cycle so I'm thinking of adapting a Valentine holiday dress I made for the 8-inch baby dolls using perhaps the hat from this pattern. That remains to be seen. I do need to get both finished and mailed.