My Life Cinderella

Cinderella seemed an appropriate post for Halloween. Every year I try to either add patterns I haven't ever made or return to favorites I haven't made in a few years. The princess patterns are always favorites but they don't make it into every donation. This year I decided to see if I could bring back a few as I know they tend to be popular.

This is Sweet Silver Creation's pattern that can be purchased here. I have a few Cinderella patterns that pop up for the donation from time to time. This one requires a signficant commitment of yarn in the main color. I was able to use a left over ball of light blue but this used up a signficant amount of a Caron Pounder.

Notes:

I noticed I never made notes for previous outings so best to get a few simple notes down.

I used an H hook for this pattern the I was a bit big, it might work for the Our Generation if I decide to switch up and make this pattern for the Our Generation next time.

The dress and the collar were closed with a snap.

I did not end for arms but continued pattern in more traditional arm fashion. I've not had good luck following arm section as written.

The shoes are made using the shoes from Silver Creation's School Uniform pattern and the suggested f hook. The pattern can be purchased here.

16 Inch Baby Doll Sunny Days

There are some doll patterns I seem to get to each year for the donation and others that seem to pop up every few years as I spend more time on one doll than another. I hadn't made this outfit in a few years and it seemed time to bring it back for the donation. This is one of Darski's free baby doll patterns you can find here. The pattern doesn't have shoes so I went back to my favorite shoe pattern for this doll part of another free Darski pattern Peachy Keen found here. Notes:

I used a J hook for the top of the dress and an H hook for the skirt. The hat needed a J hook, too but I used a G hook for the ties. The shoes work up well with an I hook for me.

I was able to finish off a ball of white left from previous doll projects. Always a plus on my war on stash left overs.

I've contacted the school regarding the donation deadline but they are just starting to get organized and as of yet haven't put that plan in motion. So, I still have time to finish off some outfits before I need to start boxing the stuff for the drive over to the school.

My Life Swim Suit Doll 2

Swim suits or bathing suits are one of the more common 18 inch doll patterns and I have acquired quite a few patterns over the years which allows me to rotate them around and not have to do the same ones each year. This one was one of my firsts and sadly is no longer available. Along with the suit, hat, and towel seen here the pattern also has a beach ball and rubby ducky floaty which with time constraints I chose not to make this year. The pattern was created by Stepahine Dygert and if it becomes available again, I'll add the link.

My gauge has been odd this fall. I needed a J hook to get this to slide over the doll. I went back to an f hook for the accessories and the hat fit the head fine. The other items were less sized based so the f hook was fine. I might consider an e hook if I make the pail again with acrylic rather than cotton yarn.

I did try this on the JC 16 Inch Baby doll and the fit is good so this might also be the second baby doll swim suit as well. It works up quickly and it keeps the sorting a little easier when the clothes aren't identical in the donation bags.

Rag Doll Spring Dress and Jacket

I posted about Amy Carrico's Spring Dress and Jacket pattern for the Lots to Love 14 Inch Baby Doll a couple of weeks ago. As I've learned in experimenting with the Rag Doll many of the baby doll dress patterns for the 14 and 16 inch baby dolls will fit the Rag Doll with minor adjustments. This patterns also provides the Rag doll with some undies which I may add to future patterns.

Like the baby doll I started the first 2 rows of the dress and the jacket with a g hook and finished both with an e hook. For the Rag doll I added a finishing row to the back and the top reducing the top front and arm holes. I also did a finishing row for the underarm with a few reductions to clean up the underarm of the dress as well. I followed the jacket directions as written. I ended up adding a row to the top of the undies and reducing around to decrease the waist of the undies. I also did a reduction row around the legs to clean up the look of the bottoms.

Rag Doll Watermelon Summer Dress

While I've never found any patterns specific for this doll I have found many of the dress patterns that will fit the Lots to Love 14 Inch Baby Doll and the JC 16 Inch Baby doll can be adapted to fit the Rag doll as well.

The dress pattern come from a 1981 House of White Birches newsprint leaflet Baby Doll Fashions to Crochet by Margaret Funk. I used this previously to make 2 dresses for the 16 inch baby doll donation. It required a few additional adaptations for the Rag doll.

Notes:

This outfit was made with Lion Brand Ice Cream Yarn Watermelon. I have a bunch of Ice Cream yarn in my stash for doll blankets and I've been using some for the larger doll projects. I wasn't sure at first how the colors would work with watermelon as the previous Ice Cream Yarn I used for the other dolls had different kinds of contrasts. However, I really do love the look of this for the Rag Doll and would use it again.

As with the 16 Inch Baby Doll I started with an E hook and repeated row 5 once. Thus rows 3-6 follow the original directions for 3-5 moving each row directions down one. For the original row 6 now row 7 that starts the skirt I moved to a D hook to decrease the skirt size as it was too large with the e hook.

The body is a little smaller than the 16 inch Baby doll and thus a few reductions had to be made. I did this by adding a row to the top of the dress and decreasing around the arms. I did the same around the arms, using sc for both tasks. This decreased the open areas of the dress which were a little too big for the Rag Doll.

16 Inch Baby Doll B & B Sweater Set

I finished off another outfit for one of the JC 16 Inch Baby dolls. This is made using Darski's free B and B Sweater set found here. I made a note on last year's post not to put a button on the top that I clearly didn't read. I'm putting it back on this post because it looks better without the top button and when I make this again I will want to remember that hint.

I used an I hook for the sweater and shoes and followed the directions as written. I would skip the top button when I make this again as it is just too tight at the top. I'd also considering adding a couple additional rows to the length of the sweater before doing the bp stitches as it was a bit shorter than I remembered from my previous attempts. I used Joann's Big Twist Yarn this year which is a bit lighter so it could have resulted in a smaller sweater.

I tend to make my pants from the top down so last year I wrote the directions and I post them just so if I lose the pattern, which I've been known to do, I can refer her for directions. This year I had to do a row of sc 2 dec sc for 2 rows when I was done as the pants were loose at the top. I will check the chains next time and perhaps reduce if the pants are loose before fininishing.

Pants:

I used an H hook

Ch 56 and Join

DC for 7 rows

Split evenly for legs chain 4 and join.

DC 2 DC dec around leg

sc chain 3

Repeat for other leg

This year I again started with the hat pattern from the free pattern set Mon Petite Chou found here. After fininishing the formation of the hat I went to a chain 3 front post dc in first stitch, hdc in next stitch around. I did that until hat was at a length I was happy with for the doll.

Our Generation Let the Sunshine In

I'm continuing to try to rotate through the various donation dolls to make sure they all get a decent sized donation bag to leave with in November. While this set has several pieces it works up fairly quickly so it was a great choice to add to the Our Generation doll's donation. You can find this free pattern as part of Darski's Weatherby Set here. I used the swim suit pattern from this set for the Our Generation doll this year as well.

I tend to find shoe patterns from other sets and because I can make them work I keep using them. These shoes are from a pattern set I purchased from Sweet Silver Creations School Uniform you can purchase here.

Notes:

I used a K hook on the dress for the bodice and an I hook for the skirt. I used a K hook for the Bolero jacket.

I used an F hook for the shoes and reduced around for the final row to get the shoes to fit.

Last year I took these pictures for something that might be obvious to others but had me confused. I knew I'd made this jacket before but I couldn't figure out how it was large enough to fit the doll. The directions for the collar need to be completed prior to adding the arms. The collar increases the size of the jacket working completely around the outside of the jacket. It will eventually bend to form a collar at the top but it is not what one thinks of as working a collar at the top of shirt or jacket. I went back and used these pictures as I thought I might this year so I'm adding them again as I suspect I will be back looking for them again.

I'd only made this jacket once before and the notes I made said it was different but I didn't write down how. This time I took pictures for something that might be obvious to others but had me confused. I knew I'd made this jacket before but I couldn't figure out how it was large enough to fit the doll. The directions for the collar need to be completed prior to adding the arms. The collar increases the size of the jacket working completely around the outside of the jacket. It will eventually bend to form a collar at the top but it is not what one thinks of as working a collar at the top of shirt or jacket.

I have no idea how many more outfits I can finish before the deadline but what ever isn't finished this year will make it into the 2024 donation.

Our Generation Bathing Suit

With this finished swim suit I am down to 2 to finish my yearly challenge. I need one more for the 16 Inch Baby Doll and one more for the My Life doll and all dolls will leave with a suit in their donation bag.

This pattern is one of Darski's free patterns found in her Weatherby set here.

Notes:

I used a K hook for the first 2 rows of the bathing suit as I couldn't get it to slide over hips with smaller hooks. I went back to an I hook after that and the bathing suit fit fine. For similiar issues I used a K hook for cover and the visor.

I added a row of dc front post stitches to the visor prior to adding the suggested front post stitches as it added some bulk to the visor and made it less floppy.

I've made this outfit a couple of times now for the Our Generation doll and next year I think I'd like to try one of the other bathing suit patterns and see if I can find one that fits without being quite as bulky as this one.

Lots to Love 8 Inch Baby Doll Pretty Yellow Dress

I've been making a real effort this year to try patterns that have been in my doll binders for some time that for some reason I've never made.

This is one of Amy Carrico's patterns called Pretty Pink Dress for 8 Inch Baby Doll. I started this one a couple times with different yarn and hooks and I know I didn't get it right because the picture shows a full almost bed dress picture and this is much narrower but it still works which is why I didn't just frog it and choose another pattern. It may not have been what the designer had in mind but I did get another dress for the donation doll.

For my notes I had to use a D hook for the dress as with the suggested Baby Bernat the dress was just too tight. I was able to use a B hook for all the accessories which continues to lead me to believe I'm missing something in the pattern design for the dress.

I need to work on some clothes for the 18 inch dolls and I really need to dress the family of Barbie with time quickly running out. I'm going to be making some of the Lots to Love 14 Inch Doll patterns I posted recently for the Rag doll, so that doll will also have an increase in donation size as well. I will just have to see what gets done before drop off time and start again for next year.

Lots to Love 10 Inch Baby Doll Top with Leggings

To keep the donation project engaging and interesting each year I try to add new projects that are patterns I haven't tried before. Sometimes these become new favorites and sometimes not as they can be far more complicated or time consuming than I normally delegate for a donation project. However, each is a chance to try something new and I am always grateful for the opportunity.

This in one of Linmary's free doll patterns found here. As with many baby doll patterns it wasn't designed specifically for this doll so I had expectations I'd need to make adjustments.

A 10 inch baby doll isn't always the 10 inch baby doll you happen to be working on at home. The first sign I had of this was checking the gauge. The gauge I found for the suggested hook with the yarn I indicated the hook size would be too large. Going down a size got me closer. However, as it turned out the suggested hook size with the actual doll I had was correct because a 10 inch doll is not always the same size as another 10 inch doll.

I knew from the beginning the pants would be more challenging because the doll in the picture had longer straighter legs than the chubby Lots to Love doll. This meant I'd need to reduce the rows for the legs. I tend to make my pants from the top down joining and splitting as I go.

There are lots of patterns that make them flat and join but these are not my favorite as it is hard to tell how they will fit until after you've finished the "outline" prior to sewing them together. I found that to be the challenge with this pattern and I likely won't use this pant set again for that reason. I found it was time consuming to put the pants together after making sure I'd make the corrections to make the pants short enough to fit the Lots to Love doll. I was glad I accepted the challenge and completed it but it just isn't a practical use of my time when the other method is quicker for me and I can move on to other projects more quickly. I may even be able to reproduce the texture and have a better fit because I would know exactly when to stop before adding the trim.

This has given me an idea to try something like this for next year. It would be easy enough to make these pants top down and I have several "top" patterns for this doll that fit better than this one that would give the doll a top and leggings outfit.

16 Inch Baby Doll Purple Summer Dress

I donate two JC 16 Inch Baby dolls every year and since there are no specific patterns written for these dolls when I find a pattern that does fit I tend to make duplicates over the course of the year so each doll gets one for its donation bag.

I mentioned in my previous post about this outfit that the dress and hat for this outfit come from a 1981 House of White Birches newsprint leaflet Baby Doll Fashions to Crochet by Margaret Funk.

I liked it enough and found it quick and easy enough that repeating it right away seemed like a logical choice. At this point in the year I'm all about finishing stuff about and getting it bagged because the November deadline will be here before I know it and I'll be on to the 2024 donation.

I've also discovered it fits the Rag doll really well so I'm hoping to finishing another one for the Rag doll as well as it would be a quick addition to her donation bag as well since she doesn't need shoes or the hat.

This is my go to shoe pattern part of the free Peachy Keen pattern set found here. I like including shoes with my outfits but it can be hard to fit shoes to dolls and they often fall off and get lost. I like these because with the strap I find they are more likely to stay on the doll's feet and less likely to drop off and be lost.

Notes:

This was made with Lion Brand's Ice Cream Black Cherry Yarn.

I started with an E hook and repeated row 5 once. Thus rows 3-6 follow the original directions for 3-5 moving each row directions down one. For the original row 6 now row 7 that starts the skirt I moved to a D hook to decrease the skirt size as it was too large with the e hook.

I started the directions for the 13 inch Baby Doll Bell hat and increased the rows prior to creating the brim to account for the larger 16 inch baby doll head.

Lots to Love 14 Inch Baby Doll Spring Dress and Jacket

I've been trying to increase outfits for some of the dolls with the least amount of clothing in their donation wardrobes currently. Lately I've been focused on the baby dolls as I always start strong with their accessories but some how their wardrobes can be neglected. Up next we have an outfit for the Lot to Love 14 inch Baby doll. This is one of Amy Carrico's patterns that are currently not available. The Spring Dress is also a pattern set I bought for the 8 Inch doll and they both work up well for the dolls. I've also used this pattern for the Rag doll and hope to do that again as it will increase that donation wardrobe as well.

Notes:

The first two rows of the dress and sweater are made with a G hook and then I return to an e hook. This foundation works for the Rag doll, too. It just helps with the fit.

In order to get the panties to fit I work the ends to 32 back and front. This may change the need for how many chains but the overall fit and coverage is just better.

Lots to Love 8 Inch Baby Doll Thread Dress with Short Jacket

This is one of Char's patterns that you can purchase here not specifically designed for the Lots to Love 8 inch Baby doll.

I am used to patterns not being specific to the doll I'm working with so when the original directions were to small I started working on adaptations as I liked the look of the dress and thought it would be a nice addition to the doll's donation wardrobe.

Notes:

One of the first things I realized after playing with hook size and crochet thread size 10 was that I would need to change thread size to get the outfit to fit. I had purchased a supply of size 3 and I decided on Thread Art's Light Pink and Aunt Lydia's White.

Dress:

I used my Tulip Etimo 2.2 mm thread hook for rows 1-5, changing to my 1.75mm hook for rows 6-15. This made the dress slide on over the body of the doll. Even with the bigger thread size the doll is rounder in certain areas than the target doll perhaps?

Bottoms:

1.8mm Hook

Hat:

1.5mm hook

Booties:

1.5 mm hook

Reminder to myself these booties are formed differently than most. They start at toe not from bottom. They work up fine but this confused me when I started and I add this note so when I approach this project again I remember what I did and how it worked.

Jacket: 1.8mm Hook

I used a sc trim around the neck. I think do to the size difference in the dolls I couldn't get the trim to work with the neck of the doll I had.

Reminder to myself to order more 4mm pearl buttons.