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.