16 Inch Baby Doll Wipes

Many years ago I picked up a crochet diaper bag set from a no longer available vendor to include with the JC 16 inch Baby Dolls. However, I slowly stopped using most of the accessories for the donation with the exception of the wipes. I've been purchasing far studier diaper bags than I can make and I use Melissa and Doug's Feeding Kits.

The wipes are a practical matter. In the diaper kits the wipes often have a pretend box with no actual wipes or they are like wet wipes and they will dry out or are just paper and eventually just rip and are no longer useful. These have a very short play life. I've kept crocheting wipes for the diaper bags because they do have a longer play life being resuable and harder to destroy.

My Life Flamenco Dress, Hat, and Shoes

This is a one of those free patterns I return to year after year. You can find it here. It adapts not only across all the 18 inch dolls but I also use it for the Rag doll and the JC 16 Inch baby dolls. It works up quickly and it adds to my stash without a huge effort.

Notes:

I used an I hook for the dress this year.

I've been challenging myself to try patterns that have been gathering dust in my binder so the hat was in a daily crochet calendar that they sadly no longer publish. Michelle Crean submitted the Vanilla Ice Sunhat. She suggests a lighter yarn and a smaller hook. I was trying to continue with the yarn I had used for the dress. I'd follow her directions next time as the brim is too heavy for the hat.

I seem to have misplaced my favorite shoe pattern Sweet Silver Creations Sailor pattern which I'm going to have to locate soon. However, I did dig out Sweet Silver Creation's Sundress pattern, available for purchase here, which I believe is the same or almost the same as the sailor shoes. I'm continuing to search through my unfiled patterns as I'd hoped to make the sailor outfit again and I do like the shoes. She no longer offers the sailor outfit so I can't replace it either. Therefore I have even more incentive to find my copy of the pattern.

16 Inch Baby Doll Bib

Every year I try to knock off these small diaper bag items early in the year. The bibs are a quick between project or a short time project so they often get worked off early.

This is part of a free pattern set that includes the bib, a jar, and a spoon found here..

I send the donations off with the Melissa and Doug Time to Eat Feeding Kit because there are just certain items that add more play value than I can create with crochet.

The food jars aren't stuffed for play value but without stuffing they create challenges. I've tried making them but the lids are really hard to keep on the jars and the crocheted utensils are not nearly as fun as the ones that come in the kits. I'm honest about what works.

While the kit includes a bib it is designed for a slightly smaller doll so while it isn't an issue with the feeding items as a few inches in length, head and neck size aren't as big a deal with the feeding items, it can make a difference to the bib fitting around the doll's neck. So I always make one for each of the three larger baby dolls. It can't hurt to have an extra since stuff gets lost and I know at least this one fits the doll I bought.

That being said this pattern is also not designed for a larger doll so I've adapted it to fit the larger JC 16 inch baby doll.

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

Reminder to myself since I forgot last year, this bib is a bit large even without adjustments for the Lots to Love 14 Inch Baby doll. Needlecrafts Shop's Sweet Cuddles 971016 leaflet is a better fit and I should pull it out to use for the smaller doll.

Good news with the Black Friday sales I have the feeding kits put away already for the 2024 donation!

16 Inch Baby Doll Snuggle Snack

I was working on getting the Barbies sorted on Friday, but on Thanksgiving this Snuggle sack came to life as the first item for the 2024 doll donation. I found these free baby doll patterns along with the free sleeping bags for the other dolls last year and I loved being able to add them to the donation. This was the perfect project for working on when I had a few moments here or there or when we were home for a bit and I finally sewed in the ends Friday night.

You can find the free pattern here. This is intended for a slightly smaller doll and I need two for the JC 16 inch baby dolls. I use a J hook to get the width to be comfortable and then just add a few rows for the length. I've never counted I just keep sliding the doll in until it seems like it fits befote doing the final finish row.

Notes:

J Hook

Red Heart Retro Stripes

I'm pleased to have finished my inventory of dolls and items on hand for the 2024 doll donation. I have ordered most of what I need for 2024 and ordered the one doll I'm missing Saturday. I've also been building up the 2025 donation as I find deals. One of the advantages of having an inventory is it does allow me to wait for deals. I can sometimes wait for specific dolls rather grabbing the only doll they have in stock. This allows me to focus more on making items and less on shopping for the dolls I need.

16 Inch Baby Doll Swim Suit

This is the final project of the 2023 season in a couple of ways. First it is the final item and it also finishes the bathing/swim suit challenge for the year. Every doll is leaving with a swim or bathing suit. It was a much larger task than I thought it would be on top of the sleeping bag or cocoon but I made it under the wire.

For the second JC 16 Inch Baby doll I went with the same Stepahine Dygert pattern I used with the second My Life Doll. With time restrictions I stuck to the bathing suit without the accessories.

Notes: I pulled from my yarn ball pile for this project and it was a great chance to finish off some left over yarn.

Like the My Life Doll I needed an I hook to get the suit to fit.

Happy Thanksgiving

For all of you here in America, I wish you a happy, healthy Thanksgiving.

I still have one more donation doll post tomorrow for 2023 but these two outfits are going to new homes to be worn for Thanksgiving by the My Life dolls of two daughters of friends we will be seeing today.

Notes: The main outfit dress, with the exception of the collar and apron are from Darski's free We Gather pattern found here.

The shoes and collar are from Adoring Doll's Pilgrim Girl set which includes a dress and accessories I happen to prefer the above. You can purchase that here.

I've tried the bonnet from both and keep making my own. I just don't find the fit of either set works for me.

My Life Mermaid

I'm down to my last two posts for the projects for the 2023 donation. I'm actually in the process of sorting stuff and packing it as I write this up and prepost it. I have a delivery date and while it seems impossible it soon will be time to begin work on 2024's donations.

After starting on the Mary Maxim kit I was pretty sure I had another Mermaid pattern. Before I discovered Adoring Doll's 18 inch patterns, Sweet Silver Crochet patterns was one of the places I got many of my themed outfits for the dolls. Sure enough I had picked up her Mermaid pattern and never made it. I seemed 2023 was the year of the Mermaid. You can purchase her pattern here. Notes: I used Red Heart Super Saver Wild Flower and Turqa. Peacock would likely work for the tail as well. The suggested yarn is Crafter's Secret but I didn't have any and Red Heart worked for the project.

I did not record the hook size but I'm thinking I had to go up to an I to get the waist section of the tail to fit. It might have been an H for the fin.

This should become part of my princess rotation. I pulled the patterns late in the year but the thing about an on going project is nothing stops you from continuing it into the next year and I hope to add more princess dresses to next year's donation.

Our Generation Mermaid

While searching for a baby afghan kit a while back I realized I found a Mary Maxim Mermaid Tail Doll Kit I had purchased and never made. It is no longer available although they are currently selling a knit kit. The copywrite was 2016 and they do retire their doll kits so I wasn't completely suprised to find it was no longer available. They haven't offered it yet on their pattern site.

This is one of the more "modest" patterns I've seen for the 18 inch doll mermaids. There is a bathing suit base you can see below. Then instead of the bikini top, the designer has made a sweater.

I wasn't a huge fan of the Mermaid tail pattern. It was more complicated than it needed to be as I found when I made Sweet Silver's Creation's Mermaid for the My Life doll that I'll be writing about later. I did like the other parts of the pattern. I don't have a quick and easy swim suit pattern for the Our Generation doll and I do with this pattern set. This is a pretty quick and easy pattern and it fits the doll well. I also thought the sweater would be a cute addition to another outfit. Again I don't often make sweaters for the Our Generation but this would be a cute add on for another outfit.

I am glad I cleared another item out of my stash. I regret buying stuff I never make. It also inspired me to find my other mermaid pattern to make for the My Life doll.