My Life Pioneer Nightgown

I haven't made this outfit in almost a decade. I suspect because it calls for yarn I don't normally buy and it is a yarn hog of a project.

You can still purchase the pattern here.

The last few years I've gotten more adventurous about trying out yarns I have on hand for projects before diving into buying special yarns where I think it will work. I decided to see if I could get this project to work with Red Heart Super Saver Artist Paints instead of the Babybee Hushabye Camo or what ever is currently available from Hobby Lobby at this point.

After close to a decade it is possible I'd still have another substitute. I love Hobby Lobby's yarns but I rarely get there and Red Heart tends to be one of my go to for affordable doll clothes.

Notes:

It took almost a skein and a half of Red Heart for this project and I started with a skein and a half so I was playing yarn chicken at the end. I ended up using a random pink to make the tie for the hat as I didn't think I had enough yarn left and I didn't plan on using ribbon. I wanted to stick with yarn.

I used the suggested I hook.

The two major changes I made were not using ribbons and adding a snap to the top back for closure instead of velcro. I've never found adding velcro to yarn to be an easy prospect so I've always used snaps or buttons.

One minor change I made do to the game of yarn chicken I was playing is I reduced the triple crochets to 5 for the bottom of the hat. I can go either way with this as the 7 looked good until I realized I was going to be short yarn, but I was also happy with the finished product of 5. The fiber difference between this outfit and the one I made before might be the reason the 5 was OK here. I'd likely experiment with more yarn to decide if it weighted down the hat too much or if I liked it with bigger shells.

While the stitches do eat yarn I love the texture it creates. I'd make this again making sure I have 2 full skeins on hand before setting out.

Both My Life Dolls have completed my 2024 Nightgown challenge.