16 Inch Baby Doll I Feel Pretty

Over the years I've found that Herrschners house brands of yarn work well for my doll projects that need a little lighter weight yarns than I can normally find at my local stores. Their worsted 4 weight yarns for instance are a little lighter than a traditional 4 weight and I find this often works well for certain patterns where the doll or pattern are not right for baby or sport yarn but also find the traditional worsted 4 just a bit heavy for the project. While the price for the acrylic yarn is affordable for the doll projects, although often in smaller quantities than other worsted brands the shipping can be a bit daunting. Therefore I tend to buy when they send me shipping coupons.

That is what brought about the color choices for this outfit. I knew I wanted some additional lighter weight variegated Herrschners worsted 4 yarns for doll projects and I ordered some the last time I had a coupon. One of the challenges that happens when you order online, especially with variegated colors is can't always be sure of the colors you are ordering. This is Prism and while I like the look for this dress this wasn't quite the color I thought I'd ordered and when I went back and looked again I still don't quite see this as the outcome but it works.

This is one of Darski's free doll patterns I Feel Pretty you can find here. The shoes are my go to free shoe pattern from Darski found in her Peachy Keen pattern here.

16 Inch Baby Doll Dress, Hat, and Shoes

In previous years I've resisted having to repeat patterns. As I return to this project I find myself instead attracted to finding ways to make the same pattern fit as many dolls as possible once I've found success with it. Sometimes our habits change.

The dress and hat are from a Petite Designs Patterns that can be purchased here. The shoes are one part of one of Darski's free patterns that can be found here.

After finishing this pattern for the Rag Doll I tried it on the 16 Inch Baby doll to see if it would work. It was a little large in the top so I kept with the baby yarn and moved to an H hook and the fit was good. I realized after posting this to the ongoing completed post that this is the same yarn I used for the bathing suit.

Minty Keen Baby Doll

I've been writing quite a bit about the Peachy Keen doll pattern because I've used the shoes in just about every baby doll outfit I've made this year. I've never made it for a donation doll only for the Big Sister project last October. It seemed like it was time to give it a go.

I had 3 skeins of left over yarn from making the last baby doll carrier and I didn't want it hanging around so I decided to target it with a project. This free pattern which you can find here seemed ideal for the project.

Notes:

I would use a smaller hook for the next outfit I need to make for the donation. It calls for a 7 hook which is between the G and H. I took a risk and went with the H since I hadn't made notes on the Big sister project about what hook I used. I believe I have a 7 hook and if I can't find it I would try the G to see how it fit, especially in the skirt area which seems a bit large with the H hook. This made the jacket harder to fit over the dress. Easy enough to fix in the next round.

It's not even Valentine's day as I write this so I feel like I'm making good time getting the baby doll outfits complete for the donation before I turn to the 18" dolls. I've been tempted a few times as I've had yarn to finish off or come across yarn in my stash hunts, but I have a feeling once down that road I will end up as I was this year looking at the huge pile of 18 inch stuff and wondering where all the baby doll stuff was that I intended to finish but never started. So I'm sticking with my mission to finish the baby doll stuff and then move on to the 18 inch clothes.

Sunny Days Baby Doll Dress

I'm not sure how I missed Darski posting this free pattern at Crochetvile. You can find the pattern here. I've recently started going through the pattern list there to download and print patterns that I seem to have missed or misplaced. When I reorganized my pattern stash some went missing. On the upside it is now easier to find patterns I need and to put them away when I'm done using them. There was just that period when...

I finished this donation outfit up the week before Thanksgiving as I was rushing around trying to balance finishing Christmas gifts and make sure I finished off donation items, too.

The pattern works up quickly, another benefit when you are crunched for time. I used buttons as my decorative flowers. Darski is much more creative with making flowers to decorate her outfits.

Baby Doll Sundress and Hat

This is one of my favorite patterns to make for baby dolls. It works up quickly and little ones find it easy to dress and undress the doll without pesky buttons, snaps, or hooks. As of this writing the pattern is still available on the Wayback machine here. The pattern adapts fairly easily for different doll sizes depending on the hook and yarn size. The pattern was written for a 14" doll and I've made it for 15 and 16" dolls.

This gift is coming along nicely.

Baby Doll Project

While I always donate 2 baby dolls each year at Christmas this year I had an additional baby doll project. A family member is having a second child and I thought it would be fun for the big sister to have a new baby to play with as well, so I'm making some of the same items I normally make to donate to send off with the baby blanket.

While it's always fun to work on the donations, it is kind of unique to work on a project when you know where the gift will end up. Today we begin with the doll diapers. Every time I write about this free pattern I always wonder if it will be available the next time I post about it as I have to use the Wayback machine to get the link here. I like this pattern because it's been pretty flexible as I've adjusted it from the 12" dolls to the 16" dolls and it continues to work for me. I use snaps rather than buttons as I've found them easier for kids to use.

As you can see in the picture the doll is wearing one and I always make one "extra" so the child can change the doll.

Trina 16 Inch Baby Doll Dress

As I mentioned earlier I've been adapting a variety of patterns to fit my 16 inch doll project to get a wider variety of patterns. I saw this free pattern here and decided to see what I could do to make it fit the 16" baby doll. As written the pattern is too small so I frogged it and based on previous experience I used worsted weight yarn and and I hook to get the size I needed.

Additional notes for myself:

I changed rows 6 and 7 to increase rows following the established pattern. I did begin the back stitches in row 8 as prescribed. I used ties for this dress rather than a button. I just found it easier for my purposes.

16 Inch Doll Sundress and Hat

As I've mentioned before there aren't tons of patterns that fit the soft bodied 16 inch baby dolls although I do keep finding new ones all the time. Since I donate two dolls a year I do often make multiple outfits from the same patterns. This was the second dress I made from this pattern here.

Notes to myself:

I played with the hat by reducing the increases and I like the look of it much better.

Kalia 16 Inch Baby Doll Dress

I've been working on projects while helping family out with homeschooling via Skype. I find having a simple project to work on during wait times allows me to relax and I'm amazed at how much work I can get done. What I've found is projects that have predictable repeats are the easiest to use and I got most of this project finished during those break periods.

Over the years I've adapted various types of gowns for the baby doll projects as there aren't lots of patterns designed specifically for this type of doll. I've been following a blogger for years who designs patterns and makes gowns for preemies and others. I've been adapting her gowns for use with my doll project. You can find the free pattern for this outfit here.

This pattern works up rather quickly. To fit the 16 Inch doll I used an I hook and worsted weight yarn for the pink. I had some lighter weight worsted weight green yarn that I've been trying to use up so that was perfect for this project. I used ties to finish off this project.

16 Inch Baby Doll Sundress and Hat

I think this is one off the patterns I've been using the longest for the doll donation. Sadly you need the wayback machine to find it as the blog is gone. However as of writing this it was still there. As always I'd suggest downloading it and saving your copy as these links can go any time. You can find it here.

One of the reasons I like this outfit is that it isn't only just easy to make but it is also easy for little hands for to take the outfit on and off.

For my own notes I make this with worsted weight yarn and in order to make it fit the rounded soft bodied doll it requires a K hook. In order to avoid sewing I join after the first row

Baby Doll Dress for 16 Inch Doll

While I enjoy playing with new patterns and learning new stitches I always appreciate simple easy to make patterns that can fill my donation bags for the dolls. I love it even better when I can take a pattern for one doll and adapt it to another. This baby doll dress is adapted from the free 18 inch free Flamenco Dress pattern found here.

The main changes I made to accommodate the body of the doll were an H hook for the top of the doll and an I hook for the skirt. It just made for a better fit. Using the I hook I needed to reduce the number of rows for the skirt section of the pattern.

I went through several versions of the 15" doll before moving on to the 16" doll as each version became unavailable. I like having model dolls to try the clothes on to make sure they will fit the new donation dolls so I try to keep up with dolls I can find for the next donation year. My current favorite doll is JC Toys La Baby 16-inch Washable Soft Body Purple Play Doll that I found when the last of the 15 inch dolls were no longer available. The features on this doll are a bit nicer and I'm finding with a little work many of the 15" patterns do adapt to the 16" doll.

This is Walmart's Mainstay Acrylic Yarn. I had never seen it before and there was only one skein. It just seemed like a fun silly color for a baby doll dress and I enjoyed both the softness of the yarn and the color as it worked up.

Baby Doll Carrier

The first doll carrier and blanket for the 2018 doll donation are done and I am so glad. I love the doll carriers and the pattern isn't challenging in general, but working the three strands of worsted weight yarn together is hard on my hands. Finishing a set is always a welcome time. For those of you interested in the doll carrier it is a free pattern found on Ravelry here. The blanket is another of Michelle Crean's doll blanket patterns found in Crochet 2018 Day-to-Day Calendar. This year's entry is called Diamond in the Sky and I rather liked it. Red Heart makes the blankets a little larger, but I like to give the child the option of wrapping the doll, which a shorter blanket doesn't allow.

Now for my notes to myself that I make so I can remember what I did that makes all of this stuff work. For the carrier I need 3 skeins of the same color Red Heart Super Saver Yarn. To make this a workable size for the donation doll start with an I hook for rounds 1-10 switching to a K hook at row 11 to end. This is strictly based on my funky gauge. The first time I made this I tried the K hook through out and almost had one big enough for a real child. Those of you reading should test your own to determine how to proceed. My notes are really for me to come back to should I lose the pattern I've written the notes on for next year. I'm trying to get better with my documentations because I have lost patterns and then have no recourse but to experiment again.

As for the blanket I had hoped to start with the yarn left over from the carrier, but situations being what they are hadn't finished with the carrier when I started with the blanket. However, for my purposes I need 2 skeins of Red Heart Super Saver for the blanket and an H hook I was able to use up the remains of the yarn from the 3 skeins I used for the carrier. I love it when I don't have tons of little balls of yarn left over from projects but instead can roll them into the next project. It does wonders for my yarn storage issues.

Baby Doll Diapers

I like adding fun details to the doll donation. Baby doll diapers are always a cute extra. This is a simple free pattern I was able to retrieve using the Wayback machine here. I suggest if you have the remotest interest in this pattern that you print a copy as these links often only last for a limited time.

This is a wonderful pattern. It is simple but effective. It has worked for every baby doll I've used from the 12 inch to the 16 inch dolls I use now primarily by adjusting the hook size. For me I use an I hook with worsted weight yarn for the 16 inch doll. I also use snaps rather than buttons. I tried the buttons, but I found them hard to manipulate. The snaps seemed easier for little hands.

Another challenge I met this year that you can see from the picture is I completed 4 diapers, 2 for each doll. The doll can wear one and the child has a diaper to "change" the doll with in the diaper bag which I will eventually have to make. That was on my list of projects to complete last year and I only managed one diaper per doll.

I've been asked why off white for the diapers. I was gifted quite a bit of off white and I've been trying to finish it up. It fits with my yarn diet as I'm a bit low on solid white at the moment.

Baby Doll Bunting

I try to challenge myself with something different each year with the donation project. It keeps it interesting and it helps me to learn new things. This year I decided to try a baby bunting. This is an old out of print Annie's Attic Debbie Ann pattern Debbie Ann's Baby Bunting pattern number 87F48 for those of you who might be interested in locating. I believe the original Debbie Ann pattern came out when the Cabbage Patch soft doll craze was going. Annie's Attic had two soft doll patterns that you could crochet the soft doll patterns and then they offered several outfits you could buy separately. I'm no expert on the subject so if someone knows more feel free to leave a comment and I'll happily post it.

I've picked up a couple of the outfits and played with re purposing them. After failing with another baby doll bunting I thought I'd take a crack at this one. Sometimes patterns just work better for one person over another. Patterns are a matter of communication and when you have limited ability to have a conversation with the person who writes the pattern finding someone who writes the way you think about crocheting is always a blessing.

This pattern worked well for the JC Toys, La Baby 16-inch Doll which has become my baby doll donation now that the Mary Maxim dolls are no longer available.

This was the second bunting. The one major change I made was to use the bonnet from the first bunting that didn't work out for me. The head of Annie's soft sculpture doll is significantly bigger than the store doll. The body fits is similar so the outfit fit well. However, after making the bonnet for the first doll I decided to use the bonnet pattern from the bunting pattern I'd abandoned here. This bonnet pattern just fit the doll better. The Annie bonnet design is just too big for this doll's head.

This was my first try at the Annie's pattern. It had a couple of challenges. First I promised myself, no yarn purchases until after the New Year. So, when I went into my yarn room these pinks seemed like they were all the same shade. Not so much. However, I was determined to finish this thing. So it has shades of pink. The second one I made sure I had enough of the same brand and color before I started so this wasn't an issue. We live and learn.

The 16 Inch Baby Doll Donation

When I realized I needed a new baby doll I did some research and settled on the JC Toys, La Baby 16-inch Doll because it was closest to the Mary Maxim doll and had the best chance for adapting the patterns I was already using. The doll is an upgrade and I've been pleased with the process of switching over. It will be easier next year as both dolls should be the same therefore eliminating size issues in fitting clothing.

I experimented with an old Annie's Attic pattern and have the first outfit for the 2018 donation finished for this doll. I hope to get started on the 2nd one shortly.

Baby Doll Diaper Bag

When possible I like to add fun extras to the doll donations so kids don't just get the doll, they get fun stuff that adds to the joy of playing with the doll. This year both the 15 and 16 inch baby dolls got their own diaper bags. Several years ago I got the gift of a pattern for a diaper bag that included a changing pad, wipes, and a bottle. The pattern is no longer available for purchase as a separate item you have to purchase it with the doll pattern so the price has gone up. For those of you interested the pattern is available for purchase here.

I try to challenge myself and include stuff I think kids would enjoy playing with as I make these items. I had hoped to get further but life often intrudes. I introduced play food and only got one jar of carrots made. Perhaps next year I can do better. The pattern I used was free and available here. This pattern also included the bib I made for both doll bags.

Lastly what is a diaper bag without at least one diaper? This has been my go to free pattern for diapers and thankfully it fits the new 16 inch baby doll too. As I went to share the pattern I found the blog has gone and even the wayback machine can't find it sadly to share with you. Update to say the Wayback machine came through at least for a short while. They don't hold on to entries forever so if you want it I suggest you download the pattern from here. One more lesson that we should always copy and save the patterns we love because there is no telling when they are going to leave the Internet never to be seen again.

I'm not going to jinx myself by saying I hope to get more done next year on the diaper bags. That seems to be the kiss of death. I will say they were a huge hit when I dropped them off at Aztec Wishes. The accessories were the hit of the day. I will have to see what I can do. I'm already trying to see what I can find for cotton colors for the bags. Our local yarn places don't seem to carry the big cotton handicrafter yarn that I used to use for these and had been using up back stock to make them. I may have to resort to ordering online. That is for another time.

I am pleased to note I did finish up the first baby doll donation for 2018, which I can hopefully post about once I've finished documenting the year that was 2017.