Our Generation Boy Pilgrim

As I mentioned when posting about the girl Pilgrim I can't really start these outfits during the Thanksgiving season as I'm working on finishing the current year's donation. However, I have found in recent years I don't seem to come back to these outfits in the Spring or Summer. The best time seems to be right after the current year's donation leaves.

This is Adoring Doll's Pilgrim pattern which can be purchased here. I have the pattern set that has the male and female outfits.

Notes:

For various reasons last year I didn't get great notes while making this pattern. This year I was determined to document more to make this work for future projects.

Shirt:

I need an I hook for the shirt.

The sleeves are short for me so I do 10 rows rather than 7 before switching to white yarn. This makes rows 11-12 to finish the sleeves.

I used an H hook for the collar and I finished the edges around the collar with a G hook.

Boots

The boots require an I hook. Pants:

I crocheted around an elastic for the pants with an I hook then moved to an H hook for for row 2. I am tempted to try this without elastic following the directions next year.

Belt

I had to chain 54 to get the belt to fit with an H hook. I closed with a snap in the back making it easier to get on and off. I consider a smaller hook and more chains as it is a bit bulky.

Hat:

I'd thought using an I hook would be the solution to the tight hat but I'm thinking adding more increases is going to be the answer and returning back to the H hook with more increases to make the hat wider.

The band for the hat should also use a smaller hook. This one is large.

Our Generation Pilgrim

One of the advantages of making the clothes a year in advance of the donation is not having to worry about making clothes out of the holiday season. While it is more fun to make the outfits during the intended season I'm generally finishing up the previous year's donation in November and rarely get the Pilgrim outfits done prior to Thanksgiving. However, if I wait too long, I often forget to make them. So the girl's outfit is done. I need to get started on the boy's.

This project is a combination of a free Darski We Gather Pattern found here and Adoring Doll's Pilgrim Girl pattern that can be purchased here. She has a combo pattern that includes the boy and girl which is what I purchased if you are interested.

Notes:

The dress was made with an I hook using Darski's We Gather Pattern. All other accessories including the bonnet this year were made from Adoring Doll's pattern.

I used an I hook at last year's suggestion for the shoes and it was a better fit. I followed the directions on hook size for all other items. I'd go with a smaller hook size for the collar next year. I also added a stitch on the bonnet in the back to pull up the bottom of the bonnet as it was too long in the back.

My Life Valentine Dress

My current plan is to continue on with my Valentine theme through February in some form or another to try to get some holiday items finished for the donation. The nice part about these items is while Valentine's themed the items are good for year round wear.

This is one of Adoring Doll's patterns that can be purchased here.

Notes:

I used an I hook for most of this pattern.

In order to get the slip stitches in I added them slightly differently than the designer.

After row 1 return to the start of row 1 and complete a row of pink slip stitches finish off pink and continue on with white and row 2.

After row 2 I repeated above for second set of ss.

At the end of row 9 repeat this for ss that heart will sit on.

There are portions of text that can be challenging to read while working. I started marking the end of each row of text with a stitch marker. This just made it easy to go back to a section if I got interrupted, the count seemed off, etc. I've tried writing out the text in different ways over the years and this worked for getting through some of the longer sections.

I would use the heart from the Back to School pattern next time I make this pattern. The heart just came out better.

I finished off the back and neck with a row of sc adding a button hole for the dress.

Hat and shoes were made with I hook.

Sweater:

I hook

I added 2 sc rows to arms and finished them with a sc chain 3 skip on around

I finished complete edge of sweater in process of making suggested button hole I just preffered a finished look.