My Life Hearts and Flowers

This is one of the first Valentine's outfits I make each year. It is a free Darski pattern that can be found here.

Notes:

I use a K hook for the first 4 rows of this dress as with my odd guage it is the only way I can get the dress to slide on and off. I use an I hook for the rest of the this pattern. I used an H for the the shoes. I returned to row 9 using an I and reduced last sc row of top.

Reminder to join all rows. I have made this dress so many times but for some reason I missed this one this year so when I make a mistake I add a note.

Stop when you finish row 9 and return to row 1. (I do a sc reduction row after row 9 but usually at the end after I've tried on the dress for fit.) Row 1 is the waist line not the top. Row 9 is the completed top not the waist. Return to Row 1 and start Row 10 to complete the skirt portion of the dress. I didn't read this note from last year and paniced when I needed the reduction row but I added it and all was well.

Another new note for this year is to read directions for Heart Cluster on first page. I ended up with a different path that worked but oddly reading directions works.

I use a different strategy for the flower and the rose joining. I changed the design to have the dress tie at the neck and use the flower to attach the tie at the front so it covers the attachment. This just works for me.

The shoes are from Sweet Silver Creations Sailor pattern that can be purchased here. I used an H hook as I had previously for the My Life Doll but when I make these again I would use a G hook. Gauge can be funny. These were a bit larger than I had hoped.

Our Generation Back to School

This project started with multiple misconceptions. First, I thought I'd made Adoring Doll's Back to School outfit, you can purchase here, before. Yet despite searching I can't find a record of making it and when I started making it didn't seem as familiar as I had thought. This is one of her early patterns and some of the pieces are constructed quite differently than some of her more recent stuff.

The second mistake I made is I wasn't looking for a Back to School outfit in my binder. With the heart on the shirt I had this pegged as a Valentine outfit and was quite confused when I couldn't locate a black jacketed Valentine outfit. When I searched her site and realized I had the name and intention wrong, sure enough I found it in my Adoring Doll pattern binder. I'm still using it for the Our Generation's Valentine holiday outfit. It works well for my theme.

Notes:

I used the suggested g hook for the boots. I find I need a smaller hook for the our Generation doll feet then the My Life. Just my experience. I tend to have to go up one to two hooks for the My Life depending on the shoes.

The outfit required an I hook to get it to fit the doll.

This is my favorite heart. I am currently working on another of her Valentine outfits for the My Life doll that uses a slightly different heart motif and I'd come back to this one next time. It just works up better and finishes nicer.

I love the jacket, especially in black for this outfit. The one item I really wasn't thrilled with was the skirt. I would use a substitute if I come back to this next year as the construction for the waist and skirt just didn't sit right.

My Life Hearts and Flowers

Over the years of this donation I've enjoyed including holiday outfits for the donation dolls when I've had time to add them. I don't need to make them close to the holidays as the package goes out at the Christmas season, but there is something fun about making them as a way of celebrating my own holiday seasons. This is one of Darski's free patterns found here.

The shoes are not part of the free set but have become my favorite shoe pattern. They are part of Sweet Silver Creation's Sailor Dress pattern. I don't always make the dress every year but I've lost count of the number of shoes I've made from this pattern you can purchase here. I like the shoes because they are easy to make and stay on the doll's feet.

Pattern Notes:

I use a K hook for the first 4 rows of this dress as with my odd guage it is the only way I can get the dress to slide on and off. I use an I hook for the rest of the outfit including the shoes. I returned to row 11 using an I and reduced last sc row of top.

The flower belongs lower on the waist but I was experimenting with the ties in the back which I've never done before and I ended tacking the flower at the top of the dress instead of the waist. I'm noting this because I do check my previous blog notes when remaking these outfits for future donations.

American Girl Valentine Outfit

While I've continued to crochet, I've gotten sadly behind on documenting my projects. It seemed like a good time to get caught up. I have become a fan of the free 18 inch doll patterns from the blog Adoring Doll Clothes. This pattern is her free Valentine pattern found here. This is an adorable outfit to add to my donation project. It also fits my goal of adding holiday patterns to the donation.

I needed an I hook to get the dress and shoes to fit. I note this so when I go to make this again it won't be such a surprise. I don't mention it for others as I've found my personal gauge is often specific to move.