Chelsea Sun Dress

Last year I picked up a collection of AG mini crochet patterns from Sweet Silver Creations that follow many of her full sized American Girl patterns. This one is only sold in the set not as an individual pattern. You can purchase the set here.

I've been slowly working to adapt these patterns to fit the Chelsea doll.

Notes:

I used size 20 thread and a .75mm hook for this project.

There are several additional accessories I didn't include. I've yet to find a crochet shoe pattern that fits the Barbie dolls well. I've made this hat for the 18 inch dolls and if you are going to display the dolls I suspect it would work but it doesn't stay on easily. The purse is a bit large for Chelsea and I really had no desire to try it in size 20 with a .75mm hook.

That said I do like this pattern and would use it again. It is a quick dress for Chelsea. The dress closes with a snap and the front buttons are mini buttons I picked up a while back. It might be time to consider a new batch as my color selection is a bit limited.

Skipper Nightgown

I'm continuing on with my quest to send the dolls out with nightgowns this year.

This was an AG Mini pattern I found from Sweet Silver Creations last year and was able to adapt for Chelsea, Stacie, and Skipper. You can purchase the pattern here.

Notes:

This outfit was made using Hobby Lobby's Artiste size 10 Orchid thread and their size 10 multi-colored thread.

Skipper requires a 1.8mm crochet thread hook to adapt this pattern to fit.

I do not add arms to any of the dolls for this nightgown pattern as it makes it much harder to take on and off.

There are several places for contrast color trims, I only use the trim on the bottom of the outfit. The nightgown closes with ties and I used the contrast color for the ties.

Chelsea Nightgown

I've been working steadily to get these project themes finished across all doll categories where I have the patterns to meet them. I found an American Girl mini pattern that I previously adapted for Stacie and Skipper back in June. I never thought it would take until October to get to making Chelsea's nightgown.

I bought a complete pattern set for the AG mini's as some of the ones I wanted were not offered as individual patterns. However this pattern can be purchased alone and is available here.

Notes:

I needed size 20 crochet thread in two colors and a .75mm thread crochet hook to get this to fit Chelsea.

I chose not to add the arms or the top trim based on notes from my previous projects. I've not had great luck with crochet fashion doll shoes so I chose not to make the slippers.

For this project I followed rows 1-10 as written with the thread and hook changes. When I make this again I'd go to row 11 to make it a bit longer. I then skipped to row 16 and completed from there.

The counts for rows 3-5 are off and I've adjusted them to make the outfit fit.

The neck closes with a tie and I chain 40 before adding.

Skipper Nightgown

Like Stacie's nightgown this too is made from an AG Mini pattern that can be purchased here. I bought the set so I'm slowly working on adapting the patterns that will work for the donation to the Barbie's sisters.

Notes:

I made some additional changes for Skipper after making this for Stacie.

As with the previous AG Mini adaptation I needed size 10 crochet thread and a 1.8mm hook to get this outfit to fit Skipper.

The bent arm issue still makes this hard to get on and off of Skipper with the style of the arms so I left them off.

After adding the trim to the bodice for Stacie I decided not to use if for Skipper and I wouldn't use it for the future outfits. I am still planning on using this for Chelsea this year and will likely be back to this for future donation years.

I added notes to fix the count that increases with each row where I just winged it with Stacie's outfit. I will have this for future attempts.

The bottom trims worked better with the additional notes I added for myself. I was able to get both trims in contrast rather than just one.

Lastly just as a note to myself this closes with tie no need for a snap. I did finish the back before adding the ties and collar.

Stacie Nightgown

This is another one of the AG mini patterns I'm adapting for the Barbie dolls. You can purchase the pattern here.

Notes:

In order to get this pattern to fit Stacie I needed a 1.25mm hook and size 10 crochet thread.

I chose yellow and a Thread Art variegated yellow for this outfit.

The pattern includes arms, I chose to leave them off for Stacie as getting the outfit on and off would be rather hard with her bent arm and the opening created for the neckline.

I also did not include the bunny slippers. I find shoe patterns for the fashion dolls to be challenging when written for the doll. Trying to tackle them for a pattern not written for the doll seems not worth the challenge at this point.

Chelsea Cinderella

I originally purchased Sweet Silver Creations' AG Mini crochet pattern set with Chelsea in mind. I had adapted some AG mini patterns from a different designer and though these would be a good match.

I hadn't had much luck with her Kelly 6 inch patterns when I tried ages ago. I was tempted to try again as I have more experience now and access to multiple sizes of thread but while I was able to buy a single AG Mini pattern first and then buy the set, there wasn't a similiar option for the Kelly set. The Cinderella pattern is available here for purchase. She also has a complete set for the mini's here.

After making Skipper and Stacie's dresses in size 10 thread with a 1.8mm hook for Skipper and a 1.25mm for Stacie I had hoped when I reduced the thread to size 20 that I wouldn't have to go below a 1mm hook. Not the case.

Notes:

I used size 20 thread from Creative Yarn Source and after experimenting discovered the .75mm hook was the right size for the project.

I've bought a considerable amount of yarn and thread over the last couple of months to replace or stock for some of the smaller dolls but there are always holes in my inventory. I did not have light blue and I believe the contrast yarn may be their turquoise. It was that or white. I am not scheduled to order more thread from them for a few more months.

With the .75 mm hook I did not need to increase the number of rows to get the bodice to fit as I had to do for Stacie and Skipper. Like the other two dolls though I did have to decrease at the neck to get the neck to fit the doll.

For the skirt I did rows 1-14 as written. I then completed rows 21-22. This gave me the floor length the pattern required.

The headband was more challenging with the smaller thread and hook. I'd consider adding an additional row the next time I make this.

The collar is challenging as it really shouldn't be wider at the neck but adding a closer without it being wider is difficult. I think I may add a row next year and see how it looks because the snap at the neck is really difficult to use.

Skipper Cinderella

A while back I accidently bought an AG mini crochet pattern thinking it was for Chelsea.

Since then I've been exploring what other AG Mini patterns that might work for Barbie's sisters for the donation as I don't have lots of ready to make patterns for them.

In my search I discovered that Sweet Silver Creations has adapted her 18 inch doll pattern collection to the AG mini size. I have loved her patterns for my 18 inch doll donations so it seemed like a good idea to try out one of her smaller doll patterns to see if they'd work for the Barbie line.

This is her AG Mini Cinderella pattern that can be purchased here.

I decided to experiment to see how it would fit as written with the top to determine which doll I'd start with and how I would need to think about adapting it to fit some of the other dolls in the line. When it said size 10 and a size 7 thread hook I was thinking Chelsea was likely not going to fit but my goal was to try the pattern as written as see where I ended up.

Notes:

I used a 1.8mm hook with size 10 crochet thread. I believe this is Aunt Lydia's size 10 Dark Royal thread. I thought I'd be playing fiber chicken as I was originally thinking a smaller doll and only pulled out a partial cone but I had some left over. For my own sanity I would suggest having a mostly full cone before starting with one on the sidelines in case of mistakes.

When an outfit has armholes I try the outfit on for size after completing the armholes. It was clear from the beginning that this would not fit Chelsea but I had wondered if Stacie would be an option but Skipper was the winner. I'm still hoping to try this outfit with a smaller hook for Stacie before moving down to size 20 thread, which I plan to try for Chlesea.

I had to repeat row 11 of the bodice to row 21 to get the length I needed as she clearly is longer than the 6 inch American Girl Mini doll. This makes row 12 row 22. I didn't record the skirt additions but I believe it was an additional 6 rows to get it to floor length. I kept trying it on as I went and I'd do this when I make it again.

I changed the overskirt as I believe I likely do with her larger 18 inch doll Cinderella. I also needed to play with the sleeves. One sleeve trim seemed to go as written the other seemed to have more stitches so I played with it a bit.

The collar and headband worked as written.

I've since ordered her complete AG Mini doll crochet pattern set. Some of them will work better for this project than others but not all of the ones I wanted were sold as individual patterns and I've learned I will eventually go back and try stuff I never thought I'd do at some point.