Little Miss Firecracker

I like to make at least one Patriotic outfit to cover the various Patriotic holidays. DH bought me a new pattern for Christmas, Little Miss Firecracker that can be purchased here.

I've been having a challenging time with gauge so I expected to use a larger hook. I had no issue with the dress. However, I did add more rows to the vest to get it to be a little longer. Again it could just be me, but I wanted it to cover the back of the dress where all the buttons show. The vest trim is very creative and I have plans to use the vest for other patterns. It makes a nice cover for an outfit.

The only holiday I have left to make is Halloween. I have a couple of options, but I'm working on a Dr. Seuss themed outfit at the moment. I found a free hat pattern a while back that I've wanted to make in honor of Dr. Suess' birthday March 2. When I was teaching we always had Cat and the Hat themed decorations for the day and various reading themed events.

I am thinking it would be nice if each doll had outfits for each holiday. We'll have to see if I get there. I have been fortunate in the years I've completed one holiday set along with the regular outfits. I still have to get those baby dolls done, too.

American Girl Patriotic Dress

My husband is amazing about buying me crochet stuff as long as I tell him what stuff I'm interested in. I came across a pattern set on Amazon Kindle that I had never see sold as a set before. While I'm doing more with my Kindle, I still like paper patterns. I looked on Ravelry where I had seen the patterns offered separately and had them wish listed, but the set wasn't available. Turning to Etsy, I discovered I could get the complete set for $20, which was an amazing savings. By buying the complete set the patterns are almost 50% off. Since I had most of them on my to buy list, it seemed like a great item to put on DH's birthday shopping list. You can find the listing here.

The outfits are adorable. I started on this one because I had wanted to make a holiday outfit for the July 4th holiday for the donation. Since the donation isn't until Christmas being late isn't really an issue and I was in the mood for a Patriotic outfit.

While my gauge is still off, I still adapted the pattern to use worsted weight. When I matched gauge the dress was a bit tight and the designer uses a tie in the back to close the gap. (Her pictures show the dress being a little tight) I chose to make it a little looser using worsted weight (4) and used a button to close the back. It just looked a little more finished.

I've started on the Elsa inspired dress and plan to work my way through the pattern book.

Barbie and American Girl Doll Free Patterns are listed on my blog at these locations:

Barbie Crochet and Sewing Page

Barbie Knitting Page

Ken Page

Kelly/Skipper Page

American Girl Doll Crochet and Sewing

American Girl Doll Knitting

Doll Blankets and Pillow Patterns

Baby Doll Patterns:

Baby Doll and Cabbage Patch

Additional Doll Patterns also Available on the Holiday Blogs:

Christmas

Valentines

Easter

Graduation

Patriotic

Halloween Page

Thanksgiving

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