Barbie Christmas Sweater Knit

This was another one of Mom's contributions. She knitted this sweater for a relative on my husband's side of the family and I now have it put aside for Christmas. For those interested in the pattern it comes from Nicky Epstein's Knits for Barbie Doll which I believe has recently gone out of print. Check your local library as I borrowed it prior to purchasing for Mom.

I crocheted the pants. The pattern came from a 1986 Annie's Pattern Club book, Fashion Doll Quick and Easy. Joyce Bishop was the designer.

For those looking for free Barbie patterns please see the Barbie Fashion Doll Page for links to free patterns.

Pictures may not be used without written permission.

Little Barbie on the Prairie

While never a fan of the tv show, I was a huge fan of the Laura Ingalls Wilder Little House book series as a child. I read the books before the series and our teachers brought the books alive with costumes, plays, and events designed to engage us not just in the stories, but the time period that surrounded the life the family led.

When I saw this pattern online, it was a chance to share with the next generation not only my love of the stories, which I have by making sure each family has a complete set of the books, but to share the fun of engaging in the play that goes along with the stories.




This outfit was challenging because I was substituting Luster Sheen for thread. I played with the gauge and thought I had the correct hook for the project based on the gauge requirements. Unfortunately, the arms are larger than I wanted. For the next one I will use the same hook for the body of the dress but decrease hook size for the arms.

For those looking for the pattern it is an out of print Annie’s Fashion Doll Club Pattern, Prairie Dress FC20-01. From my searches, it appears to be frequently available on most vintage fashion doll pattern resale sites.

If you are looking for free Barbie patterns please see the Barbie Fashion Doll Page for links to free patterns.


Pictures may not be used without written permission.

Barbie Pilgrim Outfit

I love sending little packages to celebrate the smaller holidays to the nieces and nephews. It can be challenging to find cute, affordable, fun items. I was excited to find this Pilgrim outfit in the Timeless Fashion Doll Wardrobe, Vol. 1, #495 from Shady Lane. This is a current pattern still available at
Shady Lane. I now only have two more to make before Thanksgiving.




The pattern calls for sports weight yarn, but I think I will try a different brand the next time I attempt this pattern. This was a little heavier than I would have preferred, although I liked the darker color. The shawl pattern worked out nicely and I plan to use that pattern for other doll outfits as well.

After finishing this blog I found free patterns for Barbie and Ken Pilgrim outifts. I still have not mastered crocheting over elastic, but these may be of interest to those who can handle that crocheting skill. Check out the Thanksgiving blog page for those free patterns.

Pictures may not be used without written permission.

Fashion Doll Sock Yarn Dress

As I stated in an earlier entry, my journey with doll clothes has led me on a search for fingering yarn and acceptable alternatives. I went to a knitting store and purchased the sock yarn used in the skirt of this dress. The pattern is the same basic pattern as the Peasant Dress I wrote about earlier. However, for the sake of this experiment, and the cost of the yarn, I opted for a summer dress by shortening the skirt and not adding an apron. I left the sleeves off the gown.

This was a wool based sock yarn and I enjoyed working with it although it was more challenging than the acrylic yarns I normally crochet with for doll clothes. It split easily, which was challenging. I learned to work with it as I progressed through the skirt. I liked the look, but the feel is much different from traditional fingering yarn. I have ordered some less expensive brands of sock yarn over the Internet to try on some retired patterns I have purchased recently, so I will have a chance to see how they work. I have also ordered some Lustersheen yarn to see how that works, as well.







I have just about filled the birthday order with this outfit. I am not sure I will have time to complete anything else prior to shipment.

This dress is based on the Polish Peasant Dress in Fashion Doll Wardrobe International 87D10.

Pictures may not be used without written permission.

Fashion Doll Shorts and Top

One thing I have discovered working on fashion doll and Barbie clothes is that I end up with other outfits as I work on new patterns. When I started, working on the gauge for the Peasant outfit Barbie ended up with several summer tops and I realized it actually made a cute top pattern. I was looking for an additional birthday gift so I crocheted a pair of shorts that I wrote about recently to give with the new top. I even made an additional top to keep for a Christmas present. The original top unfortunately was a clear indication that the hook and yarn I was using did not match the gauge I was attempting. I ended up increasing the top hook by two sizes and keeping the skirt size as listed for best fit.

The top in this picture was created using the upper part of the Polish Peasant Dress in Fashion Doll Wardrobe International 87D10. The shorts are from Leisure Arts Hawaiian Honeymoon Fashion Doll Wardrobe, 2132. I am actually considering using the long sleeved shirt to go with a pair of ski pants I have made. I will post a picture and details if I complete that task.

Pictures may not be used without written permission.

Fashion Doll Polish Peasant Dress

One of the challenges I faced when I started this pattern was the realization that fingering yarn is not as easy to acquire as it once was in local stores. I have since been experimenting with alternatives and trying to buy equivalents online, but it has been challenging. This gown was made with remnants of yarn purchased at a Church sale. Unfortunately, while I had enough to finish the dress, I had to finish the apron in white. Somehow, it seemed like a realistic solution that might have been made if someone had in fact run out of the required resources. If I can find the right pattern of variegated fingering yarn, I would love to match the original pattern as it makes a pretty outfit. This was fairly close to the look I wanted, just lacked enough yarn.



The pattern used to make this outfit is the Polish Peasant Dress by Frances Morse. It can be found in the out of print Fashion Wardrobe International 87D10, Annie’s Pattern Club, published by Annie’s Attic, 1983.

Pictures may not be used without written permission.

My Fashion Doll and Barbie Projects

Just as I created a blog entry to track my toy projects, I decided Barbie needed her own page since I have been working on so many projects for birthdays and Christmas presents. I have found many vintage patterns to try and have been experimenting with different types of yarn to deal with options that are no longer available. Therefore, I am sure there will be plenty of new entries added. I have several new dresses to add to the blog as soon as the pictures are taken and I will add those links to the page as soon as they are ready.

Barbie :

Christmas Caroler

Christmas Caroler Black Jacket

Colonial Outfit

Easter Outfit

Ghost

Pilgrim

Pilgrim with Free Pattern

Polish Peasant Dress

Prairie Dress

Santa

Santa One Piece

Shorts

Shorts and Top

Sock Yarn Dress

Spring Dress

Strapless Gown Purple

St. Patrick's Day Dress

Valentine Ball Gown

Valentine Pink Ball Gown

Winter Formal




Ken:

Colonial

Ken Pilgrim

Santa




Kelly:

Cat Costume

Colonial

Pink Skirt and Top

Red Pants Pink Shirt

Santa



Skipper:

Colonial

Party Dress

Skating Outfit

Sun Dress

Mom's Contributions

Mom and I have been working on dressing dolls for kids. These are pictures of the outfits Mom knitted to be given to kids on the other side of my family. The Valentine's photo has one of my first Barbie attempts, a crocheted hat.

Valentine's Barbie

St. Patrick's Day Barbie

Barbie's Knitted Easter Outfit

Barbie Knit Christmas Sweater


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

Additional Doll Patterns also Available on the Holiday Blogs:

Valentines

Easter

Graduation

Patriotic

Halloween Page

Thanksgiving

Christmas

Pictures may not be used without written permission.

Barbie Spring Dress

This was created using the Springtime Sun Dress pattern created by Joyce Bishop. The pattern can be found in Annie's Pattern Club Fashion Doll Quick and Easy, 87D20.

I made two of these for Easter. The one pictured was crocheted using Bernat Satin sport yarn and the other in traditional pink sports yarn. This was one of my more challenging fashion doll projects to date. The yarn choices were interesting. The pink sports yarn presented certain challenges, the Satin others. The Satin slid through some of the tighter areas, but frayed more around the edges. That proved challenging during assembly and presents concerns for wear since these will be used for kids’ toys.

The Ken shorts made with the Satin did not create nearly the same challenges. This was likely because the stitches were much simpler and there were fewer edges requiring finishing. Further research should help me become better acquainted with using the Satin in these projects.

For practice purposes, I think I will create the next few in traditional sports yarn to master the actual technique before adding more challenges to the project.

Pictures may not be used without written permission.

Barbie Crochet Easter Outfit

While I did lose a number of digital photographs, with help from the child getting the presents, I was able to take some additional photographs of some of the items I made for Easter. This was an Easter, spring outfit crocheted for a couple of Easter Baskets. Next year I think I would add a hat.

The skirt pattern is from a 1986 Annie's Pattern Club book Fashion Doll Quick and Easy. Joyce Bishop was the designer. The top is actually adapted from the top of another dress pattern found in the book. As I was working on how to make the dress, I started by making some doll tops from the dress pattern to wear with other outfits.

I have learned to check the sizes of the dolls when working with older patterns. Even among current dolls, not all the clothes fit the same and I do have to adapt the patterns to make sure they fit the doll measurements.




Pictures may not be used without written permission.

Barbie Fashion Doll Easter

The drive was on to complete Barbie and fashion doll clothing for Easter baskets this year. As I mentioned before not all my digital photographs made the cut. However, I do have a few photographs to share. I will add more if I get the chance.







Mom again came through this better than I. She knitted outfits for the Easter season. I managed to save photographs of one of the Easter baskets I made. The pattern can be found in the freeEaster Links under crochet.

For all my complaints about lost photographs it was fun making finding the vintage pattern books online that use sports yarn. I have not mastered the art of thread crochet and finding books that utilize sports yarn has been a great gift. I managed to complete several dresses, skirts outfits, and short outfits. Even Ken got into the mix with a new pair of shorts. I am still struggling to find sports yarn patterns for him, but have a few I am looking to locate. So even without the pictures to document the efforts, I feel progress has been made.

I retain rights to all pictures. Written permission must be obtained to use pictures.

Barbie Magazine Patterns

I have been stumbling across Barbie patterns both in new and old copies of magazines. I decided for myself and others who are interested to start listing where I find them and what types of patterns are available.

I have discovered our local library carries older copies of magazines and I'm finding through interlibrary loan I can go back a few years on some titles to find different types of patterns. I'm finding white elephant sales and yard sales also seem to good resources for finding craft magazines. Family and friends are often willing to let you borrow a pattern as well if you know the month and year.

I will keep updating this blog entry as I discover more resources. Please feel free to comment with any others I should add that are available for people to access.


Crochet:

Barbie Ski Bunny Remake
Crochet Today Jan/Feb 2010

Barbie Beach Wear
Barbie and Ken
Crochet World June 2009

GI Camo Outfit and Tent
Crochet World August 2009







Picture Credit

http://www.flickr.com/photos/yehfriedchicken/ / CC BY-ND 2.0

Knit and Crochet Easter Free Patterns

I was amazed how many great Easter knitting and crochet free patterns were available. I started this list while I was researching the Halloween blogs and it continues to grow.

I thought I would add some of my own Easter photographs that have come from this using these links.

The carrot rattle was fun and easy to do.



The Easter basket for Barbie has turned into a requested item. Even Ken had to get one.

























Crochet:

American Girl 18" Doll Patterns:

Adoring Dolls Easter Outfit

American Girl Easter Basket Cobbler's Cabin

Dress with Easter Bunny Ears from Red Heart

Easter Bonnet

Easter Bunny Hat

Barbie Fashion Doll Crochet Patterns:


Barbie Easter Basket

Barbie Easter Bonnet

Barbie Fashion Doll Easter Dress

Easter Dress from Happy Yellow on Ravelry Thread



Crochet Easter Patterns:

Kitchen and Home Patterns:

Bunny Dishcloth

Bunny Filet Afghan

Bunny Towel Ring

Duck Bib

Egg Coaster

Egg Coaster 2

Egg Dishcloth

Egg Hot Pad

Egg Hot Pad

Egg Potholder

Decorations and Toys:

Baskets:

Basket

Easter Basket

Easter Basket

Lion Brand Baby Wool Basket

Lion Brand Springtime Basket


Bunnies:

Ami Bunny

Ami Bunny Heads

Bunnies with Carrot House

Baby Bunny

Bunny

Bunny and Carrot Rattle (not one pictured on this blog)

Bunny, Basket, Eggs, Flowers

Bunny Boo

Bunny Hat

Bunny in a Basket

Carrot the Bunny

Chocolate Bunny

Chocolate Bunnies

Easter Bunny

Easter Bunny

Easter Bunny Floppy Ears

Easter Bunny Candy Holder

Love Bunny

Eggs

Fun Fur Bunny

Hungry Bunny Chocolate Colored Eats Veggies


My First Bunny

Peep Bunny

Wee Rabbit

Chicks and Ducks:

Baby Chick

Chick Cosies Family with Hats

Chicken and Duck Egg Cosies

Chicklett

Duck

Fun Fur Duck

Peep Chick

Eggs:

Art Deco Eggs

Easter Eggs and Basket

Egg

Egg From Bev's Country Cottage

Egg Lion Brand

Mrs. Egghead and her Husband

Pineapple Easter Egg

Red Heart

Stuffed Easter Egg

Vampire Easter Egg

Victorian Easter Egg Ornaments

Other Animals and Toys:

Bear in Bunny Clothes

Doll with Bunny Ears and Basket

Lamb

Lamb 2

Little Lamb

Other Toys and Decorations:

Carrot Rattle

Donna's Crochet

Easter Lily

Tote

Wreath



Knit:

American Girl 18" Doll Patterns:

Easter Dress



Kitchen and Home Patterns:

Bunny Dish Cloth

Easter Basket Dish Cloth

Egg Dish Cloth

Egg Hot Pad

Decorations and Toys:

Baskets:

Basket

Bunnies:

Bunny

Bunny

Bunny Nuggets

Bunny to Duck Duck to Bunny Toy

Chicks and Ducks:

Chicken and Duck Cozies

Chicks

Chicks 2

Chubby Chicks

Duck

Eggs:

Decorated Eggs

Easter Eggs and Basket

Eggs

Eggs

Jean Greenhowe's Eggs

Eggs from self-striping yarn

Other Toys and Decorations:

Finger Puppets

Jean Greenhowe's Easter Treats

Knitting on the Net

Toys That Fit in Easter Eggs

Loom Knitting:

Bitsy Bunnies

Blossom the Hip Hop Flower Bunny

Bunny

Bunny Loom Knitting

Chick Dish Cloth

Easter Eggs

Easter Purse

Life and Crafts

Sewing:

Bunny Speedsters

Check out my Easter Project Blogs:

Amigurumi Easter Bunnies

Amigurumi Ducks and Chicks

Barbie Easter Basket

Carrot Rattle

Crochet Easter Eggs


These pictures may not be used without my written permission.

Barbie Crochet and Sewing Free Patterns

Playing with Barbie is a tradition that spans generations. Outfitting Barbie continues to be a challenge met by parents, grandparents, and friends of children who are creative with craft making. Finding free patterns can lessen the expense, so I have been working on collecting Barbie patterns to help crafters use their skills with free patterns. What I liked about this research is Ken is not left out. Just a reminder check out the holiday sections as well. When I find holiday Barbie patterns, I include them in the holiday blogs. Read More...

This blog page has grown since it first started and has needed some reconstruction.

Update: Using Wayback I was able to recover some of the pattern links from the Barbie Boutique site, not all. It does not look as if the pictures are with the patterns. I do hope this library ends up somewhere as there are so many wonderful patterns it is a shame to see them disappear.

The Barbie Boutique Links have gone dead. I noticed them as of February 22, 2012 and am removing them. I am sad to see them go as I have found them to be wonderful not only for Barbie and her family, but as basics for other projects as well. If I find them relisted I will post the links again. Just another reminder to download the patterns that you may want for future reference.




Barbie Free Knitting Patterns can be found here.

Ken Patterns

Kelly and Skipper

Crochet for Barbie:

Pattern Sites with Barbie Sections:

ABC Knitting Crochet Patterns

Allcrafts

Barbie Basics 109 pg PDF Lynne Sears

Barbie Boutique

Barbie Boutique Complete Index


Barbie Links Barbs Craft Books

Bev's Country Cottage

Crochet Pattern Central

Crochetnmore

Donna's Crochet

Knitting n Crocheting 4 Fun and Profit Crocheting Patterns

Knitty Chick

Originals by Gidge

Rescued from the Wayback Machine:

Grandmother's Dollhouse

Dresses and Outfits:

At the Office Dress and Blazer Thread

Ball Gown Crochet Cafe

Bikini

Bikini Thread

Blouson Sundress

Black and White Dress with Lustersheen

Blue Moon Formal Gown

Cute Crochet Gown with Cape

Dotted Delight Thread Dress Pattern

Dress Mini/Long Thread

Dress Worsted Weight

Evening Wear Large Selection

Granny Square Outfit

Granny Square Skirt, Tops, and Accessories

Jasmine Thread

Midnight Gold Gown Thread

Mini-Dress

Party Dress and Shawl

Patriotic Outfits Scroll Down to Bottom of Page

Picnic Dress

Pineapple Dress

Pineapple Fantasy Thread

Pink Shell Skirt and Top Thread for Belly Button Barbie

Princess Thread

Rainbows and Ruffles Dress Baby Yarn

Red Party Dress

Ruffle Dress

Skirt, Top, Hat

Striped Shift

Stroll in the Garden

Sun Dress

Suzie's Stuff Baby Doll PJ's and Nightgown



Hats, Coats, Scarves, and Shoes

Allfreecrafts Barbie Hat

Ankle Strap Shoes

Bags and Purses

Cape and Capelet

Coat and Hat 1970's

Craft Elf Hat and Scarf

Hat and Coat Heartland Prairie

High Top Tennis Shoes

Jean Jacket

Long Gloves

Orble Scarf

Poncho

Purse

Raglan Sleeve Jacket

Sun Hat



Accessories and Other Misc. Items:

Afghan Doll Sized

Allfreecrafts Barbie Hat

Barbie Snuggle

Bedspread

Suzie's Stuff Sleeping Bag

Character or Historical Costumes:

Autumn Shalee Native American Outfit

Ballet Costume

Beauty and the Beast Before After

Bloomers

Camelot Heartland Prairie

Cinderella at the Ball

Cinderella Poor

Colonial Gown

Egyptian Barbie Pattern Page 2

Evening Gown 1950's

Gypsy

Latana Fashion Thread Napoleon Style

Little Mermaid

Mermaid

Native American

Link Currently unavailable through wayback machine

Netherland's Outfit

Link Currently unavailable through wayback machine

Princess

Snow White

Spanish Gown

Turn of the Century Dress

Vintage Creations Dress


Wedding:

Bride

Bride and Bridesmaid

June Bride and Groom

Wedding Dress

Wedding Dress 2

Wedding Dress Turn of the Century Wedding Dress

Wedding Patterns Large Selection includes Ken

Wedding Veil

Royal Wedding Dress

Bed Dolls:

Cotillion Collection Miss April 1992 Bed Doll

Pillow Forms

Crocheted Pillow Form





Sewing for Barbie:

Allcrafts

Arwan, Cinderella, Court Dress

Basic Outfits: Pants, Skirt, Shirt, Skirt, Tops, Dress

Four Free Sewing Patterns

Free Barbie Patterns

Frugal Abundance Variety of Patterns

Janel Patterns

Molendrix Variety of Patterns Mostly Fantasy Characters

PJ's

Sewing for Barbie Part 1

Sewing for Barbie Part 2

Sewing for Barbie Part 3

Sewing Tips

Stays Tutorial Scroll Down

Vintage Dress Pattern and Tutorial

Barbie Furniture/Accessories

Barbie Closet

Canoe

Crochet Chair

Crochet Chair and Footstool

Crochet Couch

Crochet Furniture Patterns Several No pictures

Crochet Plastic Canvas Project

Crochet Table and Chair

Kelly Crochet Air Mattress 8"x 3 1/2" (designed for Ami but would work)

Living Room Furniture

Native American Play Set

No Sew Sofa

Plastic Canvas Chaise Lounge and Table

Plastic Canvas Clothing Hangers

Plastic Canvas Accessories:

Fashion Doll Tote Scroll Down


Visit my Barbie Project Blogs here.

Check out the Holiday Blogs for more free Barbie Patterns

Valentine's Day Knit and Crochet

St. Patrick's Day

Easter

Halloween

Patriotic

Graduation

Thanksgiving

Christmas



Pictures may not be used without written permission.