Little Red Riding Hood Baby Doll

I love fairy tales and making themed outfits is always fun. I made this outfit for the Melissa & Doug Jenna - 12" Doll as part of my Christmas donation project.

Something else I enjoy is collecting old crochet patterns and while they can take some work to adapt, they are also can create some fun outfits for dolls. The dress for this outfit came from an old Mary Maxim pattern 189V, which is available for purchase here. I am thrilled Mary Maxim is releasing more of their old patterns for download. I've picked up several doll and other patterns and have had fun working on them.

The cape comes from a black and white 1981 publication from House of White Birches, Baby Doll Fashions to Crochet by Margaret Funk. I found this on one of my many vintage pattern hunts and I have had a great deal of fun exploring the patterns. One thing I will note is the sizes are a bit challenging. For instance they might tell you it is for a 13" doll, but what kind of 13" doll? There are no additional measurements. That being said I've been able to adjust most of the patterns to fit by changing yarn and hook sizes. The 18" patterns have fit pretty well for the padded 15" baby doll when I used worsted instead of sport yarn and increased the hook size.

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

Pictures may not be used without permission.

American Girl Little Red Riding Hood

I received the Hooded Cape pattern for Christmas and thought it would make an interesting start for a Red Riding Hood outfit. I then needed a simple skirt and sweater pattern to complete the outfit.

I went back into my 18 inch doll pattern binder and pulled out the Abby, Allie and Annie pattern set, from Maggie's Crochet, for the skirt along with an out of print Springfield Collection Sweater Trio from Fibre Craft FCM494 for the sweater. The Abby, Allie, and Annie set is not only one of my favorite 18 inch patterns, but likely the one I use the most every year. I plan to start the pants soon, as it is the easiest pair I've found to make. I often substitute these pants when I find another pair that looks similar, but is more complicated to create. Fibre Craft printed a series of patterns for the Springfield doll. While out of print, they are generally not too hard to find in the market place. I was fortunate to have been gifted a set by my Aunt. However, I see them offered frequently at places that offer used crochet patterns and the prices are generally pretty reasonable.

I'm working on a St. Patrick's Day outfit that is far more complicated than I first realized. It has extra pieces that were not evident when I was looking at the pattern and requested it on one of last year's wishlists. I am finding the challenge fun. It is also nice to finally use up the yarn I bought for this project and then never got to use.

I attempted yesterday to pick up my donation dolls at A.C. Moore after seeing the paper and my email had provided me with 50% off coupons. Usually I can catch one 50% off coupon where the dolls aren't marked down and I get my 2 dolls for one. I suspected my effort would fail when yesterday; I received an email with a 55% coupon. Sure enough, the dolls were on sale and the coupons not valid. However, I did pick up some shoes for the dolls using the coupons. I don't think I was the only one with that idea. There was a significant dent in the shoe population. I was also able to pick up some sale yarn, so the trip was not wasted.

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

Pictures may not be used without written permission.