Happy New Year!

I got really far behind in November posting projects which led me to catching up and preposting projects through December and now into January. As I wish you a Happy New Year I still am anticipating a Merry Christmas. That being said I'd much rather be ahead for once that so far behind in my posts that I've completley lost any contact with what I did to make a project.

It also seemed appropriate to celebrate the New Year having finished another set of items for the 2025 donation. All the baby doll wipes are complete with this second set.

I'm always a little amazed when I pull this stuff out to pack at the end of November and beginning of December to realize how many little pieces go into making the larger donation. I remember many of the bigger projects but these little ones fall out of the project bags as I'm packing and remind me how many items are part of what I try to include in each donation.

This is part of a diaper bag crochet pattern no longer available from Crochet n'play. Over the years I've started buying some of the diaper bag/feeding kit items as some of them just are not worth the time and energy or the pain to my hands. I also no longer make the doll bassinets which I made for years as I couldn't deal with the multiple yarn skeins strain on my wrists and hands.

However, there are still a few items I continue to add to the larger baby dolls. I make these wipes because they add more value to pretend play. I make diapers because they have the potential to last longer than the plastic disposable doll ones. I also add bibs because the ones that come with the kits don't always fit the dolls I buy.

I wish all of you a happy, healthy New Year. I hope this donation continues to be blessed and our ability to help kids at Christmas continues.

16 Inch Baby Doll Wipes

Sadly this pattern designer no longer lists her patterns on the Internet so I can't provide a link for the pattern. When I first bought the pattern I was making more of the diaper bag items. Over time I stuck to the things that added the most play value and resorted to buying sets like the Melissa and Doug Feeding kit for the JC 16 inch Baby Doll.

My decisions about what to make came down to fit and how long stuff would last. Most of the kits I've seen that have wipes either have an empty wipe container to pretend, wipes that dry out, or paper ones that wrip. None of this is really fun play. These appealed to me because they are something a child can hold and they won't dry out. They are washable so the value is there to use my time to make these to add to the diaper bags.

16 Baby Doll Wipes Final Round 2024

There is something so delightful about knowing I have a category completed for the doll project even if it is a small one. This is the second and last baby doll wipes I need for the JC 16 Inch Baby doll for the 2024 donation. The Melissa and Doug Diaper Bag I get for the Lots to Love 14 Inch Baby Doll has a wipes container included and while I've made the point about why these aren't as great I'm also not one for duplicating efforts when I can put them to a better use.

So I'm slowly getting the diaper bag items finished. The 14 Inch doll comes with a diaper and there is an additional diaper in the kit so again while I need to make these items for the 16 inch dolls to finish their diaper bags I don't need to make additional items for the Lots to Love 14 inch dolls.

With the wipes finished I need one more bib for the 16 inch baby doll and 3 more diapers to finish off the diaper bag accessories that don't come with the kits and diaper bags.

16 Inch Baby Doll Wipes

Many years ago I picked up a crochet diaper bag set from a no longer available vendor to include with the JC 16 inch Baby Dolls. However, I slowly stopped using most of the accessories for the donation with the exception of the wipes. I've been purchasing far studier diaper bags than I can make and I use Melissa and Doug's Feeding Kits.

The wipes are a practical matter. In the diaper kits the wipes often have a pretend box with no actual wipes or they are like wet wipes and they will dry out or are just paper and eventually just rip and are no longer useful. These have a very short play life. I've kept crocheting wipes for the diaper bags because they do have a longer play life being resuable and harder to destroy.

Baby Doll Wipes Round 2

This is the last set of wipes I need for the 2023 donation for the 16 Inch Baby doll as I picked up the Melissa and Doug Diaper Changing set for the Lots to Love 14 Inch Baby Doll that includes wipes.

At one point I used to make the diaper bag, the bottles, the changing pad, and tried making the baby food jars, but it got to be too much.

I still make the baby bibs for all the dolls to make sure they fit, and diapers and wipes for the 16 inch baby dolls. I've either used donated diaper bags or purchased them.

I've been purchasing the Melissa and Doug feeding kits when I can get them on sale to send with the 3 larger baby dolls. There are some things that are harder to make than others and feeding kits with the magic bottles and baby food jars are one of those items that I'd rather buy than make.

The wipes are still a practical item to make as few of the store bought ones last. Sadly I can't share where to purchase the pattern because while I've kept monitoring hoping Crochet n'Play will return I've yet to see their shop back offering the diaper bag set that includes these wipes.

Baby Doll Wipes

I looked again but Crochet n' Play still hasn't returned to selling online so I can't share a link to find the pattern for this diaper bag set.

I mostly just use the wipes from the set for the donation but it is truly a great set to make accessories for a little one's doll. For my purposes I've moved to adding Melissa and Doug's Time to Eat Accessories for many of the diaper bag accessories I donate. However, I still make the wipes, bibs, and diapers for many of the larger baby dolls, despite buying the play set.

There are some sets that do offer wipes but some either are a box that "pretends" there is something inside or there is something inside but they either dry out quickly or are paper and rip and don't last long. The crochet ones while not as realistic as the wet ones last longer and are reusable. They are easy to replace if lost. While I don't sew I've seen sewn ones that are also practical.

Baby Doll Wipes Round 3

I mentioned previously this pattern is from a currently out of print Crochet 'n Play diaper bag set. I've slowly started moving to purchasing some of the items I previously made like the Melissa & Doug Feeding Set.

I'm also considering purchasing the diaper bags as I really don't like making bags and I don't have a regular supplier of them. I'm considering the HappyVk- Baby Doll Diaper Bag for two of the dolls as I still have one left over from last year's donations. I"m still researching my options so we will have to see what happens. I do like including the bags because they provide both play value and storage for all the clothes and accessories that go with the dolls. The toys are supposed to be a gift to the child and family, not add problems of what to do with all the stuff.

Notes:

The original pattern calls for an e hook and as I was trying to use up a small left over ball from my ball basket I decided to go with the e over the g hook. I didn't have quite enough to finish the project but thankfully had another skein in my stash to finish off the project.

I am pleased I've gathered the left over balls in one place as it has made targeting them for various projects so much easier.

Baby Doll Wipes Round 2

As I mentioned in my previous post the baby wipes are made using a no longer available Diaper Bag Pattern from Crochet n'play. If the pattern ever does become available again I will happily post it as I think it is a very creative pattern that provides great accessories for children's baby dolls.

When I cleaned out my yarn supply in January I put aside both the yarn balls I had left over from previous projects and the yarn bobbins I hadn't finished off. I often use the left over yarn bobbins on amigurumi projects but they too often have a way of getting lost over time and are not emptied when I need them for my next afghan project. So it seemed a good time to pull them all together in one location and started finding ways to use all of them up.

I made the wipes using a g hook.

The yellow became my next wipes box. I found one more bobbin after I finished this but I'm sure it will work as a trim for another project at some point.

I've written before about checking out Dollar Tree for Barbie items after reading about a Barbie bloggers finds there. Since Christmas I've also been finding play food sets and even a tea set to send off with the larger dolls for the donation. After finding a little kitchen stove top set I thought I'd share these in case anyone else was looking for little sets. I know I'd never have found the Barbie items or now these if someone hadn't shared their finds so I pass on what I've learned to you.

Even in my local Dollar Trees I've found stock differs and when it comes to Barbie and these little food sets they don't often last long. I know I stock up when I find them because I've often gone back myself to find them cleaned out.

Baby Doll Wipes

Years ago my DH purchased a pattern from Crochet n' Play for a Diaper Bag set for my doll donation project. As with many online designers her pattern store has disappeared from the web and I can no longer direct people to her great work.

For my part I've started purchasing some items for the donation because they provide more practical play experience and they allow me to focus my time on items that enhance the play time. I've started buying Melissa & Doug Feeding Set when I can find the on sale because they provide many of the fun feeding items that don't always work as well made in crochet.

I haven't given up on making items for the diaper bags though. First as you've already seen posted I make the diapers to fit the dolls every year because regardless of your views on disposable vs. cloth diapers for real babies for dolls that don't wet, cloth diapers are just a cheap alternative, especially when they are made to fit the doll you receive. I also make the bibs. This set comes with a bib, but it made for a smaller doll and I like to make the items to fit the dolls I send out. Lastly wipes.

I've seen several attempts to make pretend wipes for kids. Sometimes its just an empty plastic bottle where kids can pretend to get wipes for the baby doll. Others have wipes that run out because they dry out. The crocheted wipes like the crocheted diapers solve the problem of running out as they are constantly reusable. They aren't even that hard to remake if you lose one. It crosses that line between the plastic container with no wipes and the containers with wipes that dry out.

This was another project that let me did into last year's left over stash of yarn balls. I've been thrilled to target this yarn and not see it disappear into the depths of my yarn stash.

Notes:

I used a g hook for the wipes and container. The lettering should face outward but I wasn't redoing it.