Baby Doll Summer Fun Set

One of the things that made this past years donation project special was I was determined to try projects in my crochet pattern binders that I had printed either free or paid patterns and never made. This Crochet Yarn Summer Fun Set is a paid pattern found here. It had felt good to know I'm finishing patterns I've I requested as gifts or even just downloaded when they were free and didn't just hide them in a binder for some day.

In theory this pattern does work up quickly. The main challenge my brain seemed to have was working in spaces rather than into stitches. I read the directions. In theory I understood the directions. At times I even performed the directions for a row. Then I'd get distracted with something going on around me and before I knew it I'd find I'd started working my stitches into the stitches from the previous round and I'd have to pull back to where I'd been working the directions correctly.

This is an adorable set and I don't know why I haven't made it before. It was a great chance to use up yarn from the doll blanket from the Big Sister project as the trim for this outfit.

This dress was designed for the Bitty Baby not the 16 inch doll I used so I made some adjustments. The fit of the suit was fine. However the skirt was too short to cover the bathing suit as shown in the pattern so I added rows. The coverup had the same issue so I again added rows to have it equal the length shown in the pattern picture.

As for the shoes these were a PERFECT FIT!!! If you follow this blog you will know shoes have been a challenge for this doll. I have 2 patterns now that fit and I'll be using them more frequently to provide shoes for the dolls.

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas to all of you. I hope all of you enjoy a special day with family and friends.

A special thanks to all of you who supported the doll donation this year. It is a great undertaking each year made lighter by the support of an amazing community. I like to think our work has made this day special for lots of kids who woke up with well dressed dolls this morning.

Now work begins again for the next drive. I already have the dolls for next year and the bags are set up to put the clothes and other items in as they are made. It will be a pleasure to watch it grow.

Doll Diaper Bag Items

A funny thing happened after Veteran's Day but before Thanksgiving this year I decided to do inventory. I had stopped in September working on the doll donation project to complete the Big Sister project and then when I was done with that I dived right back into making 18 inch doll clothes and working on Christmas presents. Something kept nagging at me and I decided to go look at the big bags I keep all the donations in to do an inventory of what I had completed, what had been donated, etc. I discovered something that I needed to fix and thankfully not too long after Veteran's Day I fixed the problem. I'd only partially completed the baby doll diaper bag items. I had the wipes made for both bags and one bag had a changing pad. However I was short several other items I include every year.

The doll diaper pattern is a free one I've used for years. You can still get it through the Wayback machine here but as always I suggest downloading it and putting it somewhere safe as it can disappear anytime. What I love about this pattern is depending on hook size you can use it for a variety of dolls. I started using it for the 12" dolls when I first started this project. Now with a K hook it is still working for the 16" dolls. I sew snaps rather than using buttons. If you do this I suggest not skipping stitches as these form what will be the button holes for the project. You have more room to attach the snaps if you don't leave a hole. These were actually a nice relaxing quick project to do between other items I've been working on for Christmas gifts. It's amazing how fast they come together. For me the longest part is sewing on the snaps.

I like to make 2 diapers for each doll as it allows the child to have the doll wear one and then "change" the doll into a "clean" diaper should the child wish engage in this type of play. Before I crocheted my nieces went through the plastic reusable "disposable" type doll diapers years ago. The problem was they didn't last long as the plastic usually ripped and the children were left frustrated. It was often not easy to purchase replacements. These are more resistant to abuse and thus more likely to last. For those of you who crochet, if they do break it is easy enough to make more they are quick to whip up and don't use much yarn.

I normally crochet the baby bottles from the pattern that comes with the changing pad. However I have been inspired to reach out and try new things this year and I've had this free pattern from The Blue Crab Stitches at Midnight for years that I've never tried. So this was the year. I also love to be able to offer my readers free patterns to try when possible so this was the year to try it out. You can find the pattern here. My bottles are faceless.

The bib is another free pattern found here. As with many baby doll patterns this one needed to be adapted to fit the larger baby doll. I started with a chain 16 and did 20 rows before changing to the shaping row for the neck. It is the beauty of these patterns with a basic pattern you can make it fit most dolls. This pattern also comes with a pattern for a spoon and a baby food jar. I've made these in the past and hope to make them again in the future, but this wasn't the year to complete them for this donation. I'm glad to say I've finished what I consider to be the basics for the doll diaper bags before they needed to be donated.

Lastly, the changing pad is part of a paid pattern set for a diaper bag that can be purchased here. I have been using this set for years. The last couple of years I've been blessed that a friend from Crochetville made the bags so I haven't had to as bags are not really in my skill set. However, I love making the wipes and the other parts of the set to include. It makes for a nice play set for the baby dolls.

Aztec Wishes 2019 Donations Have Been Delivered!

I just want to send out a THANK YOU to all my friends at Crochetville for their amazing generosity that makes this such a great donation drive every year. It is always so much fun to be the person that gets to deliver the stuff but honestly all of you do so much to make it happen.

I do love donating to this program because the high school kids do learn valuable skills helping to organize the drive and yes the children get to play with the toys that are donated. It just expands the number of people who benefit from the hard work you do. Thanks to all of you.

One of those bags was filled with doll blankets donated by people from Crochetville and that doesn't include the 4 blankets I used for the dolls I donated. It is such a blessing and an honor to see all the beautiful work that is done.

Baby Doll Carrier

One of the projects I try to finish early in the year are the baby doll carriers as they are hard on my hands. They are a great project to add to the doll donation and I love doing them every year, but I can't say I'm sad when I don't have them on my to do list any longer. For those of you interested in making one, you can find the free pattern here.

Thanks to some wonderful fairy godmothers at Crochetville I won't need to make blankets for the baby dolls or the 18 inch dolls this year as I received some beautiful donated blankets for the doll project.

Doll Donations

I have been blessed with amazing fairy Godmothers on Crochetville who have been supporting my doll donation project. These should have been posted months ago, but I am thrilled I have them posted now. I love being able to go back and look at previous year's donations and it is harder to do when I don't post things.

My MO FGM has blessed me with beautiful blankets and doll clothes this year.

My MS Fairy Godmother sent me doll blankets that are just so pretty. I would never make blankets as good as the ones people send me. The kids are so blessed by all of you.

American Girl Hearts and Flowers

This was another project I finished but never got posted. It is the Valentine's dress for the 2nd 18 inch donation doll. This is another free pattern that can be found here. I would like to thank the designer Darski who has been a dear friend and amazing contributor to this donation for several years. Her patterns continue to inspire me every year. The shoes are not part of this pattern but they are available in another free pattern here.

I print a number of free patterns every year and I buy or am gifted a number of new patterns each year. One of the fun parts of this donation is to flip through the books and find something to try that I haven't either made before or to revisit a pattern I've not made in a while.

This pattern was such a cute fun pattern and it met goal of a second Valentine's pattern and the chance to visit a pattern I hadn't previously added to my donation project.

American Girl Valentine Outfit

While I've continued to crochet, I've gotten sadly behind on documenting my projects. It seemed like a good time to get caught up. I have become a fan of the free 18 inch doll patterns from the blog Adoring Doll Clothes. This pattern is her free Valentine pattern found here. This is an adorable outfit to add to my donation project. It also fits my goal of adding holiday patterns to the donation.

I needed an I hook to get the dress and shoes to fit. I note this so when I go to make this again it won't be such a surprise. I don't mention it for others as I've found my personal gauge is often specific to move.

Happy Easter

Hope all of you who celebrate Easter have a beautiful day with family and or friends.

I'm trying to get caught up on posting my projects but since this one was actually appropriate for the day I figured I'd post it on the holiday. I've a second outfit finished for the 2nd doll but I haven't had a chance to get the picture taken. I also have to download the Easter projects I made for the Easter box I sent out but I'll get there eventually.

This is a paid pattern I purchased years ago and it is available through Maggie's Crochet here.

I've never found the required yarn for the trim but oddly enough after trying various worsted weight acrylic yarns I found cotton dishcloth yarn has been my best bet with this outfit. I've had to change pastel options as I found colors end up getting discontinued in the cotton dishcloth lines I use. However, pastel variegated seems to be popular because while I can't always find the same color I can seem to find a combo that works.

Baby Doll Wipes

I keep finding little projects to work on during my time helping family during my Skype homeschooling sessions. These were a perfect project and now I have my first items ready for both 16 inch baby doll diaper bags. You can find the purchase the pattern for the complete baby doll diaper bag here.

Last year I was fortunate and a friend from Crochetville sewed the diaper bags and I just needed to fill them with accessories. That worked out wonderfully as making the bags isn't my favorite task. As I prepost this I'm working on the changing pad. It is normally a rather dull task as it is straight sc, but it is a perfect task during my skype homeschooling time because it requires little concentration. I just need to make sure I click my row counters to track how far I've come. Even that isn't essential as what is most important is that it is long enough for the doll to be placed on for the diaper change. I still need to make the baby bottles and the diapers. The bottles aren't good projects for my homeschool time but the diapers might not be a bad project to add to my list of items to complete during that time.

American Girl Ribbed Navy Sweater

This was the last of the three sweaters from the the out of print Springfield Collection Sweater Trio FCM494. I didn't have any navy yarn on hand when I started this project, but I wanted to be able to search for this sweater. I realized when I want to look for information on working on these sweaters in the past I lumped them all in as sweaters and it isn't as helpful as it could be to read up on my notes.

As with the other sweaters in this pattern I made this year I reduced the hook size from F to E. I also made the headband which I don't think I did the last time I made this sweater. I will be making them with the two sweaters that don't have hoods in the future. It's a nice finishing touch.

As with the previous two patterns I used the Maggie's Crochet Abby, Allie, and Annie PA972 - 01 for the pants. Depending on how these get distributed the pants will mix well with other outfits.

16 Inch Doll Sundress and Hat

As I've mentioned before there aren't tons of patterns that fit the soft bodied 16 inch baby dolls although I do keep finding new ones all the time. Since I donate two dolls a year I do often make multiple outfits from the same patterns. This was the second dress I made from this pattern here.

Notes to myself:

I played with the hat by reducing the increases and I like the look of it much better.

American Girl Hooded Sweater and Pants

As I mentioned earlier as the weather got colder I decided it was time to make some sweaters. This is the second sweater I made from the out of print Springfield Collection Sweater Trio FCM494. I love this hooded sweatshirt/sweater. It's one I try to get to every donation. It's just a fun pattern to make. As with the previous sweater set I went with my favorite pants pattern, Maggie's Crochet Abby, Allie, and Annie PA972 - 01 although this time I made them in black. I figure it will be nice to have different colored pants to mix and match with the kids that get the dolls.

Notes for myself as with the previous sweater I dropped hook size from a F to an E and the puffiness was reduced. I might suggest making the hood with F next time and the body with an E. The hood was a little smaller than I prefer. My pony bead supply is holding up as this is one of the few outfits I use them on so no need to resupply.

Kalia 16 Inch Baby Doll Dress

I've been working on projects while helping family out with homeschooling via Skype. I find having a simple project to work on during wait times allows me to relax and I'm amazed at how much work I can get done. What I've found is projects that have predictable repeats are the easiest to use and I got most of this project finished during those break periods.

Over the years I've adapted various types of gowns for the baby doll projects as there aren't lots of patterns designed specifically for this type of doll. I've been following a blogger for years who designs patterns and makes gowns for preemies and others. I've been adapting her gowns for use with my doll project. You can find the free pattern for this outfit here.

This pattern works up rather quickly. To fit the 16 Inch doll I used an I hook and worsted weight yarn for the pink. I had some lighter weight worsted weight green yarn that I've been trying to use up so that was perfect for this project. I used ties to finish off this project.

Mary Maxim 18 Inch Doll Party Dress

This was a fun kit with lots of details I might never have tried if the kit didn't come with everything needed. I do plan on trying the shoes again. I'd like to try them in black as well. For those interested in buying the kit you can find it here.

I picked up this kit last year when I needed a minimum total to get free shipping as I needed some 5" baby dolls.

This kit uses Mary Maxim Baby's Best DK/Sportweight Yarn I plan on picking up more of this yarn for my doll when I can get a shipping coupon. I like the combination of softness that doesn't split while crocheting. While the shipping is expensive, the cost of the yarn is reasonable. I do wish they had a wider choice of colors, although it is nice to see they have non-traditional baby colors like grey. While it would be nice, I get no benefits for discussing Mary Maxim's doll kits. I like to document what I make for my doll donations every year.

I often find I need to rethink crochet directions. One of my favorite things about this pattern is the pattern writer and I seemed to speak the same crochet language so I really didn't need to make any adjustments. I am hoping Mary Maxim brings out other kits by this designer. I'd be a customer for sure. I know I'll be picking up yarn to make this again for next year's donation.

American Girl Skirt and Top

I mentioned in a previous post that I try to pack away finished doll projects as soon as I drop off the donations to Aztec wishes. It helps to have them put away when distractions come up in the spring and summer months and I know I can look in the bags and see I am can no longer see the bottom of the bag. I thought I'd start with an easy project I finished last year.

I pulled out a dress pattern that I love because it works up quickly and I thought I'd have a dress to add to the pile quickly. As you may have noticed from the post title this is not a dress. The dress is made with Red Heart striped yarn fruity stripe colored yarn. I have no idea what the original designer used as it isn't mentioned but I found this was the closest cheapest way to match it. However, I forgot to write down what color I used and I had a couple of unlabeled striped yarns left over from projects and I thought the one that became this top just might be the one. It clearly was not, as I quickly discovered. However, I hate to waste the effort so I made it into a top following the basic pattern for the top of the dress.

Having finished the top I needed a bottom. I turned to a simple free skirt pattern found here. A note for my records I added rows to the top of the skirt before I did the increases to make the waste longer. I also added rows to the skirt to make it extend below the knee. I find it so useful to be able to refer back to what I did previously because from year to year I may remember making the outfit, I can't always remember the changes I made. I will sometimes record them on the pattern, but I am not always consistent about that either.

Now that I have the fruity striped yarn, I've begun making that dress, too. As I said I really want to cover the bottom of that bag while the winds of winter blow.