Tisket Tasket Doll Blanket

As I was working on the Down on the Farm Baby Blanket I found I needed a couple of projects that were simple and easy to travel with which definitely wasn't the Farm blanket. After making the blanket for the Big Sister project I decided it would be fun to make a few. This one is the Tisket Tasket pattern from Annabelle's Doll Blanket Pattern set that can be purchased here.

American Girl Easter

I'm slowly working my way through the holiday donation outfits for the 18 inch dolls. I haven't even started on the baby dolls yet.

This Easter outfit is Maggie's Crochet Ready For Spring pattern and it can be purchased here. When it was originally published on Annie's Attic I had the hardest time getting it. It was sold out and back ordered before I even had a chance to get my order in for it. At that point I wasn't much for digital copies. However, I did eventually get my copy.

I tried making this a couple of times and until I finished Cinderella's outfit this year I never realized why I was unable to finish this outfit. My mistake was in confusing the many types of shells. This pattern also uses multiple shells. In fact I still had to pull it out once when I realized I'd mixed up the 5 stitch shell with the 3 stitch shell making for a much smaller skirt.

There is no brand color cited for the trim. The yarn for the dress, trim, and headband was TLC and I don't even know if it is still available for purchase. I couldn't find it the last time I tried to make the outfit. I originally tried acrylic variegated in a shade close to the picture, but I didn't like the way it looked. I had some pastel kitchen cotton and I used that and thought the look was better. I also used the cotton to make the headband and I liked the way it turned out.

For the basket I used two strains of my friend's acrylic that I've been trying to finish off. It's a little larger than I needed but it worked.

American Girl Valentine's Outfit

I discovered Tara Cousin's Heart Tee and Skirt Outfit last year and decided it would be my Valentine's holiday outfit. You can purchase the outfit pattern here.

I've made peace this year with the idea that I have to play with gauge. I had to use an I hook to make the outfit fit and use up my friend's yarn on this outfit. With anything smaller the sweater was just too tight. I pulled out my first attempt prior to starting the blankets after using the suggested hook and decided to try the I hook after finishing up the doll blankets.

After finishing this project I've decided to tackle an Easter dress I've never completed. I've already pulled it out once when I realized I'd confused two of the shells. One shell has three stitches the other five. It makes a much smaller skirt when you only use three stitches. However, I'm back on track again and working to see how if I can make it work this year.

American Girl Cinderella

My DH will often ask me for a list of digital or book crochet patterns I want for Christmas and then he picks from the list and I get some wonderful items for Christmas, birthdays, etc. I never know which ones he'll pick, but this year one of the ones that made it on to the list was Sweet Silver Creations' Cinderella found here.

This is a great pattern and I was looking to add more princess outfits to my donation pattern options. The pattern works up quickly, the only challenge I had was making sure I counted the stitches in my shells correctly. A shell with too few stitches really screws up the next row and I had to pull out and redo a few times when I got distracted.

Finishing this despite the challenges has made me reconsider an Easter dress I abandoned a few years ago. I think my challenge with the Easter dress, as with this dress was misplaced shell stitches. If I am more careful counting each row I might be able to complete that one this year as well.

It is hard to tell with this picture, but the dress comes with a crocheted necklaces and headband. I think I may use those patterns for some other outfits as well.

American Girl Mrs. Claus

It seems to me Mrs. Claus gets included every other year in the donation. I'm not sure what happens, but it seems if I don't get her finished right before Christmas of the year prior to donation, she doesn't make the cut for the year. I just looked back at my previous blog entries and sure enough the last Mrs. Claus outfit was completed in December of 2013 for the 2014 donation. Last Christmas was crazy and I never got the dress done, thus no Mrs. Claus outfit for the 2015 donation. Well 2016's donation is secure. I sewed the buttons on Saturday night.

The dress is adapted from Darski's Pilgrim dress found here. The hat is a free American Girl Santa hat found here. While updating some old links, I found the designers new website and updated the link to her new website.

I'm working on a sweater using up the yarn left to me by a friend. I'll make a skirt to go with that and another outfit will be finished. I still need to get Yoda's jacket completed before Christmas Eve. It has been a bit stubborn. The force is clearly not with his clothing.

In other good news I got an email from AC Moore with an advertisement for a sale on the Springfield dolls for $9.99 good until Christmas. DH went out Saturday getting me the two dolls I need for next year's donation. This is a huge step forward for getting ready for 2016's donation. Now I just need to get the clothes made.

Aztec Wishes Donation Headed Out

DH is delivering this year's doll donation to the local tech high school's Aztec Wishes Holiday gift program and thanks to friends at Crochetville it is the biggest donation I've ever made.

This year we have more baby dolls than ever. Thanks to Darski and Tampa Doll at Crochetville we will be sending a beautiful rag doll, an 8" doll and an additional 15" doll in addition to the yearly 12" and 15" baby dolls I usually send. I also warned the director she was going to need more 18" dolls than the two I normally donate to accommodate the beautiful boxes of clothes sent by Darksi and Tampa Doll. I can't wait to hear the director's reaction to all the donations and the kids realization that their program has reached beyond the United States into Canada.

I also need to thank Crochetville friends who have donated tights, shoes, and patterns to the cause. While some patterns are repeated yearly, for my sanity, I need to try new stuff each year to keep this donation project interesting and engaging. Thanks to all of you there are some little girls who will wake up this Christmas not just to dolls, but to dolls with beautiful clothes and accessories. Thank you all.

American Girl Witch

I tried to include holiday outfits with my doll donations and after years of adapting two patterns to make a Halloween witch costume I was pleased to discover Red Heart had produced a free 18" doll pattern for a witch costume found here.

I had to adjust the hook, but I was able to match gauge and I liked the way the pattern worked up. A huge thank you to Red Heart and Michelle Wilcox. You have made my annual holiday outfit creation much easier. I am always grateful to the free pattern designers who stretch my donation budget just that much farther.

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 Dressed in Blue

I started out to make Donna Collinsworth's 3 Blue's Pattern that can be purchased here. However, a funny thing happened on my way to making the outfit and I decided instead of frogging it, I'd repurpose the outfit and see if I could make something of what I had. I intended to go back and remake it as written, but this was the last outfit I made before Spring hit and I got away from crocheting for a bit. I still hope to revisit the original, but I still think this makes a nice outfit for my donation.

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 Sock Yarn Dress and Shawl

Several years ago while at a LYS store the owner was very confused when I told her I was looking for fingering yarn. She became some what less friendly when I told her I was making doll's clothes. Finally, she told me she knew nothing about fingering yarn, but was convinced sock yarn was what I needed.

Well sock yarn was not what I needed and online I eventually discovered Knit Picks for an affordable alternative for my lighter weight yarn needs. However, that sock yarn has been taking up space for years. As someone who is supposed to be working on bringing down my yarn stash it seemed like a message when I found a free pattern for a 18 inch doll shawl that called for sock yarn.

You can find the Granny Shawl free pattern here. The rest of the outfit was an experiment. I wanted to finish off the yarn, so I decided on a skirt, but there was still more yarn. I tried a tube top, but they didn't match up right together as separates. However, sewed together they made a cute dress. I still had more sock yarn. Then I decided on a hat and the yarn was depleted.

Baby Doll Bib with Pocket

As I mentioned before I'm getting quite a bit of use out of the out of print copy I have of Dressing Up Dolly, Leisure Arts 2725. This works well in worsted weight for the 15" doll and I suspect if I change to sports yarn I can also make one for the 12" doll, too. I like the simple stuff that expands the wardrobes for the donation project. While it is fun to try some challenging projects now and again, the easy ones fill the bags and that is one of the goals I have to keep in mind as I work through the year. Sometimes the simple items are just as much fun to play with as the ones I spend days working my way through to complete.

18 Inch Doll Afghan

As I mentioned in a previous post, one of my charity goals for the year was to get afghans done for both of the 18 inch doll donations. This is the second afghan.

This pattern comes from Crochet 2015 Day-to-Day Calendar and it works up very quickly. I'm considering using it for the baby doll's as I think it would work up easily with lighter yarn and a smaller hook.

The next project I didn't finish last year that I'd like to get done for this year is the diaper bags for the baby dolls. I have the one for the 15 inch doll started. Hopefully I'll be able to post it soon.

American Girl Dress, Poncho and Hat

My DH bought me this pattern as one of my Valentine's day gifts. It is called Gray & Burgundy, Hat, Poncho & Shoes and you can find it here.

The picture doesn't do it justice. This was one of the best patterns I've worked on in a while. My guage matched perfectly. The only challenge I had was I used a lighter Lion Brand yarn for the red dress portion so I needed to add a little to the closing in the back. For this reason I chose to use buttons instead of snaps. I'm also running low on snaps and have a healthy supply of red buttons, so it also worked out well as a trade off. It's not clear in this shot, but the bows are great accessories for this outfit. This will be on my list of outfits to repeat.

The shoes and socks pattern is one of the best fitting I've made to date. I had to make no adjustments to get it to fit the doll. I love the way the socks look with the black shoes.

I'm currently working on ami's and some dishcloths for swaps. Then I have to get busy on my Easter and birthday projects. I hope to get back on track with my doll projects after that. I found the 12" doll I was looking for, so I may even have a shot at including that in this year's donation.

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

Baby Doll Dress

Today's baby doll dress comes from the same out of print leaflet I wrote about last week the American School of Needlework's Twin Baby Doll Clothes to Crochet, 1155.

The dress and panties worked up pretty quickly using baby weight sport yarn. I finished this outfit while watching the Winter Games. The pattern didn't call for finishing the back I did for two reasons. First, it looked bad without doing it, second it gave a little extra room for this doll which needs it with her padding. The panties were a little snug on the legs. I think I'd increase the hook size when I make these again.

This booklet is turning out to be one of my best used pick ups in a while. So far the patterns work up quickly and they are fitting the larger doll, which was a concern.

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

Moses Basket for 5 Inch Doll

I promised myself I was going to finish off kits and yarn that I bought last year. So right after Christmas I dug out the Little Lullaby kit I was able to pick up on sale at Mary Maxim. I was crazy to think I would get it done for the donation last year, but getting it on sale was not a bad choice. For those of you who don't like buying the kits, the pattern is also available for purchase at Maggie's Crochet here.

I still need to make the outfit for the doll and I have some additional outfits from another pattern I am hoping to complete before the project deadline. However, I feel pretty good about finishing the cradle. At some point I really want to make a cradle purse. I have the Annie's Attic Itsy Bitsy Babies and their Bassinet Purses pattern, found here that provides you with the cradle pattern and clothes to outfit the 5" doll. I thought completing this would be a good starting point to prove to myself I would see the project to the end point.

For those of you interested in free cradle purse patterns I have links on my Doll blanket page here for free patterns to crochet, knit, or sew the cradle purses.

I feel good about my progress for my donation project. Getting this done was a huge push forward. The clothes will be easier to get finished in between other projects. The cradle was a project I needed to push through to complete.

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.

American Girl Pioneer Nightgown

I received the Pioneer Nightgown in the last round of Crochetville's wishlists. I ordered the Babybee Hushabye Camo from Hobby Lobby and then the holidays hit. I did get back to the project after the holidays and now have another outfit ready my doll donation.

I love this yarn and would like to order some in other colors to try with other projects. It was very soft and I'll be looking for other patterns where it would be useful. I'm also looking forward to seeing what other 18 inch doll patterns this designer creates.

Just as a pattern note, I needed slightly more yarn than the pattern called for, but I always order extra when I now I can't get the yarn locally so that wasn't an issue for me. I also adapted the pattern so I could use a button instead of velcro. I have found velcro that you can sew, but I still don't enjoy using it.

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.

Christmas Brought Crochet

I had a wonderfully long Christmas break with DH. I am fortunate to have a husband who supports my crochet habit. He always asks for a list of things I might be interested in having for my hobby and I can almost always expect to find some of them under the Christmas tree. The beauty is I never know just what he will pick.

This year I am starting to make some clothing items. I had looked at this book and put it on my list. Figure Flattering Plus-Size Fashions has some pretty looking items that don't look like they'll be too hard to make.

I'm still working on my doll projects and have another finished project to post this week. I got two cape projects. The first was a Capelet found here. The second was for a hooded cape that reminded me more of a Little Red Riding hood look found here. I've made my own patterns for capes in the past, but these had looks I haven't tried before and I wanted to make something different for my donation project this year.

From Annie's Attic I got Summer Styles for 18 Inch Dolls. I also got two Shady Lane patterns I've wanted School Girl Fashions and the Waterfall Wardrobe.

For my 5 Inch dolls that I love dressing up, I received Fall Costumes for 5 Inch Dolls.

I joined two swaps at Crochetville this month. I was not that involved last year with swaps, but this year they started with a dishcloth and magic ball swap that sounded interesting. My dishcloth is finished and ready to go. The yarn is ordered for the Magic Ball swap. I just need one more shopping trip to get the items that go in the ball. I'm looking forward to the Ami swap in the Feb-March swap. I just can't decide if I'll do the pet swap or the favorite color swap.

Aztec Wishes Dolls Delivered

It seems like forever since I've posted, but I have several projects to get up once I download the pictures. My DH delivered the two baby dolls and the two 18" dolls to the Aztec Wishes toy drive today.

Thanks to my Mom's knitted items we had quite a full bag of 18" donations. I tried my hand at making a threaded outfit this year. That was the last project finished and I'll be posting that project soon. I'm almost finished with my first outfit for 2014, the Pilgrim outfit. She just needs the arms for her dress. Next I hope to make the Mrs Claus dress. I didn't get to do either of these last year. I feel like working in the holiday theme right now, so I'm going with it. I have a holiday dress pattern I haven't made in a while, so perhaps that will be on the list, too.

One of the baby dolls had a pretty full bag. The 15" one suffered when I hit doll burn out in the summer. I have one dress started that I hope to finish for next year's donation.

I am so grateful to my friends at Crochetville who always answer my wishlists for new doll patterns and accessories for the dolls

Baby Brianna

This was a wonderful and busy summer. I finished some crochet projects, but spent lots of time with family, too. What I didn't do, was blog.

As fall approaches, my annual Christmas donation deadline looms. I looked in the bags I have my finished projects stored in and was relieved to discover I had forgotten how much I finished last winter and spring. I still have a long way to go if I want to get everything I planned ready for that early December deadline.

One of the things I did this year when Mary Maxim had their 40% off coupons was stock up on some of their doll projects. At full price, I have trouble justifying the cost of the kit and shipping. However, when I can get a discount, there many levels of savings. I have trouble getting the sports weight and lighter yarns locally, so even if I'd bought the pattern digitally and avoided paying shipping, I'd still likely have had to had the correct weight of yarn shipped in order to finish the project.

I posted about one of the 18" doll kits I finished a while back. This is the first of the 15" baby doll kits I have been working on. I played a little with the gauge on this, but I suggest you make a swatch before starting. The second kit I just started seems to match the gauge without any adjustments, but it is also a different brand of yarn. I often find myself adjusting hooks depending on the pattern, so I don't suggest my experience is typical.

I did opt out of making the flowers do to time constraints. I also chose to make this a summer dress as I am making several other outfits with longer sleeves. One other note, which those that read things closely will catch, the blanket makes a 12" blanket, which is not large enough to cover the doll. I made one and when I realized the size issue, used it for my other smaller donation baby doll. I extended the pattern to make it large enough to cover the doll. As I said those who read closely will catch this, but I missed it.

You can find the kit at Mary Maxim here. If you'd prefer to buy just the pattern you can find that at Maggie's Crochet here.

I was gifted a doll diaper bag kit from a wishlist on Crochetville, so I will hopefully get pictures of those projects posted soon. I made one for the 15" baby doll and one for the 12" Baby Jenna doll.

If you arrived here looking for free patterns you may be interested in the following blog pages:

Dinosaurs and Dragons

Knit and Crochet Food Patterns Great for Play Food

Hello Kitty

Crochet and Knit Puppets

Crochet Amigurumi Animals and Stuffed Animal Free Patterns

Knit Amigurumi and Stuffed Toys

Crochet and Knit Amigurumi and Other Dolls

Knit and Crochet Toys

Teddy Bear Patterns and Clothes

Halloween Page

Thanksgiving

Christmas

Valentines

Easter

Graduation

Patriotic

Pictures may not be used without permission.

Aztec Wishes Donation

My husband is going to drop off my donation tomorrow so I was scrambling to pull all the pieces together today. I am very grateful for all the people who helped make this come together. I am very thankful for my fairy godmothers on Crochetville who sent shoes for the dolls and my Mom who sent knitted items. These are going to be some of the best dressed dolls this Christmas.

I am also grateful for the Crochetville Olympics, which inspired me to add a box of crocheted food to the donation. I spoke to the woman who remembered the dolls from last year and was very excited to hear about the food.

Lastly, I am also thankful for the 50% off coupons at AC Moore which made adding a second doll to the donation much more affordable. Using coupons I was able to purchase two dolls for the price of one this year.

I love donating to this program because our local technical high school’s business department runs it. Through the program, the students learn about running a charity and the children and families benefit from the donations. It is a multi-layered program.

Springfield Doll Skirt, Sweater, and Hat for Donation Doll

I posted a while back that I had purchased Eddie Eckman's Crocheted Wardrobe for 18" Dolls from American School of Needlework 1278. It inspired me to want to begin my doll donation project. I started on a pair of mittens and a hat which will be posted with another project. Then I started a skirt. While I followed the guage I found the hat and the skirt where slightly smaller than expected. The hat had a slightly different look, but I ended up adjusting the skirt pattern to make it fit. I was using wool ease, so I may try a heavier worsted weight the next time to see if it works a bit loser. I liked the look of the skirt even with adjusting the waist to make it fit.

My Aunt gave me a bunch of books that Fibre Craft published for the Springfield doll. I decided to dig them out to work on this doll project. The sweater for this outfit comes from the Sweater Trio, booklet FCM494. This was a fun pattern to work on and I look forward to trying out the hooded sweater as well.

The hat for this outfit comes from another Fibre Craft Springfield leaflet Crochet Matching Hats and Purses for your favorite girl and her favorite 18" doll, FCM492. The hat worked up quickly and I think it is a cute addition to the outfit.


I am almost done with a pair of pants and I will have another outfit to post.

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


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.