Gracie's Day at the Beach

After finishing my first baby doll set I got started on my first Mary Maxim doll kit, the 18 inch Gracie's Day at the Beach kit. I loved the Tutti Frutti Sugar Baby Stripes yarn that came with the kit for the dress. The only drawback is that because of the variegated nature of the yarn and not being sure of how much extra I had, I started at the end of the yarn I had and didn't end up with the pretty light orange color the model had because I was afraid of running out of yarn. If I make this again, I would buy enough extra to have the option of starting out with the orange at the top. It is a prettier look.

I love the feel and the colors of this yarn. I would like to find another project that would work with it and order it again.

This set does come with sandals, which I chose not to take out and use since I plan to donate the doll that came with the set and the outfit. I want the child to have the chance to be the first to use them.

One surprise about this set that is not listed on the description is that it also comes with a bathing suit pattern made in the contrasting color yarn used to finish the dress and make the beach bag. That was a pleasant surprise and I will be posting pictures of that outfit soon.

I had not purchased any of Mary Maxim's doll kits in the past. I purchased a few after Christmas and will be trying them out and blogging about them as I work through them. This first one was a success. Based on the cost of the doll, the two patterns, the yarn, the shoes, and the buttons, I feel I got my money's worth out of the deal. While I can get the dolls with coupons, I have to buy the lighter weight yarns online and getting this coloring would mean buying through Mary Maxim. Factoring in the cost for the two patterns, I feel even better about my purchase.

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.

American Girl Doll Bathing Suit

Santa in the form of my DH bought me this pattern for Christmas. You can find the pattern on Ravelry here. I had received the designer's Superhero Costume through a Crochetville wish list and while looking at her store this pattern made my top list of Christmas wishes for my DH. I am working on completing the Superhero, now.

There are several American Girl doll bathing suit patterns on the market. What drew me to this one were the accessories that went with the pattern. I love the ducky floatie, pail, beach ball, and beach towel that come with the pattern. It makes a complete play set for the donation doll I am making. I also liked the fact it used worsted weight yarn. As someone who does not crochet with thread it is challenging that more patterns are requiring thread.

I decided to make this a stash busting project. The pattern uses Lily Sugar 'n Cream and while I love the blue used in the pattern I did not have any on hand. However, I did have a huge ball of red cotton. I decided to go with the red and stick with my stash busting goal. Some of the patterns I plan on making for this donation project require weights of yarn I do not have, which will require yarn purchases. However, where I can I hope to use up yarn I have on hand.

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.

Springfield Doll Hooded Sweatshirt and Shorts

Along with dresses and other pretty outfits, I wanted to make sure the donation doll had some comfortable casual clothes. I spent plenty of summers with the combination of shorts and a hooded sweatshirt to deal with that unpredictable New England weather. We always had an extra sweatshirt because while the summer weather could be hot, many of our destinations had a cooler side that required a little extra warmth. That inspired my thinking behind this pairing of patterns.

The hooded sweatshirt pattern comes from Sweater Trio, booklet FCM494. The shorts are shortened versions of the pants found in Maggie’s Crochet Abby, Allie, and Annie Pattern.

I am working on a different pattern for a nightgown that comes with a robe. I hope to finish the first one I started, as it looks like I will have two dolls when I am finished with this project.

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.

Springfield Doll Dress, Hat, Shoes, and Purse

I am continuing to work on my donation doll project and more convinced that I will need a second doll. I am having fun mixing and matching patterns in my efforts to avoid pattern that require thread.

The dress and shoes for this project come from a pattern I purchased from Maggie's Crochet, Ready for Spring available for purchase here. The hat and the purse for this outfit came from Shady Lane's Crochet Butterfly availabe for purchase here.

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.

Springfield Doll Poncho, Skirt, and Hat

This is another outfit for my donation doll made from Maggie Crochet's Abby, Ally and Annie pattern available for purchase here. The skirt pattern is actually the pants pattern adapted into a skirt for a slightly different look. I am trying to make as many pieces that can be mixed and matched later. An additional skirt seemed like a good alternative.

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.

Springfield Doll Pink Dress, Hat, and Purse

This is the next outfit ready for my donation project. The dress pattern is from Maggie Crochet's Abby, Ally and Annie pattern available for purchase here. I wanted a hat for this outfit, so I decided to use the hat and the purse from Maggie's Little Miss Rosalie Pattern available for purchase here. At some point, I would like to make the dress from that pattern. After finishing another outfit based on the Abby, Ally, and Annie pattern that I will post later, I am working on Maggie's Ready for Spring Outfit available for purchase here.

Sadly, I have no promotion agreement with Maggie's Crochet. It would be lovely to get free patterns. However, I do get questions when I post patterns free or paid where others can find them. I think it is important to promote designers we like so they make more patterns we will enjoy. While I use many free 18" doll patterns this year, I have been going back to patterns I purchased and never got to make for inspiration for this project. I would love to see more 18" and Barbie crochet patterns printed in various weight sizes. Sadly, thread seems to be taking over and I am useless with it.

I am trying for a variety of outfits for this project. I want some basic play outfits, some historical, some dressy, and some holiday themed outfits. This dress is casual, but cute. It was surprisingly simple to create. This was only outfit left in the pattern I had not made.

I will say for the money, of all the patterns I have purchased the Abby, Allie, and Annie pattern is the one I have received the most value from buying. The outfits have worked up quickly and they provide a chance to modify and make the outfits look different. I have an outfit finished that I made modifying one of the patterns that I will post later in the week.

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.

American Girl Doll Colonial Outfit Crochet

The dress for this outfit is based on a free Pilgrim pattern created by Darski that can be found on Crochetville here. I made the skirt fuller by continuing her increase pattern until the skirt was shaped in the style I wanted for this gown. The cap was developed using the free Betsy Ross Barbie crochet pattern. I continued increasing the DC's until I had the size I wanted for the 18" doll. The apron was made following the Pilgrim pattern and trimming it with the Betsy Ross Barbie apron trim.

I used Red Heart and Caron One Pound worsted weight yarn. I have been using Favorite Findings buttons as they come in multiple colors and sizes in their packages and the prices are affordable. I buy various colors and store them in recycled storage packaging, as the little packets they come in are not designed for long-term use.

I wanted to have time to make a shawl for this doll, but I ran out of time. Perhaps next year another doll will have a holiday outfit that includes a shawl with the outfit.

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:

Patriotic

Halloween Page

Thanksgiving

Christmas

Valentines

Easter

Graduation

Pictures may not be used without written permission.