Holiday Itty Bitties

My Mom sent me holiday Itty Bitties for my birthday. I love the putting out the little costumed dolls for the holidays. I found myself two dolls short, so I'll need to buy two more dolls to fill out the Christmas costumes she made, but just putting these together when I opened the box put a smile on my face. I have the July 4th ones out now that she made me a while back and I look forward to more of these dolls to display through the seasons.

I love the cape on the one on the end. It has a very old world look to it. For those of you who are interested these are kit kits available from Mary Maxim, which is why I end up having Mom make them as I am no knitter. I was pleased to see they did issue a Crochet Christmas kit recently though so it isn't impossible for me to take on the task.

Itty Bitty Easter Dolls

As I mentioned in my St. Patrick's Day Itty Bitty Doll post I love decorating with the holiday Itty Bitty dolls. Sadly, I'm not much good at making the clothes. Thankfully, Mom is a knitter and she has been making me the holiday kits for my birthday and Christmas presents. It was fun this year to open up the Easter decoration boxes and find these waiting.

For those of you who are interested, you can purchase the Mary Maxim kit here. There is a new Easter set out with bunny and chick costumes I'm hoping to talk Mom into making here.

St. Patrick's Day Itty Bitty Dolls

I love the holiday 5" dolls but I've never had much luck making the crochet clothes and I'm not a knitter. A friend at Crochetville has sent me some Thanksgiving and Christmas ones and when Mary Maxim started making the knit kits, I talked my Mom into knitting the kits if I bought them and sent them to her. The dolls have added some simple holiday cheer and with help from friends and family I've greatly expanded the holidays I now have dolls to line my mantel during the year.

For those of you interested in purchasing the knitted kit you can find it at Mary Maxim here.

The Traveling Pilgrim

Finding Crochetville was an amazing blessing. The encouragment and support I have had has enabled me to grow as a crocheter. People have pointed me towards patterns, helped me with my doll projects, and sent me wonderful presents during swaps and wishlists.

I love the 5 Inch Lots to Love dolls. I rarely have enough time to work on the small thread projects they can wear. However, this fall I carved out enough time to make myself the Pilgrim girl outfit from Holiday Itty Bitties which now seems to be out of print. When Crochetlist posted the holiday wishlists I realized I'd love the matching boy or really any of the tiny holiday outfits for the dolls. It was a long shot, but most wishes are made on that premise.

I read a post on Crochetville a couple of days ago telling the story of the Traveling Pilgrim on his way to visit his girl friend he'd met online. I had my hopes up, but I didn't want to be over confident. Especially when I saw that the package contained not only the male Pilgrim, but costumes for an elf and a reindeer. While the Pilgrim male was going to be a challenge working with thread on the tight areas of the reindeer and the elf's boots were an even greater challenge for someone with my thread issues.

I don't think there are words to express just how thankful I am. Seeing their little faces as I work just makes me smile and yes, laugh. They just have a way of making me feel better. So thank you Christmas Elf for bringing some early Christmas cheer.

Itty Bitty Pilgrim Girl

I have been fascinated with the 5" Lots to Love dolls for a while. However, until I learned to work with thread, there was not much hope that I could do much with them. Once I found thread hooks I could use, I knew which projects I wanted to tackle first, The Holiday Itty Bitties by Sheila Leslie. While I have lots of commitments for gifts and charity, I couldn't resist stopping to make a set for my own Thanksgiving decorations. I was sorry to see this was book is out of print. I am sure those who are interested can still find it in the second hand market.

I got the majority of the outfit finished a while back and then just had the snap and the threads to weave in. I was in a finishing mode last weekend and got this one done.

What I found interesting as I moved the dress from my model doll to the display doll is that these dolls aren't just different in features, the body types seem to be just a little different, too. The bloomers and the dress fit just a little differently on the finished doll than they did on the model doll. While no two dolls are ever exactly the same, these two dolls had real differences in shape that I had not expected.

I am looking forward to tackling the Pilgrim boy soon. I hope to have both ready for my Thanksgiving decorations.

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

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