January definitely was the month for holiday baby doll clothing. I actually finished this outfit before the Leprechaun but seasonally it seemed better for it to go after the Leprechaun.
There was a time when the local craft stores used to sell craft bears that were a little over a foot long and people would buy them and dress them. I've run across various patterns in old crochet magazines I collect and I've put aside ones that I thought might at some point prove useful.
For the most part due to the size differences and shape of the bears most would have been better suited to the days when I dressed the 12" baby dolls. However, every so often you find something you can't resist trying to adapt.
I came across a pattern in my binder from the Mar/April 1993 issue of Hooked on Crochet titled Playing Dress Up. The pattern was designed for a 13" Teddy Bear like the ones I'd seen in craft stores years ago. Looking at it I could see the possibilities for adapting this to the larger 16" doll as there were no clothes to be fitted. The challenge would be to get the hat and shoes to fit. The bib was easy enough to make.
The original pattern called for an H hook I had to use a K to get the hat large enough to fit. I used an I for the pink trim or it was way to bulky. The ears were also done with an I hook or the chenille stems would have poked right through.
The feet proved to be more tricky. Bear feet are large so I needed to go down to a D hook to get them to fit and then play with the rows to get the fit I wanted. I used sport weight yarn for the paw pads or the pads wouldn't have fitted on to the smaller feet.
While I loved the overall look of the outfit I wasn't a fan of the carrot when I started crocheting it. I dug into my button collection for a carrot for the bib.
