Skipper Poncho and Pants

I don't have lots of patterns specifically designed to fit Skipper. Those that I have aren't always designed to fit the modern Skipper so when possible if I find a Barbie pattern that seems like it would adapt well to Skipper I try to make it work.

The poncho for this pattern is made using Michelle Ratman's design that can be purchased here. The pants were made using an out of print House of White Birches leaflet Crochet Wardrobe for 11 1/2 inch Fashion Dolls.

Notes:

I used Barbie's pants pattern which fits Skipper but I still needed to add rows to the legs to get it to fit. The pants are made with Knit Picks Palette Fingering Yarn and a C hook. I used 1/8 inch elastic measured cut and sewn together prior to crocheting around it for the waist band.

When I made Barbie's poncho I commented that I didn't have any sport weight cotton. I did find some and used it for Skipper's Ski outfit. However it was too light for the poncho. During my search I did unearth a skein of Knit Picks Shine Worsted that I also want to finish off so this became the yarn for Skipper's poncho.

This Skipper with her hair seems to have a larger head than than Barbie or it could be the cotton yarn is stiffer. Anyways I started with a G hook until I went to the mesh where I went back to the e hook I had used for Barbie's poncho.

Skipper Ski Outfit

I've been revisiting my pattern binders and pulled out the House of White Birches leaflet Crochet Wardrobe for 11 1/2 inch Fashion dolls to try Ken's pants for Barbie to go with her poncho. I discovered I needed Ken's pants while reading the 2021 post about Skipper's Ski Outfit and it reminded me this could be a quick set of outfits for the older members of Barbie's family. Since I'd pulled up the notes I had for Skipper I decided to start with her outfit.

Notes:

I used a C hook for this outfit.

The purple is a no longer available Babe cotton yarn that I'm trying to finish off. I'm thinking of using this on Barbie's poncho pattern for a smaller version for Skipper as well. The yellow is Knit Picks Pallette yarn.

I added an additional row to the pant legs. These seem to be short on both the Barbie and Ken patterns for the modern dolls.

I added one 2 dc in one dc in next row for the hat after reading my previous project notes and I found this made the hat fit better with the doll's hair.

Due to the change in yarn I needed to finish the back and neck which added more of a mock turtleneck look than the sweater I'd made previously. I liked the look.

Barbie Poncho and Pants

I have written about several of the Michelle Ratman patterns I purchased for both the Barbie and 18 inch doll donation. I'm slowly working my way through them adding new items to the doll bags.

This outfit combines Michelle's poncho pattern that can be purchased here with a pants pattern found in an out of print White Birches leaflet Crochet Wardrobe for 11 1/2 inch Fashion Dolls.

Notes:

While the pattern calls for cotton 4 weight yarn for the poncho I went with acrylic because I either have "kitchen" cotton or sport weight for my ami's on hand. I don't have a brand or color because this was a great project to work on using up a left over ball of yarn from a previous project.

The worsted acrylic required a change to an e hook to fit this Barbie model.

The last time I made the pants from the House of White Birches pattern for Barbie in 2021 her sister Skipper ended up with them and I made a note to try Ken's pants to see if the fit would be better. Barbie sizes change over time and this Barbie fits the Ken size better than the pattern written for Barbie. I'm hoping to make the complete winter sets for Ken, Barbie, and Skipper in the near future.

I used a C hook for the pants crocheting over an elastic band. The pants are made with Knit Picks Palette fingering yarn.

Ken Slacks and Shirt

I mentioned when I wrote about Ken's Ski outfit back in May that I was waiting for an order of size 20 yarn from Creative Yarn source to complete another pattern from Crochet Wardrobe for 11 1/2" Fashion Dolls(Including a complete Wedding Ensemble and Trousseau.) The thread arrived and I finally got around to trying it out. I'm working with 2 variables in using this pattern set, first the patterns were written in 1982 and second this is a considerably smaller Ken than other models. I've read this comment from others so I know I'm not alone out there as I'm fitting clothes to him. To make this outfit fit I used a Tulip Etimo Steel Crochet Hook-.75mm with the size 20 thread.

I had bought some micro buttons but they proved to be too small and slipped out of the double crochet holes. I did however have a container of mixed buttons that had small white buttons that worked for this shirt. Sometimes you get lucky with stuff you have in your stash.

While the slacks fit with no adjustments other than the ones mentioned above I did have to remove some rows from the shirt as it was too long for this doll. The pattern calls for 11 shirt rows I only did 7 before splitting to front and back sections. I added ss rows to the arms and the legs of the pants to keep them from fraying.

I have an 18 inch doll skirt pattern that proved to be too large in size 10 cotton so I'm eager to see if I can make it work with the size 20 cotton and a smaller hook. Then I'm looking to order more colors of size 20 yarn to work on the patterns that have been too large for Barbie and friends using the size 10 thread. At the moment I'm working on a yarn project for the My Life doll. It's good to rotate between the smaller and larger hooks as the smaller hooks can be harder on my hands. I also have an ocean ami I'm trying to complete.