Lil Cutesies Nightgown

Darski created two free pattern sets for the Lots to Love 10 Inch Baby Doll. The first she called BBL which is where this outfit came from and the second is Sweetly. Both pattern sets have nightgown patterns but I find one fits the Lots to Love doll better than the other. I guessed wrong and the Lil Cutesies doll ended up with a nightgown this year.

For future reference this is the nightgown from the BBL pattern made with a G hook. Since I will likely adapt it again for the Lil Cutesie doll I'd likely use an F hook the next time. I'd gone up to a G trying to get it to fit the Lots to Love 10 inch Baby doll in the back but it just wasn't working for me. I decided to see if I could save the time and resources invested by adapting it to the smaller doll. I'd never used it for the smaller doll and it with some adjustments the pattern fits. I just think the smaller hook would make it a bit less bulky.

Notes:

I believe this is made with Bernat Baby Big Ball Baby Baby. I've been collecting the sport yarn as I can find it and the colors seem to be disappearing. It's a great weight for the doll clothes. I don't always keep the labels once opened so I try to make a good guess at the colors. I prefer the variegated/striped yarns for some of the doll projects. It's not always easy to find a great selection so I'm hoping this line isn't being discontinued. I picked up a lone Lavendar at Walmart even though I didn't really need it as I noticed it was the last one they had and I haven't found it online.

As I mentioned above I used a G hook but I'd likely go with an f for a future Lil Cutesies nightgown. I'm working on how to adapt this for the smaller Lots to Love 8 inch doll.

To finish the outfit I did a row of sc around including the collar prior to adding the ties using the directions. I chained 30 rather than 20 for the ties. Mine tend to be short and I find them harder to tie. After I finished a complete sc around in pink I finished the pink and followed the directions for the ties changing from 20 to 30 chains. I decided to add a chain 3 decorative collar. I did a sc in first sc ch 3 sk 1 than sc in the next. This was done in the front loops of the previous row of sc. When I reached the end I finished with chaining 30 for the second tie.

The sleeves are also finished with a row of constrasting color sc and then an additional row of sc chain 3 skip 1 sc around.

I wanted a finish for the bottom I chose a sc skip 1 sc 5 dc shell in next stitch around.

Lil Cutesies Dress

I love the way color can change the look of a pattern. I made this outfit for the 2021 Lil Cutesies Doll doll donation mirroring the colors in the pattern you can purchase here. Changing the yarn to green gave the dress a different look.

I used a B hook for this pattern.

Notes:

I did not use the tie suggested in the back. Instead I joined the back together. The back is wide enough that you can easily slide the doll in and out of the dress without needing to add a tie. It is just makes it easier for a child to dress the doll.

The biggest change I made was preparing for the skirt. One technique I've picked up this year for adding both skirts and trims which I've really liked is crocheting in the back loops of the row you later will add a skirt or trim. This technique was not used for this pattern and I didn't like the way my skirt looked using the method suggested. This resulted in my using my original attempt for a differnt proect and restarting and rethinking how to create this outfit which would allow for a row with backloops to add the skirt.

I left off a row of the knickers which I then replaced when I added the bodice. This let me use the actual first row of the bodice to crochet the row in back loops to allow me to use the front loops later for my my skirt row. Others may not find this necessary but I found it was much easier to get an even starter row for the skirt all around.

I'm also adding a note to remind myself that the first skirt row and the remiaing skirt rows are different. This doesn't give away the design notes but I didn't read the directions carefully and wondered why my skirt did not look like the one in the picture. Once I followed the directions I got the fuller look I wanted.

Also, I'm still working out the bulkiness of the knickers. I haven't quite mastered this challenge yet. I like that they attach to the skirt, but I'm still struggling with the problem that both times I've made this the knickers are bulky. I'm thinking leaving out some crotch stiches might be a solution.

As far as color choices go for making this in the future I rather like this color combo. A reminder to myself the top color is also the knickers color. Just something for me to remember when consider how much yarn I have available for a project. Sometimes I think I can finish a project with a small ball but in this case it is not just a small trim but a larger part of the project.

Lil Cutesies Christmas Dress

I picked up a couple play sets for the Little Cutesie dolls for Christmas gifts this year. I wanted to add clothing to the gift and since it was Christmas started with Darski's Babies First Christmas free pattern set. The pattern set includes a dress, footed pj's, and a stocking cocoon.

Normally I direct you to Crochetville for Darsk's free patterns but she also has her own io group with a directory for her free patterns. I was unable to locate this pattern on Crochetville so you will need to go to her io group, sign up and check the files for 8.5 inch dolls to find the pattern. You can find her io group here.

Darski's pattern includes booties, however I changed the pattern to include shoes. These are the shoes from Shady's Lanes's Gingham Totes Pattern set. The set can be purchased in digital form here or print here.

The dress is made with Red Heart Super Saver Yarn, Paddy Green, Hot Red,and White. The shoes while they seem to look black in this picture are acutally green. The Shady Lane pattern require lighter weight yarn and I went with now unavailable Red Heart Sport Yarn.

I used an I hook for the dress as it was tight with the H hook. The shoes were worked with an E hook. I keep looking back at my notes for hook sizes and I always regret when I fail to note what size hook I used and if it was the right one.

Since I need two for my Christmas package I plan on alternating the colors and making a dress for the second gift. After all both dolls will need a holiday dress.