16 Inch Baby Doll Linmary Dress

This one took me much longer than I expected as I kept making unexpected changes.

The dress set is a free Linmary Knits crochet pattern found here. The shoes are from one of Darski's sets found here. Notes:

I've made a number of notes on hook size over the years. This year with the exception of the shoes, everything required an e hook. I used an J hook for the shoes.

This pattern uses UK crochet terms and I have notes all over my pattern to remind myself not to use US crochet stitches as it is a whole different outfit.

Dress:

I added 5 additional rows and an additional contrast row to the bodice for length prior to adding the skirt. To help myself keep track I have notes on the pattern regarding the repeats as they are not written out and with multiple repeats and row changes for each repeat I lose track. I finished the neck and the arm holes decreasing both as I found them a bit big this time.

I do not crochet in the back stitches for the bodice. I tried it this year and frogged it as it was not a good look.

Hat:

I had to stick with the e hook for the entire hat. I tried the notes I had on the pattern but the hat was huge. I believe this is how the Our Generation Boy ended up with a sun hat last year for his swim trunks.

16 Inch Baby Doll Linmary Knits Dress, Hat and Shoes

This is the final outfit I need from this free Linmary crochet pattern found here. The shoe pattern is from a different free set found here.

For this round with the 16 Inch baby doll I went with Baby Bernat Sport Yellow and Blue.

Notes:

As I continue to remind myself this pattern uses British crochet terms so as an American I need to translate the terms or the dress will have a very odd look.

These were my notes from the previous dress but oddly I had to make some changes to get something to fit.

Dress:

I used a G hook for the bodice and skirt. I added 5 additional rows and an additional contrast row to the bodice for length prior to adding the skirt. To help myself keep track I have notes on the pattern regarding the repeats as they are not written out and with multiple repeats and row changes for each repeat I lose track. I finished the neck and the arm holes decreasing both as I found them a bit big this time.

For dress 2 I went with an f hook as I found the g was just to big. Sometimes my guage does change.

Hat:

I used an e hook to the contrast rows and changed to a g hook at the contrast rows until the end. As with the dress I wrote out the repeats on the sheet to keep track of which row repeated each time.

I had to stick with the e hook for the entire hat as the second one I made is going to be a sun hat for the Our Generation Boy's Swim Suit set.

Shoes:

I've started experimenting using this pattern with the matching lighter weight yarn as I don't often have worsted weight in the same shades. To get the shoes to fit I need a J hook with Bernat Baby Sport weight yarn.

No changes to the shoes.

Rag Doll Linmary Dress

I had started this in yellow but realized it was too big and I hadn't used back loops for the bodice. After having completed this outfit with the back loops I'm not pulling out the other project, I'm going to pick up where I left off and use it for the other 16 inch baby doll. I can see why the pattern works in back loops to add texture but for the amount of effort required the outcome hardly seems worth the effort and the contrast colors don't work as well.

Notes:

The bodice of the dress required an e hook for this doll and a g for the skirt. I likely could have tried an f with the slightly heavier Bernat Baby Softee Baby Yarn, mint that was the primary color for the dress. The contrast is Big Ball Baby Bernat Sport white.

I hope to get one more outfit from this pattern for the other 16 inch Baby doll, the yellow one I mentioned and then it can go back into the large baby doll pattern binder until next season.

16 Inch Baby Doll Dress, Hat, and Shoes

I love it when a pattern free or paid fits multiple sizes of my doll donations. I previously made this for the Lots to Love 14 inch Doll and I need one more for the other 16 inch baby doll and I think I'm also going to dry to get the dress to fit the Rag Doll.

You can find the free pattern here for the dress and hat. The shoes are my go to free pattern found here.

Notes:

This pattern is written in British crochet terms which I have translated to American terms on my copy just to keep from forgetting. I do need to add a note to myself about working in back loops as this is the second dress of the year and still no back loops. Two more to go so we shall see.

I used Bernat Baby Big Ball Sport in White and Lavender. I know with so many stores closing yarn is harder to find but I still find this quite a bit at Walmart in the odd colors like Lavendar and Yellow. Online I sometimes only find white and pink.

Dress:

I used a G hook for the bodice and skirt. I added 5 additional rows and an additional contrast row to the bodice for length prior to adding the skirt. To help myself keep track I have notes on the pattern regarding the repeats as they are not written out and with multiple repeats and row changes for each repeat I lose track. I finished the neck and the arm holes decreasing both as I found them a bit big this time.

Hat:

I used an e hook to the contrast rows and changed to a g hook at the contrast rows until the end. As with the dress I wrote out the repeats on the sheet to keep track of which row repeated each time.

Shoes:

I've started experimenting using this pattern with the matching lighter weight yarn as I don't often have worsted weight in the same shades. To get the shoes to fit I need a J hook with Bernat Baby Sport weight yarn.

Lots to Love 14 Inch Baby Doll Dress, Hat, and Booties

I've been trying to keep track of which dolls have been falling behind on filling their donation bags and I noticed the Lots to Love 14 inch Doll needed some attention.

Notes:

This outfit is made using a free Linmary Knits pattern found here for the dress and hat and what is becoming my go to bootie pattern for this doll from an Amy Carrico pattern Spring Set which I believe can still be purchased on Ravelry here.

This doll requires an E hook for the bodice and a G for the skirt. The main color for this outfit was Bernat Softee Baby Soft Red. I don't believe I've used this yarn often. It is a 3 weight yarn but has the feel of Caron Simply Soft. The contrast color is Bernat Big Baby Sport Yarn yellow.

I need to adapt this pattern just a little bit as the Lots to Love doll is a pretty chubby baby doll.

One note to myself that I always forget and already have forgotten as I've begun a second outfit for the larger baby doll the bodice should be done in back loops. I still have two more outfits to complete after these two so a chance to redeem myself.

After reading my notes from my last project I chose not to join until I reached the waist as this makes getting the dress on and off easier. I closed with a snap.

WHat was not in my previous notes was I needed 6 additional rows followed by two contrast rows for bodice length before starting wasit after completing original bodice pattern. In the past I've done this as one solid bodice color. I like the contrast split. I would consider splitting the rows more evenly between the contrast colors as I reached the waist before completing another set of directions. It would be more balanced if I split the two sections evenly.

The directions for the hat should also be followed in back rows until you reach the shell rows which I clearly did not do. For this doll I would stick to the e hook for the entire hat not switching to the g hook as suggested. The hat is a little large.

The booties fit as written with the same yarn I used for the main project and an e hook.

16 Inch Baby Doll Dress, Hat and Shoes

This outfit was made from free patterns. The dress and hat patterns are available from Linmary Knits here. The shoes are my go to pattern for the JC 16 Inch Baby doll from the Peachy Keen pattern found here.

For the Linmary pattern I used Bernat Baby Big Ball sport yellow and white. The shoes require a heavier worsted 4 yarn so I used Red Heart Super Saver Lemon.

Notes:

I used the suggested hook sizes through out the pattern and this year it worked.

The pattern uses English (British) crochet terms so if you are used to American crochet terms you will need to remember. I've actually written the US changes on top of the English terms as I tend to forget when I'm tired.

In past years I wrote instructions for the row repeats for the dress, this year I finally wrote them for the hat. Still not sure I have the hat exactly as written but it works for my project intentions.

Lots to Love 10 Inch Baby Doll Top with Leggings

To keep the donation project engaging and interesting each year I try to add new projects that are patterns I haven't tried before. Sometimes these become new favorites and sometimes not as they can be far more complicated or time consuming than I normally delegate for a donation project. However, each is a chance to try something new and I am always grateful for the opportunity.

This in one of Linmary's free doll patterns found here. As with many baby doll patterns it wasn't designed specifically for this doll so I had expectations I'd need to make adjustments.

A 10 inch baby doll isn't always the 10 inch baby doll you happen to be working on at home. The first sign I had of this was checking the gauge. The gauge I found for the suggested hook with the yarn I indicated the hook size would be too large. Going down a size got me closer. However, as it turned out the suggested hook size with the actual doll I had was correct because a 10 inch doll is not always the same size as another 10 inch doll.

I knew from the beginning the pants would be more challenging because the doll in the picture had longer straighter legs than the chubby Lots to Love doll. This meant I'd need to reduce the rows for the legs. I tend to make my pants from the top down joining and splitting as I go.

There are lots of patterns that make them flat and join but these are not my favorite as it is hard to tell how they will fit until after you've finished the "outline" prior to sewing them together. I found that to be the challenge with this pattern and I likely won't use this pant set again for that reason. I found it was time consuming to put the pants together after making sure I'd make the corrections to make the pants short enough to fit the Lots to Love doll. I was glad I accepted the challenge and completed it but it just isn't a practical use of my time when the other method is quicker for me and I can move on to other projects more quickly. I may even be able to reproduce the texture and have a better fit because I would know exactly when to stop before adding the trim.

This has given me an idea to try something like this for next year. It would be easy enough to make these pants top down and I have several "top" patterns for this doll that fit better than this one that would give the doll a top and leggings outfit.

Barbie Two Color Sundress

I finished another outfit for the Barbie Pet Vet donation doll. This was made with another free pattern found here. This free pattern uses UK terms so you will need to be aware of that if you are used to US crochet terms.

I made some changes to help with the fit of the dress as I found it was too large with any of the weights of yarn I had on hand. I switched to Aunt Lydia's Fashion Crochet, Cotton Size 3, Warm Rose and Sage. I used a 3mm hook through out the dress and ended up adding a row to the top to reduce it. I would use a c or b hook for the top the next time I try this dress for the top and then use the next size up for the skirt to get a slightly better fit.

I chose not to join as I went and instead sewed the seem up through the first color change. I tried joining but I found it didn't work well. As much as I try to avoid sewing when possible this was a better option for this dress. I closed the top with a snap after finishing the opening.

15 Inch Rag Doll Dress

I think I'm finally done with this free Linmary Knits pattern found here for a bit. I'm am both thrilled and amazed at how many dolls I've been able to use this one easy to make free dress pattern for to increase my doll donations.

This is the Factory Direct Rag Doll and I've sadly neglected her this year. I actually targeted my first attempt at converting this dress from baby to Rag Doll for her but it was a bit tight and ended up being a better fit for the smaller Rag Doll.

This time I looked at my yarn stash for new inspiration and settled on the Spud and Chloe sock yarn that has been sitting in my stash far too long. It was a door prize from a fiber event and I targeted it earlier for a My Life Doll project but there is still plenty to be used. The change in fiber proved to be the solution. I started with a D hook until I reached the arm holes and then moved to an e hook as the dress tightened after the arm holes without the larger hook size.

16 Inch Baby Doll Dress, Hat, and Shoes

This is the second outfit made from the free Linmary Knits pattern for the second JC Toys - 16-inch Baby Doll that will be donated for the holiday toy drive. Since there really aren't specific patterns for this doll I try to duplicate the patterns I do adapt so I have equal outfits for both dolls I donate. On occasion as with this pattern its worked well for other dolls being donated as well. You can find the free pattern here. It's hard to find shoes to fit this doll so I tend to stick with the shoes from the free pattern set Peachy Keen found here.

This pattern is designed for a 14" baby doll. To make it fit I used a g hook added 4 additional purple rows to the top and two additional rows to the skirt to get the length I wanted for the doll. I've experimented with the hook size on the hat on the previous 2 dolls and this time tried it with an f hook. It is a snug fit so either the f or g is likely a good fit depending on the yarn. The shoes require an I hook.

This outfit was made with now unavailable Red Heart Comfort Sport yarn and Bernat Baby Big Ball Sport Yarn, Baby Yellow. The shoes were made with RED HEART Super Saver Yarn, Amethyst.

Lots to Love 14 Inch Doll Dress Hat and Shoes

One of the advantages of donating multiple sizes of dolls is when you make a mistake you sometimes can recylce the project for use with another doll.

This was my second attempt this donation cycle at the free Linmary Knits crochet baby doll pattern found here for the JC Toys -16-inch Baby Doll but I had two issues. First I forgot to add the extra rows in the dress, which is in all fairness designed for a 14" doll. The extra rows make it a better fit for the 16' doll. The second issue was an experiment on the hat. I found the g hook for the hat was too large and the pattern calls for an e hook. The e hook fit the 14" doll well but was too small for the 16" doll. This made switching this outfit to the Lots to Love Babies 14" Doll a practical solution.

The shoes are part of a petite dolls 14" doll pattern set you can purchase here. The pattern calls for DK yarn and I was able to use up more of the Herrschner's worsted weight yarn I was given by a member of Ravelry's Charity Knitting Group. The rest of the outfit was made with baby sport yarn.

This of course means I will need to make one more outfit from this pattern to fill the baby donations. I'm also thinking about experimenting with it to see if it would fit the larger of the two rag dolls.

Just a note to myself for future projects. While this slides off easily on the 16" doll due to the soft shoulders it is a little harder to slide on and off the harder larger bodied 14" Lots to Love doll. It might be wiser not to join at the top but wait until the waist using a snap to close the next time I make the outfit for this size doll.

16 Inch Baby Doll Dress, Hat, and Shoes

In looking at my donation post I realized I needed more outfits for the JC Toys - 16-inch Baby Doll and decided to get to work on the task. This is a free crochet pattern from Linmary Knits designed for a 14 inch doll but I've used it for the 16 inch dolls for some time. You can find the pattern here.

One of the things I love about working on this pattern are the different textures it features. There is a lovely flow to it as you work on the dress.

I used Bernat Baby yarn for this dress with a G hook. The hat called for a smaller hook and I missed it and continued on with the G hook. When I make the second one for the other donation doll I'll want to remember to use the smaller hook for the hat.

I used my favorite free shoe pattern to add shoes to the outfit. They are part of the Peachy Keen free pattern found here. The shoes require worsted weight 4 yarn and an I hook.