Rag Doll Summer Dress

At the beginning of this donation cycle I thought this would be the final year for the Rag Doll. The current model has different hair from this model but it is still nice to have a rag doll in the mix. The company I order them from had two more left so I will be keeping the Rag dolls on for a few more rounds.

Notes:

This dress is made adapting the baby doll summer dress from Margaret Funk's House of White Birches Baby Doll Fashions to Crochet that I use for the two 16 inch baby dolls.

For this outfit I chose Lion Brand's Ice Cream Yarn in Watermelon. It makes for a cheerful dress.

In the past I've added an additional sc row before starting the changed directions for the 16 inch baby doll that I've documented several times. I missed that this year and the dress is lighter at the top. I'd likely go back to the additional row next year.

I started with an E hook and repeated row 5 once. Thus rows 3-6 follow the original directions for 3-5 moving each row directions down one. For the original row 6 now row 7 that starts the skirt I moved to a D hook to decrease the skirt size as it is too large with the E hook.

The top is slightly large for this doll so I finish the top and the arm holes with a sc 4 decrease around. It isn't even but it does help make the outfit fit better.

16 inch Baby Doll A-Line Dress Part 2

This is the second A-line dress made from Margaret Funk's out of print Baby Doll Fashion's to Crochet for the second 16 inch baby doll being donated. The shoes are from a free Darski pattern set found here. The headband was something I experimented with on the first dress. It was made chaining the distance around the doll's head and doing a row of dc.

Notes:

This was made with Lion Brand Mint Ice Cream Yarn. I'm determined to use up more yarn on hand on projects that don't have specific yarn requirements. These two A-Line dress projects were a great chance to use up some yarn that I had intentions for at one point but have never used so it is time for them to become productive and move out.

The dress requires an I hook and the shoes a J hook with the lighter yarn.

I finish the back and around the front in sc closing the back with a snap.

16 Inch Baby Doll A-Line Dress

I feel very fortunate to have found a copy of the out of print newsprint Baby Doll Fashion's to Crochet by Margaret Funk. They've been several patterns that have expanded the donation wardrobe for the 16 inch Baby Dolls.

Notes:

This dress pattern is from that book. The shoes are from Darski's free Peachy Keen pattern found here. The headband was made chaining the distance around the doll's head and doing a row of dc. I tried experimenting with other options but it was all too bulky.

This is made with Lion Brand Ice Cream Yarn Grape and an I hook for the dress and the headband. The shoes require a J hook with the lighter yarn.

I finished the back and and the front with sc adding a snap to close. I also finished the arm holes with sc to make them a little smoother.

My plan is to make a second A-line dress for the second 16 inch baby donation doll soon. I made this dress previously in solid colors I like the striped yarns better.

16 Inch Baby Doll Summer Dress 2

This is the second summer dress for the second 16 Inch Baby Doll

It is clear since I make it frequently that this is one of my favorite patterns for the 16 inch baby dolls. It works up fairly quickly and I like the way it looks, the ease of getting it on and off, and the ability to make it with different yarns.

This comes from an out of print House of White Birches newsprint leaflet Baby Doll Fashions to Crochet by Margaret Funk. I have noticed this newsprint leaflet and a couple of the fashion doll leaflets popping up for sale if you decide it is something you wish to seek out. I'm on my second copy of this one, although I preserved what I could of the first copy after my now 3 year old puppy decided newsprint made for a delightful chew when he was just a baby himself.

The dress is a 16 inch doll pattern from this book. The hat is adapted from the Bell hat pattern for a 13 inch doll also from this book. The shoes are my go to free shoe pattern from Darski's Peachy Keen pattern found here.

Notes:

This outfit was made with Lion Brand Ice Cream yarn Parafait.

To get this to fit the JC 16 Inch Baby Doll I started with an E hook and repeated row 5 once. Thus rows 3-6 follow the original directions for 3-5 moving each row directions down one. For the original row 6 now row 7 that starts the skirt I moved to a D hook to decrease the skirt size as it was too large with the e hook.

I started the directions for the 13 inch Baby Doll Bell hat using an e hook and increased the rows prior to creating the brim to account for the larger 16 inch baby doll head.

Using lighter yarn for the shoes requires a J hook to get them to fit.

16 Inch Baby Doll Summer Christmas Dress

This is the last of the Christmas outfits I need for 2026 and I think I have enough of this yarn for next year's outfits.

The dress for this outfit is the Summer Dress pattern from the out of print newsprint House of White Birches Baby Doll Fashions to Crochet. The hat and shoes are from two different free pattern sets. The shoes can be found here and the hat here.

Notes:

To get this to fit the 16 inch baby doll with this yarn I used an e hook for the entire dress not changing to a D for the skirt as it would have been too tight.

As I mentioned in the post about the other 16 inch baby doll Christmas dress this is a sport weight metallic yarn of unknown origin. It is lighter than my baby weight sport yarns.

I repeat row 5 once thus changing the row numbers all the way down. I add skirt rows to get to the length I want. This time I added a sc trim to the top and arms. I used a sc skip 1 5 dc in the next for the bottom trim.

I need a J hook for the shoes with sport weight yarn. I used a G and f hooks for the hat.

16 Inch Baby Doll Summer Dress

This pattern for the dress and the hat are from an old out of print 1981 newsprint House of White Birches Baby Doll Fashions to crochet that I've found myself exploring more each year since I purchased it.

This has been my go to pattern from it but last year I found myself exploring more patterns and I've identified a few more I'd like to experiment with this year. The shoes are from my got to free shoe pattern for this doll found in Darski's Peachy Keen pattern found here.

Notes:

In order to get this to fit the 16 inch baby doll I started with an E hook and repeated row 5 once. Thus rows 3-6 follow the original directions for 3-5 moving each row directions down one. For the original row 6 now row 7 that starts the skirt I moved to a D hook to decrease the skirt size as it was too large with the e hook.

I finish around the back top and the underarms with sc. I do some decreases to improve the fit. It is closed with a snap in the back.

I started the directions for the 13 inch Baby Doll Bell hat and increased the rows prior to creating the brim to account for the larger 16 inch baby doll head.

Some of you may recognize my go to shoe pattern. As I mentioned before the shoes are part of a free pattern called Peachy Keen. I used an J hook and continued with the Bernat Baby yarn I used for the rest of the outfit. Note to myself I'd use the solid color baby yarn the next time to have consistant colored shoes.

16 Inch Baby Doll A-Line Dress Part 2

With the 18 inch dolls I have enough patterns that I don't have to revist each pattern to make enough outfits to send each doll off with a decent wardrobe. I do send some out because I like the outfit or its a quick add but often they leave with very different wardrobes. However, for the 16 inch Baby dolls I have fewer patterns to outfit the two dolls and most patterns are repeated once proven to be succesful.

The A-Line dress was a new addition this year as I continue to explore the out of print Margaret Funk's Baby Doll Fashions to Crochet to adapt them to the dolls I donate. I liked the first outfit I made but I made a note that trying it with lighter baby yarn would be a better fit and I do believe I will keep with that option when I make this next year.

Notes:

I used Baby Bernat Sport yarn with an I hook for this outfit. As with the previous outfit to fit this doll it requires additional rows to cover the white leg coverings.

The back is closed with a snap.

Darski's free Peachy Keen pattern is my go to shoe pattern and you can find that here.

Rag Doll Summer Dress

I bought these blond haird Rag Dolls from Factory Direct for several years for the donation after someone sent me one they had dressed for the donation and I took on the challenge of trying to dress one. The last time I ordered my replacement dolls they came in a version that I had replaced when I found these. The hair is thinner and a bright orange/yellow color. I tried finding a replacement for this doll but I it is not meant to be. If my inventory is correct the Rag Dolls I ordered will see me through 2026 as I don't wish to waste what I ordered. However, I've already started working on adding the Calico Critters this year which will eventually replace the Rag Dolls in the donation rotation.

Notes:

This is an adaptation of the baby doll summer dress from Margaret Funk's House of White Birches Baby Doll Fashions to Crochet.

I need to add an additional sc row before starting the changed directions for the 16 inch baby doll that I've documented several times.

I started with an E hook and repeated row 5 once. Thus rows 3-6 follow the original directions for 3-5 moving each row directions down one. For the original row 6 now row 7 that starts the skirt I moved to a D hook to decrease the skirt size as it is too large with the E hook.

The top is slightly large for this doll so I finish the top and the arm holes with a sc 4 decrease around. It isn't even but it does help make the outfit fit better.

This was made with Lion Brand Ice Cream Cookies and Cream Yarn.

16 Inch Baby Doll A-Line Dress

Having found a second copy of Margaret Funk's Baby Doll Fashion's to Crochet, I promised myself this year I was going to work at adapting more of the patterns to use with the donation. For my notes this is the A-Line Dress pattern found on page 16 designed for a 16 inch baby doll.

I used Herschnerrs Worsted 4 Yarn for this dress. I need a second dress for the second 16 inch baby doll so I'm planning to try the lighter baby yarn I have on hand. This worked but still feels heavier than I had hoped. For a previous outfit from this leaflet I used Lion Brand's Ice Cream Yarn, so I'm hoping a lighter sport weight baby yarn will work for the second outfit.

Notes:

I used a g hook for this outfit and needed to add rows as I like to cover the white leg section of the doll when I make outfits for it. I suspect the dress is designed to be slightly shorter.

I also chose to finish the arms with a sc round around the arms. I didn't like the look with the unfinished rows. I would continue this practice in further outfits.

The headband was a oops from a previous Lots to Love 10 inch Baby Doll project which came out larger than expected. It seemed a wise choice to repurpose for the larger doll.

The shoes are my go to pattern for the 16 inch baby doll and can be found in Darsk's free Peach Keen pattern here.

16 Inch Baby Doll Dress for Summer 2

I've been keeping to some simple doll projects the last few weeks. Every project finished is another item in the doll bags.

This is the second one I needed for the two 16 Inch dolls that will go out in December. This pattern is from an old Margaret Funk newsprint leaflet, 1981 House of White Birches Baby Doll Fashions to Crochet, that I'm hoping to dive into more this year for the donation outfits. I've been using this particular pattern but I've realized there are more that can be adapted.

The shoes are from a free Darski Pattern Set Peachy Keen which I use for all this doll's shoes as they are the only one's I've been able to get to fit this doll. You can find that pattern here.

Notes:

I returned to Lion Brand Ice Cream Yarn for this project with the exception of the shoes which require worsted 4. This is made with Black Cherry. The shoes are made with scrap yarn from a previous project.

I use an e and d hook for this project.

Start with e hook completing rows 1-5 repeat row 5 changing all further row counts.

For the actual Row 6 which now will be Row 7 that starts the skirt round change to D hook to keep the skirt from becoming too big.

I keep playing with hats. I started with a circle until it fit the head and then I started with alternating 4 front post and back post stitches to create some texture to for the hat. The edges are made with triple crochets alternating with a sc around rather than a dc that I've tried previously.

16 Inch Baby Doll Summer Dress

Some times life is just odd and amazing. As I was getting ready to prepost this project I realized I hadn't checked my used sites in a bit to find a replacement for my Margaret Funk's 1981 House of White Birches newsprint leaflet Baby Doll Fashions to Crochet.

My sweet loving youngest Sheltie chewed a corner off the booklet last year and I realized having a second copy would not be the worst idea as it is hard to find and clearly is attractive to certain members of my family. I haven't had great luck but today on a whim I decided to search and found a back up not only of this but of her fashion doll book that I also rely heavily on to finish my donations each year. I was so pleased to find both at a reasonable price after not finding a hint of the first in a year.

This is the Summer Dress pattern from that leaflet.

The shoes are made from a Darski's free Peachy Keen pattern found here. This really is my go to pattern for this doll's shoes as they work up quickly and stay on. I use an I hook an worsted weight yarn with an I hook for the shoes.

Notes:

I normally use Lion Brand Ice Cream for this project but this is made with Herchnerrs Worsted.

To get this to fit the JC 16 Inch Baby Doll I started with an E hook and repeated row 5 once. Thus rows 3-6 follow the original directions for 3-5 moving each row directions down one. For the original row 6 now row 7 that starts the skirt I moved to a D hook to decrease the skirt size as it was too large with the e hook.

Rag Doll Watermelon Summer Dress

While I've never found any patterns specific for this doll I have found many of the dress patterns that will fit the Lots to Love 14 Inch Baby Doll and the JC 16 Inch Baby doll can be adapted to fit the Rag doll as well.

The dress pattern come from a 1981 House of White Birches newsprint leaflet Baby Doll Fashions to Crochet by Margaret Funk. I used this previously to make 2 dresses for the 16 inch baby doll donation. It required a few additional adaptations for the Rag doll.

Notes:

This outfit was made with Lion Brand Ice Cream Yarn Watermelon. I have a bunch of Ice Cream yarn in my stash for doll blankets and I've been using some for the larger doll projects. I wasn't sure at first how the colors would work with watermelon as the previous Ice Cream Yarn I used for the other dolls had different kinds of contrasts. However, I really do love the look of this for the Rag Doll and would use it again.

As with the 16 Inch Baby Doll I started with an E hook and repeated row 5 once. Thus rows 3-6 follow the original directions for 3-5 moving each row directions down one. For the original row 6 now row 7 that starts the skirt I moved to a D hook to decrease the skirt size as it was too large with the e hook.

The body is a little smaller than the 16 inch Baby doll and thus a few reductions had to be made. I did this by adding a row to the top of the dress and decreasing around the arms. I did the same around the arms, using sc for both tasks. This decreased the open areas of the dress which were a little too big for the Rag Doll.

16 Inch Baby Doll Purple Summer Dress

I donate two JC 16 Inch Baby dolls every year and since there are no specific patterns written for these dolls when I find a pattern that does fit I tend to make duplicates over the course of the year so each doll gets one for its donation bag.

I mentioned in my previous post about this outfit that the dress and hat for this outfit come from a 1981 House of White Birches newsprint leaflet Baby Doll Fashions to Crochet by Margaret Funk.

I liked it enough and found it quick and easy enough that repeating it right away seemed like a logical choice. At this point in the year I'm all about finishing stuff about and getting it bagged because the November deadline will be here before I know it and I'll be on to the 2024 donation.

I've also discovered it fits the Rag doll really well so I'm hoping to finishing another one for the Rag doll as well as it would be a quick addition to her donation bag as well since she doesn't need shoes or the hat.

This is my go to shoe pattern part of the free Peachy Keen pattern set found here. I like including shoes with my outfits but it can be hard to fit shoes to dolls and they often fall off and get lost. I like these because with the strap I find they are more likely to stay on the doll's feet and less likely to drop off and be lost.

Notes:

This was made with Lion Brand's Ice Cream Black Cherry Yarn.

I started with an E hook and repeated row 5 once. Thus rows 3-6 follow the original directions for 3-5 moving each row directions down one. For the original row 6 now row 7 that starts the skirt I moved to a D hook to decrease the skirt size as it was too large with the e hook.

I started the directions for the 13 inch Baby Doll Bell hat and increased the rows prior to creating the brim to account for the larger 16 inch baby doll head.

16 Inch Baby Doll Summer Dress

Every year I promise myself I will get to patterns I've bought but never used. Some are modern and some are long out of print treasures I've found from various pattern hunts.

The dress and hat for this outfit come from a 1981 House of White Birches newsprint leaflet Baby Doll Fashions to Crochet by Margaret Funk. The booklet has a nice table of contents that outlines what patterns are available for what size dolls. I've long realized this is just a suggestion as a 16 inch baby doll is not always the same depending on how it is designed but its a good starting point.

I used the Summer Dress pattern designed for the 16 inch doll and adapted the hat pattern for a 13 inch doll also found in the leaflet for this outfit.

Notes:

This outfit was made with Lion Brand Ice Cream Yarn Meringue.

To get this to fit the JC 16 Inch Baby Doll I started with an E hook and repeated row 5 once. Thus rows 3-6 follow the original directions for 3-5 moving each row directions down one. For the original row 6 now row 7 that starts the skirt I moved to a D hook to decrease the skirt size as it was too large with the e hook.

I started the directions for the 13 inch Baby Doll Bell hat and increased the rows prior to creating the brim to account for the larger 16 inch baby doll head.

Some of you may recognize my go to shoe pattern. The shoes are part of a free pattern called Peachy Keen found here. I used an I hook and a ball of worsted weight yellow yarn I found in my bag of left over yarn from previous projects. I'm trying to attack this pile of yarn when ever I get the chance before starting on new skeins of yarn.

This pattern is going to be on my go to list for donation patterns. I will hopefully be making another one for the second donation doll prior to November. It's a quick set but it looks quite nice.

There are several other patterns in this booklet I hope to try out to see how they will work for the various baby dolls.