15 Inch Baby Doll Dress and Hat

This dress was adapted from a free pattern for a 14 Inch baby doll found here. Thanks Recycle Cindy for providing the free pattern.

This is one of my favorite patterns for the 15-inch soft bodied Mary Maxim dolls. It works up quickly and because I can pull it up over the doll, I can actually close the opening in the back and it doesn't require buttons or any closings. I avoid those when possible. The skirt has a very pretty pattern, giving the outfit a very pretty look. I found using a heavier weight yarn helped adapt the dress to fit the larger 15" doll.

I was also pleased to be able to make this a stash-busting project. I had some pretty cranberry colored red yarn left and being in the holiday spirit, it seemed a great color to work on this dress. I've managed to finish up a couple more outfits for the 15" doll so I should have those posted soon. It is nice to get a jump on this project, as I know the time creeps up all too soon and I want the bags to be full to bursting when that happens.

Baby Doll Dress

Today's baby doll dress comes from the same out of print leaflet I wrote about last week the American School of Needlework's Twin Baby Doll Clothes to Crochet, 1155.

The dress and panties worked up pretty quickly using baby weight sport yarn. I finished this outfit while watching the Winter Games. The pattern didn't call for finishing the back I did for two reasons. First, it looked bad without doing it, second it gave a little extra room for this doll which needs it with her padding. The panties were a little snug on the legs. I think I'd increase the hook size when I make these again.

This booklet is turning out to be one of my best used pick ups in a while. So far the patterns work up quickly and they are fitting the larger doll, which was a concern.

Barbie and American Girl Doll Free Patterns are listed on my blog at these locations:

Barbie Crochet and Sewing Page

Barbie Knitting Page

Ken Page

Kelly/Skipper Page

American Girl Doll Crochet and Sewing

American Girl Doll Knitting

Doll Blankets and Pillow Patterns

Baby Doll Patterns:

Baby Doll and Cabbage Patch

Additional Doll Patterns also Available on the Holiday Blogs:

Christmas

Valentines

Easter

Graduation

Patriotic

Halloween Page

Thanksgiving

Baby Doll Sweater, Pants, Hat, and Booties

As I mentioned in a previous blog entry I've been making clothes for the 15 inch Mary Maxim soft bodied dolls. These dolls present some unique challenges because their sizes are different from the more common hard bodied dolls. This time the biggest challenge seemed to be their feet. The booties fit without alteration on the hard bodied 15" doll I have. I had to rewrite the pattern to get them to fit the soft bodied doll. The clothes however, fit fine. I haven't tried them on the hard bodied dolls. I suspect they might be large.

I purchased a few out of print leaflets to help me provide some clothing for the dolls. This outfit comes from an American School of Needlework leaflet, Twin Baby Doll Clothes to Crochet, 1155. For those who might want to find it I will just mention there is a Annie's Attic leaflet, 872017 Crochet Twin Baby Dolls that has a very similar name. I now have both, but almost ended up with duplicates not being aware of the differences. The American School outfits are primarily made using sport weight yarn, the Annie's publication uses size 10 thread. While both are out of print they seem to pop up frequently on resale sights.

I was delighted to discover that some size 2 afghan yarn I purchased previously and didn't like for afghans worked out well for the darker contrasting color I needed for this outfit. Since I didn't want to use it for an afghan, I have been wondering what to use the big balls for, now I have a solution.

There's a set of footed pants I want to try. I am curious to see how it will work out having already had a challenge with the booties fitting.

I am trying to get as many doll outfits completed as possible before the end of the month. In March I'm switching to ami's. I'm doing an ami swap at Crochetville and I have Easter and birthday ami's to make. I'm hoping to still get some doll work completed and once the ami rush is done to get back to completing the doll projects. In the past once I've stopped it has been hard to get back into the groove again.

Barbie and American Girl Doll Free Patterns are listed on my blog at these locations:

Barbie Crochet and Sewing Page

Barbie Knitting Page

Ken Page

Kelly/Skipper Page

American Girl Doll Crochet and Sewing

American Girl Doll Knitting

Doll Blankets and Pillow Patterns

Baby Doll Patterns:

Baby Doll and Cabbage Patch

Additional Doll Patterns also Available on the Holiday Blogs:

Christmas

Valentines

Easter

Graduation

Patriotic

Halloween Page

Thanksgiving

15 Inch Doll Soft Bodied Mary Maxim Baby Doll Sundress

I decided to try adding the soft bodied 15 inch Mary Maxim dolls to my donation this year. They seem to be a little larger in the upper body than most of the patterns I've looked at that fit the hard bodied Mary Maxim dolls much better. I'm going to adapt because I think the soft dolls are a bit nicer for the children who will be playing with them after Christmas next year. While I've found that most of the 18 Inch dolls are close in size, the baby doll sizes really do range from one doll to the next. While I always try on the outfits as I'm working, I find with the baby dolls, it's even more important, because there isn't often a common understanding of size when one reads a pattern for a baby doll as there is when you read one for an 18 inch doll. The sizes even among the 12 or 15 inch sizes are pretty wide.

I am always so grateful for those who are generous and donate their patterns for free. I found this baby doll pattern on Hooks and Knives Blogspot here. It was designed for the smaller Fisher Price Little Mommy Doll, but I increased my hook size to a K and it fit. The blog used to have a picture of the doll and the outfit, but it looks like it was removed. Edited the blog has been taken down but I changed the link to allow you to see the pattern for a time.

Other than changing the hook size to make the pattern fit, I also decided I didn't want to sew the back up and since it was going to be a slip on, I crocheted the dress in the round from the first row and have no problems getting it on and off the doll. I tried the suggested H hook for the first row and it didn't fit the hard bodied 15 inch doll so I'm thinking I will still need to play with the hook size to get it to fit the hard bodied 15 inch doll.

This dress works up really quickly and it is a cute outfit. I added a scalloped border to the bottom, but even without it is a nice outfit which adapts easily to the many sizes of baby dolls on the market.

Barbie and American Girl Doll Free Patterns are listed on my blog at these locations:

Barbie Crochet and Sewing Page

Barbie Knitting Page

Ken Page

Kelly/Skipper Page

American Girl Doll Crochet and Sewing

American Girl Doll Knitting

Doll Blankets and Pillow Patterns

Baby Doll Patterns:

Baby Doll and Cabbage Patch

Additional Doll Patterns also Available on the Holiday Blogs:

Christmas

Valentines

Easter

Graduation

Patriotic

Halloween Page

Thanksgiving

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