My Life Valentine Outfit

This is one of the oldest Adoring Doll Patterns I still regurally rotate through my donation. I am a huge supporter of her work. I found this one back when she was just starting to introduce her work on her blog and I followed her on to Etsy where I can say I own most of her stuff that I use frequently for the donation. The patterns are varied in theme but easy to follow. They have stayed affordable over the years and she still puts them on sale. For someone who donates what they make this is a huge plus.

You can purchase this Valentine set here.

Notes:

I used an I hook for most of this pattern.

In order to get the slip stitches in I added them slightly differently than the designer.

After row 1 return to the start of row 1 and complete a row of pink slip stitches finish off pink and continue on with white and row 2.

After row 2 I repeated above for second set of ss.

At the end of row 9 repeat this for ss that heart will sit on.

There are portions of text that can be challenging to read while working. I started marking the end of each row of text with a stitch marker. This just made it easy to go back to a section if I got interrupted, the count seemed off, etc. I've tried writing out the text in different ways over the years and this worked for getting through some of the longer sections.

After reading last year's notes I did use the heart pattern from Adoring Doll's Back to School Pattern which I'm using for the Our Generation Valentine outfit. You can purchase that here. I used the heart pattern to make some heart ornaments. It is the easiest heart pattern I've found.

I finished off the back and neck with a row of sc adding a button hole for the dress.

Hat and shoes were made with I hook.

Sweater:

I hook

I added 2 sc rows to arms and finished them with a sc chain 3 skip on around

I finished complete edge of sweater in process of making suggested button hole I just preffered a finished look.

My Life Hearts and Flowers

It's almost February so time to think about adding some of the first holiday outfits to the donation for the year. Technically I can make the outfits any time during the year, since the drop off isn't until November or December but it just adds a little holiday cheer to making them around the holiday the outfits are intended to be worn. It also gives the child who receives the doll a chance to keep celebrating once Christmas has passed.

While I've made Darski's pattern available here, several times for some reason my brain missed a step and I had to pull it out and fix it so I'm going to add to my previous year's notes.

Notes:

I use a K hook for the first 4 rows of this dress as with my odd guage it is the only way I can get the dress to slide on and off. I use an I hook for the rest of the this pattern. I used an H for the the shoes. I returned to row 9 using an I and reduced last sc row of top.

This is the point at which I somehow missed a direction and the top section bubble ended up at the waist. I note this not for the general public but because having made this mistake once I am likely to make it again and I do read these posts each year before I begin the outfit again.

Stop when you finish row 9 and return to row 1. (I do a sc reduction row after row 9 but usually at the end after I've tried on the dress for fit.) Row 1 is the waist line not the top. Row 9 is the completed top not the waist. Return to Row 1 and start Row 10 to complete the skirt portion of the dress.

I've never needed this note before but better to have it and not need it than go down this road again.

The flower belongs lower on the waist but I rather like it up higher. I've experimented on where the ties go over the years and this year it was behind the neck. I would likely try the back again if not for the documented issues above.

The shoes are from Silver Creations Sailor pattern that sadly is no longer available.

My Life Hearts and Flowers

I'm working on using up yarn I have left over from last year's donation projects and Darski's free Hearts and Flowers pattern found here was a perfect choice to attack my stash yarn.

I used a larger hook K for the first 4 rounds swithching back to the I hook as this is a slip on dress and it was tight at the waist when I started. I did end up needing to decrease using the I hook at the top as it was larger having started with a a larger hook but it is neither too loose or too tight at the waist.

This could just be a challenge of my current guage. After years of making the doll diapers with a K hook I switched to an I hook this year finding they fit better. These notes are strictly for my own use when I make these outfits again.

I changed the flower trim to just one flower and I have it tie in back of the doll's head rather than at the back on the top of the dress as Darski does. It was just a simpler solution for me.

When it comes to shoes I tend to be a creature of habit unless there is a pattern that comes with shoes. These shoes are part of of Sweet Silver Creation's Sailor Dress pattern purchased here.

My Life Valentine Dress

I always love adding holiday outfits to the donation when time allows. This is a quick project despite the many pieces and you can purchase the pattern from Adoring Doll Clothes here.

I've not done it in the past but looking at the pattern this year I'm considering trying the outfit in other colors without the heart as a non-holiday pattern as a quick way to increase my doll outfits. The jacket is a nice addition to lots of outfits and it works up quickly.

I'm pleased to say this was another chance to dive into the left over yarn balls from last year's projects. I finally finished off a ball of red and had to start a new skein to finish the jacket. It feels good to see that pile slowly starting to shrink. In years gone by the yarn often got wasted if I didn't put it directly to a project. Now I have a place to seek out the yarn before I start and I'm targeting skeins that aren't balls that have been to long in my collection as well.