Our Generation Boy Easter

When I see patterns for the 18 inch doll boy I try to pick them up to add to my options for the donation. I often find myself adapting more of the girl generic patterns.

This was part of one of Adoring Doll's holiday sets that can be purchased as individual patterns or as a set. Since I have Easter patterns for the other dolls in the set I decided to pick up only the male doll outfit and that can be purchased here.

Notes:

Shoes:

I was able to follow the pattern using the G hook as written as the feet are smaller than the My Life feet. I like the way these shoes fit and am making a note that they'd be good for future projects with pants. They have a boot look so a bit stranger for projects with shorts.

Pants:

I used an I hook for the upper portion of the pants and an H for the legs and waist.

Shirt

I used an I for the body of the shirt and an H for the arms.

I added 4 rows for the length to get it to be long enough for the doll before adding final row of brown.

This is a good pants pattern for future boy doll projects if I need a quick pair.

I finished back of sweater with white adding button hole and button.

Bow tie:

Made with suggested G hook. I would finish edges before wrapping next time.

Cap:

I used this pattern for the Valentine outfit and struggled with the directions but finally figure out the stitch count numbers are correct but at a certain point you switch from working the front of the cap to the back. I was trying to work in the round and was completely confused the first time I made the cap. Row 14 begins the directions for the back of the hat only. Figuring this out made completing the hat much easier.

I needed an H hook for the hat.

Our Generation Boy Swim Trunks

Another item finished for the swim suit challenge.

This is one of Adoring Doll's patterns that can be purchased here. I have the pattern set that includes bathing suits for the 18 inch boy and girl as well as 14.5 inch doll that I have used for the Glitter Girl.

Notes:

I use an I hook for this pattern.

To get it to fit the Our Generation Boy I need a starting chain of 46. This then changes the legs to 23.

The color change for the leg is marked for the 2nd leg not the first so the change is Row 11 stays yellow, row 12 blue, end with row 13 yellow.

The original pattern calls for a piece of yarn to be tied for the trunks as if it is a tie. I decided to crochet a tie and thread it through the fpdc as this year the trunks were loser and it allowed me to tighten them just a little with the pull ties.

Our Generation Boy Basketball Uniform

I've mentioned on several occasions I haven't found many crochet patterns written specifically for the boy doll. However, there are some patterns that are generic enough that they work for either the boy or girl doll. I already made the doctor scrubs and now I'm starting in on some of Adoring Doll's sports patterns. You can purchase the basketball uniform here.

Notes:

Shirt:

This is made with Caron Pounder Kelly Green, Red Heart White and Black. I wanted the specific shade of green for future reference I tend to use what ever shades/brands of white or black I have on hand.

I used an I hook for the shirt and I'd stick with that for future projects as the fit was good for getting on and off the doll.

I made the button hole while trimming the neckline and finishing the back in white.

Shorts:

The shorts lists an f hook I needed an I.

I've never been good at adding ss along the edge of something so I ss to add the yarn to the side than did a row of ss not attached to the end of the shorts and ss to the end of the shorts. I left a long end and sewed the ss to the shorts. Not the most effective method but better than the mess I was making trying to ss directly to the shorts.

Shoes:

I used the suggested G hook and followed directions as written. I would likely use an H hook if making these for the My Life Doll.

Our Generation Boy Firefighter

Adoring Doll's Firefighter pattern, available for purchase here, was one of the first patterns I bought when I decided to include a male doll in the donation and oddly this is the first attempt I've made at making it.

I made the pattern out of order as I have a tendancy to do because there are certain items I need to fit to make sure I'm going to continue with a pattern.

Notes:

Turn Out Jacket:

I used an I hook for the jacket instead of the suggested H hook. In the future I'd move back to the H hook for the sleeves as the sleeves are a bit big with the larger hook.

One challenge I'm finding is some of my newer acrylic yarns from brands I've bought for years aren't as thick as previous versions and when I mix them the rows can be a little harder to keep even and I found that with the color changes in the coat I needed a finishing row to try to clean some of this up. Still didn't get quite the look I wanted but I might try to buy yarn from all the same "year" next time I make this outfit.

Turn Out Pants:

I used the suggested H hook based on previous experiences with this doll and Adoring Doll's pants patterns.

Helmet:

I ended up making 2 as the first one just wasn't right. For the second one I wrote out the repeats and the hat had a better form to it than the first one that just looked weird. I used the suggested G hook. There are directions for ridges but I couldn't get them on right and the directions were a little unclear and after having made 2 helmets I didn't want to risk destroying the second one. I was OK with how it looked without the bumps.

I do have some other fire fighter patterns around and I might look at how the hats are made to get some ideas for a better styled hat.

The boots were made with the suggested G hook.

Our Generation Boy Hockey Sweater and Pants

When possible I do try to recycle items into other outfits to stretch my donations. This was the test hockey sweater I made prior to making the hockey uniform because I had no idea what adjustments would need to be made and using one color with a bit of trim seemed a great option for figuring out the details of the sweater without having to manage color changes. I actually went back and finished this sweater after the hockey uniform and thus benefited from knowing I needed to stay consistent with the bottom stitches in order not to have shrinkage at the bottom of the sweater.

I used Darski's free Detroit Red Bunnies pattern found here for the sweater. These are the directions I made up for the hockey pants. I just added rows to the legs to get them to be full length for this outfit.

The pattern directions called for two strands of yarn and K hook. I used Red Heart Super Saver black and crocheted over a pony tail holder to give the pants an elastic waist to make sure they stayed on the doll. I continued crocheting in the round until I needed to split for the crotch making sure I had decreased the total number of waist stitches to 40 before splitting. Sometimes it takes more stitches to cover the pony tail fully. It wasn't as much of an issue with the double strands.

Row 1 sc around elastic band to cover it.

Rows 2-6 hdc in 40

Row 7 split for legs adding 3 chains to join crotch.

Rows 8-11 on each leg crochet around 23.

Shirt:

I didn't need to change colors but I did add a trim row of white to the torso and the sleeves. I reduced the sleeves with a hdc 3 hdc 2 together around. Then I followed with a row of sc trim and another with main color to decrease the sleeve size at the wrist.

Row 1: 2sc in 3 (1 sc followed by 2sc) until last 3 stitches, 2sc in last 3 stitches.

The stripes on the bottom of the sweater need to be hdc or dc. I chose sc and the sweater gets a bit smaller as a result. I would likely choose the hdc option to keep it even with the rest of the sweater.

Our Generation Boy Hockey Player

Back in March I asked some of my friends over on Crochetville to help me find patterns I could use with the Our Generation Boy doll for the donation. I was open to free or paid patterns but while I hadn't worked through my library of available patterns specifically for the male dolls, I knew my supply was limited. That's when people challenged me to think about how to adapt patterns to fit the male doll.

This is Darski's free Detroit Bunnies pattern which was designed as a hockey outfit for the girl dolls. You can find the pattern here. There are a number of sport patterns originally designed for the girls that I'm looking to adapt for the boy doll before he leaves for the donation. This was my first attempt.

Notes:

The skates were purchased from CR Crafts. So I can find them and buy them again they were listed as Skates - Ice - 2 5/8" Black Item 69151. You can purchase them here. I've not purchased many shoes for either the Our Generation or My Life doll. Making shoes for them has told me the My Life dolls feet are a bit larger based on hook sized required to get the crocheted shoes to fit. This is something to remember when ordering shoes for them in the future perhaps.

Hockey Pants:

When ever possible I avoid making the legs and joining. It just rarely works out for me so unless it's something like footed PJ's I try at all costs to avoid this method.

The directions called for two strands of yarn and K hook. I used Red Heart Super Saver black and crocheted over a pony tail holder to give the pants an elastic waist to make sure they stayed on the doll. I continued crocheting in the round until I needed to split for the crotch making sure I had decreased the total number of waist stitches to 40 before splitting. Sometimes it takes more stitches to cover the pony tail fully. It wasn't as much of an issue with the double strands.

Row 1 sc around elastic band to cover it.

Rows 2-6 hdc in 40

Row 7 split for legs adding 3 chains to join crotch.

Rows 8-11 on each leg crochet around 23.

Darski includes directions for suspenders for her uniform. I chose not to include them.

Hockey Hose:

This was Darski's wording not mine. I'm not an expert on hockey uniforms. I made one and then remade it as it was larger than I expected. I stuck with my original yarn choices although Darski mentions using baby yarn. The color options were not going to work for me with baby yarn.

I started making 20 rather than 25 rows of chain 4 ribbing. This helped it stay up on the doll's leg.

When I crocheted on top of the ribbing adding the suggested extra stitches I ended up with 26 both times so that seems to be the number.

Shirt:

I played with the colors a bit so I had to change some of the pattern to accomadate additional color changes.

I started with 2 strands of yellow as while this is a worsted 4 yarn it is lighter than the white and black. I also changed the directions to get the stitch count to work for me.

Row 1: 2sc in 3 (1 sc followed by 2sc) until last 3 stitches, 2sc in last 3 stitches. The stripes on the bottom of the sweater need to be hdc or dc. I chose sc and the sweater gets a bit smaller as a result. I would likely choose the hdc option to keep it even with the rest of the sweater.

I used snaps to close the shirt. I had planned on buttons but with the shrinkage at the bottom I finished the edges in blank and used snaps to close.

Helmet:

The helmet is worked in two strands of black and a K hook. I worked as written until row 7 when I needed to add increase rows because this doll needed a larger helmet before moving on to the fp sc of rows 9-10.

I found the shaping directions confusing so I marked the temples of the doll on the helmet and proceeded with rows 11-13. If you don't stop for these locations and turn you end up with a hat not a helmet.

I found the first side of the chin strap worked well I'd be more careful looking at the way the first one sits before placing the second one. I'd pulled out the helmet a few times to get the face to work by the time I reached the strap so I had less patience than perhaps was best for this type of project. However, hopefully with these hints I'm hoping my next attempt at the helmet will prove easier and I can focus on a better second strap joining.

Our Generation Boy Harry Potter

I was gifted Adoring Doll's Harry Potter set back in 2022. I made Hermione for the My Life Doll for the 2022 donation and haven't been back to the pattern since. This year as I was searching my pattern binders for patterns for the Our Generation Boy, Harry Potter came up as an option. You can purchase the pattern set here.

This project has multiple pieces so I've been working on it as I made other clothes. I started with his scarf which looks simple enough but with multiple color changes there are plenty of ends to sew in before it is finished. I moved on to the hat and shoes. Finally I attacked the coat, finishing with the sweater.

Notes:

Pants:

I used an H hook for the pants. I only needed 25 rows for the legs. I finished with a ss seam. This keeps legs from catching on shoes.

Shoes:

It's been my recent experience that I need a smaller hook for shoes with the Our Generation doll than with the My Life doll. This proved to be the case here I used the suggested G hook.

Shirt:

I started with an I hook for the sweater but it proved to be tight, I found the K hook worked best for the outfit. I used an I hook for the sleeves to keep them from being too large. Coat:

I needed a K hook to get the coat to fit. I used an H hook for the finishing outside trim.

Scarf:

I used the suggested G hook for the scarf. Just a reminder to myself there are 19 sections.

Hat:

I used an H hook for the hat with the suggested dark grey. I used black last time and I will go back to that the next time I make either outfit. It looks better.