My Life had pretty much phased out their male dolls when I thought about adding a boy 18 inch doll to the donation. I looked to the Our Generation line and discovered Daniel.
Last year I didn't do as well as I'd hoped with his clothing. This year I decided I needed to make Daniel and Ken priorities because it takes more time to search out patterns and then make them fit the male dolls. There are fewer options and sometimes it takes patience to adapt them to the doll you are donating.
I had actually forgotten about this set which is why this year before I started the donation I made a point of returning the doll patterns to their binders and then I started going through the binders to look at real possiblities for patterns I hadn't tried or haven't done in a while.
This pattern is from Adoring Dolls Snow White set that can be purchased here. It includes Snow White, the Evil Queen, and Prince Charming. However, you can also purchase the Prince as an individual pattern here. Just a note the crown is actually part of the Evil Queen pattern but I wanted a crown for the Prince since the outfit can be used with multiple stories. I just like people to know where items come from when they want to find the items to make themselves.
Notes:
This outfit was made with Red Heart Super Saver.
I made multiple changes for fit and to make the outfit work for children rather than a display. The ability to get an outfit on and off is always important when I'm putting something together.
I used a I hook for the Pants and Shirt section. I added an additional 2 rows to the pants section. In the future I might make that 3.
The hook for the boots suggests a G and I stuck with that as the Our Generation feet generally do well or go smaller than the hook size. This was a good size for the boots.
I substituted black for brown. The browns I had on hand weren't a good fit for this project.
This is were I made a design change to the pattern for the sake of little hands getting the clothes on and off rather than displaying the doll fully dressed. The shirt and pants are made as one piece and this is easy enough to get on and off. However, the pattern calls for the boots to be attached to the pants once they are made.
This sounded like it was going to make the outfit hard to put on as boots tend to be solid not like soft footed Pj's. After making the first boot and trying it on my suspicions were confirmed. If I attached the boots to the outfit it was going to be frustrating for a child to take it on and off. However there was no reason to sew Prince Charming's boots to his pants. It works with the boots as a separate piece.
The second change I made with the boots came as a result of not sewing the boots to the pants. I worked the first round of the boot cuff in the front loop so it would bend over the top of the boot. Then I continued on with the pattern.
I ended up using a K hook for the belt. Also to make it easier to get on over layers I added a snap rather than joining the belt. It made it easier to add to the shirt/pants combo or over his tunic. I like to decrease frustration and wear on the outfit when possible. The friction of sliding the belt on and off would likely leave it with a short life span. Again the difference between a play model and a display. To fit this doll I needed to chain 50 to get the belt to fit.
I used a K hook for the tunic and a G hook for the trim.
I used Amethyst for the cape instead of Red. I wanted that Royal look and purple is royal. I needed a K hook for this item as well. I used a g for the black sections.
As I mentioned previously the crown is part of the Evil Queen pattern. Daniel's hair is pretty puffy so I'm not sure if that was the issue with needing a huge hook to get this to fit. I'm hoping to make the other patterns for the female 18 inch dolls so we will see if their heads are any smaller with their hair styles. To make this fit Daniel I need an M hook. I didn't use the red yarn. I just didn't see the need. This look suited my project.
