16 Inch Baby Doll Dress with Straps

I donate 2 of the JC 16 inch Baby dolls each year and to make the donations even I do repeat some outfits. My goal is by donation day the two dolls have an equal number of outfits to wear. When I do repeat patterns I tend to use different colors to keep it a little more interesting. I've been trying to use up this green so I kept that from the first outfit I made in March and paired it with an orphan skein of I believe Lion Brand that has been living in my stash for far too long.

Notes:

I used an I hook for the bodice of the dress and switched to hdc instead of sc as it made for a better fit. I switched to an H hook for the skirt as I've done previously. I joined all rows. The straps were made with a g hook and I used 18 rows.

I used an H hook for the hat and alternated fpdc and bpdc for several rows to give it a textured look at the bottom of the hat. I finished the bottom with in the contrasting color with a round of fpsc stitches.

Both patterns used in this outfit are free patterns. Recycled Cindy created the pattern for a 14 inch doll that I've adapted for multiple dolls and you can find that pattern here. The shoes are from Darski's Peachy Keen pattern set here.

Rag Doll Dress with Straps

I mentioned in a previous post that I was trying to work on clothes for the Lots to Love 14 inch Baby doll donation. I started working on Recycled Cindy's free Baby Doll Dress that I frequently use with the larger 16 inch dolls. However, both the 16 inch dolls and the Rag doll have flatter bodies. The Lots to Love doll falls more into the chunky baby doll and sometimes it is actually easier to take a pattern written for the Lots to Love doll and adapt it to fit the flatter dolls than the other way around. I took a chance with this pattern and we know have another item to put in the Rag Doll donation bag.

Recently it looks like her donations have been failed attempts at other projects but there are no real dedicated patterns for this doll so everything is always an adaptation or a item that didn't fit another doll.

You can find the free pattern here.

To make this work for the Rag Doll I used an I hook for the bodice of the outfit with sport yarn. I switched to a no longer available Red Heart comfort sport yarn and an H Hook. As I do with the larger dolls I added rows to the bodice to make it long enough. I considered adding a snap to close the back but in the end sewed the back closed. In the future I'd crochet in the round. I didn't originally because it would have had to have used a snap to get it to fit the rounder baby doll. I used a G hook for the straps and 18 rows. I based the skirt on length I didn't count rows.

16 Inch Baby Doll Dress

I'm continuing on my stash busting quest. Both of these are old skeins that need to leave the house and are slowly getting there as they crochet into doll outfits.

This is a free pattern from Recycle Cindy that I've been adapting to the larger baby dolls for years. You can find the pattern here.

Notes:

I used an I hook for the top switching to an H hook for the skirt. I might be able to try an H hook for the second doll as the top might fit better with the smaller hook. I join after chaining as this style of dress is easily slid on and off the doll without requiring buttons or snaps. The pattern suggests velcro but I hate sewing velcro so I never use it.

I used an H hook for the hat and added a row of front post dc and finished with a row of front post sc. I rather like this look and will think about continuing with this look.

The shoes are my go to free baby shoe pattern for this doll size and can be found in Darski's Peachy Keen pattern set here.

15 Inch Rag Doll Dress

As I've been working through patterns this year, I've been experimenting to see which dolls I can adapt the patterns to fit. After finishing the free pattern found here for the JC Toys - 16-inch Baby Doll I tried it on the 15 inch Rag doll.

The dress needed a lighter yarn than the Herrschner's Worsted I'd used for the baby doll dress. Thankfully, the donation I'd received from a member of the Ravelry Knitting Charity group also included some Herrchner's Baby Yarn and this worked well for the project using the same G hook suggested in the pattern.

Notes:

I did follow the directions for this pattern in not joining at the first row. I did this for this doll because there is little distance between head and shoulders. This creates a need for smaller straps than on the 16-inch doll. This makes a sliding on and off dress a more difficult prospect. I had to add two rows to make the torso long enough so I joined the dress before adding the two additional peach rows and continued on to the skirt in the round. I closed the dress with a button in the back.

The straps look close to the edge of the shoulder. I tried experimenting with moving them in one chain and the result did not look great so I pulled them out and removed them to the suggested pattern design.

If I get another Herrschner's shipping coupon I'd think about picking up some of the baby yarn. I like the way it worked up for this project and the greens, darker shade of peach, and purple options are not colors I regularly find when buying baby yarn.

16 Inch Baby Doll Dress, Hat, and Shoes

I started using this free pattern when I was still using the soft bodied Mary Maxim 15-inch dolls they've since discontinued. With a little adjustment the pattern fit and with a bit more still fits the JC Toys - La Baby 16-inch Baby Doll despite being designed to fit a smaller 14-inch doll. You can find the free pattern here.

I've been targeting specific yarns in my stash this year to finish off. For this project I pulled out the Herrschners worsted weight that was gifted to me from a donor in the Charity Knitting group on Ravelry. I don't plan on letting this yarn grow roots in my stash. I want it to head out as doll outfits as quickly as I can use it up.

This is a lighter yarn so while I checked my notes from previous projects I needed to make additional adjustments to accommodate the lighter yarn.

I used an I hook for the upper portion of the dress joining as I went. This dress suggests using velcro to close and I've used buttons and snaps. I find velcro very difficult to use with crochet projects so I always substitute snaps or buttons. However, when possible, I find the slide on and off outfits to be easier for little hands. I also never complain if I don't have to sew snaps or buttons. I changed to a G hook for the skirt and the fit was good. I also used a G for the straps.

This is the first time I've tried multiple colors with this pattern but I liked it. I'm going to keep these colors but reverse them for the second doll's outfit. As I said I am determined to finish off the yarn.

Using a g hook, the hat pattern required a few extra increases to make it fit the doll's head. I also added contrasting colored shells for a little fun.

The shoes are my go-to free shoe pattern found in the Peachy Keen set here. I normally use an I hook to make the shoes fit but with the lighter yarn I had to go to a J hook to get the shoes big enough to fit the feet.