Skipper Sleeping Bag

With Skipper's sleeping bag finished she is ready to be boxed for the donation!

This is Suzie's Stuff's free fashion doll sleeping bag pattern found here.

Notes:

This was made with an I hook. I use her directions for the shell pattern rather than the sc option. I just love the look and it makes it more doable.

Once the pillow is made and the pattern established I no longer count rows I just crochet until I can cover the feet and comfortable seem the bottom without it being tight for the feet.

This time I started the pattern into the chain. I didn't do an extra row of sc and I think it fits better after joining.

This was made with the Herrschners Baby Striped Worsted Hydrangea I had left over from making the Glitter Girl nightgown. Not done with it yet so it might find its way into a future project. However, I do know I'll be buying more when I have a coupon. Despite my stash I'm trying to finish this works for several of my doll projects and I want to make sure it is in stock for the 2026 donation as well.

Skipper Nightgown

Like Stacie's nightgown this too is made from an AG Mini pattern that can be purchased here. I bought the set so I'm slowly working on adapting the patterns that will work for the donation to the Barbie's sisters.

Notes:

I made some additional changes for Skipper after making this for Stacie.

As with the previous AG Mini adaptation I needed size 10 crochet thread and a 1.8mm hook to get this outfit to fit Skipper.

The bent arm issue still makes this hard to get on and off of Skipper with the style of the arms so I left them off.

After adding the trim to the bodice for Stacie I decided not to use if for Skipper and I wouldn't use it for the future outfits. I am still planning on using this for Chelsea this year and will likely be back to this for future donation years.

I added notes to fix the count that increases with each row where I just winged it with Stacie's outfit. I will have this for future attempts.

The bottom trims worked better with the additional notes I added for myself. I was able to get both trims in contrast rather than just one.

Lastly just as a note to myself this closes with tie no need for a snap. I did finish the back before adding the ties and collar.

Skipper Swimsuit

As I mentioned in my post about Barbie's swimsuit I was on a hunt for a different swimsuit pattern and settled on one from an out of print Leisure Arts Leaflet 2132 Hawaiian Honeymoon.

Skipper was fortunate to benefit from all my attempts at making this for Barbie as I believe my final attempt for her will be the template for future swimsuit projects for these two dolls.

Notes:

For this project I used size 5 Bernat Cotton thread which has sadly been discontinued. For my own notes Hobby Lobby Artiste has a limited number of colors which will also work for this project when my current supply runs out.

I used a size B crochet hook for this project. I tried it on Barbie when I was done to see if it would work for next year and it will work for her as well.

For myself I will add the note I put in Barbie's project about making sure the crotch is even on both sides to avoid having a lopsided project.

Skipper Bella Dress

I took the lessons I learned from making Barbie's version of this dress into making Skipper's dress.

Notes:

This was made using a Mel Garcia Tello pattern I purchased here.

This time I waited until I had the Knit Picks Pallete yarn in both colors to complete the outfit. While I was able to complete Barbie's outfit with yarn on hand having the same fiber made for a better fit.

I did read my notes on the Barbie outfit before starting so I used a C hook for the whole outfit. I need to try this on Barbie to see if it fits as well as I expect it will when I make this for next year.

I also followed my note about waiting to add snap until contrast yarn was added to the bodice. I also waited to finish the back until adding the contrast. When both were completed I added the closing snap.

Note to self I need to order more mini buttons. This was my last yellow one.

Skipper Red Riding Hood

I failed to include the link for Mel Garcia Tello's pattern to purchase in my previous post about making this for Barbie so I'm starting with it so I don't forget to include it. The pattern can be purchased here.

I've been so pleased to find so many of Barbie's outfits either fit or with minimal changes can be made to fit Skipper since there are limited patterns for Barbie's sisters available to crochet.

Notes:

I didn't need to make many changes from Barbie to Skipper for the outfit to fit but I did fix the mistake I made on the Barbie dress section.

I used the same Knit Picks Pallete colors for both Barbie and Skipper. Skipper's Bodice is smaller so I used a D hook for the bodice and a C hook for the skirt. While making Barbie's dress I had made the decision not to join the dress until I reached the skirt closing the top with a snap.

This did require me to go back to my notes about the straps I made for Barbie. The pattern for the straps comes after the bodice is written and there are two rows. You can do them without finishing off if the top is joined. However since I made rows I needed to stop after the first row finish off and start row 2 from where row 1 started. I actually read my notes this time and the straps look much better with this change.

After making Barbie's hood I tried it on Skipper and found it fit well so I used a G hook for Skipper's hood as well. I had experimented with the suggested smaller hook but it was too small for both dolls.

Skipper's bent arm is a bit challenging when anything covers her arm. I did find the hood didn't sit as well on it as I'd have liked but overall I'm pleased with her latest outfit.

Skipper Cinderella

A while back I accidently bought an AG mini crochet pattern thinking it was for Chelsea.

Since then I've been exploring what other AG Mini patterns that might work for Barbie's sisters for the donation as I don't have lots of ready to make patterns for them.

In my search I discovered that Sweet Silver Creations has adapted her 18 inch doll pattern collection to the AG mini size. I have loved her patterns for my 18 inch doll donations so it seemed like a good idea to try out one of her smaller doll patterns to see if they'd work for the Barbie line.

This is her AG Mini Cinderella pattern that can be purchased here.

I decided to experiment to see how it would fit as written with the top to determine which doll I'd start with and how I would need to think about adapting it to fit some of the other dolls in the line. When it said size 10 and a size 7 thread hook I was thinking Chelsea was likely not going to fit but my goal was to try the pattern as written as see where I ended up.

Notes:

I used a 1.8mm hook with size 10 crochet thread. I believe this is Aunt Lydia's size 10 Dark Royal thread. I thought I'd be playing fiber chicken as I was originally thinking a smaller doll and only pulled out a partial cone but I had some left over. For my own sanity I would suggest having a mostly full cone before starting with one on the sidelines in case of mistakes.

When an outfit has armholes I try the outfit on for size after completing the armholes. It was clear from the beginning that this would not fit Chelsea but I had wondered if Stacie would be an option but Skipper was the winner. I'm still hoping to try this outfit with a smaller hook for Stacie before moving down to size 20 thread, which I plan to try for Chlesea.

I had to repeat row 11 of the bodice to row 21 to get the length I needed as she clearly is longer than the 6 inch American Girl Mini doll. This makes row 12 row 22. I didn't record the skirt additions but I believe it was an additional 6 rows to get it to floor length. I kept trying it on as I went and I'd do this when I make it again.

I changed the overskirt as I believe I likely do with her larger 18 inch doll Cinderella. I also needed to play with the sleeves. One sleeve trim seemed to go as written the other seemed to have more stitches so I played with it a bit.

The collar and headband worked as written.

I've since ordered her complete AG Mini doll crochet pattern set. Some of them will work better for this project than others but not all of the ones I wanted were sold as individual patterns and I've learned I will eventually go back and try stuff I never thought I'd do at some point.

Skipper Valentine Doll Dress

I actually started this outfit much closer to Valentine's Day but ran out of thread and had to wait for my order to arrive to finish the dress. I originally intended the outfit for Barbie but with the adjustments I made it was a better fit for Skipper.

Notes:

This pattern comes from an out of print Annie's Crochet Newsletter, the January/February 1995 edition.

The pattern calls for size 10 crochet thread but even reducing down to my smallest thread hooks it was too large for Barbie with size 10. This then became a Golilocks challenge.

I reduced my thread to size 20 with a 1.25 mm hook and the top was tight for Barbie but a decent fit for Skipper. I might experiment with the fit for Skipper if I make this again with hook size as it was an interesting fit large in the top but tighter at the waist. I suspect Barbie would need closer to a 1.5 mm to make it fit with the size 20 thread.

I reduced to a 1mm hook for the skirt.

While I'd consider the flower trim at the neck for Barbie it was too much for Skipper.

I've been challenging myself to try more patterns that are sitting in my binders that I've never made so I'm glad I tried this one. Not sure it will be a yearly addition as it consumes a great deal of size 20 thread and it takes more time than my average Barbie family project. I plan to continue to try some of these more challenging projects and perhaps I will be back again to revisit some of them again.