Stacie Little Sister Pretty Ensemble

Having made Skipper an outfit using this pattern from the out of print Annie's Fashion Doll Sister and Me 87D21 it was only a matter of time before I got around to making one for Stacie as well since I proved last year with some minor adjustments of hook size the pattern can be used for both modern dolls.

This was made with Aunt Lydia's Crochet Thread size 10 in Mint Green and Red Heart Size 10 Crochet Thread White using a Tulip Etimo 1.25mm steel crochet hook. I've been pleased to find that I only have to adjust the hook and can continue with the size 10 thread. The size 10 is easier to source than the size 20 I've started to use for some of the "Barbie" projects.

Stacie Sunday Best

I have a preposted donation list to help me track all the items made to keep me on track. I started it last year late in the year and this year I started it from the first project made and it has helped me to focus on dolls in need of dressing.

I started out well with Barbie's clan in January. Barbie and Chelsea have a good start. This is promising since last year poor Chelsea left with only one outfit. However, Stacie prior to this project had but one outfit and Ken and Skipper still have only the clothes they came in so I have some work to do not to have that what was I thinking moment in the fall when I realize I've forgotten to include enough outfits for a doll.

I started making Barbie clothes for my now adult nieces before moving on adding Barbies to the donation recently. During the years my nieces were younger I hunted the Internet searching for out of print leaflets and magazines devoted to crocheting for Barbie and her clan. While adjustments sometimes have to be made for the changes in doll sizes, available yarn/thread, and my own guage, I find I'm often able to make the patterns work for even the modern Barbie line.

This pattern comes Crochet World's Fashion Doll Showcase #1 published in 1988. It has a wide range of patterns from leisure to more formal outfits. I started with this one because I wanted something for Stacie and I thought it would give me an idea of what I was working with for guage.

The pattern calls for Knit-Cro-Sheen and a Size 1 steel crochet hook. I used Aunt Lydia's and Red Heart Thread and traded back between my Tulip thread hooks 1.8mm and 1.25mm.

The pattern shows the picture for the dress but not the coat. I shortened the coat because I found the longer coat didn't fit well over the dress. Without a picture to see how the designer intended it to fit it was hard to determine how it was supposed to fit but I liked the short sweater look for the outfit.

Stacie Shirt and Pants

Last year I failed terribly to provide Chelsea, the smallest of the Barbie dolls, with much of a wardrobe. To correct that I decided to start the year focusing on patterns I thought might work for her. I had found a free pattern for the no longer available Fibre Cindy doll that used to come in the package with the doll here and never got around to trying it. While Cindy is clearly larger than Chelsea I thought the pattern could be adjusted. Why then a post about Stacie you might ask?

I forgot a lesson I learned last year while making Barbie clothes. Thankfully, I still have the tools I acquired last year even if I forgot about some of them. In this instance I trusted the directions that said to use size 10 crochet thread. Experience has taught me, which is why I have a bag of size 20 thread purchased from Creative Yarn Source. However, having started on this project it seemed a shame to waste it and with multiple sized dolls one almost always fits the outfit. In this case instead of a dress it made a nice top for Stacie.

Thankfully unlike Barbie and Ken I was able to get the same donation dolls to match the models I used last year for Skipper, Stacie, and Chelsea so no new additional dolls and I don't have to relearn sizes for these dolls. When I saw the size of the top I had a good idea that it would be a good fit for Stacie. For my own notes since I will likely come back to this pattern at some point in the future I used a .75mm thread hook with size 10 crochet thread for the top.

Now having a top I needed bottoms and I turned to a pattern I used last year for shorts from an out of print Annie's Fashion Doll Sister and Me 87D21. I used a 1.25mm hook for the shorts and then just continued with the leg rows until they were pant length. There is a snap in the back to close the pants. There is an additional finished row to the pants opening that I continued around the top of the pants to finish off the starting chain.

This works as a simple pants and top outfit or could also be pajamas depending on how the child wishes to play with the doll she gets from the donation.

Stacie Pretty Dress Ensemble

Having fit two older Skipper patterns to a modern doll, I decided I'd continue the task and fit both patterns to the smaller Stacie doll before continuing on with my other projects.

The pattern for this outfit is found in the out of print Fashion Doll Sister and Me 87D21 published by Annie's Attic in 1986.

I used Aunt Lydia's Size 10, Maize and Red Heart Crochet, Thread Size 10 White. To get the sizing correct I used a Tulip Etimo Rose Steel Crochet Hook-4/1.25mm.

I'm pleased with how little adaptation is required beyond hook size to change these patterns from Skipper to Stacie. My experience in having to rewrite patterns to fit dolls is that it requires more effort, so this has been a pleasant surprise. I have a few patterns from the Annie's pattern club that are Stacie sized but not enough to create a varied wardrobe, so I'm pleased these patterns are fitting so I can send off some clothing with the doll for the donation.

Stacie Short Set

I mentioned last week that I was working on patterns from an out of print Annie's pattern book, Fashion Doll Sister and Me 87D21 for Skipper. While working on a dress I wondered how the patterns for the 9" Skipper doll could be adjusted to fit Stacie a 7" doll.

While I liked the way Skipper's shirt fit in my original attempt at the short set I was concerned with the shorts. They seemed a little small for Skipper. I decided this would be a good place to start with Stacie. I tried the set on Stacie and while the shorts were a better fit for Stacie, the shirt was too large. I changed to the Aunt Lydia's Size 10, Wood Violet I used for Skipper's dress and used a 1mm crochet hook to get a good fit for Stacie's top.

I had added trim to Skipper's shirt to match her shorts so I needed to remake her shirt with Aunt Lydia's Size 10-Monet so they'd continue to match. I used a 1.5mm hook for a better fit. I joined the shorts after the fourth row and added a row before splitting the shorts for the legs. I also added a chain 4 for the split.

I missed the scarf when I made Skipper's outfit so I went back and made one for Skipper when I made one for Stacie. With Stacie's ponytail, the scarf fits Skipper better than Stacie but I was glad to add the accessories for both dolls.

I had fun getting some fresh air and taking some pictures outdoors of the girls. I try to get a picture of the doll wearing the outfit to include in each doll clothing bag so the child can see what the outfit is supposed to look like on the doll.

Stacie Dress

This is an adaptation of the Pastel Sundress pattern from the Annie's Crochet Fashion Doll Crochet Club Play Set Pattern FC20-03. This pattern is one of the Fashion Doll Crochet Club patterns that focuses primarily on on Barbie's sisters. There are 4 sister patterns and no Barbie patterns in the set.

The pattern for this dress has a huge ruffle skirt and I wanted to see if I could make something with a more traditional skirt. This is still a little larger than I had planned for but it was a good first attempt for where I want to head. I'm also thinking this pattern could be used to make a romper for the doll as well.

I am continuing to use up my AC Moore sports yarn collection. This yarn has the silky feel of Caron Simply soft at a sport weight. It was a little heavier than the previous yarn I used so I used Tulip Etimo 2/2mm Crochet Hook when I found my Bates Bamboo B hook was bending under the strain. My Tulip hooks are a little hardier in the smaller ranges. To complete the skirt I went back to a C hook.

Notes:

Another change I made was using a single strap for the shoulder. The double strap was too thick in the previous dress. I like this look better.