Stacie Coat and Hat

Stacie won my guage doesn't match the pattern designers lottery this week and ended up with an outfit I'd been trying to make for Chelsea. It's no great loss as with adjustments I think I can make this for Chelsea and now I have a pattern that will work for Stacie since there are so few patterns that are designed specifically for her.

This is a Petite Creative Designs pattern that can be purchased here.

The pattern calls for size 10 cotton thread and a 1.75mm thread hook. I used a 1.8mm hook. I'm thinking of going down significantly for Chelsea or perhaps if necessary switching to size 20 thread.

I followed the coat pattern as written with the exception of the arms. Stacie has one bent arm and this makes the coat sleeves two different sizes. I made the straight arm first and when I tried to make the second arm the same length it was too long for the bent arm. I pulled out some rows and crocheted it to a length that fits the arm as bent. Off the doll it is clear the arms are different sizes but it fits the doll.

This Stacie has a good size bun for this style of hat. In order to accomadate the hat I left the last 6 stitches unworked as I got to the section where her bun interfered with the hat sitting on the head. I then chained 6 and joined to the start of the hat row. As I continued I crocheted into the chain rows and continued around. This allows the hair to go through the hole.

Stacie Crop Top and Shorts

This is the final outfit for the 2024 donation from Annie's Fashion Doll Crochet Club's Cool Crop Tops and Shorts FC0104. I'd previously made the outfits for Barbie and Skipper and then things oddly got busy at the end of the summer and has continued into the fall season. I finished this outfit right before Labor Day and she's been waiting patiently for her picture and a return to the model bag to hang with her friends.

I love the idea that with one pattern I can make outfits for three of the Barbie dolls with minimal changes. I used Lion Brand Ice Cream Yarn and Baby Bernat Sport for this project. I used a C hook with the Medium directions to get the fit for Stacie. I can only imagine this will be on my to do list for 2025 as it works up quickly for all three dolls and gives a nice summer outfit that may not be exciting in the winter when the doll is received but will be something to return to as the weather thaws.

Stacie Winter becomes Spring

I began with idea of making the sister pattern from JudysDollsPatterns for Chelsea in thread.

I had started down this road with Stacie originally but I couldn't get the waist to fit. It ended up large for Chelsea but by the time I'd finished the edges it fit Stacie this time. I'd decided to go with size 20 thread for the shirt for Chelsea as the size 10 thread was huge. I found the 20 actually worked better for Stacie as well but as with the skirt during the finishing stages I needed to add some space around the neck to close as I'd decided not to add the winter finishing collar. The colors I had on hand just had more of a Spring feel so it seemed a good choice finish it as a Spring outfit.

The Christmas Playtime set can be purchased here.

Notes:

I used a 1.8mm hook for the skirt and a .9mm for the shirt.

I changed multiple rows trying to get it to fit Chelsea so this would be something to explore when making this again for Stacie. I'd start with the larger hook for the skirt but likely reduce the hook size to the .9mm once past the waist line to avoid some of the puffy feel and to get the details of the alternating colors to work better.

Usually I use snaps for Barbie and family but I picked up some tiny buttons and a button hole was a better choice for this project based on the challenge of getting the neck to fit right.

I plan on trying the overalls pattern for Stacie. I had hoped it would work for both dolls but after this experience I don't think it will work as hoped.

Stacie Winter Outfit

As I mentioned yesterday with my post about Ken's winter clothing I wanted to see if I could get the Christmas Sister pattern to fit Stacie.

I am no Barbie expert. My interest first was in finding outfits that would fit my nieces' dolls and in recent years finding patterns that I could make that would fit the current models I could donate. I know the names, sizes, and availabilities of the Barbie family have changed over the years, but mostly I try to find patterns that I think I can work with for the models I'm currently using.

The current Stacie model I'm using is around 9 inches tall. The Chelsea model is around 6 inches tall. The Christmas Playtime set from JudysDollandPatterns has a 7 1/2 inch sister and brother pattern. I hope to adapt both for Stacie and Chelsea.

You can purchase the Christmas Playtime set here.

Notes:

I originally tried the 1.8mm hook and size 10 thread that had worked for Ken thinking that while the doll may be taller how much bigger is she? This proved a bad choice. The skirt didn't come close to fitting at the waist. My mistake was not trying it on Chelsea. I'm currently trying the pattern with Chelsea now with adaptations because she is not as tall as the doll in the pattern.

I tried adjusting hooks but size 10 was clearly not the answer. I decided to try Knit Picks Palette which is a fingering weight yarn and my 2mm thread hook. This made for a slightly bulkier look but it is a winter outfit. After experimenting with a Chelsea outfit, I plan to try for another outfit for Stacie using size 3 thread. I had started it but changed to the palette as I needed more time to experiment with hook sizes because it wasn't flowing at all.

Unlike the Ken pattern the sweater forms the arms as you go not sewing them together after the fact. I generally prefer this but the challenge for this pattern is the ribbing instead of being formed as you go is added at the end which seemed a bit strange. That being said I was able to add the collar which I couldn't do for Ken since the neck area was more even.

Just a note about the ribbing, I'm already reducing the number of stitches for the ribbing for Chelsea as it is just too big. I'd do that for Stacie and Ken for the next time I make these outfits. I like the ribbing but it's just too large for the overall outfit.

I changed the skirt pattern. First I didn't want a full length skirt. Even if I had been going for a full length with the fingering yarn the texture changes weren't as smooth as they might have been with thread so I decided to end the skirt after the 5dc row. I tried adding the next row and the texture just wasn't right.

The hat only has one row completed because it just became too big with the yarn. I realized the ties as written wouldn't tie after I made the first side and decided to treat it more like a scarf wrapped around the head for warmth and closed it with a snap.

I'm currently trying to adapt this with size 10 thread for Chelsea and experimenting with size 3 or maybe 5 for Stacie to give her an additional outfit in different colors for the donation. I lack many options for Stacie so exploring options for something different is important.

At some point I'd like to try out the sweater and skirt for Barbie. I'd likely try Ken's hat on her to see if it would fit. I'm not as crazy about her hat pattern.

Stacie Top and Skirt

I'm always on the look out for free doll patterns, especially those that look like they'd be quick and easy to finish for the donation. It is rare to find patterns for Stacie let alone free ones so I was thrilled to find one that was not only free but looked like something I'd finish. I stumbled across the Tess and Annie blog which doesn't look like it has been updated in some time but it has some wonderful patterns for Barbie and this outfit for Stacie found here.

Notes:

I used the suggested 1.8mm thread hook and size 10 crochet thread for this project.

The top has what the designer calls polka dots made using lavender thread. This requires changing colors across dc to sc and I did try this but found my stitches were getting tight across the fabric changing the fit of the shirt as I continued. I eventually frogged my first effort and went with the solid purple shown here. The color effect is cute but it was far too frustrating for me.

I also changed the placement of the arm holes. I made them going forward rather than returning and going back to finish them. I tried both ways and was not pleased with the suggested method. I found making them going forward was a better option for me.

I joined the top at the bottom of the trim. In the future I would join before I started the trim on the bottom and then finish the edges before adding a snap to close the top of the top.

I found the skirt was a fairly tight fit so I started using the directions for row 6 after completing row 3 until I reached 54 stitches.

Stacie Sleeping Bag

Another sleeping bag off my list. I decided to start with the Barbies as they are the quickest to finish off. Stacie was an opportunity to use up some Caron Simply Soft Ombre Rosewood.

Just a note to myself for future projects, Simply Soft is not the best choice for the fashion dolls for this project as their hands get stuck in the yarn. If I had enough it likely wouldn't be an issue with the larger dolls, but it was constantly snagging on Stacie's hands.

This is a free pattern you can find here.

I don't count rows once I'm past the established pattern for the shells. Since this is designed for a Beanie Baby I do need to make it longer. I just continue until it fits the doll and finish off. This year it is slightly longer than required but it also aids with the doll not getting snagged on the yarn.

There is a free pattern on the same site for fashion dolls but with Stacie's hands out as wide as they are I find the wider Beanie Baby bag is a better fit for getting her in and out with minimal snagging.