A Little Darling

Sometimes, a doll just touches your heart and won't let go.  Dianna Effner's Little Darling dolls have done just that to me, and thanks to my dear friend Tomi, I have one I can call my own.

This doll is 13 inches tall, and has a beautifully proportioned and balanced body.  The faces capture the innocence and wonder of childhood.  Jennifer, my Little Darling, was painted by Helen Skinner.

And the other delightful thing about this doll is, she can wear many of the outfits already available on this blog!  

Here she is wearing a nightgown, bed jacket, T-shirt and jumper designed for the Prairie Flower cloth doll.

And here she is wearing undies, hankie dress, and crochet collar designed for Bleuette.

Look on the left sidebar for Crochet Bleuette and Prairie Flower Cloth Dolls for simple patterns you can make for your Little Darling.

Crochet Collars for Bleuette

A couple of crochet collars for your Bleuette, crochet Bleuette, or any other similarly sized 11 to 13 inch doll (think Kish Bethany or Effner Little Darlings!).

These collars are detachable, and button up the back.  They are made from size 10 crochet cotton using a size 6 steel hook.  They are an easy way to add a touch of old time elegance to any dress.

Bleuette detachable collars

Enjoy the crochet!

Knit Shawl by Lionbrand

Took a bit of a break from dollmaking to knit this lovely shawl.  The pattern is free on the Lionbrand site: it is the Rosy Glen shawl.  You need to register to access the patterns on their site, but this is free, and the patterns are well worth it.

The yarn for this shawl is Lionbrand Amazing, and it is!  It self-stripes beautifully and has a lovely halo.  The yarn is 53% wool/ 47% acrylic.  Blocking is important to achieve the stated size.  I wanted a shawl slightly larger, so worked an extra set of repeats.

Simple Bleuette fashions from hankies

A simple 12 inch square of fabric can become quite a wardrobe for your Bleuette or crochet Bleuette.  These three hankies on the left were turned into a simple pleated dress, panties, nightgown, and sundress.  Each one took less than an hour to complete, and the hankie does all the fashion work for you!

Here are the patterns:

Basic Pleated Hankie Dress  dress with the purple flowers

Simple Hankie Panties and Nightgown nightgown with red roses

Simple Hankie Sundress/Pinafore sundress with blue roses

I hope you enjoy making these sweet little outfits, and hunting for hankies to turn into Bleuette frocks :-)

A gift from Victoria

These two wonderful wigs for crochet Bleuette were made by Victoria DiPietro, a most talented dollmaker and generous friend.