Another wonderful doll pattern

Columbine was made from a wonderful crochet doll pattern which is available on Ravelry.  The pattern is Yun Shu.  She is crocheted in sport weight yarn with a size C (2.5mm) crochet hook.  She stands about 7.5 inches tall.

As you can see, she is a very slender-bodied doll, so she is easy to dress by pulling her clothing up over her feet.  

I made Columbine's eyes with size 8 perle cotton and a size 7 steel hook; they turned out about 3/8 inch in diameter.

I made a few tweaks to the pattern, so she would be a bit easier for me to make.  Following are the changes I made to the pattern:

1. I eliminated the foot and added one stitch to the width of the leg up to the second increase, then worked per the pattern.

2. I added one stitch to the width of the arm.

3. I did not use a wire armature; instead, I stuffed the legs as I crocheted, after each six or seven rows up to the hips. If you want the doll to be able to sit, do not stuff clear to the top of the leg...leave a little space with no stuffing so the legs can move freely.

4. For the arms, I stuffed a ball of stuffing in the end for the hand, then did not stuff the rest of the arm.

5. By adding a stitch to the width of each arm, I ended up with two extra stitches at the shoulder. Decrease these out in the first decrease row after attaching the arms, then work the shoulders as written.

6. For a move-able head, I worked the shoulders down to eight stitches, then worked several rows on these eight stitches for a neck stub (to fit up inside the head)

7. For the head, I left a hole at the bottom (neck end) of the head eight stitches around, then worked the head as written. I stuffed the head through this hole; it is small but doable.

8. For the eyes,  I used perle cotton size 8 for the eyes, and the eyes ended up being about 3/8 of an inch across.

Crochet Eyes

9. For the hair, I made a three-round wig cap of 8sc, 16sc, 20sc, then worked the strands as written. I used the extra stitch to make one more bang strand.

Enjoy the crochet!