The Friday After: toys to crochet for girls and boys

 

The Friday after Thanksgiving is always a tremendous shopping day.  Having never liked crowds, and perfering to hand make gifts, I've never been a 'black Friday' participant.  In fact, I got to calling it white Friday, as a day to stay home and make something.

Today, black and white take on meanings and nuances that probably have always been with us, so I am going to change it up and refer to today as The Friday After...a day to stay home and make.  So, here are a few patterns from the past that make up quickly and will give you the satisfaction of giving a gift of your hands and heart.  And best of all, the patterns are FREE!

Lets start with Whoever Welcomes a Child the pattern for the doll shown above.  She comes with a set of clothing, and is a mere 3 1/2 inches tall if made with size 10 crochet cotton.  You can size her up, just remeber to use a size smaller thread for her clothing.

One of my favorite patterns is Simply Ami's, which you can crochet in two sizes with light worsted yarn.  There are several clothing patterns for this doll which you can find on the left side menu of this blog.

If you have boys on your list, here are some cute puppie patterns that make up withy worsted yarn:

Beagle

Labrador

Spaniel

German Shepard

Border Collie

and I will sneak in some Kitties as well.

Of course, girls will like them too!

And maybe your intended child would like a wee mouse in their Christmas Stocking!

And last but not least, Three Owls to Crochet:  A Snowy Owl, and Northern Saw-Whet owl, and a Collard Scopes Owl.

All of these patterns, and many, many, more are listed along the left sidebar of this blog.  I hope you enjoy your time making these, and may we work to keep ourselves and our neighbors safe this holiday season.

Enjoy the day, and enjoy the crochet!

Sweet Ella, Ivy, and Ann

 

The last couple of months I have been making dolls by two dollmakers:  Carla Vigliucci and LuluCompotine.  Their dolls are similar, and both have extensive, and different, wardrobes.  Both designers use constructions techniques that create beautiful doll bodies.   You can find their patterns here:

Carla Vigliucci on Ravelry

LuluCompotine on Etsy

Since I enjoy 'Frankensteining,' I have taken the techniques I like the most from both of these designers to make Ella, Ivy, and Ann, the three dolls above.  In their bare feet, they are 9 1/4 inches tall.  I used Knit Picks Curio 3 crochet cotton for the dolls and most of their clothing, with mohair and wool yarn for their hair.

These simple dresses are from LuluCompotine, with shoes from Carla Vigliucci.  The sweater is my own design.

The girls wanted nightgowns, so I knit them some.  Thank you to Dawn Smith for the inspiration  to use to the 'long tail cast on,' which creates a much neater neckline, and for the cap sleeve version of the nightgown (Anne in blue is wearing this).  If you are unfamiliar with the long tail cast-on, check out Google and watch some video's.  Once you get the hang of it, it will be your go-to cast-on.

Pattern for the knit nightgowns can be found here...caveat, they have not been pattern tested, so their may be some goofs (almost guaranteed!)

Knit nightgowns 

As always, enjoy the day and enjoy the crochet!

Make America Kind Again.

A lot confronts us.  Lets remember to be kind.