The gift of handmade love

Three years ago my good friend Bev asked me to make three Free Spirit dolls for her Grandgirls.  It was a fun project, and even now the girls still play with their Free Spirit dolls (which is the very highest complement a dollmaker can get!).

This year, Bev asked me to make some tops for the girl's Free Spirit dolls, that she could pair up with some skirts that she would make, to give them for Christmas.  Pictured above is the wonderful gift that Bev will give her Grandgirls this year.  The skirts are all separate, so they can be mixed and matched with the tops.  And then, Bev knit each doll a sweater/cap/mitten set! 

I love everything about this gift, and I wanted to share it with you.

 The Grandgirls Free Spirit dolls

If you are interested in making the mittens for your own dolls, the pattern is a freebie from the WEB's yarn site.  Here is a link:  doll size mittens

One last picture to share.   One of my little Bleue's went to live with Bev, and what a lucky little Bleue she is!  Bev has knit her several sweaters, caps, mittens, and the sweetest little bear muff.

 Bev's Bleue, little Beth Jane, with her snuggly knits made by Bev

Aran Sweater

During the Christmas holidays I made my little Pocket Spirit an Aran sweater, and made both of us some pretty hair accessories.  The Hellbore and Holly patterns are from the book " 100 Flowers to Knit and Crochet."  It has some of the loveliest flower patterns, and I was able to borrow it from our local Library :-)  The large flowers are crocheted in sportweight yarn, and glued to a hair barret.  The small ones are crocheted in size 8 perle and glued to a length of 1/4" ribbon and tied in her hair.

The sweater pattern is available here: Pocket Spirit Aran Sweater

And the pants are available here: Pocket Spirit Pants

Another fun project was this awesome tree, courtesy of Michaels.   My friend Joyce directed me to this link, and has made at least two beautiful trees from this pattern.  The pattern is easy, and can be made as tall or short as you like; it makes up fast, and is the prettiest crochet tree pattern I've seen.

Sadly, the link to the Christmas tree is no longer available from Michaels.

Start the New Year right and get hooking!

Adapting patterns for Free Spirit

I am having a great time adapting patterns for Free Spirit. She is 11 to 12 inches tall, and turns out to be a good size for many of the patterns designed for the Fibre Craft 13 inch and 15 inch dolls. The great thing about crochet is that you can fit as you go, so if you need to remove a row or two in the bodice, or nip the waist in a couple stitches, it is very easy to do this as you are crocheting.

For the outfit above, in addition to using a size E hook and Red Heart Soft worsted yarn, I took in four stitches at the waistline, and removed two rows from the skirt. Sleeves and neck did not need to be altered. It fits Minerva very nicely :-) This was a pattern designed for the 13 inch Fibre Craft doll.


For this American Indian costume, I removed two rows from the bodice, and two rows from the skirt. I used a size E hook and Caron Simply Soft. This costume was designed for the 15 inch Fibre Craft doll. So what I notice is, the 13 inch doll bodice needs to be reduced in the waist, and the 15 inch doll bodice needs to be shortened slightly.

I crocheted these outfits very tightly; the gauge was six sc to one inch. I think they could be made in sport weight and a slighly looser grip on the hook with the same alterations.

Free patterns are available, and there are also out-of-print patterns available from Amazon, and from this site:

http://www.treasuredheirloomscrochet.com/index.html

Enjoy the crochet!

Winter Dawn

Winter Dawn is finished; an American Indian Free Spirit. She is shown here with her faithful familiar, Wings-that-Whisper, from the Roman Sock blog owlet pattern.



Winter's dress is a slight adaptation of the pattern shown here, which is a free pattern available at this link:

http://web.archive.org/web/20080216045153/www.fibrecraft.com/dofun/dollsbears/crochet/chief_princess.asp

I used sport weight yarn and a size E hook, and eliminated one row on the yoke front and back. Plus, I flared the skirt more than the pattern called for by increasing 5sc every other row.

For her boots, I used a different free pattern, located at the same site, and except for using sportweight yarn and a size E hook I did not need to make any changes. This was the Indian Princess IV pattern.

Edwardian Nightgowns

Well, the Edwardian Free Spirit's trousseau is almost complete. The girls now have their choice of nightgowns. The nightgown on the left is done with a love knot stitch. Once you get the hang of it, it isn't difficult, but it can be a bit tough to visualize. If you want to try this stitch, I recommend heading to Crochet Pattern Central to their stitch dictionary and take a look at the stitch there. Their site is listed in 'Links I Love.'

The nightgown on the right is done with a chain and picot stitch. Easy stitches, and gives a nice, lacy effect. Both of these nightgowns were stitched with Aunt Lydia's Bamboo Crochet Thread. It was the first time I had used this thread, and it is lovely. It has a matte finish and a wonderful drape.

The patterns for the nightgowns can be found here:

Edwardian Nightgown

Or on the left hand side of the blog page under Free Spirit Patterns.


Now we can snuggle in to bed in our cozy nightgowns :-) Enjoy the stitching!

Another Edwardian Variation

I have two new patterns to share, plus a new girl to model them! Emily is another Edwardian Free Spirit. She has peachy skin (Red Heart Classic light peach) and blond streaked hair (Lionbrand Imagine, which they discontinued...drat them! and a laceweight mohair). She also has gold Suncatcher eyes.

Her dress is another variation of the basic Edwardian dress, this time with a lower neckline and puffed upper sleeves that gather into tight fitting lower sleeves. This way, she can wear a variety of collars that are detachable and button in the back. The pattern for the dress is here:

Low Neck Edwardian Dress

And the collar patterns are here:

Detachable Edwardian Collars

Also, they are listed on the left hand side of the blog page under Free Spirit Patterns.

I hope you enjoy making these as much as I have :-)

Edwardian Variations

One of my favorite places to find inspiration when designing vintage clothing is from Dover Publications. Above are three of the resource books I have from them, one of which is a paper doll book! (the one on the right). Dover easily has hundreds of paper doll books and other books, including books of old photographs, that are perfect for jump-starting the creative juices.

I based the 'basic' Edwardian dress on several of the styles from 'Childrens Fashions 1860-1912.' The pattern is now available here:

Basic Edwardian Dress

Included are instructions for both the bretelles (fancy shoulder straps) and a deep bodice collar. Two sleeve variations, and two different pattern stitches for the skirt. The basic bodice is simply the side-to-side bodice.

So please, have fun making these outfits, and coming up with variations of your own!

Five Easy Pieces

Here are five easy mix-and-match wardrobe pieces for the Free Spirit Amigurumi doll. This doll is a free PDF download from this site; scroll down a bit to find her. A fun wardrobe can be made from these patterns, and lots of other clothing ideas can spring from these. You could use either the tunic or T-shirt pattern for a dress bodice; shorten the pants for capri's or shorts; the sky's the limit. Have fun making these cute outfits for your doll :-)


Victorian boots for the Free Spirit Amigurumi doll. Made from size 10 crochet cotton and a size 5 or 6 steel hook

Victorian Boots





Short sleeve T-shirt for Free Spirit Amigurumi doll. Made from size 10 crochet cotton and a size 5 or 6 steel hook

T-Shirt





Simple skirts for Free Spirit Amigurumi doll. Made from size 10 crochet cotton and size 5 or 6 steel hook.

Simple Skirts





Long tunic for Free Spirit Amigurumi doll. Made from size 10 crochet cotton and size 5 or 6 steel hook

Long Tunic





Flare pants for the Free Spirit Amigurumi doll. They are made from size 10 crochet cotton and a size 5 or 6 steel hook.

Flare Pants

A hat and Bag for Free Spirit

Here is a very simple pattern for a skull cap and bag for Free Spirit. They are made from worsted weight cotton and a size F hook.

Skull cap and bag

Enjoy!

Basic Clothing for Free Spirit

The first clothing patterns I'm going to upload for the Free Spirit Amigurumi doll are for two different bodices and underwear. With these basic patterns, you can make tops, pants, dresses, just about anything. The two bodice patterns have instructions for making combinations (a type of underwear that combines the top and bottom, hence the name).

Side to side bodice pattern



Link bodice pattern






Underwear pattern

These garments are all made with size 10 crochet thread and a size 5 or 6 steel hook. Enjoy making these outfits, and coming up with designs of your own :-)