Neil Armstrong: 1930-2012

 photo courtesy NASA

Neil Armstrong; the first person to walk on a planet other than our own.  A Navy fighter pilot in the Korean War, an engineer, an astronaut, a professor, a father, a husband.  A man that every child of my generation watched in breathless wonder as he took those first steps on the moon, that hot July night in 1969.

He has inspired generations of children to dream beyond their horizons.  "Don't tell me the sky is the limit when there are footprints on the moon." - Paul Brandt

Godspeed, Neil Armstrong.

Crochet Mock Smocked bodice and Mary Jane shoes for Bleuette

I love the look of smocking, but I've never been very good at it.  Too cheap to buy a pleater, and too impatient to mark all those little dots on the fabric :-)  As W.C. Fields put it so eloquently "A thing worth having is worth cheating for!"  So here is a crochet version of smocking, that I call mock smocking.  It is achieved with triple crochet post stitches and a bit of embroidery after the crochet is complete.

Mock Smocked Bodice

Here is what the smocking looks like before and after embroidering:

You could also use this pattern to make an Aran sweater in crochet.  Post stitches are extremely versatile, and add wonderful texture to your crochet pieces.  They are not hard to do, just a bit different and take a little practice.

I also have a pair of shoes for you to crochet for Bleuette.  They are made with size 3 crochet cotton and a size C crochet hook.  They fit over the crochet socks.  The pattern is for Mary Janes, but once you have the right fit for the foot, you can modify them for boots, slip-ons, and embellish them as you wish.

Crochet Mary Jane Shoes

Enjoy making these new patterns for your Bleuette or Crochet Bleuette!

Simple Wigs, and other Bleuette goodness

Making wigs and hair for my dolls is my favorite part of the dollmaking process.  Once the doll has a wig, that is when her (or his) personality comes alive.

Simple Bleuette Wigs

These four wigs are very simple to make, based on the basic crochet wig cap.  In this instance, the wig cap is also part of the hair.  By using mohair yarn, you don't really need to cover the wig cap with strands of yarn.  This saves on yarn, saves on time, and is great for a play-able doll for a child.  These wigs will fit any doll with a seven inch circumference head, and can be adapted to fit any doll at all.

You can make these wigs with any yarn, really; but the fuzzier it is (higher mohair content) the more it will look like those pictured above.  Brushed nylon will also work, and the many 'fun fur' eyelash yarns as well.

The only drawback to these yarns is that the stitches can be hard to see.  So, if you are just beginning, I would suggest making light colored wigs at first: blond, gold, peach and light shades.  Also, crochet with a piece of white paper in your lap...it helps to see the stitches.  Don't worry too much about mistakes or missed stitches...they become invisible in this kind of yarn :-)

A couple of other goodies to share:

A Mostly Knit Shrug for Bleuette!  The shrug is knit as a rectangle nine inches long and three inches wide.  Fold it lengthwise and sew up  two and a half inches on either end for the sleeves, then crochet a border around the rest of it.  I like the knit for the body as it gives a soft hand to the fabric, and the crochet edging adds crispness around the edges.

And a Link Stitch Bodice.  This bodice is worked from the neckline down, so you can easily make it any length you want.  It starts with a series of 18 links.  I like working into links better than working into chain stitches; it is easier to get a neat border, and gives a sweet eyelet look to the neckline.

Enjoy the day, and enjoy the crochet!

Love Knot Nightgown for Bleuette

 

This nightgown pattern was created several years ago, when I was first bitten by the Bleuette bug.  I'm posting the pattern here, but it may be a bit rough.

Love Knot Nightgown

It will fit both Reproduction and crocheted Bleuette.  If you are not familiar with the Love Knot stitch, I recommend looking it up in a good crochet stitch dictionary, or Google it for instructions.  I can do the stitch, but I'm not the best person to try to explain it!

Enjoy the day, and enjoy the crochet :-)

 

Pretty dresses for Bleuette

Here are a couple of very simple dresses you can make for your Bleuette or crochet Bleuette, using the basic camisole as the bodice.  The drop waist dress has a crocheted skirt, and the short waist dress has a fabric skirt.

Simple Dresses for Bleuette

With this bodice, you can make any number of outfits for Bleuette.  Shorten it a bit more, add a long fabric skirt, and you have a sweet nightgown.  Or, pair the long waisted bodice with the pantaloons to make cute rompers.  These are some of my favorite outfits to make for dolls.  They are simple, and look sweet :-)

Enjoy the day, and enjoy the crochet!

Basic Crochet Undergarment for Bleuette

I love dolls in dainty undergarments.  Undergarments are the first thing I make for a new doll.  Not only does it get her decent quickly, but it also lets me figure out the basic garment construction; how many stitches around the waist, how long the bodice needs to be, how large to make the armhole openings.

Basic Bleuette Undies

So now your Bleuette, or your crochet Bleuette, can have a camisole, pantaloons, and socks.  The camisole pattern makes a lovely bodice for a sundress, a drop-waist dress or rompers, and the pantaloons can give you a good beginning for shorts or pants.

Enjoy outfitting your Bleuette...more to follow :-)

Meet Bleuette

As mentioned in my last post, I've had the idea of creating a Bleuette doll in crochet for a long time.  Bleuette is a doll with quite a history, and an even more amazing wardrobe :-)

She started life in 1905 as a give-away (thats right!) promotion to little French girls to subscribe to a girl's magazine...La Semaine De Suzette, which translates as 'Suzette's week.'   The magazine's publishers were devout Catholics, and they were worried that the secularization of French public education would be detrimental to the development of young French womanhood.  Thus the magazine, and its aim to help promote their (the publisher's) ideals of what a young Frenchwoman's accomplishments should be.

One of these things was a proficiency with needlework and hand sewing, and Bleuette is the perfect little companion to sew for!  La Semaine De Suzette published hundreds of patterns, from 1905 thru 1960, for their little Frenchwoman, Bleuette.

There is a lot more to Bleuette's history, and her now incredible popularity.  In 1905, 20,000 Bleuettes were initially produced by the French company SFBJ, but 60,000 subscriptions were received before the first issue was even published!  Bleuette continued to be produced until 1960.  Now, many talented doll artist create reproduction Bleuettes.  The doll in the middle of the picture above is one such reproduction, by Jackie Chimpky.

Here is the pattern to create you own Bleuette in the medium of crochet.  I used a size D crochet hook and both Vanna's Choice and Red Heart Super Saver to make these dolls ;the Super Saver worked up slightly larger (and was harder on my hands!) than the Vanna's Choice.  This is a very tight gauge for worsted weight yarn; 5 single crochet  to 1 inch; but it creates a very firm fabric for stuffing and jointing.  Crochet Bleuette is 11 1/2 to 11 3/4 inches tall with her wig.

Crochet Bleuette

She is jointed using strong craft thread; two strands doubled (so you are passing four strands through the body...you need this strength).  Other supplies you will need are  a three inch dollmaking needle, 9mm acrylic eyes, and a plastic lid from a yogurt or cottage cheese carton to stiffen the bottom of her feet.

I used purchased wigs for this doll, in size 7, which is the head circumference.  Here are a couple of sources for wigs:

http://dollsupply.com/shop/

http://www.dollspart.com/

There are a number of online sources of information and patterns for Bleuette;  a Google search will turn up many.  Here is one of my favorites:

The Bleu Door  a free repository of many of the patterns published by La Semaine De Suzette, and maintained by Janie Hile

Grab a hook and some yarn, and make your very own little piece of doll history; enjoy the day, and enjoy the crochet :-)

A new work in progress

A new work in progress; Bleuette in crochet!  Elbows and knees are jointed in a manner to imitate how Bleuette is jointed, and her head is jointed to move as well.

The body proportions are shaped and similar to Bleuette, even down to her cute little butt :-)

This doll is my first prototype; she's a little long in the torso, and her shoulders belong on a football player.  Mark II should be tweaked to take care of these.  Still, all in all, I'm happy with how she is developing :-)

I've had the idea for this doll in the back of my mind for some time.  I'm fascinated with Bleuette, her history, her wardrobe, and her little-girl look.  When I'm happy with the results, the pattern for her will be freely available here, just in time to celebrate the third birthday of this blog, and over 1000 followers!

More on Bleuette, and the pattern, coming soon :-)

Poppy, a modified Lily Sugar&Cream doll

Poppy, a crochet doll based on the Lily Sugar&Cream free doll pattern.  I used Vanna's Choice for her body, and wool single ply yarn to embroider her short hair; reminiscent of a young Audrey Hepburn :-)

Leg joint technique is courtesy Dutzie, and she (the doll) also has a move-able head.  You can find tutorials for  both these techniques on the left sidebar of this blog, under "Tutorials by Joyce," and 'Tutorials."

I didn't like the directions for the jacket in the Sugar&Cream instructions, so I made up one as I went along.  And, I knit her a sleeveless blouse, instead of crocheting the blouse on her; I've always loved dolls with remove-able clothes :-)

This is a great basic pattern to make as is, or to modify with your own special techniques.  Enjoy the day, and enjoy the crochet!