Yarn Skin Tones

Above, from the left, Red Heart Classic in Lt. Peach, Red Heart Super Saver in Aran, Buff, and Warm Brown, and Red Heart Classic in Mid Brown.

I'm always on the lookout for good yarn colors to use for my crochet dolls. I have used a lot of yarns over the years, and I do have some decided favorites. In worsted weight yarns for many years my favorite has been Red Heart Classic and Red Heart Super Saver. These are resilient, non-stretchy, inexpensive yarns that make a very strong and sturdy three dimensional fabric.

I would love to use natural fibers for my doll bodies, but when I do the stitches seem thin and the stuffing shows easily between the stitches. I've tried cotton, 100% wool, and wool blends, but none of them satisfy me like the acrylic Red Heart yarns. I've also tried the new 'soft' acrylic yarns, but again, I felt the stitches were thin and too much stuffing showed through.

Vanna's Choice yarn by Lionbrand is another good choice for doll bodies. It is slightly softer in feel than the Red Heart Yarns, and works up slightly smaller, but the stitches are firm and close up nicely. Beige and Honey are great body colors.

The toughest color to find is a pleasing light peach tone. Most are either too pink or too bright. The Red Hear yarn above is a little on the bright side, but it does make up to a cute doll . If you have any suggestions for good peach tones, please share them :-)


While waiting for some clear acrylic eyes to arrive from CR's Crafts, so I can paint my own eyes, I used the Aran body to create Cathay Rose, a little Asian girl. She is a Mini Free Spirit; her outfit is a modification of the nightgown pattern for her tunic, and the underwear pattern for her pants. I used a lovely Tencel/Wool blend yarn for her hair that is very shiny and very black.

Maybe you could think of other Nationalities to create for Mini Free Spirit :-)

Good Thing Come in Small Packages

Of all types of dolls, small dolls are my favorites. The kind that fit snuggly in your hand; that you can put in your pocket or carry in their own little bag. Shortly after Free Spirit was born, I was thinking about making a mini version. Meet Jenny and Carina, the first Mini Free Spirits. She stands a little over seven inches tall, and is crocheted from worsted weight yarn.

I used Fibre Crafts 'Cindy' doll as the body model; there have been some really cute crochet patterns published for this doll, a couple of them are shown above. There are still a couple in print (unfortunately, the ones above are not). So, if you are fortunate enough to have collected some of these patterns, great! If not, I have several patterns for clothing for this new doll.


As I was making this doll, I got a bit carried away with accessories. The little bed is made from a broken picture frame, wooden spools, and some twigs from the back yard. The bench and chair are from a very old pattern for clothespin furniture, that has managed to stay with me through several moves. I did have to search frantically for it after our last move :-) The coverlet and afghan are block patterns from the book "200 Crochet Blocks" worked in sportweight yarn.

The patterns for the doll and clothing are located here and on the left sidebar:

Doll pattern: 

Nightgown: 

Underwear: 

Dress and Sunsuit: 

Mohair Sweater: 

Below is Carina, in the dark braids, and Jenny, with the curly red hair. Carina is wearing a dress from the pattern that comes with the Cindy doll; made without any alterations :-) The Mini Free Spirit Doll pattern includes instructions for both hair styles below, plus several others that are very easy.

She works up faster than Free Spirit, and is just a lot of fun to make. I hope you enjoy her!

When every surface is covered....

I've been housecleaning. And as we all know, housecleaning if done right, can kill you. I take this very seriously. I don't want my epitaph to read "She was a fine housecleaner."

However, when nearly every flat surface in your home has a doll (or two or three) on it, action must be taken. Sadly, our walls are pretty full too. So, what do you do when you have more dolls that must be adequately displayed than there are places to display them? What I did was to remove most of the china from my china cabinet and turn it over to the Free Spirits :-)

What do you do? I'd love to know how you display dolls, and what you do with overcrowding conditions. Many of my dolls go to charity, or become gifts. How about you? Please share your ideas on how to display our lovely handwork.

As you can see, Gabrielle is right at home with the Blue Willow and her puppies :-)

Kitties for Adoption

Free to a good home! The Free Spirit girls are now awash in kitties, as well as puppies. The pattern for the above kitties is available here:

Kitty Pattern

And also along the left side of the blog page along with the puppy patterns. The kitty body was interesting to work out. I was aiming for that prim look that cats and kittens all have, as they ponder what mayhem they can get into next (the trash can? the toilet paper role? Mom's yarn??) I hope you enjoy making these as much as Gabrielle, below, is enjoying her new pets.

By making some minor adjustments, other breeds can be created. A Scottish Fold would be easy by simply folding down the ear tips. A Devon or Cornish Rex by making the ears bigger (take a look at some pictures of these Cats...Wild!), and if you have the patience, a long haired kitty could be created by hooking strands of yarn around the body and head. Or, use a Mohair yarn and brush it. Lots of possibilities :-)

Well, its Time to do some serious housecleaning. If I survive, I hope to work out a 'mini' Free Spirit doll, still using worsted yarn and an E hook. Until then, enjoy the crochet!

Puppy Love

My Free Spirit girls wanted some pets, so I decided to apply hook and yarn to making them some puppy companions. So far there is a German Shepherd, Border Collie, Beagle, Labrador, and Cavalier King Charles Spaniels. They all have the same basic body and legs. The puppy heart and soul is in the face...ears, eyes, and muzzle.

Here are the patterns to share with all of you. These would also be fun gifts or stocking stuffers, for both boys and girls.

Enjoy the crochet!

Beagle Pattern: 

Border Collie Pattern: 

Cavalier King Charles Pattern: 

German Shepherd Pattern: 

Labrador Pattern:

 



You can see the girls are enjoying their new companions. Of course, now they are clamoring for some kitties....

Latest Steam Punk Free Spirit

My latest Steam Punk Free Spirit is Samarkand Artemis Lewis, younger sister of Istanbul Athena. She is dressed in a split skirt for bicycle riding, and standing next to her beloved bicycle. Her dream is to circumnavigate the globe by bike, and in the process hopefully find her Mother; lost in Africa these last 10 years.


Closeup of Samarkand's jewelry and facial embroidery. More pictures on my flickr site.

Steam Punk Free Spirit

Meet Istanbul Athena Lewis, a steam punk Free Spirit :-) To make her, I modified her body slightly by giving her a bit of a bosom and more almond shaped eyes (see my flickr photostream for Free Spirit Steam Punk Variations: http://www.flickr.com/photos/29184580@N04/sets/72157622509269234/ for some instructions on the modifications)

I used the side-to-side basic bodice for her corset dress bodice, and simply crocheted a full skirt to the bottom of the bodice, using a stitch pattern from "The Harmony Guides, 220 More Crochet Stitches." I was curious if hammered-on eyelets would work with crochet, for the lacing of her bodice, and they do!

I purchased inexpensive charms from Michaels for her punky jewely and the charms on her gauntlets. Her earrings and necklace are removable.


Closeup of the bodice; I also did a little bead crochet work here, which gives a neat effect, and you can also get a close look at her earrings and her right gauntlet.

If you are interested in finding inspiration for this fashion statement, try this flickr photosite:

http://www.flickr.com/groups/steampunkfashion/

Enjoy the crochet!

Comparisons and new work

So, today I received my first Blythe! And like most little girls that get a new doll, I had to undress her :-) Of course, I couldn't resist a photo comparison of Blythe and the crochet doll that she inspired, Free spirit, so here they are.

This Free Spirit is a slight variation on the basic doll pattern. This doll is my Steam Punk variation, and for her I wanted a more adult figure. So I nipped in her waist by one stitch, and added a more developed bosom. She isn't of Barbie proportion, but her soon to be made corset dress should look very sexy on her :-)

I also modified the eyewhites to try to give a more almond shape, instead of the 'Blythe' look to her eyes. I have a new set on my flickr photostream for the Steam Punk variation, where I will put the directions for the new eye whites and modified body.

How Many?

Well, I was curious how many different outfits I could make from one basic Edwardian dress pattern. As of today, my count stands at five (the latest is the cranberry red dress on the right, and on Emily below). Not to mention several pair of bloomers, three collars, and two nightgowns. These outfits have been a lot of fun to dream up, and to share with you.

Now I want to try something different with Free Spirit. For some reason I got the idea of Steam Punk in my head, so I'm going to give this a try. With Steam Punk, think over-the-top Victorians achieving our level of technology with...steam engines!

Sherlock Holmes, Jules Verne, and H.G. Wells would have all been comfortable in this reality :-)

I've enjoyed the Edwardians, and hope you have too.

Crochet

Silver hook in hand;
A web of lace takes shape
Beneath flashing fingers.