From my Archives

This is a pattern I designed back in 2008, and made many dolls from. In fact, my flickr Avatar is a doll from this pattern. Anyway, one of my flickr friends wanted to make this doll, with cat ears, for her grandkids and their friends, so I'm putting the pattern up here for her and anyone else who is interested. It has been a while since I've made a doll from this pattern, so the pattern may not be perfect. It does include instructions for Human, Cat, and Bear ears, and there are some pictures on my flickr site of dolls made up with these.

Like most Amigurumi, this doll is very simple to make, consisting of single crochet in worsted weight yarn. The pattern calls for 'soft' yarns, but any worsted acrylic will work. My problem with most 'soft' yarns is that they split and can be a pain to crochet. These dolls are about 10 inches tall, I think. Unfortunately I don't have any of them anymore; they have all found homes :-)

One of the nice things is that the clothing patterns are also made from worsted yarn, so they make up fast, and they are simple.

Here are the links to the patterns, which can also be found on the left sidebar under Basic Amigurumi Doll:

Basic Doll: 

Basic Aran Sweater: 

Basic Jeans: 

Basic Skirt: 

Basic Cardigan Sweater: 

Basic Tank Top: 


Becky, I hope you enjoy making the dolls :-)

The Little Gardener

If the flowers aren't blooming outside, you can always crochet yourself a garden that will never wilt :-)




My sister is a terrific gardener, so for her birthday this year I've made her a gardening mascot. The flowers crocheted here are many of our favorite spring blooming flowers: columbine, narcissus, pansies, and roses. The grassy carpet is a circle crocheted of worsted yarn and eyelash yarn together. I used the eyelash yarn in every other round.


The lovely flowers are from the book 'Crochet Bouquet' which was published in 2008. I was able to borrow it from our local library, but I think I'm going to have to purchase this one! It has some of the best flower patterns I've ever seen. This is the first crochet columbine that actually looks like the real thing :-) Some of the flowers are funky, some are fun, and some (like these) downright realistic. A great book.

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.

WIP: American Indian Free Spirit and others

Just a quick look at my latest WIP"s (work-in-progress). I've been wanting to do an American Indian Free Spirit, and when Joyce was able to adapt the Fibre Craft pattern to make such a great outfit for her Scarlet, I wanted to do the same with Fibre Craft's lovely American Indian Princess outfits.

I had a lovely, lovely, Wool/Tencel yarn in jet black that is perfect for her hair. It is a Berroco yarn called Lustra, and it is just that.

Winters Dawn is complete and awaiting her costume. I'm going to choose one that is availabe free from this site:

http://barbscraftbooks.tripod.com/barbscrochet/id254.html

So if you choose, you can make a doll just like the one I am making. Of course, there are several other American Indian patterns available, and Amazon has several for sale that are used copies.


I created two other dolls while I was at it, and plan to get them wigged before making the American Indian costume. This way they can tell me their personalities while I am crocheting clothing.


I used Vanna's Choice yarn for all three. The Caucasian dolls are made with Beige, and the American Indian doll is made with Honey. This yarn makes up a lovely doll, and is not quite as rough as the Red Heart Super Saver yarn.




This Mini is destined to be a little gardener for my Sister's birthday. I hope to create a little garden that she will be the center of. My Grandmother was a great garderner, and my sister has inherited her talent and love for growing things :-)

Mini Bed Doll

When I designed the Mini Free Spirit doll, I really hoped that she could easily wear the outfits that have been designed for the Fibre Craft 'Cindy' doll. I have a few of these patterns, some which are still in print, like the one above.




Here, Sarah is wearing a lovely 'bed doll' style dress crocheted from size 10 crochet cotton. The only alterations I needed to make to this pattern were: a size 5 steel hook (instead of 7) for the bodice and bonnet, and I added two additional rows to the bonnet.







Showing off her ruffled petticoat :-) The petticoat was crocheted with size 3 crochet cotton, instead of the recommended acrylic sportweight. I also took a little fullness out of it; a personal taste decision, plus I didn't want to spend more than a day crocheting it.






Next I plan to make a full size Free Spirit and try a couple of bed doll patterns, like Joyce did! I have an American Indian doll in mind for starters.


Enjoy the crochet!

Is it Spring Yet?

I'd like to join Virginia in this meadow glade. Sit on the log and talk to the owl on the stump. Feed bread crumbs to the little mouse, and find out how the turtle has spent his day :-) Just don't pick the toadstools!

This little scene is all crochet, glued to a wooden plaque 6" x8". It is a little small, as I found out when I tried to get Virginia to sit on the log. She can, but the scene becomes a little cramped. The nice thing is you can make this any size you'd like. The patterns for this crochet scene are listed here, and on the left hand side of the blog page.

Stump, Log, and Meadow: 

Mushrooms: 

Tiny mouse: 

Tiny turtle: 

The directions for the stump, log, and meadow are more like guidelines than specific directions. This way you can make these elements any size you like, and from any yarn or combination of yarns. I used Lionbrand Fun Fur together with Red Heart worsted and a G hook for the meadow with grass. The mushrooms and turtle are made from worsted yarn and a size E hook; the little mouse from fingering weight mohair blend and a C hook.

The tiny owlet is from Brigitte Read's wonderful Roman Sock blog, which is listed in 'Links I Love.' This is a wonderful, simple, adorable pattern that I've made many times and highly recommend. All of the other elements of this scene are out of my own head :-)



These little guys are just over two inches long (not including tails). Enjoy the crochet!

Welcome 2010

Happy New Year! I hope that 2010 is filled with joy for all of you, and plenty of time to make dolls and enjoy the crochet :-)

Virginia, one of the Mini Free Spirits, has a couple new outfits to share with you. She now has a T-shirt, and Overalls and a Jumper that fit over it. The patterns are here:

T-shirt: 

Overalls and Jumper: 

And also on the left hand side of the blog page under Mini Free Spirit Patterns.

I plan on working on a diorama next; a small woodland scene composed of crochet, using either free patterns or patterns of my own design. It has been percolating in my head since before Christmas, and I'm looking forward to see if it evolves the way I have it pictured in my mind.

A-line Dresses for Mini Free Spirit

Here is a pattern for the Mini Free Spirit for an A-line dress. Actually, three dresses, each one with a different pattern stitch for the dress and different sleeve and neck treatment. All made with size 10 crochet cotton and a size 5 steel hook.

The link to the pattern is here:

A-line dresses

And also on the left side of the blog page.

Have a safe and joy filled New Year, hopefully also filled with plenty of time to crochet :-)