A Pink Outfit for a Kelly Doll

I just have to show again a closeup of this pink outfit I made for a Kelly Doll. I just think she is soo cute!
Here she is with her friends ready for a fun trip to the beach!
I found these dolls at a second-hand market and cleaned them up. I used crochet cotton I bought second hand from thrift shops to make their clothes.
This is my post for this week's Pink Saturday hosted @ How Sweet the Sound.
Be sure to check out other pretty pinks @ Pink Saturday!
<3 <3

Four Little Lost Angels

As I was taking them home from the market, I knew I would have so much fun cleaning up these second-hand dolls and dressing them in new crochet outfits, perhaps even with angel wings! In the end I settled on summer dresses complete with pretty bonnets and mary jane slippers. These tiny Kelly dolls are just 4.5 inches tall.

pretty outfits for four Kelly dolls

I first found the little blonde in a washing basket full of toys. The stall holder was busy selling a set of Dora dolls, so when I said I would like the tiny doll, she dismissed me saying I could have it for free. Well, I wouldn't take something so special for free, it just wasn't right! Her hair is in excellent condition, and she even has two near new shoes. I was thinking to give a dollar, but when we looked in David's wallet a 50 cent coin was sitting on top so I grabbed that and pressed it into hand of the man that was helping her with the stall. I think it must have been Karma, because later on at another stall, I saw the three other dolls, all with different coloured hair and all just 50 cents each! It was so uncanny it must have been fate that these four tiny Kelly dolls should meet in this way!

how I found these 4 dolls at the market for 50 cents each

Crochetting some clothes for these dolls turned out to be a lot more challenging than I first anticipated. I made several attempts before I ended up with a dress I was happy with. At first, I did a smaller version of the Barbie doll dress I usually do, using baby yarn, but I decided the result looked too bulky. Later, I made matching knickers for that dress using a free pants pattern I found on an old blog, again using the baby yarn. I made a top using baby yarn and a free ruffle top pattern, but I did not use the right size hook and yarn, and it didn't fit. The problem was, I was using baby yarn when I should have been using fine cotton thread.

At first, I really didn't think I would need to follow a pattern for this project, but I did. I had a little success with a free dress pattern @ Crochet Crafts by Helga, using fine cotton and 1.5mm hook as recommended. But I didn't like the skirt, I thought it was too short so added more rows, which then made the result bulky. Finally, I made a dress I liked using the bodice from Helga's free pattern, but adding my own skirt. Using the same cotton, I made some panties using Helga's free pants pattern,shortening the legs by making just one row of sc. I stitched up the gap at the back of the pants as I don't think it needs a button, pull on pants are fine for this small doll. I then made matching pull on panties for the other dresses I made, one each of pink, green, apricot and yellow. Each dress has one button on the back of the bodice.

matching beach outfits for four Kelly dolls

Because you can't see the panties underneath the dresses, I decided the dolls needed some little tops to show them off! Maybe these outfits can be PJs or summer beach outfits? The tops are just the bodice part of the dress, with every stitch in the bottom frill incr. The tops looked a little plain, so I crochet a tiny heart, clover, flower and sun to attach in contrasting colours to the front, to make them look more fun (hopefully!). The flower is just clusters to form 5 petals, and the sun is a round of 15 trbls, with a 2nd round of a picot in every 3rd trbl. I used the heart and clover patterns explained in previous posts.

Then I made them all matching Mary Jane slippers with my own made up pattern.

Mary Janes for Kelly Dolls by Teena Sutton

using 1.25mm hook, fine cotton

1. ch 7, trb (US db) in 3rd ch from hook, 2 trb, 2 db (US sc), turn

2. ch 2, trb in next 5 trb, 3 trebles in the stitch space at the toe, go round to the other side of the shoe and do trb in ea 5 trb, 1 trb at the heel, sl st in 1st trb of this round

3. ch 2, db in next 2 trb, sk 2 trb, trb in next 3 treble to form top of toe, sk 2 trb, db in next 3 trb, sl st in 1st db  of this round

4. ch 8 to form ankle strap and sl st in 1st ch

after some hair care the bonnets fit perfectly

Finally, I finished the outfits with bonnets, again with a pattern I made up myself. When I found these dolls, their hair was mostly 'fly-away' and a real mess. After shampooing, conditioning, air drying and finally smoothing with baby oil, their hair came up very nicely indeed. The pretty bonnets help keep the hair in place.

Pretty Bonnets for Kelly Dolls by Teena Sutton

using 1.25mm hook, fine cotton

1. chain 10, trbl (US dc) in 3rd ch from hook, trb in ea next 6 ch, 5 trbl in last ch which is the bottom of the last trbl, trb in the bottom of the other 7 trbl, turn

2. ch 2, trb in ea trbl, extra 3 trbl in last trb, trbl in bottom of each trb, turn

3. ch 2, sk trb, (3 trb in next trbl, sk trb, trb in next, sk trb) twice, 3 trbl ea in next 3 trbl (9 trbl), sk trb, trbl in next trbl (sk trbl, 3 trb in next trbl, sk trb, trb in next) twice, turn

4. ch 2, (sk trbl, 3 trb in next trbl, sk trbl, trbl in next) thrice, 3 trbl in next, trbl in next, (sk trbl, 3 trb in next trbl, sk trbl, trbl in next) thrice, turn

5. ch 2, repeat (sk trbl, 3 trbl in next, sk strbl, trbl in next) seven times, each cluster of 3 is in centre of cluster below, turn

6. repeat row 5 except don't turn, ch about 12 or enough to be long enough to form the chin strap, measure, slip stitch into the other side of the bonnet to form chin strap, don't turn

7 (bonnet frill), ch 2, repeat the pattern from previous row, except each cluster has 5 trebles instead of 3, turn

8. ch 2, repeat the previous pattern, except each cluster has 7 trebles instead of 5, fasten off.

Making outfits for these four Kelly dolls was heaps of fun and very satisfying. I learnt more about adjusting patterns for size, and also how to make pants. These are such a joy - but I think they will be going in a box soon. One day I'll bring them out again as a special treasure.

This is my post for this week's Transformation Thursday hosted @ The Shabby Chic Cottage. Be sure to check out fun crafty stuff at this blog party!

Large Green Doily

I spent a beautiful sunny Sunday morning working on this, sitting outside in our courtyard when the sun finally decided to show itself, so I took the opportunity to work on my vitamin D deficiency!

large green doily after blocking

This was meant to be a jug cover, but because I couldn't use the recommended .75mm hook as it was just too small for me, using the 1.5mm meant the spaces in the doily were too big to make a jug cover. I used a variated green thread, which was amongst one of my op shop finds, and it makes a nice colour I think. Besides the Sunday morning, I also spent some of the Saturday and the Sunday evening to finish this off.

working on my vitamin D deficiency

I used a pattern called 'Chrysanthemum' on page 52 in the book called "Crochet Covers for Jugs and Bowls" by B.R. Bolin, which I borrowed from my local library. I have taken so long in getting around to doing this green one, I extended my loan by a month, but I had to return the book the other day.

large green doily before blocking

To be honest, I'm really not that into doilies. I certainly wouldn't find use for many, just to protect a couple of furniture surfaces is all. But the reason I'm doing this is for practice. I think jug covers, on the other hand, are something much more practical, and environmentally healthy too, much more so than insect sprays and repellents. But my skill is just not fine enough to be able to make something that will keep insects out of a cup or bowl, so I have more work to do.

blocking a large green doily

I didn't want to iron this thread, as it feels like it has synthetic in it, so I just washed it in cold water with a little 'Earth Choice' dish liquid, then pat dry with a towel. I had a go at blocking as described @ Kitty and Me Designs. I guessed I'm supposed to stretch it out a little, the edges look better when I did that. All I used was a thick piece of recycled packing cardboard and some pins. I did find the centre, but it ended up a little off centre.  I started at the centre as recommended, working my way out to the edges. I let it air dry naturally, and I didn't starch it because I just want to see how this would go. Another good blog post I found about this was @ Suzann's Textilefusion. It definitely looks better after the blocking!

Now this one is finished, I'm thinking to try a different pattern which has smaller spaces in the centre, or perhaps I'm ready to try that smaller hook!

Homemade Pink Birthday Card

Isn't this the cutest homemade card? My mum made it for me, but forgot to bring it last Sunday, so it arrived in the mail a couple of days ago.
I've made it a bit of a joke lately that David and I live in the 'Lovey Dovey House'! Well actually, it's a deliberate decision with reason, but I won't get into that now.
One of a kind, homemade is best. Thanks mum! <3 <3 <3
This is my post for Pink Saturday.
Be sure to check out other pretty pinks @ How Sweet the Sound.

White Sunhat with Daisy Garland

The purpose of making this sun hat was to practice before trying to make one for a child, possibly my niece who has gone back to live in Darwin and has no use whatsoever for one of my winter beanies!

This is a very special doll my mother gave to my grandma. When nanna went to hospital I was given this doll for safe keeping. I think my mum wants this doll back one day but when I offer she says 'next time'. So I am taking good care of her by making her a pretty hat, so she doesn't feel left out because all the other toys are getting clothes made for them, too!

I have real trouble reading patterns as I often say, I need to understand in my mind beforehand how what I am making will work. This means I have a lot of trial and error while I try and make up my own patterns when I want to do something a little more complicated. I looked at images of cotton crochet sun hat on google but did not follow a pattern or any one image idea. I started with a five petal flower then continued with a flat round, then stopped increasing down the sides, making gaps in the five corners. With the brim I started increasing again at the corners, filling in the gaps with increasing stitches. I mostly used double trebles (American trebles) for this hat.

The hat was a little loose on the doll and I made it that way so it wouldn't ruin the doll's curls. But it wouldn't stay on! Looking at the completed hat I decided it needed some more five petal daisies to match the one in the centre. So I came up with the idea to make a little daisy garland to go round the hat to keep it tightly on the doll. The daisies in the garland are the same size as the daisy on the hat, but are made differently so the tips of the petals are not joined in a round. The daisies on the garland were (3 ch, sl st, 3 ch US treble into centre cluster, 3 ch, sl st into centre) repeat 5x, then each flower was joined with 15 ch. I had to do the final sl st of each flower on the opposite side to front so they would sit properly on the garland, all nicely facing the front.

I'm still not sure how I will make one to fit a child though. This used cheap 4ply mercer cotton from Lincraft and a 1.5m hook. It might be a bit fine for a child's hat, but I wouldn't want a summer hat to be much thicker either. Making a child's sunhat is just one more thing on my 'list of things to do'!

<3 <3

My 39th Birthday

Last Sunday was my 39th Birthday, and David baked a wonderful meal to share with my parents who came to visit.

David made pumpkin soup, this time without the chilli, a roast chicken dinner and this amazing classic baked cheesecake with a passion fruit top! As always, his cooking was fabulously perfect and a wonderful birthday gift.

Mum and I talked a lot about crochet and she brought me a big bunch of wool. She also gave me a great transparent bag which will be perfect for crochet projects.
We had a lovely, relaxed day and watched Alice in Wonderland with Johnny Depp. I can't help but think that my next birthday will be very, very different!

<3 <3 <3

Long Berry Pink Scarf

I liked the stitch from the purple baby jacket so much that I used it for this scarf! This is my post for Pink Saturday hosted @ How Sweet The Sound.

I edged the ends with 3 x 5 treble (American double) clusters. I still have heaps of this colour left over and I figured this stitch would make a nice patterned scarf. I was wondering if Shelly would like it to go with her new hat, but I didn't get it finished in time. When she comes back here, she'll be on her way back to Darwin so hardly a reason for a scarf living there! maybe my mum would like this, as the hat she might like is also made from the Berry Pink mix.

Interesting that David's sister lives in Darwin, and so does mine, but David and I didn't meet in Darwin. But both of our RSVP photos were taken at Darwin beaches at the weddings of our siblings in mid 2006. Both brides at those weddings are school teachers, and both grooms are mechanics. Uncanny, isn't it? I think of David as my angel sent to me by the universe when it figured it was about time to send me a fair go! We were meant to meet, if not in Darwin, then somehow sometime! Now my life is complete. /awwwww

Be sure to check out other pretty pinks @ Pink Saturday.

Purple Baby Jacket and Hat

This was an easy jacket I made following a pattern David's sister Michelle got free for me from Spotlight, the hat I made using an easy pattern from Lincraft.

The hat was the first of these that I made using a pattern from the Lincraft booklet I bought some months ago. I then had a go at the matching jacket but I just couldn't make sense of what the pattern wanted me to do. My M.I.L had a look at it for me and tried to explain but in the end I decided it was harder than it deserved, so I gave up and had a go at the pattern from Spotlight, which made more sense to me.

For the jacket, I used more of the purple dimples baby yarn from Lincraft, this pattern required a 4mm and a 4.5mm hook. It's a straight forward pattern and now I know how to do it, I'm sure I could make more variations of it. I really like the stitch in the skirt, so much so that I'm also working on a scarf using the same stitch. I think it looks like a pretty flower or star pattern. The buttons are recycled from my old stash and I think they suit perfectly! The pattern has sleeves, and also says to thread a ribbon around the waist, which I can choose to do later if I wish. For now, I think this is ok!

Perhaps I need to have a go at the booties ?

<3

Cream Ribbed Hat with Rose Brooch

I was very surprised when this beanie hat worked out so well, because I made up the pattern myself!

I learnt how to do ribbed stitches when I made my purple bolero shrug using a pattern from Lincraft. I had seen round ribbed crochet hats before but I'd never read a pattern when I made this hat. I sat down to watch tv with David with a new ball of Sullivans Softply in cream which cost $2.49. I flicked through an old stitches book my mum has leant me but couldn't find what I was looking for, but I did start thinking about the ribbing, and wondered if it would work. It easily worked out, it was a lot simpler than I thought!

Then I just had to make a big rose brooch to go with it didn't I? This is the 4th flower I've made using Rachel's pattern from Crochet Spot. But this time I remembered the pattern as I had done the Berry Pink one the day before. But I made this one different. There are 14 petals, and for the 1st 7 I did trebles (English db tr) instead of doubles (English trebles) to make the petals at the bottom bigger. The other 7 petals are double crochet (English trebles) as usual. It makes the rose more full at the bottom.

My easy ribbed beanie pattern, using 5mm hook and thickish wool
1. 1st round is a beginning 3 chain, sl st, then 12 trebles (American doubles) in the round, sl st
2. 2 ch counts as 1st treble, treble front around the post of the treble below, treble into each treble (as well as front treble around each post) = 24 trebles
3. 2 ch counts as 1st treble, treble into each treble, treble front around each 3rd post (the one thats raised from the previous round) = 36 trebles
4. 2 ch counts as 1st treble, treble into each treble, treble front around each 4th post, sl st = 48 trebles
5. 2 ch counts as 1st treble, treble into each treble, treble front around each 5th post, sl st = 60 trebles
6. 2 ch counts as 1st treble, treble into 5 trebles, skip one treble, treble front around each 6th post, sl st = 72 trebles
7+ repeat row 6 until desired length is reached

The wool I used feels soft to touch, but after wearing this hat for a short time the skin on my forehead started to itch. I'm assuming this is why people usually use nicer wool for beanies. I will live and learn! Still a fun hat to make, and I'm very glad my mother in law liked it enough so I could give it her last time she dropped by for a visit. She didn't think it was scratchy, so I hope she will get some use out of it.

<3 <3

Pink Doilies my great-grandmother made

These are a pair of embroidered doilies my great-grandmother made which are edged with pink crochet. This is my post for this week's Pink Saturday hosted by Beverly @ How Sweet The Sound.

I remember these from my childhood. My great-grandmother was so very talented with this, there are many samples of her work in our family, these are the few I have in my possession. My great-grandmother (my mother's mother's mother Margaret) embroidered these, as well as the crochet edges. These two are starting to show signs of age, and I know they look like they are in need of an iron, but I dare not touch them!

Here is another doily, this one my grandmother Beverly embroidered. That is my mother's mother. The fine embroidery is so lovely, I hope one day to improve my skill with this, but I don't think I will get it this good.
I hope you enjoyed seeing these two samples of our very special family treasures made by my great-grandmother, and my grandmother.
<3 <3 <3

Be sure to check out other pretty pinks @ Pink Saturday!

Green and White Baby Blanket

It took me about a week to do this, only working on it while downstairs when David was cooking or watching TV, using a 5mm hook and some soft thin yarn so the end result is nice and lacy. I'm linking this post in with Transformation Thursday, a blog party hosted by The Shabby Chic Cottage.

I just wanted something easy to do without a pattern, so I made this one up! It's pretty easy. I just started with 80 chains, plus 2 more to make the first treble (American double) of the first row. There are 4 x 20 chain sections, each consists of the same pattern. I used a couple of big balls of wool in the stash I've been given which I want to use up, and I thought green and white were good uni-sex colours for a baby. The end result is 60cm x 65cm.

4 x 20 chain pattern - 6 trebles (US dc), sk 2, 2 tr in next ch 2 2 tr in same, sk 2, 2 tr ch 2 2 tr in same, sk 2, 6 tr

repeat pattern 4 times for each row, turn, ch 2 to form 1st tr of next row

I changed colours every 5 rows, with a total of 50 rows (10 stripes of 5 rows each)

Edging

row 1.  (in each corner 3 tr 2 ch 3 tr in same), sk 1 space, 2 tr 2 ch 2 tr in same, sk 1 space, repeat to end,  sl st (one space needed 2 sk instead of 1 to even it up)

row 2. in contrast colour (in each corner 3 tr 2 ch 3 tr in same), in next 2 ch space 2 tr 2 ch 2 tr, repeat to end, sl st

I'm planning to use up most of the wool I own, making items that will hopefully be useful in our future. Hopefully this light and lacy blankie will be handy!

<3 <3 <3

Be sure to check out other crafty transformations @ The Shabby Chic Cottage!

Here are my favourite highlights from this week's party

• homemade air fresher @ http://www.homemademamas.net/2010/06/homemade-air-freshener.html


• rag quilt made from recycled jeans @ http://memoriesbyannadawn.blogspot.com/2010/07/jean-quilts-new-and-improved.html


• crochet rug with link @ http://www.flamingotoes.com/2010/06/cute-crochet-rug/


• fridge magnet bag idea @ http://terelauritsen.blogspot.com/2010/07/fridge-magnet-bag.html


• big brother, big sister t-shirts @ http://lemontreecreations.blogspot.com/2010/06/big-brother-sister-bags.html


• reversable baby dress made from recycled t-shirts @ http://jessicakenenske.blogspot.com/2010/06/reversible-baby-dress.html


• turn children's art into soft toys @ http://www.camilledawn.com/2010/07/childs-art-turned-softie.html


• home sewn child's play tent @ http://3punkmom.blogspot.com/2010/06/childrens-play-tent.html