You might remember the knitted coat and hat I made for Barbie, using patterns from Sticka till Barbie. The pattern was #101 Yellow Coat along with the coordinating hat. That post is right here.
I decided to resize the pattern for my 16″ girls, and I think it came out pretty well. I used Koigu KPM and it took almost the entire 50g skein for the coat. Fortunately, I had another skein to make a matching hat.
This is Mosaic Modern Sydney Chase doing the honours today. I wish I had an umbrella to add to this combo. It has a bit of a retro look, and not just because of the shoes. (They are from a shoe pack, which included the pink slingbacks that Tyler is wearing in the picture below this one.)
The Koigu KPM has a kettle-dyed look, which worked out really well for this one. I was afraid a variegated or space-dyed yarn might pool – also Sydney says she can wear it with more things.
If I knit a second one, I might add pockets to the front. I thought of that this time, but wasn’t entirely certain what row they should be on. I’ll mark this one, just at her hand, then count the rows up from the front to know for next time.
I would make them like the pockets in this cardigan – it’s hard to see the line of cast off stitches in each front but have a look. The pocket hangs inside, like a welt pocket without much of a welt. I can just slide the tip of my finger into it.
I also made Sydney a blouse and skirt to wear with this knitted coat. She looks like a librarian to me in this combo, thus the glasses and book.
This is the blouse from McCalls 3701 (the same pattern used for the pink one above) which is actually a bodysuit. It’s made of Liberty Tana Lawn. Quite a clever little design, even if the collar is fussy fussy.
The skirt is drawn from the basic skirt sloper in Rosemarie Ionker’s Fashion Doll Clothing. It’s made of Kaffe Fassett shot cotton and lined with Bemberg rayon.
And two more girls are on their way to me, NRFB and from an estate sale. I’ll show them to you when they arrive. 🙂
As mentioned last week, I’ve been doing some comfort knitting. Besides making clothes for the girls, this usually means knitting socks and/or mittens. I also sorted some stash and rehomed a bunch of it, which meant I rediscovered some goodies, too.
The mittens are from one of these rediscoveries. They started with a bag of mill ends from Spinrite of Patons Rumor, a long discontinued yarn. Here it is on Ravelry. It’s a bulky weight yarn that’s mostly acrylic but also is 15% alpaca, which makes it very soft and a bit fuzzy.
This colourway, which is a light purple, is called Hibiscus Heather.
I first made a pair of mittens for myself, using the Tin Can Knits’ World’s Simplest Mittens pattern. (That’s a Ravelry link.) If you don’t have a basic mitten pattern, this is a really good one – and it’s free! It includes instructions for four sizes of mitten, each in four different weights of yarn. I used the chunky instructions for an adult small.
I also cast on a scarf for myself to match and am just making it up as I go. I’m really enjoying this knitting – it’s the combination of the yarn, which feels nice, and the Brittany birch needles, which I always love to use. This is about the midpoint. I’ll make nine diamonds, then taper down to the other point. Will it need a tassel on each end? Possibly…
It appears that when I’m stressed, I buy dolls. Who would have guessed that my comfort-indulgence would have no calories at all?
Here are the two newest girls who have joined the party.
First up is Alexandra Fairchild Ford, a doll from 2000. On the left is a pic of this doll still in the box. On the right, mine is unboxed and in all her splendor.
Alexandra Fairchild Ford 2000 Museum Gala
This is from the first year of Alexandra Fairchild Ford dolls. She has no articulation in arms or legs, but I think she’s pretty. Since this one had been in the box all these years, her taffeta skirt was a bit creased – it’s longer than the doll is tall, so it covers the stand. It also has to get jammed into the box a bit when she’s packed up. The humid weather we’ve had lately has helped the taffeta to relax.
The AFF dolls have particularly nice clothes, IMO. This taffeta skirt has beads and a bit of embroidery on it, as well as having a tulle underskirt to make it stand out. It’s worth an attempt to copy. The knitted sweater opens at the back, and I’ll be taking it off the doll to figure out how to replicate it. The jewellery was packed separately – a necklace and a wire bracelet – so I put them on. She also has a purse with a beaded handle but since her wrists don’t bend, she doesn’t hold onto it well.
The AFF dolls also have eyelashes, which is kind of neat, and this one has a bellybutton stud. You can see her eyelashes a little better in the right picture.
She also has thigh-high black stockings with a back seam, and a pair of shoes. I’ve seen a lot of people trying to make shoes for their 16″ dolls on social media lately, and these have a design that could be copied if you had the shoe bases. It’s a bias tube pressed flat (although you might be able to use a 1/4″ ribbon) and there’s a metal snap on the strap under the shiny bead.
The trick, of course, is finding the shoe forms.
Another interesting detail in that shot. You can see that the skirt is lined in a contrasting taffeta. It’s shot taffeta, with the mauve in one direction and a pewter similar to the outer skirt in the other direction. All the little details. 🙂
2004 Daphne Black & White Ball
Next up, a Tonner doll. This is the first nude doll I’ve purchased. Here’s her official photo, although I don’t have any of her clothes or accessories. She’s Daphne Dimples Black & White Ball from 2004.
I’ve always thought she had a beautiful face sculpt, but she’s hard to find in the wild and often pricey.
So, this time, I bought a nude doll. I’ve been wanting a girl with long blonde hair – my two blonde Tylers have updos – and I like the vintage look of her make-up. This character is a rival reporter to Brenda Starr and a lot of her outfits are wonderfully retro. You can see them on the Dreamcastle site right here – mine is the first Daphne.
Here’s her picture from the listing:
She is taking the US tour typical of packages shipped under ebay’s international shipping program, but I’m hoping she turns up soon. I immediately thought that she needed a cheongsam, maybe because she does reminds me a bit of Kate Capshaw in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. When I work out the cheongsam (and she arrives) I’ll show you both. (Let’s hope she doesn’t start singing Anything Goes in Mandarin.)
Things have been a little quiet here, mostly because of real life. When things get busy and even a little unpredictable, I always choose some comfort knitting. Lately that’s been knitting for the girls, as well as mittens and socks. Today, we’ll look at my latest completed project for the girls.
This is another free pattern from Sticka till Barbie, this time for a knitted coat. It’s amazing that I’m always learning more about fitting clothes for the girls – this time, I learned that vintage Barbies have shorter arms than modern Barbies. MTM and Silkstone (articulated and original) all have longer arms than vintage B.
I knitted the first coat following the instructions for #101 Yellow Coat. Here’s a Ravelry link for the pattern. The original website was taken down in 2022. The wayback machine’s backup of the original site has changed now – previously you could download individual patterns from there. There is also this other backup at the Internet Archive. Scroll down for the link to download a zip file of all the patterns. I’d do this soon, as it seems the content is vanishing. There are so many clever patterns in this collection.
Here’s my first coat in Patons Kroy sock yarn, on a MTM doll.
This coat is knit from the front hem up over the shoulder and down the back. You knit one front, then the other, then join them at the back collar line and knit down the back. The sleeves are added as you go – it’s shaped like a T, kind of like a kimono. Stitches are picked up at the neck for the collar.
This coat took 35g of Patons Kroy – I just barely made it with my partial ball of the red mix, so couldn’t make the hat shown with it in the pattern picture.
I cast on a second version and cast on two less stitches on each sleeve, to make shorter sleeves for vintage B. Here’s that one – this time, I had enough yarn for the hat, too.
The hat is cute and quick to make. I joined mine in the round so there wouldn’t be a seam, although the instructions are to knit it flat. The hat pattern is A-41.
I’m working on a modification of the coat, resizing it for the 16″ girls. I’m knitting it in a kettle-dyed Koigu that is quite pretty. It’s amazing how much more knitting that requires, but I’m headed down the back now and should have it done soon.
When you need a quick project, a doll garment can provide that almost-instant gratification – and a free pattern from Sticka-till-Barbie might be just the thing.
Here’s the Internet Archive backup of the Sticka till Barbie patterns. There is no longer the option of downloading individual patterns at the Wayback Machine, but the Internet Archive offers a zip file of the entire catalogue. I’d grab it now.
This is a straight dress knitted top down with ribbing at the waist. The original pattern is seamed down the back, but I joined the cast-on stitches in the round.
I think they allowed two stitches for the CB seam, as the first dress was a bit broad in the back for Barbie (who is bigger in the front than the back). I knit that first dress, then modified the pattern and knit the second. I liked it much better so I frogged the first and reknit it following the modified instructions.
This one fits vintage B best. The yarn is Koigu KPPPM and it used 10g on 2mm needles.
My modifications: Instead of casting on 52 and knitting flat, I cast on 50 and knit in the round.
Row 1 in the pattern says: K9, cast off 8, K7, k2tog, K2tog, K7, cast of 8, K9 (34 sts)
My revised Row 1 is: K7, cast off 8, K20, cast off 8, K7 (32 sts)
I tried the dress on my skinnier girl and it was too big, especially in the shoulders. I could have diminished the stitch counts again, but remembered the differing results I had with different yarns when knitting sweaters for the girls. Mad Tosh Merino Light is still a fingering yarn, but it’s much thinner than Koigu KPPPM – Koigu KPPPM has 160m per 50g, or 320 m per 100g, while MadTosh Merino Light has 384 m in 100g. It’s thinner.
I followed the same instructions and used the same needles, and look at the size difference:
Purple is Koigu KPPPM and the brown is MadTosh Merino Light. I may have added a row or two more to the length, but it’s amazing how much skinnier the second dress is. (It also took 10g of yarn.)
And here’s the brown dress on a MTM Barbie with the regular body sculpt:
She’s the 2025 Barbie Basics #2, and yes, her hair does have a bit of a violet cast to it. Here she is for sale at the big river. (Interesting that it notes this product is often returned. All of the boxes on my 2025 Barbie Basics dolls were damaged. The dolls were fine, but for those who keep their dolls boxed, that would be an unacceptable situation.)
This week sees some more changes in the world of makers like me. I’m not in the States but was saddened to see Joann’s Fabric stores closing there recently. There’s nothing like a local store to finger fabrics, and pick up notions.
This week, there are two more changes. One is more local to me. The Spinrite factory in Listowel Ontario is closing down. It’s been there over seventy years and the retail store is a great place for mill ends and sales. They haven’t been spinning yarn there for a while, but they ball-and-band yarns for Patons, Bernat, Red Heart and various store brands (like Michaels). Their annual tent sale is a huge summer event. I like to drive up there (or have the mister drive me) when I’m thinking. It’s a lovely drive through farmland with yarn at the end. I will miss it.
The second big change was announced yesterday – the parent company of the big four pattern brands (Simplicity, Butterick, Vogue and McCalls) was sold to a liquidator. It’s the same company that liquidated Joann’s. Curiously, it seems that the impact of tariffs on sewing product brands owned by the parent (Wrights trims and Boye needles, for example) was a driving factor in the decision, as well as the loss of distribution with the closure of Joann’s in the US. It seemed that they were struggling with the shift to digital in recent years, but it’s sad to see them go.
What happens from here? Are we shifting to smaller companies and boutique suppliers, or are we becoming a society of people who don’t make things themselves? I know which option I prefer. I’m not sure who I’d be if I wasn’t always making something.
I also feel vindicated for having my various stashes. If this is the apocalypse for makers, I’m all stocked up.
When times are uncertain, people become more careful with their money. I can certainly see that in the book market, and it’s also evident in the doll resale market. My birthday money, earmarked for dolls, has gone a little further this year than expected – and I was able to add one of my grail girls to my collection.
First up, that doll. She’s Tonner’s Sydney Chase Mover & Shaker from 2003.
She is just soooooo pretty.
At left is the official image of her. Even though it’s small, you can see that her lips are pale. IRL, this doll has red lipstick.
In one of the doll forums, a long-time collector explained that the make-up choices were transposed in production between two Sydney Chase dolls being made at the same time. Sheer Glamour (above right in her official image) was supposed to have the red lipstick: instead the actual doll has the paler make-up.
Here’s my girl. I love that red lipstick so much. It’s hard to imagine her with a paler choice.
Some of these older dolls get marks on their bodies from the clothes, particularly if they have been left in their boxes for over 20 years. Mover & Shaker is one said to get those marks – thanks to the black suit – but I bought a NRFB one all the same. She does have some marks on her shoulders, so I’ll have to look into removing them when I change her clothes. For the moment, though, we’re both happy that she’s here, just the way she is.
I also finally identified a Barbie doll that I’ve seen in the past and liked a lot. It’s tough to hunt down a doll if you don’t know the name or serial number, but the universe moved for me and I found both her name and a NRFB doll at a good price. She’s 1 Modern Circle Barbie and that’s her official pic at right.
I just love the orange hue of her hair. It’s lovely and silky, too.
She’s from 2003 – clearly a year I should have been buying dolls! – and is almost the twin of Silkstone Lingerie #6, also from 2003. Here they are together.
This new girl has a different body sculpt than I’ve seen before. She’s articulated, but the pins in the elbows are visible with this sculpt. Also, her hands are very flat – but she can hold her phone, thanks to a knob on the back of the phone and a hole in her hand. The flip-phone is a lot like the one we used to have, and that makes me smile. Here she is unpacked:
She has a laptop, too, but I’d put it inside the briefcase before taking this pic. It’s a great thick one, similar to a Compaq monster that the mister used to sling around before laptops got thinner, lighter and cheaper.
One thing about buying dolls is that there are little tips and tricks to be learned from their garments – for example, the “zipper” on her briefcase is a line of silver trim with a teeny tiny tab sewn at the end. Ha. I like that the older dolls don’t have velcro fastening on their clothes, but that turquoise top could use a third snap.
She came, strangely enough, with two left shoes instead of one left and one right. I have a lot of those black slingbacks – I bought a bag of 50 pair once upon a time – so I can make it right.
As is so often the case with Mattel dolls, I like the style of her clothes but am less fond of the fabrics they’re made from. I’m going to start on my plan of replicating the girls’ clothes in fabrics I do like, and reproducing this long coat will be my first project.
This girl also will be my first hip repair. Her legs are so loose that she can’t stand up, but there’s nothing fancy about the joint – it’s just a piece of 1/4″ black elastic holding her legs in place. It’s sewn into a loop at each end, which is looped around the eyelet in the hip. I can (and will) easily replace that. I won’t be able to sew both ends, but one knot should be fine.
The third girl on her way who arrived last week is the second BFMC Silkstone from last year, the blonde. I thought she was too expensive at the time – actually, it was the conversion to $CAD that I didn’t find compelling – but Mattel put her on sale this past month for 30% off, so I indulged. They also released the third BFMC Silkstone but I chose this one instead.
I was quite impressed with this girl when I unpacked her – the dress is quite lovely and more full than expected. The pink underskirt is actually a separate ruffled slip, and the pink velvet stole is attached to the dress. Of course, I undressed her and took down her hair, which was crunchy with some fixative. (I’ll wash it out.) I still have to decide what to do about her necklace. It doesn’t have a clasp – I’ll have to open a link to take it off, then it probably won’t go back on easily. Hmm. I’ll have a rummage in my jewelry findings and see if I have a clasp that can be put to work.
I had originally thought that she would be very similar to Best in Black, the other blonde articulated Silkstone in my collection, but she has a much paler skin tone and her make-up is very different. She’s quite elegant and I’m glad I got her.
The Quintessential Cardigan is a jewel-necked long-sleeved cardigan that is just a wardrobe staple. I bought it as a kit in two colourways, green and purple, with a tweedy yarn. Here’s the green one, which I finished almost a year ago:
I cast on the purple after finishing the Which Way Shawl. This time, I decided to knit the button bands in moss stitch instead of ribbing. I’ll also add a few more stitches to the cuffs to make the wrist a little wider. The sleeves on the green one fit, but I often push up my sleeves and that’s a big snug with wrists like this. I like how the tweed is knitting up.
This style of cardigan is one I wear a lot, so I also got out two others of a similar shape to compare the fit. On the left is one of my Hebrides cardigans, knit in Rowan Kidsilk Haze. This is my favourite cardigan – light, warm, pretty and a perfect fit. The hems and button bands are in moss stitch on this one. On the right is my Lunenberg cardigan, knit in Koigu KPPPM. This one is a little wide in the shoulders and the sleeves are a bit long, but that’s okay since I push them up. I also wear this one a lot. The hems and button bands are in garter stitch on this one.
Comparing them all, I decided to make the body of the Quintessential cardigan slimmer as well as longer, turning it to more of box shape. I did lengthen the pattern last time by 2″ but still had yarn leftover, so it can be even longer than that (esp if it’s narrower). The moss stitch hems will help with that change of shape, too.
This was a satisfying project. The Tumbleweed Toiletry Bag is a beautiful bag filled with lovely little details. I first saw it when the owner of Blue Calla Patterns did a presentation to our sewing guild, and knew I had to make one. Here’s the page on their site where you can buy the downloadable pattern. The pic at right is from from their site, also linked to that page.
I was hoping for a kit, like the one I bought from Blue Calla for the Foxtail Cross Body Sling, but there wasn’t one available. There was a kit for the hardware, which are always the toughest bits to find IMO. (It lives at that link, but availability of all the various options does vary.) They did have a sale running at the time, so I chose fabric and zippers etc., and essentially built my own kit. I did have to buy the fusible foam from my local fabric store as they were out of stock of that.
And here’s my finished bag:
I love these fabrics and the little bird in the floral print. The construction was remarkably easy, once I stopped overthinking it and trying to figure out how it would all come together. I just needed to follow the instructions and let it happen.
I made only two changes. First, I used a fake leather for the base and the handles, instead of fabric or cork. Secondly, I inserted a piece of 1/4″ cord into the handles to make them round. In the pattern, they’re just flat.
I love this bag so much!
Here’s the inside of the bottom section. It has a zippered mesh pocket, which is on the bottom of the top section.
And here’s a peek inside the top section:
I picked the feather zipper tabs to coordinate with the lining fabric.
I had some trouble sewing the thicker areas with my domestic machine. For example, the stitching line around the top to hold the frame should meet below the hinge, but with those seam allowances, I couldn’t manage it. I left a gap and it’s fine. Similarly, I couldn’t do the topstitching on the top side of the lower zipper, for the same reason.
When I make it again, I’ll add some more topstitching – around the base, for example, and on the top side of that zipper, as well as in the base of the lining – just to manage the seam allowances better. I have a crazy amount of materials left over, so there will be more bags in these fabrics, as well as at least one in this design.
I’m not planning a trip so don’t really need a toiletry bag. I’m thinking I’ll use it as a knitting project bag – the yarn supply can go in the bottom, the needles and notions in that zippered pocket, then the project on the needles in the top section.
Do I love this shawl? Mmmmm, I dunno. The design is interesting – I’d probably go down a needle size if I ever made it again, though it is nice and squishy. That contrast colour is a different choice for me – while it’s a good idea to try new things, I think I would have loved the result more if I’d gone with my original impulse of using a navy or black for the main colour. Maybe it will be just the right bright thing on a winter’s day. I do like the colours better at the ends than in the middle.
The shape of the shawl is unusual, but it makes a manageable cowl when wrapped around the neck. I expect I’ll wear it that way when I do wear it. I added tassels to the points that I’ll probably tie together.
Now to choose another project. It would be best to finish up something already started. There’s a little summer cardigan that would be a good choice to finish right now, and I love the colour of it. It’s a Martin Storey pattern called Peridot, which I’ve been knitting in Patons Silk Bamboo for half of forever. (Lots and lots of stockinette stitch.) That’s a Ravelry link, btw. Also my chunky No. 9 pullover in Blackstone Tweed still needs sleeves – funny that it’s almost the same shade of blue as the little cardigan. More blue on the needles with my Water shawl that needs finishing. That’s a blog post link. And of course, there’s my Wild Grass pullover which is at the point of needing acres of stockinette knit.
While considering all of these options, I cast on the purple version of the Quintessential cardigan. I’d bought two kits, one in green and one in purple, so will knit the second one with a few changes. It also requires miles of stockinette, but it’s purple and I need a purple cardigan. 🙂
Alive & Knitting 