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This week we have a new Barbie model. Susan, who modeled the two previous projects, is 12 inches tall instead of 11.5 inches. 11.5 inches is the more common size for the dolls and the patterns. That explains why the first week's dress was a little shorter on her than I expected. To make sure I had a doll that would fit the patterns I went to the local Unique Thrift store where they had multiple 3-packs of Barbie and Ken. I ended up coming home with one that had two Barbies and a Ken, all from the Fashionista line in the 2015-2018 era. One stereotypical Barbie, one black Barbie with an athletic body type and a 2016 You Can Be Anything Ken Lifeguard. All of three of them have flat feet. Today's Barbie is a Fashionista Barbie from 2015 and she will be modeling my finished version of the Rose Trimmed Ensemble from the Crochet World Fall Special 1991. Here's the magazine photo. It is definitely trimmed with roses...  This pattern is a jacket and a simple sheath dress. The materials list includes, crochet cotton thread, steel crochet hook size 7, 8 red silk ribbon roses and a hot-glue gun. The pattern gives a gauge that I matched with size 10 cotton thread and the size 7 hook. The stitch pattern for the dress and jacket is a single crochet in the back loop, single crochet in the front loop. The dress is done in the round and was pretty simple to do. It was a just a tube until the last few rounds where the neckline starts and the straps will go. The jacket is worked in one piece, folded in half and the side seams and sleeve seams are sewn together. Having minimal increases and decreases made it pretty easy to follow the back loop, front loop stitch pattern but this still took about three times as long as the suit I shared last week. The last step in the jacket pattern had you prepare the roses by clipping off the stem and putting a drop of hot glue on the end so the ribbon doesn't unravel. Then you mark where you want the roses and sew them on. You can probably guess where I wanted the roses... Here is the finished Rose Ensemble:
I made it rose colored instead of rose trimmed and used variegated pink thread for the dress and a solid pink for the jacket. It's definitely a Barbie color. The variegated thread made the dress a little more interesting to do. This dress did not fit Susan and even though the gauge matches it seems a little tighter than the photo and the sleeve length is a bit shorter than the photo.
Now for the rating: Is the pattern easy to understand? Yes If there is a gauge, could I match it? Yes Does it look like the photo? Sort of. Did it fit 11.5" Barbie? Yes but it was a tight fit. Did I enjoy making it? Yes I'm giving this one a 4 out of 5 because it was a little smaller than the version in the photo even though I had the gauge right. I could block it and make it a little bigger if I needed to but it's fine the way it is. Any suggestions on what I should name this Barbie?
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This week we're trying the Summer Suit from the 1992 issue of Crochet World Summer Special. This one also uses Luster Sheen and while I don't have the Aquamarine color they suggest, I think the other blue I have will be just fine. The white is size 10 thread and I have plenty of that. They use two different size hooks in this pattern; size 7 steel hook for the white and size D for the blue sections. The other materials include 4 snap fasteners, four 4mm beads, and 18 inches of 3/8 satin ribbon.  The pattern has a gauge that I matched and it has stitch counts after most rows (YAY!) It starts with the skirt which is a very simple pattern that is open at the waist in the back for a snap. The blouse instructions are also easy to follow. The blouse is completely open in the back with three snaps for the closure. Adding the white edging was a little more difficult but still not terribly hard. I ended up tacking the collar down because even though it was done in the outside loop it didn't want to stay down. The hat was very simple and adds an extra panache to her outfit. With the D hook this outfit went much quicker than the evening dress done in the same yarn, even with the extra accessory. Here is Susan in my version of the Summer Suit  She kicked off her shoes because it's summer and it's hot. I didn't love the extra ribbons they had in their version. It seemed a little extra. Even though they give you directions to make your own ribbons I added a purchased one to her hat instead of trying to make one. She only has one bead on her top instead of three because I couldn't get them to line up right. Overall, this outfit is a little looser than the evening gown and easier to put on the doll.
Rating: Is the pattern easy to understand? Yes If there is a gauge, could I match it? Yes Does it look like the photo? Yes Did it fit Susan? Yes Did I enjoy making it? Yes This one gets a 5 out of 5. This week's pattern comes from the April 1984 issue of Crochet World. The issue has at least 35 patterns in it ranging from sweaters to bookmarks. The Barbie pattern is an evening gown and wrap made with Luster Sheen yarn in Crystal Pink.
The other materials needed are; a size 7 steel crochet hook, 2/3 yard of 1/4" pink ribbon, 3 small snaps, 1 small hook and eye for the wrap closing, small craft flowers for the waist. I have all of these things but not in pink and since I'd rather use up what I have I went with Luster Sheen in Bluette and a white ribbon for the waist. Luster Sheen has a chainette construction so it's pretty easy to crochet with but not that great for making a fringe. The pattern gave a gauge that I tested and matched before I started. The directions fit on one page of the magazine along with the photo so this seemed like it would go pretty quickly and easily. The dress is worked from the waistband down and then from the waistband up. There was only one issue I had with the pattern. I love when patterns have a stitch count at the end of the row. In this case, that would have made this a little easier to check as I was going through the pattern and it would look more like the photo. Here's the finished version that Susan* is modeling vs the original:
You can see that somewhere there was a mistake in the increases or I misread it. When I realized that it was wrong, I decided I preferred my version. I added a felt flower button on the waist instead of the roses and decided to skip the wrap. Susan didn't come with any shoes so I made some out of foam, crochet thread and beads. They're kind of wobbly and come off easily but they'll work for now.
Rating: Is the pattern easy to understand? Yes If there is a gauge, could I match it? Yes Does it look like the photo? Not really Did it fit Susan? Yes Did I enjoy making it? Yes This pattern gets a 4 out of 5. *Since we can't keep calling her Spa Barbie, I named her Susan Pearl Anderson (SPA). Even though I haven't seen the movie yet I thought it would be fun to change up the blog a little and make some vintage Barbie clothes patterns. That meant I needed to find a Barbie to model the clothes. I checked Goodwill but all of the versions they had were either non-classic body styles or had something else unusual about them that meant they wouldn't be great models. One had a torso that was a USA swimsuit. Another had a button on her back that looked like it attached to something. I this found Spa Barbie on FB Marketplace for $5 and picked her up yesterday.  I was surprised when I realized that her legs didn't bend. Apparently, somewhere around 1990 they changed the plastic and after that Barbie no longer had bendable arms and legs. The new version is easier to clean at least. That old plastic always felt a little sticky.
The first pattern I'll make for her is from April 1984. It's an evening gown and wrap and I have the suggested yarn from that era for it. So far I've found five other patterns in my library that range from 1965-1992. One is actually a Ski Suit for Ken but I think it will fit Barbie too. I'll switch back to neck items after I run out of Barbie patterns. It took me a couple of weeks but I finally finished one of the Tri-Color Feeding Bibs from the booklet I shared last week. In the instructions it says that these are Humpty-Dumpty, his wife and their twins. I made the bib with the twins.  All three versions use three colors of J&P Coats Knit-Cro-Sheen; dark blue, white and red. A size 6 or 7 steel hook and some double fold bias tape. I used some vintage red and blue Knit-Cro-Sheen and white Aunt Lydia's Classic Crochet Thread along with a size 7 steel hook. They give a gauge for the bib which I didn't check until I was done with the project but it matched. The pattern includes charts for all three of these but they were very tiny so I had to use my printer to enlarge them. The directions were pretty good for this pattern. They explain how to change colors and that you should carry your unused color along the top of the previous row. There were a few areas where I ended up using bobbins so I wasn't carrying more than one color. They even give directions for sewing on the bias tape that worked pretty well. I don't have anything bad to say about this project or the directions. I had some issues following the directions for the scallops on the bottom but once I decided to just trust that it would work even though I couldn't quite make sense of it, it did. I had some problems sewing the bias tape on but that's a user issue and not from the pattern directions. The finished bib is 12 inches by 10 inches so it's a decent size but I'm not sure how much this would protect a baby's clothes. It's still cute in a very 1940s way.  The project I planned for this week isn't quite done. I had several bouts of feline paralysis after vacation and it made it hard to work on projects.  Instead I'll share some pictures from the booklet that the half-done project came from. The booklet is from 1944 and it's from The Spool Cotton Company. The cover says, "Crochet your Gifts" but they snuck in a few knitted items like a bag and one of the potholders. The booklet uses J & P Coats - Clark's O.N.T. Crochet Cottons throughout the projects in sizes from Best Six Cord Mercerized Cotton size 50, to Knit-Cro-Sheen to Rug Yarn.  Some of the projects that use size 30 thread include a Pineapple Bib, a Pineapple Apron and Tea Cozy, Flowers and Doilies.
Knit-Cro-Sheen (aka size 10 thread) is usually the smallest thread I'll use and the booklet had a few patterns that used that. Potholders from that era seem to be commonly done in Knit-Cro-Sheen and these are pretty classic ones. The project I'm working on now from this booklet is also done in size 10 thread.
The collar below is done in size 50 thread and the sachets in the same photo are done in either "Brilliant" or six strand embroidery floss. The collar might have been an option for a neck project but there's a reason I don't have any size 50 thread. The curtain pulls vary from cord to size 30 thread. The pulls could be fun as a necklace pendant too.
I'm about half way done with the project for next week! Any guesses on what it might be? It isn't anything pictured in this post. Here's another project to add the the growing list of projects that just didn't work for me; the Bolo Scarf from the September 1985 issue of Workbasket Magazine.  The scarf uses 1.4 ounces of Unger Cruise or Baby Wintuk and a size F hook. Both of the recommended yarns are sport weight but I didn't have any sport weight yarn that I was willing to sacrifice for this so I bumped it up to a DK weight and tried Knit Picks Swish DK with a size G hook. I didn't make it very far when I realized that this project was just repetitious enough to be boring but I still had to pay attention to the ends of the rows since the repeat had a slightly different stitch pattern at the ends of the rows. Sometimes the final project will be worth this kind of annoyance but this wasn't one of them. Here's where I stopped and ripped it all out:  I admit that I'm much quicker to stop a project now if I'm not getting any joy out of making it. I think that's a good thing. It means I'm willing to try more things and just let them go if they aren't working for me.
Next week we're going back to 1944! I planned to make this vintage pattern for the Dakota County Fair but I missed the registration deadline so I won't have any entries this year but at least I'm ahead for next year! This baby blanket pattern comes from The Easy Art of Ripple Crochet. The booklet has a lot of fun patterns. I'm tossing around the idea of doing vintage ripple patterns for the 2024 blog theme and would definitely use some from this magazine. It has hats, blankets, swimwear, dresses, tops and baby clothes.
The materials for this blanket are six 4-ounce skeins of yellow ombre knitting worsted yarn and an H hook. It does give a gauge but since it's a blanket I didn't worry about it. I used Lion Brand Mandala Ombre, a worsted weight caked yarn, in the color Mantra. Mantra has a soothing range of blues and greens that was fun to work through. The yarn is a little bouncy and very soft and was perfect for a soft cuddly blanket. The directions were very simple and I had no trouble following them. This was an easy project that was repetitive enough to be calming and the yarn made it even more relaxing. When I started a new skein I tried to make sure that I was starting with the same color I ended with and that meant starting the skein alternately from the outside. I was a little concerned about the tassels since I struggle with those but they turned out fine and added a lot to the finished project.  Next week - Another repetitive project (a scarf!) but was it as calming as this one?
I finally finished the Popcorn Potholders from the 1975 issue of Woman's Day Granny Squares. The photo on the right is three of the patterns in this issue. The photo below on the right is from the magazine. I made the Hearty Holders (left) for the fair last year. The Popcorn Potholder is the one on the top.
This is a fun magazine with some cute tops. There are also afghans, dresses and doilies of course. I liked the pink top below but sewing all the squares together isn't my favorite thing to do.  Vintage ads are also fun. There were plenty of yarn and craft ads along with a cigarette ad or two. This one was my favorite for the wicker chair and duck, the long crocheted scarf and the woman's expression. I'm not sure why she's putting the hook in the middle of the scarf but maybe she's just working the ends in.  The pattern for the Popcorn Potholder uses Coats & Clark Speed-Cro-Sheen and a size 2 hook. I used Aunt Lydia's Fashion Crochet Thread in three different colors and a size B hook (2.25mm). The pattern is easy to read and has directions for every row along with stitch counts. I made one major change to this patter and to the Hearty Holders I did last year. The pattern is only one layer and it seems thin and unfinished so I always make a back that is similar to the front without the fancy stitches and use the last row to crochet the two sides together. I skipped the loop hanger because I don't hang these up and it seems unnecessary. Here's the finished Popcorn Potholders. My popcorn stitches pop less than theirs but I still like them.
And here are the Hearty Holders from last year.  I started working on the ripple baby blanket from a vintage pattern but I still have a few gifts to finish up in the next month. I'll post it when it's done though.
I've had this 1971 Brunswick Strictly Crochet booklet for years and hadn't made anything from it yet. I saw this adorable baby sweater and thought it would be perfect for the Dakota County Fair.
The pattern asks for 4 ounces of Brunswick Windrush and a size 6 or G hook. They give a gauge of 1 pattern repeat = 1 1/4 inches and each row would be 3/4 inch tall. I had some Lion Brand Jeans Color yarn that I know works up super soft so I used that. I only had 3.5 ounces of it so I decided to do the smallest size. I realized pretty quickly that my gauge was smaller than the pattern said it should be but I didn't worry too much about it because I'm not sizing this to a specific baby. The pattern was easy to read and arranged in lines for each section instead of the paragraph version you often see in vintage patterns. While I don't love making tassels the sweater looks cuter with them. I did have yarn left over so I could have gone up a hook size or made one of the larger sizes but this is fine. One more fair project done!  |
