Patricia’s Skirt and Top – Pink and Grey Again!!

Bonjour mes amies!

Here is Patricia’s contribution to my Pink and Grey Theme (nearly finished with it!!)

The very smart skirt follows a lovely pattern by Vero at Le Petit Monde de Vero. The yarn I used for the skirt is Patons Diploma Gold 4 ply shade 4245 (Steel).

The knitting needles used throughout are size 3 mm.

And for the cute top I have followed Marie’s lovely pattern at Les Voyages de Capucine. The yarn is Sirdar Crofter DK in shade 60 (Loganberry) which has some matching grey speckles.

I am delighted at how this outfit has turned out.

And here is Patricia with Annie in their contrasting Pink and Grey outfits. I’m sure you will agree that they look lovely together.

Passez une bonne journée, à bientôt …

It’s Annie’s Turn – Lots of Blue

Bonsoir, mes amies!

Here is a fabulous pattern by Odile as adapted by Vero. I love it! Annie looks great in this outfit. Thank you to both ladies.

The yarns used are: for the darker blue – Stylecraft Life 4 ply shade 2308 (Cascade) and for the paler blue an old yarn from my stash that I have had for years – Hayfield Baby Bonus 4 ply shade 854 (Baby Blue).

I used a size 3mm crochet hook.

The shoes are adapted from another pattern by Odile!

I think Annie looks really nice today.

Passez une bonne journée, à bientôt …

Jeannie in Grey and Pink – Odile Does It Again!

Bonjour, mes amies!

Jeannie has a new outfit!

This is a very sophisticated pattern by Odile of Passion Poupees that I could just not resist. I love the border for the top. I have not used this edging before and would love to use it again for something.

Both yarns are Patons Diploma Gold – shade 4219 (Pink) and shade 4245 (Steel). And as usual I used a crochet hook one size larger than Odile recommends – size 3.5 mm.

I think Jeannie looks quite serious in this two piece – as if she was off to the office for an important meeting!

Passez une bonne journée, à bientôt …

Happy New Year! – Shona’s Daring Two Piece

Bonjour, mes amies!

Finally the last arrival is at the Hogmanay Party.

Shona, my naughtiest little girl (who rarely brushes her hair) has arrived fashionably late.

She is wearing a lovely little two piece outfit where the top comes directly from a pattern of Odile’s at Passion Poupees.

Her skirt I made myself and unusually I started it at the bottom and worked up so that I could include two rows of the scarf yarn easily. It was interesting trying to figure out the decreases for the waistband!

The yarn used for the skirt and top is Stylecraft Life 4 ply in shade 2309 (Heather) and the frill was created by the scarf yarn Papillon in shade 16 (Purple). I used a size 3.00 mm crochet hook for both.

I am very pleased with how the skirt has turned out and I made it in one go without having to stop and try again!

Shona looks ready to party with the others …

… and here they all are together at the party.

Bonsoir, à bientôt …

Happy New Year! – Annie’s Hogmanay Party Outfit

Bonjour et bonne année, mes amies!

Here is Annie’s party outfit for the Hogmanay party.

This really cute pattern comes courtesy of Odile at Passion Poupees. The only changes I made were to use a size 3.5 mm hook, lengthen the skirt a bit and, instead of sleeves, I added a little bit of the picot border.

This lovely yarn was an impulse buy at my local yarn shop. It is Rico Creative Reflection shade 004 (Pastel) and changes through many colours, but with quite a long repeat. I love how this outfit has turned out pale blue with lilac. There is a thread of silver glitter throughout.

This is a beautiful outfit that I think works well as a party outfit in this yarn.

And here is Annie at the party with Patricia, Robyn and Jeannie.

Passez une bonne journée, à bientôt …

Annie in Magenta – A Sophisticated Tunic and Skirt

Bonjour, mes Amies!

Finally Annie gets a new outfit – enough of these pesky wee Corollines!

Annie is resplendent in a beautiful tunic by Patricia of 1000 et 1 Choses (1000 and 1 Things). This lovely pattern included stitching to give a smock effect, but I took fright and was worried I would ruin it, so I left it as it was.

This is a lovely pattern by Patricia and having finally found some 2.5 mm knitting needles I have realised that Patricia and I must knit to the same tension, as this is a very good fit for Annie.

The deep pink yarn is DROPS Baby Merino Extra Fine Wool (4 ply) shade 08 (magenta) and I am unsure of the contrast white yarn for the skirt as I have lost the label.

The skirt pattern I made up myself with contrast stripes to match the detail on the tunic.

It has been rewarding to knit for the larger dolls again and I think that this outfit is a winner and season appropriate!

As a final note, I was inspired by Laurence who made a beautiful job of styling her doll, Elena’s hair in a recent post on her blog, and I tried to do the same. Not my best work I fear, but I could try again one day …

Passez une bonne journée, à bientôt

Another Autumn Outfit – Annie Gets Cosy

Bonjour mes amies!

Back to where I began, making one of Odile’s gorgeous patterns! Odile at Passion Poupees must be the most prolific crocheter out there. Virtually every day sees a new tutorial kindly and generously posted on her blog.

This lovely outfit appeared a few weeks ago, just as we were beginning to see the signs of autumn, and I have chosen to use the same autumnal colours as Odile.

What I did do wrong was use thicker yarn. I used DK yarns for both colours. I made a mistake with the skirt as I decided to use a size 3.5 crochet hook with the thicker yarn and this made the garment far too big (silly me!). I reduced the number of stitches and carried on …

As an experiment, I then made the top and bolero with a size 3.0 mm crochet hook. This meant the top fitted perfectly, but the bolero was still a little bit snug.

I have discovered that I crochet very tightly and while I can adjust width easily by changing my hook size, I will still always have to lengthen a garment with extra rows. I did this with the skirt, and also while making the bolero – or else her arms would not have fitted into the sleeves!

The skirt and top are made with a very old brown DK yarn I have had for years, and for the bolero and contrast I used Sirdar Bonus DK yarn in shade 882 (pale green).

Another issue I had was that the bolero ended up with too short sleeves. I fixed this by adding the same edging rows as the skirt but with the colours reversed. I think this is a lovely wee amendment to the original pattern.

All in all a very successful return to one of my favourite designers – Odile.

J’espère que vous aimez ma tenue. À bientôt.

Autumn’s Here – I admit it and make Something with Long Sleeves!

Here is Annie wearing another fantastic outfit by Odile of Passion Poupees. As usual I had to use a bigger crochet hook and also I had to add in extra rows to lengthen both the jacket and particularly the skirt. The skirt would have been a wee bit skimpy otherwise for the colder weather which seems to be well and truly on its way.

I used a yarn by Wendy called Mode 4 ply and it was a nightmare to crochet with. It seems to be barely twisted at all and constantly split on the hook. I imagine I spent twice as long on this outfit as I could have done had I been using a tightly wound cotton. I bought it really cheaply from my favourite yarn stockist E Kemp (though maybe it wasn’t the bargain I thought it was). The shade is 205 ‘Iris’ (dull lilac).

I think that this colour lends itself well to the season of autumn.

I made a matching hat (from another pattern of Odile’s) to keep Annie’s head warm as the weather takes a turn for the worse, and she is wearing boots by Corolle to keep her tootsies warm.

Skimpy Summer Outfits – a Trifle Unseasonal in October!

Here are two cute summery outfits based on two of Odile’s patterns at Passion Poupees. During my holiday last week I found myself waking very early in the mornings (nothing to do with the cocks crowing at the stables!) and I happily spent my time poring over Odile’s website and planning many, many outfits from there. My creaky old laptop was a very welcome distraction and I am so glad I took it with me, together with lots and lots of different balls of yarn, and crochet hooks, knitting needles and pattern books.

This gold one really needs some bikini bottoms to go under it. I hope I get around to some one day …

The white outfit is very cute but I had to really reduce the number of stitches for the top. I also found that the button of the skirt was over to one side and I wish I had reduced the number of stitiches here also. This is not at all a fault of the pattern, but rather my propensity to crochet very tightly.

Here is a clearer picture taken in daylight when I got home.