My latest recycled crafting project involves these two baby dolls. I got these dolls at my local thrift store. Both dolls just needed a little cleaning and a new outfit. I crocheted both dolls a new dress and hat. Buying these used dolls was very reasonable. One was only 99 cents and the other $1.99 but with new outfits, they have a new life and look great. They both will be going to my local woman’s shelter for some little girls to find joy with a new baby doll.

Here is a closeup of the hat. I worked one round in white yarn and then did white trim by working a slip stitch in the final round. You can click on any of the photos to supersize them.

I used Hooksandknives.blogspot.com doll dress and hat pattern for both outfits. I crocheted using a H (5 mm) hook with worst weight 4 ply yarn. My dolls are 12 inches tall and I did a little modification on the neckline and straps as outlined below. Unfortunately the blog that was hosting the original doll dress and hat patterns is no longer in existence as of 2015. But I was able to find the pattern details and added them to the post below.

**Original Doll and Hat pattern from Hooksandknives.blogspot**
Doll Dress Pattern

Body of dress
Ch 35
Row 1: sc in the 2nd ch from the hook, sc across to end (34 sc)
Row 2: ch 1, turn. sc across
Rows 3 to 9: repeat row 2
Row 10: ch 1, turn. sc in the first st, (2sc in the next st, sc in the next st) repeat to end, ending with sc in the last st
Row 11: ch 3, turn. dc in each st across.
Row 12: ch 3, turn. dc in first st, 2dc in next st, (dc in next 2 sts, 2dc in next st), repeat across, then dc in last st
Row 13: repeat row 11
Row 14: repeat row 11
Row 15: repeat row 12
Row 16: repeat row 11
Row 17: repeat row 12
Row 18: repeat row 11. Finish off, leaving a long tail, about 18 inches. Use this for sewing the back together up to last sc row. Leave the rest of the sc rows unsewn, allowing an opening for dressing the doll easily. Weave in ends.

Straps (make 2)
Ch 15.
Row 1: sc in 2nd ch from hook. sc across to end.
Row 2: ch 1, turn. sc across to end. Fasten off, leaving 10 inch tail for sewing one end. Sew ends to front and back of dress.

Ties (make 2) Used for closing top of back of dress by tying in a bow
Ch 30.
Sl st in 2nd ch from hook. sl ti in each st across to end. Fasten off, leaving tail for sewing. Sew each tie to the top corners of the back of dress.

Hat Pattern

Worked as a spiral without joining. Use stitch markers to mark first stitch of each row.

Ch 2
Row 1: 7sc in second ch from hook.
Row 2: 2sc in each st (14sc)
Row 3: (sc in first st, 2sc in next st) repeat around
Row 4: sc in first st, (2sc in next st, sc in next 2 sts) repeat around
Row 5: sc in first st, (2sc in next st, sc in next 3 sts) repeat around
Row 6-14 or 15 (depends on how deep you need the hat to be): sc in each st around
Row 15(16): 2sc in each st around
Row 16(17): 1 sc in each st around
Row 17(18): (2sc in first st, sc in next 3 sts) repeat around. Fasten off and weave in ends.

My modifications to the pattern above:
I chained 38 stitches at the beginning. (40 for fatter soft dolls). After row 12, I joined and worked in the round with the right side facing out with a ch 2 at the start of each round from this point. I only worked 17 rows/rounds and finished off my dress with trim by working slip stitches for my final round.

My straps were done wider and with a higher front yoke to cover my doll’s chest a bit more. This was done by attaching the yarn 2 stitches from the front side edge with right side facing. Sc across the front to within 2 stitches from the other side edge. Chain 1 turn and work Sc’s back across the front yoke area back to the beginning where you started. Depending on the height you want for the front yoke, you can either do just one row or two rows before beginning the first strap. Ch 1 turn and work Sc in only the next for stitches for the strap. My straps are 5 stitches wide including the turning chain. I worked my straps about 12 rows long. Check your fit to see if the strap is long enough for your doll. Attach to the back of dress with Sc’s to secure strap. My back strap edge was attached at the 4th stitch from the back opening. (See photo below)

Attach your yarn to other side of the front with right side facing and repeat the steps to make the strap for the other side of dress.

I added stripes to the blue dress set by working a different color of yarn on the second from the last Dc round of dress and then doing slip stitches for the trim with the same color of yarn as the stripe.

Recycling these thrift store dolls has been really fun and I can only hope some of the joy that they have brought me can be passed along to some little girls out there.
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My patterns and photos are copyrighted by Cindy of My Recycled Bags {dot com} and may only be used for private individual or charity use. No commercial sales of this pattern or photos are permitted. Links to this pattern are acceptable and appreciated. ©2011-2014

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