A Crocheted Dress Bodice for Sasha

As promised, here is the pattern for a crocheted dress bodice with a fabric skirt, sized to fit Sasha dolls. Sasha ranges in size from around 16 inches to 17 inches. The pattern may, or may not fit other similar sized dolls. It will not fit the 18" American Girls, who are not only taller, but much bigger around than Sasha dolls. Crochet is fairly stretchy and forgiving, but not that stretchy and forgiving! I will probably be working on an American Girl size later this year, for my granddaughter's McKenna. When and if I do, I'll post the directions for the AG size here.

The dresses pictured above are two of the finished dresses that were made as table favors for the Sasha Festival. As always, this pattern is posted for your personal enjoyment. You may share the link wherever you'd like, but please don't post the pattern anywhere without my express written permission. Thanks!

Crocheted Dress Yoke

 Charla McGuire Neal

© 2013

To fit a 16” to 17” Sasha doll

Materials:

Size 8 Hook  (1.5 mm)

#10 Crochet Cotton

About 30 inches of ¼ inch ribbon

Fabric to match crochet cotton (7 ½ inches by 28 inches)

3 very small buttons (about ¼ inch)

Chain 55

Row 1:  Dc in 3^rd ch from hook and in next 5 ch sts for back yoke, *(2 dc, ch 2, 2 dc in next ch,) [corner shell made,] dc in next 13 chs for sleeve, repeat from * in next ch st for 2nd corner shell, dc in next 11 sts for yoke front, repeat from * in next ch st for 3rd corner shell,  dc in next 13 chs for second sleeve, repeat from * in next ch st for last corner shell, dc in last 6 chs for back yoke, ch 4, turn.

Row 2: Note: you will be working a double crochet in every other dc, with a ch 1 between them. (Fillet st)

Sk 1 dc, (ch 4 counts as first dc plus ch 1,) dc in 3^rd dc, *(ch 1 skip next dc, dc in next dc.) Repeat from * working to corner. When you reach the corner ch 2 space, you you should have a dc in 1^st dc of corner you worked in row 1.  You will ch 1, sk 2^nd dc of row 1 corner, then work corner shell in ch 2 space. Continue from *, as above, working to end, ch 3, turn.

Row 3: Work dc in each dc and ch 1 sp across back, work corner shell in corner ch 2 space, work in fillet st across sleeve, work corner shell in corner, work dc in each dc and ch 1 sp across front, work in fillet st across sleeve, corner shell in corner, work dc in each dc and ch1 sp across back, ch 3, turn.

Row 4 - 5: Continue as above, working dc st in every dc st for backs and front, fillet st in sleeve sections, corner shell in ch 2 of each corner shell.

Row 6: Work across back sts plus 1 dc in ch2 space of corner shell, ch 8, sk all sleeve sts, work 1 dc in ch 2 sp of front corner, work all dc sts across front, 1 dc in ch 2 sp of 2^nd front corner, ch 8, sk all sleeve sts, 1 dc in ch 2 sp of back corner, and every dc across back, ch 3, turn.

Row 7 & 8: Dc in each st all around, including under arm ch sts, ch 3, turn. At end of Row 8, ch 4, turn.

Row 9: Sk 1^st dc, trc in 2^nd st, *(ch 1, sk next dc, trc in 4^th dc,) repeat from * across row, ending with trc in top of turning ch, ch 1, turn. (You should have 43 trebles, including the ch 4 turning at the beginning of the row.)

Row 10: Sc in each trc, and each ch 1 space across row, ch 3, turn.

Row 11: 1dc in bottom of turning ch, sc over top of next trc, work 5dc shell over top of following trc, sc over top of next trc, and so on, continuing across row. Finish with 2 dc in top of turning ch, ch 1, DO NOT TURN…instead:

Work in sc, up side of left back to neck, ch 1 turn, and work back down as follows: Make 1 sc, ch 2, sk 2 sc, (ch 2 buttonhole made,) 8 sc, ch 2 buttonhole, 8 sc, ch 2 buttonhole, sc to end of row, ch 1, turn. Work sc in every st up back, (including 2 scs in the ch 2 buttonhole spaces,) to top. Ch 1 at corner, sc around neck, ch 1 at right neck edge, sc down back to bottom edge, ch 1, turn and work back up to neck edge. Break off and work in the ends.

Sleeves:

Note: You will be crocheting up and over the top of the sleeve, back across the underarm to the beginning, then working shells over the top of the sleeve to opposite side, where you will break off.

 Row 1: With right side facing you, attach thread to back corner of right sleeve, where the fillet crochets meet the underarm dc’s.  (This would be the side of the row where you worked dc’s to underarm, then did the 8 ch’s.) Sc in the side of the dc where the thread was attached, hdc in the side of the next row, ch 1, and work fillet st in each fillet st across sleeve. At bottom of row, hdc in side of dc row, sc in corner where sleeve meets underarm sc’s, then sc in each sc of underarm, join.

Row 2:  (Note: You will only work the upper sleeve fillet sts in this row, not the underarm sc sts.)

Ch 1, sc in top of sc, work 3 dc shell in top of hdc, sc in top of next dc, 3 dc shell in next dc, across row, end with sc in corner sc, between sleeve top and underarm, break off thread and work ends in.

Repeat with Left sleeve, attaching thread at front corner instead of back corner, and proceeding as before.

Finishing: Press bodice.

Serge sides and bottom of skirt. Fold about ¼ in. of skirt to wrong side, then gather top edge and pull up to fit bottom of bodice. I serged my skirt top for neatness and to hold the gathering in place, but you can finish it any way you prefer. Stitch skirt to bodice by machine or hand stitch with matching thread, aligning top of gathers just below the row of treble crochet beading for the ribbon. Sew back seam, press, and finish back edge of skirt. Fold up ¾ inch on bottom of skirt, press, and hem.

Sew three buttons to right back of bodice, matching position of buttonholes. Run ribbon through beading and tie in a bow at back.

Please remember, I am not a professional pattern designer, nor am I a professional typist. I am the only one who has tested this pattern so far. If you find a mistake or a typo, please feel free to contact me, and do let me know how the pattern worked out for you.

For those in the UK, please bear in mind that there is a difference in terminology between the US and the UK. As I recall, our single crochet is your double crochet, our double crochet is your treble crochet, and our treble crochet is your double treble crochet. Our half double crochet is, of course, your half treble.

How I Spent Spring (and Part of Summer,) 2013

I always enjoy the annual Sasha Festival, and having missed last year's Festival in England, I was really looking forward to the 2013 Festival. As usual, I had a wonderful time, both visiting with old friends who attend nearly every year, and meeting the first time attendees, many of whom are already on-line acquaintances. The Festival, which celebrates Sasha Morganthaler and the dolls she created, is a small, family friendly event, held at a different location each year, entirely organized and staffed by volunteers. It is difficult to describe the feeling of friendship and camaraderie that is the hallmark of the Sasha Festival. I can only say that there is a reason why the same people keep returning year after year! The 2014 Festival will be held in Phoenix, AZ.

I usually volunteer as a table hostess during the Festival. Often, part of that duty is to provide a small table favor for your guests. I'd seen some cute dresses with a crocheted bodice and fabric skirt on someone's doll at a previous Festival and thought I'd try something similar for my table this year. I didn't have a pattern, but I've been crocheting since I was seven years old, and was fairly sure I could create my own version.

I spent the end of May fiddling around with crocheting and making notes on the various trial versions of the bodice. A good part of June was divided between working on CFA projects, and crocheting and sewing the actual table favor dresses. Here are a few pictures of the finished products, taken on my table at the Festival. I needed eight for that night, but have made several more since I've been back home. I'm working on writing the pattern up, and will publish it here when I have it ready, so if you are a Sasha collector and/or crocheter, stay tuned!

A Back to School Swap for Sasha

I recently signed up to participate in a Back to School Swap for Sasha, which was hosted by Lorraine Tyler, whom I had just met in person at the 2013 Sasha Festival. Good fortune smiled on me, and Lorraine turned out to be my swap partner! Her swap to me arrived this past week. She sent me a darling plaid school uniform, with a white blouse and red school tie. Along with the outfit, she included a wonderful school satchel, filled with a set of colored pencils, an amazingly tiny pencil case with a working zipper, a Sasha sized Beatrice Potter book, and a miniature paint set. When it arrived, my lovely Alexandra immediately laid claim to it and has been wearing it ever since. We both love it! Alexandra may love it just a bit too much!

Alexandra's First Day of School

 

Alexandra has her new school things neatly laid out on the table, ready for the first day of school.

She can't wait to get them all packed into her satchel and head off to catch the bus!

"Zoe," she asks, "Is my satchel on straight? What time will the bus arrive to pick us up?"

"What? What do you mean, school doesn't start until tomorrow? I'm ready to go now!"