Crochet sun hat and a large tote for Barbie

Hello,

Another day. Another crochet hat. I have been sucked into the crochet universe and am trapped. <wave>

My "Russian" doll (it's from Japan) has claimed this hat. I used the same red crochet yarn I used for Melly's Ruffled Crochet Hat. This yarn is very special to me. Around 2004, I started learning to crochet. I had tried crochet when I was a kid but never really went beyond chain stitch. When I was a student in secondary school, I gave it another go but still went no where. In 2005, I bought a few balls of this red yarn and started learning from books. It was slow and tedious but I managed to learn the basics. So these red yarn are my lucky yarn. Unfortunately my skills in crochet is quite limited as in 2007 I got sucked into bag making. But it's adequate enough to make simple accesories. Where was I? Yes, the red yarn lasted till today. I made a few items here and there and I had this small amount left and I really just want to use it up.

This hat once again started with a beanie. Is there any other way to start a hat? My "Russian" doll is actually a jewellery case. Cool, right?

Truth is I made the "sun hat" (I don't know what it's called) for Barbie. It's a single crochet (US) hat. This very Bratz looking Barbie was a hand-me-down from my bff's daughter to my daughter but I have claimed it. (my girl used to play with dolls but have now developed a deep, deep fear of them) Bratz-Barbie (let's call her that) is wearing my Pullip doll's kimono. Pullips are larger than Barbies. So it's a little large. Oh, I discovered the little ironing board is great for dolls to sit on.

Not surprisingly, Barbies are hard to photograph - the sheen of the skin and all. I'm not entirely against sexing up my doll. I was going for a NC16 pose but Bratz-Barbie's joints are quite loose.  So here's a PG13 pose. I don't have the skills to restring her so just use your imagination....

Do you like what you see?

Oh, baby...

(this was actually a failed pole dancing pose as the legs wouldn't wrap round the "pole" so Bratz-Barbie ended up with a Pilates pose) - she insisted on wearing the hat.

What makes this Barbie look like a Bratz is the lips. This doll is slightly larger than regular Barbies. So the hat will be a little loose on regular Barbies. It won't fit a Pullip. But it will definitely fit a J-doll.

If you're ever in the market for a sun hat for your Barbies, here's the "formula" I used. Please know that I do it by trial and error so let me know if you see any mistakes.

Start: Make a ring any method you like e.g. ch3, join ch with slip stitch to form ring OR chain 2 and make R1 into 2nd chain from the hook.

R1: Make 6 ch in ring - 6 sts
Mark last stitch with safety pin because this is a spiral and you want to know where your round ends.
R2: Make 2 sc in each st around - 12 sts
R3: (Make sc in next st, 2 sc in next st) around -18 sts
R4: (Make sc in next 2 sts, 2 sc in next st) around - 24 sts
R5: (Make sc in next 3 sts, 2 sc in next st) around - 30 sts
R6: (Make sc in next 4 sts, 2 sc in next st) around - 36 sts

R2 to R6 are the increase rounds. Do you need to do up to R6? It depends on the yarn weight and stitch tension. What you should do is after every round, place the crochet work on top of Barbie's head. The "flat pancake" which you have created should be a littler smaller than the top of Barbie's head. This is when you should stop your increase.

Here you make the height of the hat. How many rounds of R7 should you do? I would stop when the crochet work is just above the ears.
R7: Make 1 sc in each st around  (repeat this round until work is above the ears)

Here you make the brim of the hat.
RQ: (Make sc in next st, 2 sc in next st) around
RR: Make 1 sc in each st around
RS:  (Make sc in next st, 2 sc in next st) around
RT:  Make 1 sc in each st around
RU:  Make 1 sc in each st around
RV:  Make 1 sc in each st around
End: Skip 1 st and slip st to next st. Fasten off and weave ends of thread into crochet work.

I made a bag as well. A simple single crochet bag with no closure. I used perle cotton for the body of the bag.

The handles are chain stitches. It's quite sturdy and it is a real bag. You can carry other dolls in it or whatever dolls need.

The bag is reversible!

The handles are attached to the top of the bag using 2 knots.

I love it. Making little bags for dolls is a lot easier than for humans. Use less supplies too.

Linked: Sew Many Ways