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Tuesday, April 15, 2014

"In your Easter bonnet . . ."



Last weekend at the farm, while Mike was outside hard at work on his spring chores, I was focused on making an Easter bonnet “with frills upon it” for granddaughter Emmy’s American Girl doll.

I finished the dress last week from a pattern I purchased through Pixie Faire called “Jennifer and Kate” from Jelly Bean Soup Designs. The pattern is simple and the design flattering to the doll's rather blocky shape. I used scraps of cotton fabric for the bodice. The ruffled skirt is an eyelet border. I loved that the bodice is lined and all seams enclosed.
 
(I requested and received a picture of Emmy's Easter dress (right) so that I would have some idea as to style. I would love to have more nearly matched the fabric and colors but couldn't find that in this limited market.)

Well, after I finished the dress, it had to have a bonnet. I get these ideas, and then nothing is right but that I follow through. Sometimes I forget that these are issues only within myself. Is that what it means to be obsessive?

Anyway, I couldn’t find a hat pattern that fit my conception of a little girl’s Easter bonnet in my rather extensive pattern collection. What came to mind were the thread hats that my mother crocheted as Christmas decorations. What would happen, I asked myself, if I used one of those patterns with cotton yarn (such as we use for crocheting dishcloths) and a bigger hook?

Mother’s collection of thread ornament patterns is stored at the farm, so as soon as I could get to it, I sought them out. Yes – there it was – a fine example of a frilly bonnet. (This instruction pamphlet is “Victorian Accents” from Annie’s Attic, 1993.) I grabbed my cotton yarn and a size F hook and started to crochet. I had to know if this idea was going to work. I crocheted now and then and it didn’t take long, as projects go. By Saturday morning I had finished the bonnet.
 
Come Monday, the dress, the bonnet, and a pair of shoes and socks were addressed to Emmy and mailed from Gramma’s Scrap Bin.

Oh – I could write a sonnet
About this Easter bonnet . . . KW



4 comments:

  1. OK, where's the sonnet??

    ;~)

    Just kidding. The dress & bonnet are really cute. Good work Kathy.

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  2. What a great Easter outfit! The dress is adorable and she'll just love the hat. Well done! And shoes and socks, too! (My love of shoes extends to my dolls, so I heartily approve of adding to Emmy's doll's footwear.)

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  3. Thanks for the compliments. Much as I might sing about sonnets, I don't write them.

    I order shoes, socks, visors, leggings, etc., from Nancy's Notions and use them to accessorize the outfits. It's essential to have the right shoes. We all know that.

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  4. Wonderful! Fun fabric and cute little bonnets!

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