Custom Crocheted Coats, Faster Than Sewing For Dolls

Recently I made a design decision:  I would make all my rabbits and possibly, jackrabbits with crocheted coats.  Why you ask?  Because it's faster than sewing a coat.  And I make a lot of rabbits (they are quite popular).  Shown at left is a new Desert Cottontail wearing his custom-made linen coat and knit wool scarf - spiffy, no?

Although it sounds like a lot of work, it's not.  The coat is based on a simple rectangle, with crocheted-in openings for the arms.  There are only three things to consider: 1) the size of the body, 2) the yarn and, 3) the stitch used.  Unlike crochet or knitting for a human body, I don't use a lot of fitting for my dolls.  I measure only two parts of the body, the circumference of the hips and the width of the shoulders.  If the coat can close at the hips without gaps and hangs properly at the shoulders, everything else looks right. Actually, that's good advice for human garments, too!

As with fabric, I prefer natural fibers for yarn.  Linen, wool and silk always look appropriate for my figures and they are easy for me to overdye if I need a particular color.   I usually try a few different stitches to find a yarn/stitch combo that has some texture, but isn't too overwhelming at doll scale.  I don't use a foundation chain when crocheting, but instead use a variation of foundation single crochet that looks like picot edging - a nice touch for the hems.  I am a very rapid crocheter, so swatching only takes a few minutes.  After picking a nice stitch - in this case a shell stitch - it only took 30 minutes or so to complete the coat.  Much faster than knitting.  Buttons are easy to add because crochet is so open that buttonholes are unnecessary.  This coat has one button and a leather belt to hold it closed.  The belt is made from an old watchband and has a beaded thistle dangle - visit the website link above for a look. 

In this case I'm using a hook on the small side, but it isn't smaller than what the yarn requires.  I think chunky sweaters look bad on everyone - dolls included, but that doesn't mean you need to go miniature in every case.  If you are using a tiny crochet hook just to obtain a scale correct garment for a doll, you may end up with a lot of hand fatigue and a garment that is difficult to finish. 

This type of coat is easy to complete and doesn't require additional embellishments.  Most of my sewn garments require a similar amount of time to comple, but embellishments add to the total; in some cases a few hours more.  So for the rabbits, this really is faster.  I can meet the demand for richly textured, unique garments for each figure, without spending a lot of time completing them.

Stay tuned!