WIP Crochet Witch Barbie

I thought it was time to start crocheting some seasonal items.  Since halloween is coming up soon, it made sense that I should create something for that season.  

For the past several of weeks, I have been crocheting a barbie witch. Though, I did take a little break in between to Crochet Pumpkins Galore!  

So far, her hat, dress, knickers and heels have been completed.  I would also like to make a broom, maybe a cauldron, and possibly a little black cat to accompany the outfit.

Continue reading to learn more about this WIP...

---

Crocheting the Barbie Witch's Hat

As with all of my crochet projects, I never know exactly how I am going to go about creating my design until I start playing with it.  But I knew that the hat should be easy enough to create, so I started here.

Sure enough it was.  I started from the top of the hat and worked my way down to the brim, amigurumi style.  Then, I created a buckle to go around the base of the hat for an added touch.

As you will see in a later photo, I also have added a purple brim to the hat to help tie it in with her dress better.

*I am planning to make her hat be a free pattern.  The rest of her outfit will be a paid pattern.

---

Crocheting Barbie Witch's Dress

After her hat was finished, like it is pictured above, I knew it would be much easier to figure out how the dress should be.  While it was much easier to figure out the dress with the hat finished, I still had a major block on how exactly I should do it.

I googled witch dress, and I even asked fans for their ideas on how she should be.  Somewhere between brainstorming and gathering ideas, I decided I wanted to do something similar to what you see pictured to the right.  However, actually getting it to that point took a bit of crocheting, frogging (taking out the work), and repeating this process over and over again.

See the trouble is, I knew how I wanted the the top of the sleeves to look, but I was going about how I started her the wrong way.  Normally, I crochet the sleeves after I have finished the main part of the top, however that was just not working because it was hard to figure out how the dress should look without the sleeves to compare if it would combine well.  So, I switched it up.  I crocheted each sleeve until I got them how you see in the picture above.  Then, I started to crochet the top part of the dress whilst incorporating the sleeves into it at the same time.  Success!  No more frogging for the top.

I took a few WIP pictures of this step because it has inspired me with a really cute idea for a barbie sweater and some other neat tops, but I digress.

I hit another block once I had finished crocheting the top part of the dress.  How in the world was I going to make a witchy skirt?  Did I want to make it long or short?  Jagged or more neutral?  Did I want to make a slit so that she could properly ride her broom?  Should I make the dress completely black, or add a splash of orange to tie in with the hat?  I had no idea what I wanted!  So, I turned to everyone on facebook again for ideas, inspiration and opinions.  

Everyone had lovely ideas, and some even shared some pictures with me on what they thought would be neat.  Some of the great ideas was to add a splash of purple, definitely to make it jagged or have a slit, and most agreed that the dress should be on the long side.  Just brainstorming with everyone again, got the creative juices to flow.  You will see that in the following two pictures.

As you can also see from the first of the two photos below, the skirt part of the dress is worked vertically instead of the normal horizontal like it was done for the top.

Since everyone agreed that a touch of colour to the dress would be fantastic, I added both purple and orange to various parts of the skirt, using the same stitches as for the main skirt.

Then, to give the dress some finishing touches, I crocheted a belt, identical to the one in her hat, and I added some purple trim to the sleeves and collar of the dress.  By adding the purple trim just under the sleeve puff, I was able to give it more definition as well.

Since I had added purple to the dress, I thought that the hat should use a touch of purple too.  So a purple brim was added to it.

---

Knickers, Stockings and Heels

Taking into consideration that her dress has several slits that start at the hips, I thought it would be prudent for her to have some knickers, and I also thought it would be fun to create some stripped stockings.

However, before I got to work on them, I created her heels, so I would know how they could fit nicely together.

First I crocheted her knickers to just above the knee in length.  Then, I crocheted the stockings directly onto the knickers, so that they would stay on.

Above you can see what it looks like with one heel and one side of the stockings completed.  I have since completed the knickers, stockings and heels.  I just haven't taken the photo of it yet.  I am saving it for when her set is completed.

---

The Finishing Touches

Barbie Witch's apparel has been completed, but she still needs her broom, and perhaps even a black kitty cat.  I was thinking about making her a cauldron, but I am thinking of scratching out that idea, unless you all want me to make it.  Do you all think she needs anything else to complete her outfit, or do you think she is perfect as is once she gets her broom?

---

***I will also be creating a crochet pattern for this Crochet Barbie Witch set once the design is complete. When I release the pattern, I will give all my newsletter subscribers a chance to receive a copy for free (details will be in the next newsletter ~ Oct. 07th), and then, a discounted rate will be available for everyone for a limited time.***

---

What do you think of her so far?