Some full sized crochet patterns can be miniaturised for personal use in your own dolls house, without changing the pattern, simply by using a very fine hook and very fine thread. However do bear in mind that certain types of pattern will work better than others.
The best types of patterns to use are those that need a large hook and thick thread (for example a ladies shawl pattern may adapt quite well, as the stitches in real life are already quite large). Most baby patterns will not adapt well to being miniaturised, as the stitches, even when scaled down, will be far too large and the finished item will look wrong.
We cannot give you advice on which size hook to use or the thickness of thread, this is best done by experimentation with various sized hooks and threads until you are happy with the finished results.
It is best to stick to using a simple full size doily pattern for a miniature tablecloth or a rectangular mat pattern for a miniature bedspread. Rugs and afghans may also work well when scaled down.
Unfortunately this scaling down method doesn’t usually work well with clothes, as the stitches would be too big (remember a stitch that is ¼-inch/0.75 cm in miniature will be 3-inches/7.5 cm if the garment was scaled up again). Another problem is that clothes are often shaped over several rows of pattern and this may not be possible when miniaturising the pattern.
All our crochet patterns are individually designed especially for miniatures and we only design patterns for items that look right in the scales they are designed for. This means that some items will work in 1:12th scale, but not in 1:24th scale. We also only design patterns for items that would originally have been crocheted (or perhaps netted as this has a similar finished result), so you will not find many of our patterns are suitable for pre-Victorian era dolls houses, as crochet did not exist before that time but netting did. If the pattern is based on netting, it will be clearly stated in the historical notes inside the pattern.
We have been asked in the past to design patterns for Georgian ball gowns and other similar items, but as these would never have existed in reality we made a decision not to design such items, as these then become dolls clothes rather than true miniatures.