A Lot of Doll Sewing

 I have been busy sewing and not posting here to track what I have made. My goal for April was to sew the left over fabrics I had bought in March. I didn't quite succeed so continued on in May. I added left over fabrics from the stash that I had sewn to the list. 

1. Doll's Quilt 

This quilt is sewn from left over stash fabric. I had made a prototype bag to see if I would make more of that pattern. Some of the left over pieces were used in the quilt. I even made a pillow and pillow case to go with the quilt. 

2. Doll's Skirt

I used the last of the yellow and pink print to make a simple doll's skirt. When I got it done, I had to knit a sweater to go with it. 

3. Gotz Doll's Dress

I used up the small beige/blue print to make a simple dress for the Gotz dolls. The pattern I used is not published but was gifted to me by a friend. I love the fit on this dress. 

4. Gotz Doll's Sundress

I had a piece of the pink heart fabric left over from Iconic Barbie dress I had made. I fiddled around until I got the dress cut out. This is another unpublished pattern that was gifted to me by my friend. 

5. Doll's Jacket and Skirt

I had issues with the jacket when I first made it a while ago. I fixed the pattern and decided to use fabrics left from the blue doll's quilt. I had to cut the pieces out very carefully. I did add pockets to the skirt from the jacket fabric. The partial lining in the jacket matches the rest of the skirt. 

I still want to make a top to go with this outfit. 

6. Hooverette Dress

I used the last of the soft beige and blue print to make this dress. In actual fact I had to buy a fat quarter to make the ties as the pattern piece is half the length you are to make them. That important piece of information is hidden in the instructions. 

It is almost mid May and I am still sewing up the last of the fabric from March. I have a simple dress to finish using up the last of the heart fabric. I still have to decide what I will make out of the soft beige and blue print. It has to be something simple. When that is made, I will have sewn the fabrics I bought in March plus some from the stash. I have a piece of fabric I bought in April to make gift bags. I am also hand sewing lace on a piece of cotton/linen blend that I had left over from March but it won't be done until June. I have a lot of hand sewing to do on it. But, I am hoping that I will have all but the hand sewing done by the end of May. It had been fun to sew up the fabrics into some cute doll clothes. 

Catching Up On Doll Sewing

 I have been missing in action since November. I have sewn for the dolls but not documenting it on this page. I put both of my SI joints out in December and it took me a month to recover from that. I was busy with snow and ice removal during January and February. In March I caught a cold and thought I had a chest infection which turned out being my thyroid was low and my medication needed to be increased. It was a rough winter for me. 

Doll's Quilt #1

Daughter sent me some fabric and I found some pieces that I liked and played with them to make a doll's quilt in January. The solid blue fabric is left over from a quilt I had made last fall. The binding and light border is from fabric I had when I made daughter placemats, table runner, etc. in 2023 and 2024.  

I used a piece of gingham from the fabric daughter sent me to make a pillow but had no fabric to make the pillow case. 

Doll's Quilt #2

I chose to buy the fabric for this doll's quilt and make it at a retreat I attended at the end of March. I chose 2 colours that were too close and am a bit disappointed with the outcome. 

I made a pillow from scrap fabric and then made the pillow case from the quilt fabric. Not exactly happy with it as I now wish I had used the light fabric for the cuff on the pillow case.

Iconic Barbie Dress

In March I made a dress for the dolls. It was to go with the Barbie theme from Sewing With Cinnamon in late 2024. I chose to use this pattern.

Though the Barbie dress has a gathered skirt I am happy that I did the pleated skirt. It was easy to make. 

I used the hat I had decorated for another outfit as it went well with this dress. I also used a cardigan I had test knitted several years ago. 

I have some fabric left over from the last doll's quilt I made and want to make a simple sleeveless dress for the Gotz dolls. I am trying to sew with the fabrics I have on hand vs buying. I have plenty to choose from. 

Happy Doll Sewing...........................................................

A Set Of Pyjamas

 The pyjamas are completed and are cute. 

It is not my favourite pattern (McCalls 6005). I had to add seam allowances to the neckline. I folded the seam allowances under and zig zagged it so the edges don't fray. The pattern calls for bias binding which I may make and do on future sets. 

I am taking a bit of side trip with doll clothes. I am going to do batch sewing/knitting. I will cut out several of the Four Season's skirt and sew them up. I will knit a sweater for each skirt. I will repeat for the pleated skirt using plaids and maybe some printed fabric for them. I will knit sweaters for them. I have several other simple patterns to make for the dolls. All will go into a craft bazaar next year and what is left will go towards the doll's wardrobes. The key is to use simple patterns and sell them at a price people can afford. 

I also want to make some doll sized quilts to sell using scraps I have in the stash. I want to sell them cheap and if they don't sell, they will go towards the doll's wardrobes also. This is a plan so I can reduce the stash making items I want to make. 

I will also do a few outfits that are more difficult but I won't be selling them. I will put them into the doll's wardrobes. They are outfits where I will learn new techniques. I am going to continue with Sewing With Cinnamon for another year. 

I am ready to start the Barbie Picnic set this week. All is ready to pin the patterns onto the fabrics. I am looking forward to doing this cute outfit. 

Happy Doll Sewing.......................................................................

Sweet and Simple

 I got another doll's outfit completed. This one is sweet and simple. I have sewn and knit the patterns before. 

The skirt is the Four Season's Skirt and is very easy to make. The link tells you how to get the free pattern and the hack for adding the lace.

I unruffled lace from the stash to use for this skirt. The cotton is from the doll's stash and I bought it several years ago. It is an easy sew as there is only 3 pieces to work with and the instructions are well done. It also fits the doll well. 

The sweater is one I tested for the designer and can be bought on Etsy. It is a sweet pattern that takes three to four evenings to knit. The author has paired it with the skirt pattern along with another skirt pattern and a dress. I used a discontinued yarn but have knit it in 3 weight that I can buy at Michaels. My only recommendation for this pattern is to do a swatch or know your gauge. I know I knit according to the diagram on the yarn and use the size needle they recommend. The designer knits loose than I do. 

The outfit is done and ready to be put away for one of the doll's wardrobes. 

My next doll project is pyjamas. They are cut out ready for me to sew after I make piping. I am looking forward to making them as I want to make sure all the dolls have pyjamas in their wardrobe. 

Happy Doll Sewing..................................................................

Iconic Barbie Fashion

I am working on another outfit that is not ready to be written up. I have to finish knitting a sweater and am working on it. This post is about this month's Sewing With Cinnamon. The topic is about the Iconic Styles of Barbie.

I never had a Barbie but our daughter had two. She still has them. I sewed outfits for them and my mother knit and crocheted outfits for them. Our daughter still has one of the dolls and the outfits my mother made for her. The sewn ones were so well used they ended up being disposed of. 

When this month's topic was announced, I cringed as I don't like Barbie's outfits on 18" dolls. You are mixing 2 different age groups. I also thought of pink, pink, pink. Yes, I had a negative outlook to this topic. I was surprised when Cinnamon showed pictures of outfits from the 1960's. She talked about the influence and inspiration of the outfits. I was lukewarm when looking at the video as fabrics and patterns shown were for adults not children. 

This week the topic moved towards details and designs. My interest was caught as Cinnamon showed how she looked for patterns that were more age appropriate for child like bodies the 18" dolls have. This is what really caught my interest on the blog post. 

I had pulled a pattern out that looked similar to this idea.

McCalls 7583 which is out of print but available in pdf on the website. 

I like what I saw in a couple of other outfits that would be easy to make using patterns from Pixie Faire. There were some of the glamorous outfits that Barbie wore that didn't interest me but others would love them. 

My thoughts were buzzing and I thought of Skipper, Barbie's little sister. I did a search and found this web page. I clicked on the link to read about Skipper's outfits. I decided to look at the Flower Girl Outfit. It is a yellow sleeveless cotton dress with a lace overlay. There is a flower headband, white flower bouquet, socks, gloves and shoes. 

This would be a very easy dress to make and one could use the dress from McCalls 7583. 

Add lace over the skirt and bows on the shoulders. The accessories would be easy to make. 

Barbie has her own version of this dress. 

I like Skipper's dress for the 18" dolls though Barbie's could be made. 

I would love to make the blouse and capris outfit for sure and may make the bridesmaid's dress if I have lace on hand. 

A picture of the outfits on dolls. 

I am enjoying the Skipper outfits more than Barbie's but it is neat to see how they took Barbie's outfit and made it age appropriate for Skipper and, in the end, for 18" dolls. 

I am sure now that I have dug into this topic further, I may end up making a few outfits for the dolls to wear. 

Happy Doll Sewing.......................................................................

Colonial Willamsburg Outfit Finished

The Colonial Williamsburg outfit is done. 

The pattern was well drafted. The instructions were good but I did question how to sew the sleeve seams. I may do that different if I sew the pattern again. 

My choice of fabric was not the best. The homespun frayed if handled not handled with a delicate hand. If I felt the least bit stressed with what I was doing, I had to stop as I could see the fabric fraying under my fingers. 

One of the features I loved was the pleats in the jacket. I didn't press them hard as I wanted soft pleats. 

There are pleats at the side seams also. Overall, I am thrilled with the outfit and it will probably become part of Addy's wardrobe. 

My next two projects are planned. The simple skirt is cut out and the pyjamas are ready to pin onto the fabric and cut out.

I am still talking to myself to sew up the doll's fabric. I need to let go of the old ideas and plans I had and sew to make items for the dolls. I also need to have a lot less fabric in the stash. I am working on it with a plan to sew 2 items each month for the dolls. 

Happy Doll Sewing...................................................................

Working On The Caraco Jacket

 I worked on the Caraco jacket yesterday. I am ready to start on the sleeves. I folded the front extensions back to show the lace. I added the snap placket to the front so I can snap it up and use the lace as a decoration. 

The fabric frays and I have to use a light hand. Once I got the lining prepped, I stopped for the day. I knew I was done.

I did haul out two tubs of the doll's fabric. I wanted to get them consolidated into one tub. Each piece of fabric was taken out and petted. I felt the emotional attachment to the fabrics which is not what I wanted. I wanted ideas floating in my head of what I could use the fabrics for. 

I did leave out 3 fat quarters to make piping for daughter. I sew fat quarters only if I have 2. These are singles. 

Another piece that is a meter in length will be used to line a bag or two. The rest was put back into one tub. 

The emotional ties to this fabric is not one of guilt. It is one of what projects I was going to make out of them. None of those project have materialized nor will many of them happen. This morning, I had one stern talk with myself about letting go of the ideas/projects I had intended to make. Made a bit of progress. I will need a couple of more stern talks to get sew a lot of that fabric. 

While having a talk with myself about the fabric, I also talked about the patterns I have. No, they aren't being purged but they need to become a focus for sewing down the doll's fabric. I can sew up some easy patterns between the harder patterns. I will start with a couple of easy ones. 

With that in mind, I have decided to take one piece of blue dotted fabric and cut out a simple skirt, add a bit of lace to it and knit a sweater to make an outfit. This can be for one of the doll's wardrobe. I will be cutting it out as soon as I finish the jacket I am working on. 

I have also got out a piece of flannel and a pyjama pattern to start sewing pyjamas for the dolls. I seem to have less emotional attachment to the tub of flannel as this was an easy decision to make when I went through that tub a while ago. The pattern is easy to make and will be one I will use for the majority of the pyjamas. 

One piece of the fabric will become a future project. I am going to sew a rabbit and the fabric can become a dress for her to wear. It is sage green with small white daisies on it. Perfect for a rabbit to wear. The left over fabric can be something for the dolls. 

I know there will be some stumbling blocks while sewing down the doll's fabrics. I am trying to sew down the main stash. As it is visible I sew it first. The doll's fabric is stored in the closet so I need to visit those tubs each time I cut out projects and include one to two projects to sew up. 

Happy Doll Sewing.........................................................