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.........................................................

Swedish Doll's Outfit Completed

 I finished my version of the outfit I saw in Sweden. It was a very difficult dress to make with godets and ruffles that met at the top of the godets. It took me many tries to get them looking good. Perfect was not accomplished. When I was happy, I finished the dress in good time. 

I enjoyed hand sewing the bias facings around the neck and arms. When done, I admired it and remembered that day I saw the little girl at the soccer game. 

I hunted for the wooden buttons and the store has discontinued them. I found 3 in the stash and sewed them on the sweater to go with this outfit. The little girl had on a navy sweater with cables down the front. Mine has a textured stitch as I could not find a pattern with cables using the size wool I had. 

I have started the Colonial Williamsburg outfit. I am using a homespun fabric and it frays. I have to handle it carefully. The back seam is curved so I did a Hong Kong finish on it. The hem was serged. I hand sewed the waistband down and it is done to the snap on the waistband. 

I am ready to begin the top which is a solid green. I know I can't sew for hours on it as I will handle it too roughly when my stress level goes up. 

My goal when I have to stop sewing the top, is to start going through the doll's fabric stash. I need to see if I can empty one tub for the doll quilts I am making. I have no where to store them so this is my solution. 

I have a piece of flannel ready to cut out a pair of pyjamas for one doll. They are going on to my to do list for this month as I need to get ready to cut out more projects. I may also add a top pattern that I want to cut on the straight of grain first and then on the bias. 

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

Sewing On The Bias

 I really enjoyed this month learning about sewing on the bias. I did make the dress. I learned a lot. The fabric I chose was a chambray and I could see the grain lines. Bonus to understanding more on the bias. 

I did cut out a facing for the dress and cut it on the grain. What I didn't realize was -- I should have lowered the neckline. I put in a 5" zipper and it is hard to get on the doll. I will do that adjustment before putting the pattern away. 

I sewed the dress using a tiny zig zag stitch (called lightening stitch) on the seams that needed some stretch. Seams like the shoulder seams were done in a straight stitch to stabilize them. The back seam was straight stitched where the zipper was inserted and lightening stitched below it. I even did the lightening stitch for the hem. 

When I put the dress on the doll, it looked boxy. My first thought was "all that work for a boxy dress". I walked away and looked at it the next day. The fabric was relaxing and the dress had a bit more shape to it. 

I sprayed the dress with water while on the doll and left it once again for a couple of days. I then measured the hem, cut it even and stitched it up. I still need to take a picture of the finished dress. Will do that today. 

I also started working on the Swedish dress. I measured down what I thought was 1/4" at the top of the godet. It was 3/8". First mistake. I fought with the godets in the front as they wouldn't lay properly. The tops bulged out when I sewed the seam. But wait, I wasn't to sew the seam. Oops!! I set the front aside in sheer frustration and worked on the back. Much better results following the written instruction. 

My last job was to unpick all the seams. Straight stitches and zig zag. I did it telling myself to own up to my mistake. I did it and gave all the pieces a good pressing. I was very careful as the godet sides are cut on the bias. 

I will start again on the front today. If all goes well, I hope to add the ruffle that goes from the top of the front godet to the top of the back godet. I promise I will read the instructions carefully. 

September's Sewing With Cinnamon's topic was a great one. I learned a lot about sewing on the bias by watching the videos and digging deeper into why you cut patterns on the bias the way you do. My free pattern is going to be this one.

I can cut it on the bias or the straight of grain. I know I will use this pattern a lot when sewing for the dolls. Not only the top but the dress length also. 

October's topic is All Things Barbie. I will watch and collect all the videos but am not sure what I will sew. I do have to finish the Swedish dress and do the Colonial Williamsburg outfit before the end of October. 

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