The Gussets Are Sewn In and Fabric Found

 Progress has been made on the doll's chemise (hemd). I allocated time to get the gussets in. I spent quite a bit of time making sure the seams were drawn in so I could do a good match job, I managed to sew up one seam wrong and have half a gusset showing. After a good laugh, I fixed it. 

The second gusset went in much easier and I just need to sew the underarm and side seam. I ran out of time as I had to work on another project. 

I did look in the doll's stash for fabric and trim. I did find fabric I had forgotten about. Satin that looks like silk on the wrong side. This was left over from a rodeo queen top I made in 2011. Underneath it was overlay fabric I had bought and never used. I must have bought it for a top that never materialized. 

Ideas were forming very quickly in my head. I am going to cut out the piece that is lying flat and use it. The flowers on each side of the center will be trimmed off. The center piece will be at the bottom of the dress with the flowers above it. All will be hand appliquéd onto the satin. I will dig out hot fix rhinestones and add them to the front along with the neckline. I am thinking yellow and clear stones. 

I am still waiting to see if the pattern will be offered for the course or if I have to buy it. I am okay waiting as I have to finish the chemise. The goal is to have it done by Sunday afternoon. 

Today, I would like to get the remaining seams sewn and the pleats pulled ready to smock. It all depends on how I feel after having an osteopathy treatment this morning. Some days I am fine, others I have to apply heat which requires me to sit. I may take Tylenol when I get home to see if I can sew this afternoon and apply heat when I have to hand sew the binding on the quilt. I will keep you posted. 

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

Ready To Finish the Doll's Chemise

 The neckline to the doll's chemise is finished.

The sleeves were hemmed and pleated. 

I put it aside while I finished up a quilt. I am ready to start again as it is time to get this finished and the dress started. I will keep you updated as I work on the chemise.

The dress we are to make in April is another labour intensive project. The dress is suppose to be done in a solid fabric as prints were nonexistent in the Renaissance era. Prints were hand embroidered onto the fabric. My fabric choice is a print so I am thinking how I want to do the dress. 

The skirt front is suppose to be either "pinked" or hand embroidered. Pinked is cutting small slits on the bias so the lining will show through. The hand embroidery is shown using gold floss. No to both of these. My thoughts are:

    * Cross hatch the front of the skirt and apply hot fix rhinestones where the lines cross. 

    *Machine embroider a strip down the front of the skirt using a design I have on hand. I can add hot fix rhinestones to the dress.

    *Hand appliqué lace to the front of the skirt. I would have to think about this long and hard as I dig in the doll's stash. 

At the moment, all I can do is think and look at what I have in the stash. I know I will not finish this project until late May as I will be working on other projects in the sewing room and outside in the yard. 

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

The Chemise Neckline Is Smocked

 The chemise neckline has been smocked. It was quite the journey. I was on the last row when I discovered a mistake on the previous row. What turned out to be a mistake was me doing the row completely wrong. I had 3 different variations of a different stitch. I went back and fixed my mistake and finished the neckline on Saturday. 

The marks below the smocking is needle holes from the pleater. They are slowly closing up and should be gone when I press it. 

Next up is to hand sew the facing down on the neckline. It will cover up the raw edge of the hem and the knots in the thread. 

The sleeves need to be hemmed (turned under and hand stitched), then pleated. Once that is done, I have to sew in the gusset and the sleeve seam. Then I can smock the sleeves. Each sleeve has 3 rows of smocking on them which I am hoping will go quickly. Once they are done, only the bottom needs to be hemmed, button and loop added, and then washed to remove any marks. A lot of work still needs to be done. 

Kit

I got all the outfits I thought I wanted for Kit and put 2 back into the bin. I need to make her a pair of pyjamas. I have the fabric and pattern out for the pyjamas and will start them after I finish the chemise. 

What else I want to make for Kit's wardrobe is coming together. 

    Quilt

    Slip (1940's version from Molly's wardrobe pattern). 

    Bibbed overall and blouse

    Winter coat

These will be done when I have time. I am not rushing this project. I want to enjoy making her wardrobe before I move on to the next doll. I figure it may take me until fall to finish it. 

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

Ready To Smock

 If anything can go wrong, look my way. While pulling up the threads on the smocking so I could arrange the pleats nicely, one of the threads broke. It had frayed somehow. I was devastated but recovered from it. I pulled out the threads, pressed the pleats flat, threaded up the pleater, and got the job done on the first try. I am officially ready to start row 1 of smocking. 

I need to look at the instructions and video so I can start on it. I am going to use purple embroidery floss for the smocking as I have purple fabric in the stash for the dress. 

I have been reviewing my plans for the dolls and have to pull up my boot straps and move forward. I was looking back at my posts and I saw that I had stated I would sew from the doll's stash until the end of this year and do another purge. That is still in the books but it made me start thinking about what I need to do to sew down the fabrics I will keep. 

Another thing I had said was I will be giving away some of my dolls this year. I retract that statement as I have a new plan formulating in my mind. Maybe it's an old plan that is resurfacing. I am going to make each of the dolls a wardrobe so that when I decide to give them away they will something a someone can enjoy. I wasn't well planned for doing this but have decided that I need to make a plan and follow through. 

The first doll to get a wardrobe is Kit. I need to go through all the outfits I have made and pull out the ones I have made for her. Once that is done, I want to make some "missing items" and a quilt. I need to get a tub to put all her items into which I will label. It needs to be deep enough for her to go in when I "package" it up. 

When I am happy with Kit's wardrobe and have it in a tub, I will choose another doll and work on her wardrobe. Repeat until all the dolls have a wardrobe. 

I hope to sew one piece a month and knit items between socks and other projects. It is one way to keep busy when I am at home. 

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

The Woes Of February's Project

 February's Sewing With Cinnamon project has been frustrating hence why I haven't blogged about it. It put me into a tail spin and I was at a loss as what to do. 

The project is a chemise that has smocking at the neckline and wrists. I wanted to do French seams for a more couture look. I sewed them and when I put the chemise through the smocking pleater I had nothing but issues. I tried everything only to realize that some of the old needles were bent out of shape. 

I took the seams apart, put in new needles and successfully smocked the neckline. I looked at it each day and could not figure out how to do the French seams and get the under arm gusset in correctly. Though mentioned, it is not shown. Frustrating to say the least. 

I finally worked on the chemise yesterday and cut the extra 1/4" off that I had added for the French seams. I fray checked the seams so they won't fray. I snipped one thread but can fix that easily when I go to shape the neckline. A knot will work. 

I am now ready to sew the arm seams to where the gusset goes in. Once they are sewn, I can pull up the threads and shape the neckline on one of the dolls and start the smocking process. 

This project will not be done by the end of the month. There is still too much work to do on it. As March is about closures, I will work on the chemise in March so I can start the dress in April. 

I have to say that the information in the pattern is not complete. I had to watch one video twice to find the tiny bit of information I was looking for. The Facebook page has very little activity on the project. The page has questions asking about projects from the past (how to download the videos) and projects not related to Sewing With Cinnamon. 

I put what I have been doing on the FB page and it finally sparked some conversation from an experienced smocker and the designer. I wish that more people were posting their projects so we could have some lively discussions. We can learn from each other.

I will continue to make the projects that have been planned for this year and then decide if I will renew next year. I have been downloading the videos and getting the free materials for each course so I can go back and look at them if I decide to make them again. 

I will post my progress on the chemise as I do plan on finishing it. I do know how to smock which is going to be helpful. This will allow me to smock a bit quicker. On the up side, I will know how to pleat the sleeves with very few issues. 

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

Hollywood Tracksuit A Success

 The Hollywood tracksuit was completed yesterday afternoon. I learned a few new things when making this outfit. 

    Basting tape is great to hold small pieces in place for more accurate sewing. Though 1/8" tape is recommended, the 1/4" tape worked well for me. It was all I had on hand. 

    Sewing in separating zippers is easy once you know what to do. I use to hate putting them in as I couldn't sew the bottom plastic piece in place. The instructions showed to use the small holes in that plastic piece and hand sew the bottom of the zipper in place. Leave long threads and use them to hand sew that bit in place. 

    Leave the zipper long until you add the hood/collar/facing to the neckline. I back stitched over the zipper tape so it was very secure and the cut off the excess zipper. 

    The hood is sewn onto the neckline burrito style and it leaves a lovely finished neckline. 

The jacket went together well though I will use the zipper foot to sew next to the zipper teeth on the hood. The foot I used would not get that close and I have a bit of an overhang. Other than that, all went well. 

The hood is large and will fit over most doll's hair. Just not Julie's as she has a thick wig which is long.

The jacket is cute even if it fits Julie snug. She is happy with it. 

I watched the videos on how to make the gymnastic's mat, the balance bar, and the uneven bars. I don't do accessories but have saved the videos and patterns just in case I decide to make them to give away. 

February is sewing for the Tudor era and I am looking forward to doing those videos and sewing what the pattern. 

Track Suit Pants Are A Success

 Yesterday I made the track suit pants. I cut out the three pattern pieces from one leg and part of the other one. I cut out the waistband on the second leg using the rotary cutter. 

Sewing the pants was done carefully. I used basting tape on the pockets so the folded under pieces were held firmly in place when they were top stitched onto the pants. Nice way to get the pockets on easily. 

The pants went together quickly and I did read the instructions several times to make sure I was doing it correctly. I do like how the waistband was added in a circle. Instead of serging the raw edges, I topped stitch the seam down. It worked well. 

These pants fit tight but that could be the fabric I chose. They have very little length stretch. Also Julie is one of my chunkier dolls. Most patterns fit her on the tight side. 

From start to finish it took me about 4 hours to make the pants. Not too bad for the first try. I will be making these again as they are easy to make and smart looking. 

The t-shirt I made 4 - 5 years ago and blinged it up. I have since perfected the pattern to how I like to sew it. 

Next up is the jacket. I hope to cut it out today and start sewing it. I would like to have it ready to install the zipper when I stop for the day. I still have 2 days of sewing left this month. 

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