An Easy Sew is Next

As I admire the last dress I made, I decided to choose an easier pattern to sew. I mulled over it for a while before choosing my pattern. 

From Pixie Faire

I am staying with the Victorian era but more of a country girl vs the city girl look. 
The pattern has been printed, cut out and taped together. The fabric has been chosen - an orange gingham look print. The neck ribbon could be navy blue and I need to look in the jewelry fixings for the cameo. Lace is in the stash. I'm ready to start when I have three days clear on the calendar. 
I'm looking forward to sewing this pattern. I may lay the pattern out while the sewing machine is stitching out an embroidery design. 
Happy Doll Sewing..........................................

Sewing Beyond Your Comfort Zone

I'm back again with something has been on my mind this month. Do you sew beyond your comfort zone and choose a challenging pattern?

This question popped into my head when a tester posted a pattern that I knew was an intermediate level. I knew it would be full of detail and techniques. Was I ready to commit to sewing it? Would I bomb it or would I succeed? 

To Succeed

To be successful, I knew I needed to do several things. 

1. Read the pattern through prior to printing and cutting out the pattern pieces. Have an understanding of the pattern construction is important to being successful. 
2. Press the fabric well so there are not wrinkles or creases in it. 
3. Cut out the pattern accurately. The more accurate you are the better the fit. I should have traced the pattern pieces on to freezer paper for better accuracy. 
4. Sew in doable chunks of time or steps. 

Details and Techniques

The dress is a Victorian period dress and the designer puts a lot of detail and techniques into her patterns. This dress was full of them. 

1. Pleats on a curved shoulder seam. 
2. Underlining on front center bodice for proper shaping.
3. Princess seams in front and back.
4. Beret sleeves which were very full and odd shaped.
5. Pleated skirt with an attached hem that was padded with yarn.

Those Doable Chunks

Most days I sewed for an hour or less. Once I felt the stress level rising, I would quit even if I hadn't met my daily goal of sewing.

1. I read the instructions prior to sewing and then again while sewing. 
2. I would take the pieces to the computer and work the steps while reading. 
3. I sewed slowly. Very slowly. 
4. I pinned, basted, measured and probably over did it. But it did help me get an accurate fit. 
5. When the tension was thick or I had finished what I had set out to do, I stopped sewing for the day. I never left the sewing room feeling overwhelmed. 

Would I Make It Again?

I would love to make this dress again with the plain bodice and a large lace collar. I'm certain the second time will be easier. I won't feel panicky doing certain steps (the sleeves were panicky for me). I will trace the pattern onto freezer paper and iron it onto the fabric for more accuracy in cutting and pleating. As the fabric for the second has a white background, I will use white cording to pad the hem. 

I often chanted "One stitch at a time" as I made this dress. Am I ready to take on another challenging pattern? I think I am. But not tomorrow as I need to destress and do something simple. 

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

Nellie O'Mallery Arrives

Nellie has joined the team. She is no longer available and I found her on eBay. She is in excellent condition and is missing her hair bow for the outfit she came in. 
Nellie has lovely strawberry blond hair and blue eyes. 

And she has freckles. I was smitten by those freckles. 

Why Nellie?

Nellie is from the 1900's and I love the Edwardian period clothing. Nellie fits the bill to model some of the outfits I plan on making. I chose her over Rebecca (who has the same face mould) due to the freckles and over Samantha as she has the classic face mould (which Kit has).
Nellie will suit a wide range of clothes from the 1850's to the modern era. She has a little girl's face which I love. 

What's Next?

I'm deciding if the first doll I bought will go to the doll hospital to have her head and body/limbs replaced. I do like her a lot even though she had marks on her. 
Secondly a new doll will be purchased Nov. 2020 when they go on sale. I'm thinking of a doll with curly hair. She can wear a lot of different eras of clothing. Jennette is close to what I want for that era doll so I may forego another doll. That remains to be seen. 

Kit Joins The Team

Kit arrived to join the team and she is a delight. With short hair, blue eyes and freckles, she was a perfect choice. 

Why Kit?

I have wanted Kit for a long time and when she came on sale, I bought her. Though her time era is the 1930's, she fits in well from then until modern times. This means I can sew some outfits from 1930-1950. I also think she can be used in the 1920's because of her bob cut. 

Modern Kit

I put Kit into a modern outfit and she looks as cute as can be. 

Her hairstyle is perfect for modern times. 
Look at your dolls. It is amazing how many different eras you can use for your dolls. Have fun trying out dressing your dolls in fun clothing from the 1700's to modern day. 
Happy Doll Sewing.................................

When I Sew Slow and When I Sew Fast

When I turn on the sewing machine, I adjust several settings before I sew. 

1. The speed at which I sew is set to medium (half way between fast and slow). 
2. The needle position goes too down.
3. The tie off is shut off. 

These are personal preferences that may not suit you. 

Sew Fast

I don't sew as fast as other people, but I can sew faster than I normally do. When I do sew faster (not all of it is the machine sewing at high speed)? 

• Test sewing a pattern.
• We have a time frame to sew an item in. It means lots of focusing and sewing quickly while reading a pattern and finding any errors. I think it is more stressful than other sewing I do. But, I do enjoy it. 
• An easy pattern that I've sewn 2-3 times before. 
• These are patterns that have simple lines. You could assembly line sew them to get ahead if you were sewing for a craft sale and wanted something that didn't cost a lot to make or sell. I love these patterns if you can do simple hacks to make them look different. 
• Straight sewing. 
• I do speed up on straight edges unless I am top stitching or stitching in the ditch. 
• Great instructions.
• Combine that with easy patterns and I can sew up a pattern quite quickly. 
• Fully prepped.
• Fabric, notions, and trim are ready to begin the project. I usually have it all in a basket and am ready to start. If I have to look for items along the way, it slows me down. 

Sew Slow

I have several reason when I sew slow. Not only is the machine sewing slowly, it means I am working slowly. 

• The pattern is intermediate to advanced in skill level. 
• I slow down and read every step, look at every picture and may do some research. Many of these patterns have a lot of steps in them. Other patterns call for lots of lining.
• I'm changing the pattern up.
• Lots of times I do things differently than the instructions state. I love to hide the waist seam of a dress between the outer and lining fabric. I sew the bodice in a different order than most patterns call for. 
• There is a lot of detail and trim being used.
• When this happens, I often do a lot of hand basting. This helps keep things in place. 
• Hand sewing parts of the outfit.
• This takes time and is slow sewing. I do hand sew the bodice lining to the skirt. There are times I will hand sew lace or trim onto the skirt. Other times, I will hand sew the hem in place.
• I'm not prepared or change things up. 
• There are times I'm missing notions and need to find them. Other times, I change up what fabric or trims I want to use. Show casing along the way slows down the sewing process. 

I like to sew both ways. I choose when I want to sew fast or slow when I am looking at patterns. The choice is mine and I'm happy with the choices I make. 

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

Adapting A Pattern

The girls would like you to know I am not missing. I'm still here but not doing a lot of doll sewing. October became a month of sewing for family in the west. 

I tested this dress pattern for a lady who needed this pattern published. I was the only tester. I had the cotton but not the lace she called for. The question was:

How do I substitute to get a similar look?

The pattern called for a lace not an organza trim. If the lace was gathered, you removed the top piece and pressed out the gathers. You sewed two pieces together to get a wider lace. Then you gathered it. You don't take the gathers out of organza trim in my opinion. You are asking for a disaster. So, I sewed two pieces of gathered trim together and with no further gathering, laid it where it belonged and stitched it down. Worked like a charm. The skirt was to have a wide flat lace on it so I sewed two rows of organza trim onto the skirt to get a bit of a different look. I made it work. 
When I did this process, I took a full 3-4 hours to try it out and work through the process and finally sewing the trim on. It was worth the time as the dress is quite cute. 

I am getting ready to tackle the doll's drawers this month. 
Happy Doll Sewing....................................

How I Practice New Techniques.

When trying something new or learning to a new technique, I usually go back to sewing something simple. I know the way the item is made and I usually choose something with a lot of straight seams. 
Since the doll's drawer mishap, I decided I needed to work on getting a nice 3 thread narrow serger seam finish. I have used the 4 thread and, though it is nice, it is wider than I like on doll clothes. I tried the 3 thread without removing one of the needles and it wasn't working. Lesson #1: remove the needle not being threaded to get the best serged seam finish. Once I did that the finish was what I loved. Well balanced and narrow. It is perfect for doll clothes.
I had a piece of fabric left over from a project that was 9" wide by the width of the fabric. It was perfect for the Four Season's Skirt (and hack) by Oh Sew Kat. There were lots of straight edges to practice on which was one goal. The other was to play with needle placement for top stitching nicely next to the serged edge. 
The skirt went together easily and in good time. From start to finish - 90 minutes. It was a good practice session for what I wanted to do. I could focus on the serger and the top stitching without worrying about curves, linings, etc. 

I plan on knitting a white sweater and hat to go with this skirt. I have all the supplies for that when I have the time to knit it. 
Happy Doll Sewing...............................