Thoughts for 2021

 Thanksgiving in Canada is this weekend and the housework has been at the top of the list. We have been given guidelines to follow so I'm getting ready to have a safe Thanksgiving dinner with family and friends. 

The Desk

The desk is in at Ikea but I can't get it for a couple of weeks. This week is too busy as is next week. But, I'm excited to know it's available and hope it is there when I can get in to buy it. 

The Striped Fabric

It sits on the shelf calling me but I still haven't found a pattern I like. I keep looking in the stash of patterns and on line for a new one. So it sits and waits calling out on a regular basis. After Thanksgiving, I will have another hard look at patterns once again. 

2021 Thoughts

I am having an issue with testing patterns at the moment. I have to choose one a month to test and there are months that none resonate with me. I do them, don't like them, and, after some time passes, I toss them. There are some I love and I really enjoy making those patterns. I have been staying because of them. I have to make a decision on what to do for both sewing and knitting. 

I want to take a bit of a turn in the path and try something different next year. 

A bit of history making outfits that come from books/movies I enjoy. One a month that takes a while to sew. Where did that come from, you ask? Lumineria published 2 new patterns this week. Meg and Beth from Little Women. I want to buy the set and do them plus the Downton Abbey, Little House, and Anne of Green Gables patterns I already have. I have the fabric and trim for most of these outfits. I have two dolls who will wear these patterns well and may look for a third one doll. Not sure as I want to keep the doll numbers down. 

Continue with Kit's wardrobe. I enjoyed working on it in the past and I want to add to it. I'm looking at a couple of Keepers Dolly Duds patterns for her along with, I hope a few patterns I hope are going to be tested in the near future. 

Work on the Gotz doll's wardrobes. I'm hoping to make them each 6 pieces for sure. They will pretty much have the same items of clothing - overalls, blouse, dress, coat, leggings, and skirt. All in different colors. Start with the overalls as I have one done. 

I am going to have a day of playing in the fabric and put together fabric with patterns. It will be a day to sort, think, fold, and have fun. 

In the meantime, I need to figure out the pattern for the stripe material. It is still calling me softly from the shelf. 

Happy Dolly Sewing.........................................

My Fall Ideas

I am not missing but have been very busy lately. Nothing has been happening in the doll world with me as I have been outside doing yard work, trying to clean the house and having a lot of appointments to go to. It calms down next week which is nice though outside work remains a priority. 

Fabric - Part 1

I have a lovely piece of fabric I want to make a dress for one of the dolls. 

It is printed on the diagonal which has me looking for the perfect pattern. I'm still looking as I don't want pleats or a circular skirt. I do want sleeves though. I'm sure it is going to be an adaption of the basic dress and could be a Christmas dress for one of the dolls. 

Fabric - Part 2

I put myself back onto a fabric diet as I bought way too much after shopping at the local quilt shop. It is back to using up what I have in the stash. I'm okay with that as I have some lovely fabrics to sew up. 

Have you put yourself on a fabric diet after a buying spree?

Pattern Drafting

I have set the pattern drafting aside as I need a desk. Working at the dining room table was not a good idea. Things went downhill rapidly as I would get to an interesting point and have to put it away for meal time. 

 My idea has been sewn by someone else in the Gotz doll size.  

The dress was sold by Sofia Doll Shop (Ukraine) on Etsy. She does not say if she has designed it herself or who the designer is.  I love the how this dress turned out and will continue with my bodice design. 

I have the bodice done for the American Girl dolls but not for the Gotz dolls. I may get this done before as soon as I have time as I have the fabric, lace, and buttons for it. 

Pattern drafting for the Gotz dolls will resume once I get a desk. It is out of stock at the moment at our Ikea.  I am looking forward to designing patterns when I have the desk. I am also looking forward to seeing if I can publish a pattern or two that I design and draft. 

What do you have planned for this fall?

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

Playing With Pictures

I have been suffering from exhaustion. Cause unknown but it has passed. I've been busy since then sewing a test pattern. I have also been learning new things also this summer. More to do with pictures rather than sewing.

Collage Maker

One of the programs I learned about on Ravelry was Collage Maker. I used it when I wanted to put together Kit's wardrobe in one picture rather than loading up a bunch of pictures. 

I also did one with just 6 pictures. 

As I am only using the free version, I have limited graphs to choose from. I am sticking with the ones that allow me to showcase the dolls without a lot of cropping. Playing with the program allows you to group your photos in one picture. 
A few things to remember:

• If you have played with the program or done a collage, you will be asked if you want to start new or continue editing. I usually start new. 
• For a new graph layout, go to the third icon on the left hand side. Go to grid to choose what layout you want. 

• I have a selection of pictures already and I hadn't joined until today. If I want more pictures, I select computer and choose what I have. 
• Once you have loaded your pictures, you can put them into the grid to get the look you want. Just click on your picture and drag it over. Click on the picture in the grid and move it if you don't like the position it's in. 
• At the top center is Open and Save. I save to my computer but you have other options. Once saved, I can use the collage picture as I need to. 

Lunapic

Another site I found on The Sewing Place was Lunapic. I haven't joined this site yet and am learning it. People are using this site so their pictures don't end up sideways on a discussion thread. 

I have this photo of Kit in the bodice of the test pattern. 

I wanted less showing on each sides of her arms as I can see doll hair on one side. I started off clicking on Upload on the right hand side of the page. 

The picture is huge as the info states. I did crop first and got the picture to look like this.

It is still a large file but over 50% less bytes than the first picture. I can reduce that by changing the jpg quality to 70%. It has reduced it by more than 50% less bytes. Still good quality for online showing. 

I am still looking forward to learning more on this site. 

Have fun playing with these two sites and learning more things. 

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

Up To Take 5.3

It has been awhile and life got in the way. Between having the deck repaired and health issues, I had to put pattern drafting to one side. 

The Hack

In the last post I showed this picture of the surplice bodice. 

That design went downhill rapidly and I tossed it into the garbage. I went on to design #2. It was better but was going downhill with the adjustments I was making. 

And then on to design #3. I decided to go back to a basic bodice and get it to fit properly around the arms. I did the drape method using industrial paper towels and then worked on adjustments. Much better for me. 

I am ready to do the next muslin and if it fits well, add the seam allowances to the neck and armholes and start the surplice bodice once again. Don't ask how this take is 5.3. Take 4 must have been the first take on the basic bodice sloper.

American Girl Surplice Bodice

I did a muslin and it fits perfectly. 

It is ready to be sewn in good fabric with a skirt attached. Jennie is asking for it in a fun fabric. 

Anna's Wardrobe

Before stopping sewing, I made Anna a princess dress for her wardrobe. I used a bodice from the basic dress a friend designed and another friend's idea for the skirt. 

I did pin tucks on the bodice as I wanted to use the pin tucking foot I bought years ago. 

The only thing I did wrong was to have two green panels meet at the center back. Anna likes it but I must try to remember to do it correctly on the next dress I make for one of the other doll's wardrobes. 

It will be back to pattern drafting which could happen as early as this afternoon. I am looking forward to doing working on the bodice design once again. 
PS - My health issues have been high blood pressure and poor kidney function. I am working hard at trying to fix it but in the mean time I rest when tired, drink lots of water, and move forward. 
Happy Doll Sewing..................................

Muslin #1 Adjustments

I decided to start with the Gotz doll pattern hack as I need it for Anna's wardrobe. It is also the hardest to do adjustments as the Gotz dolls have a tummy to deal with. 
Though I am not showing it, I traced the pattern onto tracing pellon and cut it out of a scrap of broadcloth. I sewed it up and tried it on Anna. Right now, I am working on the fit. And I needed to get the fit right. 

• The arm holes hung down too low by 1/4"
• The back was too long ??
• The front surplice fit perfectly. 
• The fit around Anna's upper torso was great.

After a couple of minutes thinking, I grabbed the shoulder seams and pulled them up. I put in a mark and pinned in place. This is the amount that needs to come off the top of the pattern at the shoulders.

This immediately made the armholes fit perfectly. 

It also shortened the back up to a better place on her waist. But it made the front too short. 

Her belly is showing. To correct this, I did the following

• Added about 1/8" to the front side seam
• Added about 1/2" to the center front
• Curved the line down from the side seam to the center front. I curved it back up to the surplice but want to make sure it is correct by folding the bodice at the center front and cutting correctly. 
• Add about 1/8" to the back side seam and blend it up to the center back length. 

I will take a picture of the adjustments as I drew them on the pattern. I will then draw a new pattern, true it up, trace it onto the tracing pellon and make muslin #2. 

While I am doing this, I will do the American Girl pattern to see what needs to be adjusted on that pattern. 

I may or may not get the two muslins made today but I am certainly working on this project while it is fresh in my mind. Hopefully there will be more to report tomorrow.

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

Collage

Making A Surplice Top Pattern

Though it took some time to make the surplice bodice pattern, it was fairly easy to do. 

Supplies

• Tracing paper
• Pencil
• Eraser ( I use a white vinyl one)
• Curved ruler if you have one. 
• Bodice pattern (Butterick 6265 is a good one for American Girl type dolls. Mine is for a Gotz doll).

Procedure

Trace the pattern onto tracing paper so you have a full bodice. Trace the stitching lines and notches Make sure you have drawn in the center front line. I had to go back and draw in the notch though it wasn't really important. 

The stitching lines at the neck-shoulder seam intersection and the waist are important as we work using them, not the cutting lines. 

As I have this curved ruler, I use it for the slight curve in the bodice. can draw it freehand also. With the ruler, the 24 goes at the shoulder and I lay the ruler so it lays at the stitching line at the waist and side intersection. I'm using an old picture to show you what I did. 

The new pattern with the curved line. Instead of going to the seam allowance on the other side, I drew this line 1 1/8" to the right of the center front line. 

 I then measured 1/4" out from the curved line and drew in the seam allowance. 

I didn't have to adjust the back piece at the shoulders as we didn't cut anything away at the neckline. I also drew in a straight of grain line using the center front line prior to erasing it. I left a bit at the waist as it will become the notch to align the two fronts together. When I cut the pattern out roughly, I will match the shoulder seams at the stitching line to make sure they fit correctly. I still need to label the front and back pieces. I also erased all the unnecessary lines. 

I then decided to make the American Girl sized surplice bodice. I used Butterick 6265. I didn't draw all the lines onto the tracing paper. 

But I did draw in the stitching line where I needed it. I also measured 1 1/8" to the right of the center line. 

I drew the line in and finished it like I did previously. Also all unnecessary lines were erased. 

I copied both top pieces (the back got cut off but I have it already). I have the back pieces ready to trace onto pellon. 

Next up is sewing the muslin.  

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

This And That

I'm not lost but have been busy outside doing yard work. It is an ongoing process that will take us several more weeks to complete. 

Hacking A Pattern

I've been playing around with hacking a bodice pattern and making it into a surplice bodice. I have one version done but want to fix up the process so it is easier to understand. It was my learning curve. 

I also want to do it again where the surplices cross over before the side seams. I have some measuring to do and then I will photograph the process for that. At the moment, I am pleased with what I've done. 

Sewing

Two years ago, I bought Simplicity 1086 as it was recommended by a friend. 

I made a dress out of it and set the pattern aside. I was doing some research on 1940's clothing and this pattern popped up. I dug it out to make Kit a wardrobe. To date, I have made both the tops, the capris, and the shorts. The tops are more intensive sews but the skirt, capris, and shorts are easy to make. 
The tops and the skirt are lacking buttons. I had to add elastic to the back waist band so the skirt fit Kit snuggly. 

The capris are adorable and were so easy to make. 

And the shorts were just as easy to sew. The top of this pattern as more difficult but the other blouse was a bit harder as the collar was hard to fit onto the neckline. 

I want to make the shorts again in the check fabric and then put the pattern away. I've got my money's worth out of this one. 
To finish this part of Kits wardrobe, I've knit a plain white sweater and have a jacket and hat to add to the mix. I'm calling this her summer holiday wardrobe. She does have a dress to add to the wardrobe just in case she needs one. 
Have you ever used a pattern to its fullest? This is a first for me as I usually make one or 2 items from a pattern and move on. 
Happy Doll Sewing......................................