Doll Panties

 Doll sewing has come up on the to-do and I am excited to be sewing for them once again. 

This round of doll sewing will be panties and tights. I don't remember the last time I sewed panties for the dolls but it could have been 6 years ago. I remember buying the girl panties and bought the smaller sized ones only to realize that I can get 1 pair of panties out of them with lots of waste. Live and learn. 

When I put the panties on the table to look at what I needed to do, one pair was deconstructed. Bonus. I laid the pattern front onto the front of the fabric ready to pin down. 

This morning I had to find the instructions so I can sew the first pair today. I will be following them as I haven't done this for a while. 

What will I do that is normal?

    Use a smaller sized needle. I am going to try a 70/10 chrome universal needle and if it doesn't work in a test piece, I will change to the same size microtex needle. 

    Use a lightening stitch (tiny zig zag) to stitch the seams and change to a zig zag for the elastic. 

    Use a leader and ender when sewing the seams as I have to have the regular feed dogs and plate in the machine and they love to eat my fabric. 

    Press and trim the seams as I am anal. 

If I do things differently, I will post my changes here. 

When the three pairs of panties are completed, I will be making the tights from socks which will be something completely new for me. 

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

Lily's Wearing Lilac

 Life is moving along and I'm happy that the days are longer and that we are seeing some sunshine. We are getting some storms but most are short lived. 

I decided to make Lily of London (Gotz doll) a new dress. I had bought her lilac and white batik fabric last fall and it kept getting set aside. The past 2 days were set aside to get it made. 

This pattern is very basic, well drafted, and not published. I tested it for the designer. The goal of this dress was to use lace trim as it is one of my decisions for this year. 

I followed the pattern except for a couple of steps that I always do for lined tops. I like to hand sew the lining down to hide the waist seam. I put the lace on so it would not be sewn down when I did the hem. I finished the dress to the hand sewing and snaps on the first day. 

I stared at the picture for a long time and realized I didn't like the length of the skirt. An easy fix or I hoped it was. I picked out the hem and turned it up so I could stitch the hem down using the top of the lace to hide the stitching. 

I carefully hand sewed the lining in place. Then I put the snaps on realizing I had put them on the wrong side. I had to take them off and redo them. Oh silly me. The end result is just what I wanted. 

I need to put what I did into my book so I have it available the next time I make this dress. 

I put the sweater on I had knit for Lily. I wish I had made it longer but it is sweet the way it is. 

My next doll project will probably be tights and panties for the dolls. That won't happen for a bit as I have a couple of projects to do before I can tackle them. 

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

Making Decisions for 2023

Here is hoping that you are having a wonderful New Year and that you are having fun with your dolls. 

I made some decisions for this year while I was cleaning up and organizing my sewing room. I did a purge of the doll clothes and have a nice amount to have to the little girl I sew for. From there I made these decisions.

    1. To sew more doll items using up the doll's stash. It is shrinking but not fast enough for my liking. I had all the doll's fabric tubs out and refolded all the fabric and put them away. One thing I hate to do is haul out the tubs to find fabric. But this year I must do that. 

    2. Sew up the trims, and notions like ribbons, elastics, and what ever else I have hoarded away in tubs in the closet. I've been buying and not using it which is not the smartest thing in the world as the tubs are full. 

    3. Complete some items that I have put off making. Get those fabrics used up rather than having them in the to-do tub which I ended up hiding in a dark part of the shelving unit. 

    4. Knit more doll items for my dolls and to give away. The yarn stash is bigger than I want it to be. But, it is going down slowly. It takes longer to knit an item than it is to sew one. 

I have done some doll sewing this month meeting some of the goals. 

    Doll blankets made from left over flannel I bought for grandson's pyjama bottoms 2020 and 2021. I got 2 blankets from each piece (along with cushion covers for the family room).

    A doll's sweater and hat for the Gotz dolls. I made it twice; the first one was too small and I couldn't get it to unravel. 

The yarn has been in the stash for many years (almost 20 years for sure) and I am slowly getting it knit down. I love this pattern but have to go up a needle for this designer something I forgot. 

    A hat to go with a wedding dress I made in the spring of 2019. I don't know why I didn't make the hat then but at the time I show cased it with a veil. The hat is done, the pattern is gone and I'm happy with the results. There is a bit of fabric left and I will use it up when I make something for the dolls. 

    The stole and pantaloons for the Regency dress. I used up some lace trim from the stash. I only have a picture of the stole as I didn't want to mess with the parasol. 

It seems like I used a lot of fabric but I didn't. 1.4 meter of fabric to make the blankets and finish up the outfits and 120 grams of yarn. I'm happy as I did other sewing during the month. 

That is all I will be doing this month as I am working on another project that has been in the stash for 15 years. Once I get it ready to quilt, I can plan February's doll projects. I know there is a dress with trim and a sweater for one of the Gotz dolls. I need to figure out one more item for the month. 

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

 Merry Christmas

Here is hoping you have a wonderful day. 

Thoughts to End 2022 and Start 2023

 I have not been sewing for the dolls as I am trying to get Christmas sewing done. I am nearing the end of making gifts for family. 

I have been thinking about sewing for the dolls next year. I am making a list of what I still need to make and what I want to make. I need to be realistic about what I can do each month. I need to use fabric, trims, and notions from the stash before I buy. There will be purchases for special items for my dolls but what I sew and give away will be from the stash. 

Need to make:

    Stole and pantaloons for the cream Regency dress. The parasol is almost done. I hope to finish these this month. 

    The pink Regency dress needs a knit stole so it is on the list for to be done once the parasol is completed. I need to make shoes and pantaloons to complete it. I may crochet a parasol for this outfit also. 

    The Soutache dress needs a coat. I have chosen the pattern but haven't looked for fabric for it. I was going to use grey coloured fabric for it but want a more summery look. I'm waffling on it so need to look in the stash for ideas. 

Want to make:

    Snow suit from fabric I have on hand. Pants, coat, t-shirt, and leggings. I'm looking for winter boots for this outfit. 

    Apron dress, jacket and hat. Patterns chosen but not the fabric. Maybe white/blue stripe shirting with navy trim Shoes in white fabric. White tights from the stash. Undergarments (hack idea) in white. Inspiration idea was found by Elizabeth Bunce. The jacket and hat will be in navy with white trim. 

    Make several outfits from patterns I have for the little girl I sew for. I am thinking of making 6 pieces for her dolls that coordinate. The formula looks like this:

1. Layer top – coat or jacket or cardigan (neutral)
2. Bottom (neutral) (eg trousers)
3. Bottom (neutral) (eg skirt)
4. Top (neutral) (eg t-shirt)
5. Top (colour) (eg t-shirt)
6. Layer top (linking print or neutral) (eg shirt)

The layer top will be similar to this sweater (which I may ask the designer if I can buy the pattern). 

   

Little Woolens has the best ideas for sweaters.

    Sew some items for the Gotz dolls. They haven't had many new clothes for a while. I will sew what patterns I have and then buy a few more to add to the collection. I also need to knit for them using the patterns I have. 

Organization

I am thinking of buying a tension curtain rod and putting it into the closet behind the regular rod. I will have to buy hangers so I can hang the doll clothes up on them. 

I am going to go through the American Girl doll clothes once again and give the little girl I sew and knit for some more of the items I've made and am ready to pass on. Even a few historical items will leave as I want to make more items later on.  

The Gotz doll clothes will also be hung so can see what I have to make for them. 

I know more ideas will pop into my head which I will put into my planner. These are the first doll projects I want to make to finish up 2022 and start in 2023. 

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

Using Technology When Sewing For The Dolls

 I made the 2nd pair of gloves and used the "stretch stitch". It wasn't as stretchy as I had thought but it certainly does stitch the gloves solidly together. 

I will be making more in the future for other outfits. I want to make them wrist length also. My next pair will be made with the lightening stitch as it is more stretchy. I may only do the hem with it and the other stitch for the gloves. 

I have been thinking about what I would love to have in the sewing room to help me when I'm sewing doll clothes. At this time I'm thinking of a Cricut Maker. It is on my want list. While I wait to see if it is what I want, I have been playing with the Cricut Design Space app. 

I started off with reading about the machine from Oh Sew Kat. It got me thinking and I searched for a video to help me with the process. I found this great video which I've watched several times. Once to see if it was what I wanted and twice to help me with the process. 

I downloaded the app and got started. I chose a skirt that had 4 pieces and 3 of the pieces had to be duplicated and flipped. What a huge learning curve as I wanted to be able to cut it out on a 12 x 24" mat. After several attempts I got it. 

Later on I did a top which needed to have the front duplicated, flipped and welded together. The back needed to be duplicated and flipped. I got it to fit onto the 12 x 12" mat.

Lastly I did the Plain Jane shoes. When doing the snapshot of the shoes, I got writing which I didn't want to deal with in the app. I fiddled around using Preview and got most of the unnecessary marks gone. When doing each step in the app, it was easy to get rid of the few remaining marks. The shoes and soles have been flipped, combined and put onto the 12 x 12" mat. The soles are separate to cut out of chip board and foam. I felt really successful as I didn't use the video at all for this pattern. 

Cricut's app can be annoying as you can't save the svg files to put onto another computer and try out a machine. The files are well hidden in the app. I really wanted to try cutting out one item on a friend's Cricut as I think she has the one I want to buy - Cricut Maker. This machine was recommended by a doll sewer on a forum I belong to. 

I may have to visit my friend and talk to her about the machine once again. Though on sale at the moment, I will not be buying it at this given time. I want to look in the stores at the machines and accessories in the stores also. 

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

Gloves For The Regency Era Outfit

I am now slowly working on completing the Regency Era Dress so it is another complete outfit. 

The pattern is Simplicity 9438. I made a pair of shoes to go with it which I put on tear drop pearls. They were the third pair of shoes I made. They aren't perfect as I've figured out a few more tricks since then. 

When done, I knew I wanted to add more to this outfit so it was complete. I am on a mission to have a stole, parasol, gloves, and pantaloons (not era correct). I did a lot of searching and found a pattern for the parasol. I started it and there will be more on it later. 

The next search was for gloves and I found them here. I had to figure out how to get them to print at 100% as the square was 3/4" in size not 1" when printed. I enlarged the pattern to 115% when printing and then 104% (twice) at the printer to get the correct size. 

The designer has a video on how she makes them which is at the bottom of the pattern. Video 3 tells how to make them with stretch fabric. 

I bought children's size knee high socks for the fabric. I spent a couple of weeks thinking about sewing these socks as I had other commitments and needed to think what I would use for a needle and thread when making them. I finally made them yesterday. 

    Use a 60/8 microtex needle. These are sharp and great to sew knits with. 

    Use a good quality thread. I used Glide thread but other brands can be used. I wouldn't recommend cotton thread but I would try silk thread. 

    I cut the cuff off the socks I bought and then cut the length to 6". I then cut the tube open so I had a piece of fabric. I put the right sides together after sewing down the hem and pinned the pattern on with 6 pins. I removed the pins and put them back in after I stitched an area to keep the pattern secured on the fabric.

    When sewing down the hem, I turned 1/4" under and stitched in the middle. On the next pair, I will trim the raw edge back to the stitching. The hem did stretch and I steamed it so it would shrink back into shape. It sort of complied. 

    I did the first pair with just a straight stitch and would recommend you use a stretch stitch. Though I had no skipped stitches I was worried about the thread breaking when putting on the gloves. If you use a straight stitch, sew the seam twice for extra strength. I didn't and I'm now worried about the seam coming open as I take them off and put them on the dolls. 

    Sew slowly around the pattern as she shows in the video. I started at the hemmed edge and worked to the thumb. It was easier for me. I spent a lot of time on the curves taking 1 -2 stitches and adjusting the foot so I was close to the pattern. Trim as the designer shows on the video. 

    When turning the glove right side out, I used the rounded end of my bamboo turning tool to smooth out the hand and the pointed end for the thumb. 

A couple of good chuckles has ensued. While looking for a stole pattern I discovered the pattern I used for the dress has both the stole and gloves patterns included. I may trace the gloves onto paper and try them at a later date. Searching for the gloves allowed me to see how one designer made her gloves. It is a good tutorial and gave me the confidence to make these gloves. I'm ready to make the second pair this afternoon. 

I will be making the stole a bit later on as I have other sewing to do. I'll be using the Simplicity pattern for it. The parasol has been started and set aside as I'm testing a pattern for a designer and have socks to finish. I'm not in a rush to finish this outfit as I'm enjoying the process. 

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