Strawberry Shortcake Outfit Begun

 I have started on the Strawberry Shortcake outfit. It is my take on how I feel she would dress as a child in our era. This how she looked in the 1980's. 

I decided to use a pattern that has an underdress which shows a tiny bit at the neckline and below the hem of the overdress. 

I started out making the underdress. I finished the bodice to the buttonholes. 

I had no issues getting this part done. The instructions were straight forward and I did my own twist to how I sew a lined top. It fits the doll well. 

I dug out Kit's greet shoes as they are red. 

My question is - would Strawberry Shortcake wear these shoes or white sneakers with the outfit. I will mull over that as I work on the outfit. 

I need to cut out the overdress as I need to know how much more fabric I need to make the hat. I know I am going to be short of both fabrics for it. 

I am thinking of expanding one of the Gotz doll's overalls to include a shirt to replicate this picture of Strawberry Shortcake. 

I have the overalls in navy. I would need to think about the top. Would I do a red top or go for yellow? I can make a big floppy hat and look for a strawberry button (I saw one in Halmstad). I will look for the button and ribbon before I decide what I will do. The quilt shop has lots of the strawberry fabrics and they have a nice collection of yellow prints that would work well. 

Today I need to get the overdress cut out, look for fabric for the Colonial Williamsburg dress and make a list of what I need to buy. Tomorrow I am going to the quilt shop to get the linen coloured fabric and what I need for the hat. I will snoop around looking at the yellow fabrics and make some decisions. 

These dresses will be made over time as I have 2 quilts to finish. I want them done by the end of the month as I need to start another quilt in September. I will be sewing both quilts and doll clothes for quite a while. 

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

Projects Completed In July

 I have been a long time posting as I was getting sewing projects completed or to a certain point before leaving for Sweden on July 26th. Unfortunately this blog got neglected due to time restraints. We had 3 weeks to get ready to leave. 

Orange Blossom

The Orange Blossom outfit got finished and I have to say it is cute and modern. The dress presented some problems for me as my brain did not like the instructions for gathering the neckline. I figured out how I would do it after I had the dress completed. The hat was a pattern that I got free (now being sold) and it was an easy sew. The leggings are not perfect as the fabric is thinner than what I use and I had to relearn how I sew with knits. The shoes went together nicely for me. In the end, I was pleased with the results. 

I may make the dress for the Gotz dolls as I have it in their size also. I will make the body of the dress a bit longer if I choose not to make leggings. 

French Hood

I wanted to make a French hood to go with the Renaissance outfit and squeezed it into my makes. The pattern is Read Creations and a nice pattern. I machine sewed the trim onto the hood and if I make it again, I will hand sew it on. I found some more Jonquil rhinestones that I used on the trim. 

I have enough crystals to finish the part that only has the strings of crystals on it. I would like to do a row of crystals at the bottom of it. 

It needs a bit of bling added to it. 

Sweater and Skirt 

I knit a sweater and hat from a pattern I tested. I wanted to make an outfit that would go with the mini Nova Scotia plaid in my stash. The knitting was easy to do. The skirt took a long time to make. I was very careful to have the pleats in as perfectly as possible. 

It turned out exactly as I had envisioned it to look. 

Next Projects

Once I recover from my trip, I have several projects to make for the dolls. 

    *Colonial Williamsburg dress using the newest Keepers Dolly Duds pattern. I will search through the doll's stash before I buy the fabric. 

    *Strawberry Shortcake outfit. I am using an Acorn and Thimbles pattern for this outfit. The under dress will be light with strawberries on it and the outer dress will be a red strawberry seed print. 

    *Dress in natural linen colour print that is similar to this dress

And in this fabric.

I also want to knit a navy sweater to go with it. I saw a little girl wearing something similar to this at a soccer game in Halmstad. 

Sewing With Cinnamon

The project this month is back to school. The first project was a back pack. This week it will be about vintage flair to some of the school looks. I look forward to seeing what it will be about. I may make an outfit using her ideas. 

My goal is to cut out two outfits soon and then sew them while I work on quilting projects that need to be completed. Then I will cut out two more outfits and work on them while I start another quilt. It will take a bit of time as I need to start harvesting the garden. Today is day 2 of recovering from my trip. I know I will be tired later today as I adjust to my time zone.

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

Finished Projects and New Ones Planned

 I finally finished the Lady Lilly's (or Lady Mary's) outfit. Gluing the flowers onto the hat was a big job as they kept falling off. I finally succeeded in getting it done. 

The palazzo pants were sewn and I need to sew on one more snap so the back opening stays closed. 

The cotton is a bit crisp but they work. The pattern needs a bit of tweaking but I am not sure if I will do it. I think pleats are needed at the waist. 

I am very happy with my first try at drafting these pants. I do have the top drafted and ready to make. Hopefully today. 

I have started to think about the next outfit I want to make. It is the Joy Dress by Doll Joy. It has been on my list to make for a while. I am going to do a Strawberry Shortcake character rendition of how I think she would look like today. 

I picked up 2 pieces of fabric yesterday and need to think about what else I need. I have white lace and may do like one of the testers and add a row of lace onto the dress above the ruffle. I may scrap the orange floss and replace it with white or do a mix of white and orange. 

We are coming to the end of mixing prints and next month will be making a historical dress using a Doll Dud's pattern. I am going to buy fabric for it and make an old fashion rendition using Strawberry Shortcake as my starting point. I can get strawberry fabric at the quilt shop which will make for a fun project. 

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

Next Project Planned

 I haven't looked at the Lady Lilly Dress other than find and prep the ribbon for the waist. I have been too busy making a bag for a contest to help out a quilt shop. Once done, I will get back to finishing the dress and hat. 

This month Sewing with Cinnamon is about matching prints to get a pleasant look. I have done this before in several outfits I have made. Print with stripe has been my favourite.  

I am wanting to try doing something a bit different this time. I have an idea in mind and could buy the fabric for it. I am going to start with a jacket I have already made. 

There is a tiny bit of pale blue in the print which may become the blouse fabric. The skirt will be either in the pink or green. Either way, I need something that goes well with the print. 

I am going to make a sleeveless top with pin tucks down the front. It won't be seen when the jacket is closed but will be part of the outfit. 

I was going to make an Edwardian skirt to go with the jacket but it was suggested I make palazzo pants. I will take the pant slopers and cut and slash the pattern to make the legs wider. I am thinking about 1.5" in total. I am using this video to help me. 

I will be starting this outfit once I have finished the bag and the hat. It is pushing me to do more sewing daily so I can start working on it. I am allowing myself to buy less than a meter of fabric for it. When I take the bag up to the quilt shop, I will buy the fabric. 

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

A Garden Gown For Kit

 The garage sale is done and the garage is cleaned up. Most of the items that weren't sold are put away for next year. We chose not to take part in the yard sale in the 55+ community behind us. Thank goodness as it was cold and miserable yesterday. 

I have not finished the Renaissance era outfit. I still need to make the French headdress and the necklace. I need to get patterns for both of them. 

I did make Lady Lilly's dress by Luv U Bunches (Lady Mary's dress from Downton Abbey). 

I chose a black on white print for the first attempt. The black lace I had refused to cooperate so I had to find a more cooperative lace for the collar. 

The dress still needs white ribbon at the empire waistline. I have the tulle and flowers for the hat. 

I also have pearls for the necklace which I will string on a double strand of silk thread. Mine will be a long necklace. 

I have put doll sewing to one side as I am sewing a bag for a contest. I want it done and out of the house by June 15 so am focusing on it. Right now it is slow going as I am doing the hard parts. Soon it will be easy sewing and done. Then back to finishing the doll outfits. 

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

Renaissance Shoes Completed

 I have been busy getting ready for and having a yard sale yesterday. But before we did the last push on getting ready, I finished the doll's shoes. 

I started out putting very narrow elastic around the soles of the shoes to hide the gap. I was short 1" and spent time thinking where I had more. Found it in the bag of mask elastic. Once put on and dried, I set about decorating the shoes. I chose to make one flower on each shoe using 6 pearls and 1 crystal strung on white silk thread. 

The one shoe looks funny as the toe is a bit crushed. I will play with it now that I have a bit more time. 

They look good with the decorations on the skirt. 

Next up is getting the pattern for the necklace. Before I purchase it, I need to see if I have enough beads to make it. It takes just under 700 seed beads to make the necklace along with 18 pearls (which I have). I will be looking in the bags of beads I have put away before I do anything.

I have started to plan the next outfit. I am moving from the Renaissance period to the Edwardian period. I won't get it started for a couple of days though the pattern is cut out and tape together. 

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

Renaissance Outfit Completed

 The next sloper I drafted has pleats at the neckline. They start out as dart and then you fold them into pleats. They are tiny and fiddly to make. I think I would take the time to baste them in place prior to sewing a lining or facing on at the neckline. 

I took the pattern upstairs to see if I could make the darts bigger. With only a waist dart it didn't work. I have another book to look at to see if I can do another modification. 

The Renaissance outfit is complete and I am pleased with it. 

I did more crystals on the front panel of the skirt. 

I am in the process of finishing up some shoes for the outfit. I do have them almost done. 

I will try to finish them up in the next week as I am still deciding if I want to add crystals to them. Historically they were plain with a strap and buckle or ribbon closures.

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