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...............................................................

Sewing With Cinnamon

 Here it is almost the end of January. I have not sewn for the dolls in a long time. I was busy doing other things. Now that I am caught up I am ready to sew something tiny.

This year I decided to try Sewing With Cinnamon. It is a subscription that you can buy different ways. I decided to try it for a year as I wanted to see how many different outfits I could make. The first one is for a track suit. The course started off with making a tumbling mat which needed us to buy a pattern. I don't do accessories so didn't buy that. I did look at the video and it is well done. 

The second week was to make the track suit. They called for stretch velour which I didn't have in the stash. As I'm not buying a lot of fabric, I had to dig around to find something. I chose to use a pair of knit leggings. The pattern has been purchased and printed so I am ready to start. I watched the first part of the video on making the pants. Cutting out the pants will begin today. 

Yesterday the lesson is on how to make uneven bars which I will watch the video but not make. There is one more week which will be a balance beam. I won't be making it. 

I will be downloading the videos so I can watch them when I want to. I am looking forward to what we will be doing this year with the hopes of making 12 different outfits/items for the dolls. 

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

1950's Dress

 I made a dress for one of the Gotz dolls. I was upset when I found the pattern too big in the bodice. It was made from the AG bodice sloper used in Pattern Academy. I had to alter the bodice so it fit Anna. 

I was drawn to the pattern as I loved the yoke on the front. I chose to make mine from the same fabric as the dress and add a bit of lace to it. 

In the end, the dress turned out okay and it gave me food for thought. 

    I would like to make the dress pattern again for the American Girl dolls as it is cute. I need to make sure the bodice pattern has the seam allowances on it for the AG dolls. 

    To make it again for the Gotz dolls, I will use a bodice pattern I have and alter it so the yoke fits. 

    When making the dress for the Gotz dolls, I will make the gathered skirt less full. It was too much using what was recommended. It will be fine for the AG dolls. 

    The pattern comes with sleeves and I hope to make a dress for the AG dolls that has the sleeves in it. 

I have to remember that the pattern was free and not tested. I should have made sure the bodice fit the Gotz dolls before cutting out the pattern. I have shop towels for that. I know finding a good bodice pattern for the Gotz dolls is hard and have to remember to check all patterns when I download them. I am a stickler for fit. 

In the end, the pattern is really nice and will be a great addition for the AG dolls. I take full responsibility of not checking the pattern to see if it fit the Gotz dolls. 

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

Pattern Manipulation

 I have not looked at doll clothes since finishing the jean jacket. I have been focusing on Christmas sewing and getting pain free. I have been working on what I want to accomplish in 2024. 

One of my goals is to work on pattern drafting and I have been watching a lot of videos on this subject. My last binge has been on dart manipulation. I decided to play with that using slopers I have on hand. 

My first round of dart manipulation was simple; move a dart from one place to another - waist to shoulder. I did the slash and move method and it was a warm up to try something harder. My objective was to do a dart that angled out from the center front neckline. I watched a video on it and my first attempt was a total failure. I watched it again and ran the process through my brain three times before attempting the 2nd time. I got the results I wanted. The goal is to work through the steps methodically and carefully. I did it with a lot of self talk. 

I got two bodices done and mounted. The doll's bodice had a dart at the waist only and I moved it to the neckline. The other bodice had a bust and waist dart and I moved them both to the neckline. More darts, more steps. 

I will be doing this exercise again and deciding on how long the dart is to be. When doing the exercises, you do the dart to the apex and when you are done, you back it off to a shorter length. For me, this will be trial and error as I have no idea how long to do a neck dart. I will be adding seam allowances so I can sew it up and see where I need to make adjustments. 

I have a bodice pattern which has a dart in the armhole and I am going to manipulate it to be in the waist and see how it fits the Gotz dolls. It fits them well now so I have my fingers crossed. 

As I have been watching a lot of videos on making a bodice sloper, I have decided to try making one (once again) for the Gotz dolls. I will take the measurement used for a human body and then work on the front and back pieces. I will tweak the pattern until I get what I want. I do know how to manipulate darts so I can move darts from one area to another so the pattern fits smoothly in areas like the armhole.  I want to do this so I can make a basic sleeve which I can change in length and fullness. 

I am to keep this cost effective but I do need to buy tracing paper and a binder. I will be using shop towels for muslins as they can be sewn and don't fray. I have a box of them in the sewing room waiting to be used.

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

Jean Jacket Outfit Completed

 The outfit from scraps is completed. What a journey it was to get the look I was wanting. The last piece to this outfit was the jean jacket. 

The number of pattern pieces was scary. 

I was going to cut them out all at once but decided against that. I cut out the back and sewed it and did it for all the parts of the jacket. It made it so much easier to keep track of all the part. 

I read the pattern several times and watched the video twice. I did not make flat felled seams which added to the amount of top stitching and I had to serge all the seams. I also had to figure out where and how to do all the top stitching. I also hand stitched the cuffs and bottom band down to hide the seam allowances. I sewed on 12 buttons and 6 snaps. I didn't trust myself to make tiny buttonholes after all the work I did on the jacket. 

The pattern fits the doll well. The pieces are well drafted but the seam allowances are a bit deeper than 1/4". I would stick to 1/4" rather than fiddle around with the deeper seams if I make it again. The pattern pieces are on the cutting table waiting to see if I trash them or store them. 

The back looks equally as good as the front for fit. 

There is a piece of the jacket fabric left which I am putting away. I will sew it later when I decide on a pattern which may be jeans. I want to knit a sweater to go with the pants. But right now I need to do some Christmas sewing. 

Since May, I have sewn or knit these outfits for the dolls. Only 7 more outfits and all the dolls will have dressed in something new. Then I will have to repeat the process once again.

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

Sewing With Scraps and Remnants

 I have been working with remnants and am enjoying it more than I thought I would. I usually stress when using left over fabrics for a project. I decided to let things flow and not worry about seeing if other pieces could be made from the fabric. 

The print fabric was the first on the cutting table. With careful planning and some left over white broadcloth, I was able to cut out a top and skirt. And, I have a scrap of the print left over. 

The top was sewn first and I lined it with broadcloth. I took my time as it is a sweetheart neckline. I really like this pattern without the sleeves added. I got it finished in 2 afternoons. 

My only issue - loosing a snap on the floor and having the wrong side on the part that overlaps. I finished it up in time to make dinner. Yes, there was some logger's language spoken. 

The skirt was made next. I got it ready to finish the back, tried it on the doll and you could see her panties. Not a good look. I cut out a lining from the white broadcloth and sewed up the skirt. I carefully sewed it to the skirt at the waist and folded the facing down to finish it. As I was getting the back seams ready to sew, we had a power surge (yes I was sewing during Hurricane Lee) and shut down the sewing room quickly. I did try the skirt on to take a picture. 

I just need to stitch down the back seems and sew on 3 snaps to complete this part of the outfit. The top and skirt took .8 meter of fabric to make including the lining for the skirt. I did a lot of squishing of the pattern pieces to to do this as I estimated 1 meter when looking at the patterns. 

Once done, I will start the jean jacket. I have a fair amount of fabric left and am wondering what to make with the left over piece. Another skirt? A pair of pants? I'm not sure as I need to see how much fabric is left after I cut out the jacket.  

I see I need to sweep the floor and take out the garbage that has collected under the cutting table. Today it will get done.

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