Sewing On The Bias

 I really enjoyed this month learning about sewing on the bias. I did make the dress. I learned a lot. The fabric I chose was a chambray and I could see the grain lines. Bonus to understanding more on the bias. 

I did cut out a facing for the dress and cut it on the grain. What I didn't realize was -- I should have lowered the neckline. I put in a 5" zipper and it is hard to get on the doll. I will do that adjustment before putting the pattern away. 

I sewed the dress using a tiny zig zag stitch (called lightening stitch) on the seams that needed some stretch. Seams like the shoulder seams were done in a straight stitch to stabilize them. The back seam was straight stitched where the zipper was inserted and lightening stitched below it. I even did the lightening stitch for the hem. 

When I put the dress on the doll, it looked boxy. My first thought was "all that work for a boxy dress". I walked away and looked at it the next day. The fabric was relaxing and the dress had a bit more shape to it. 

I sprayed the dress with water while on the doll and left it once again for a couple of days. I then measured the hem, cut it even and stitched it up. I still need to take a picture of the finished dress. Will do that today. 

I also started working on the Swedish dress. I measured down what I thought was 1/4" at the top of the godet. It was 3/8". First mistake. I fought with the godets in the front as they wouldn't lay properly. The tops bulged out when I sewed the seam. But wait, I wasn't to sew the seam. Oops!! I set the front aside in sheer frustration and worked on the back. Much better results following the written instruction. 

My last job was to unpick all the seams. Straight stitches and zig zag. I did it telling myself to own up to my mistake. I did it and gave all the pieces a good pressing. I was very careful as the godet sides are cut on the bias. 

I will start again on the front today. If all goes well, I hope to add the ruffle that goes from the top of the front godet to the top of the back godet. I promise I will read the instructions carefully. 

September's Sewing With Cinnamon's topic was a great one. I learned a lot about sewing on the bias by watching the videos and digging deeper into why you cut patterns on the bias the way you do. My free pattern is going to be this one.

I can cut it on the bias or the straight of grain. I know I will use this pattern a lot when sewing for the dolls. Not only the top but the dress length also. 

October's topic is All Things Barbie. I will watch and collect all the videos but am not sure what I will sew. I do have to finish the Swedish dress and do the Colonial Williamsburg outfit before the end of October. 

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

Learning About Sewing On The Bias

 September is Sewing On The Bias with Sewing With Cinnamon. My main sewing on the bias is making piping for daughter or following the layout on a doll's dress that calls for a piece or two cut on the bias. 

When Shari Fuller did lesson 1 I thought it wasn't going to be an exciting month. Just do a pattern or 2 on the bias. But no. She started to talk about the layout of the pattern pieces in lesson 2. Balance of the pieces when you lay them out. She designed a pattern for this project. It is a simple dress with cap sleeves. It really isn't about the dress, it is about the layout. 

I knew that to cut out pattern pieces on the bias you needed to cut them out in a single layer. What I didn't realize was the how and why of laying them out. She showed the pattern pieces cut out in this picture. 

She shows the two back pieces cut at 90 degrees to each other with one at the same angle as the front piece. She called it balancing the pieces. That got me thinking and researching as she stated that balancing it doesn't let the garment twist.

Bias has two directions. That is important to know. The Pattern Place shows it in this diagram. 

The author states that the garment’s bias grainlines must meet in opposite directions. This is to avoid twisting on the body and have a balanced result. 

More researching took me to Seamwork's web page. She explained balance in a similar way. If you cut both the pieces in the same direction, the piece has a tendency to twist around the body. Turning the pieces opposite direction tends to avoid the fabric twisting. With two authors saying the same thing, I totally understood the why. 

The grainlines need to meet in the opposite directions. Shari showed this in her post. 

I went searching for a simple shift dress I could make on the bias. I finally found one at Phoebe and Egg. I will be using the basic dress and making my own front and back facings for it. It doesn't need to be fancy when learning to sew on the bias. It needs to be a pattern I can learn the how and why techniques on. 

Next comes choosing the fabric. Threads Magazine talks about using a fabric with a tooth (grabs each other) rather than a slippery fabric when starting out. I will be looking in the doll's stash for a lighter weight cotton for my first try. I don't think I have the right weight of linen but will look and use it if I do. Both have a tooth which will be good for the first time. 

The two pattern pieces I need are printed out I once I find the right fabric, I will start to lay out the fabric and give it a try. 

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

Strawberry Shortcake Is Finished

 Strawberry Shortcake's outfit is completed. The outer dress was very fiddly to sew. I pinned and hand basted the fiddly parts before sewing them. I didn't want to deal with a pile of pins which usually fall out or poke me when sewing in tight spaces. It worked well. 

I was worried about the button holes but they went in beautifully. Though the buttons are a bit big, the colour is perfect for the dress. 

I have to say the pattern is well drafted and fits the doll perfectly. I did not put the darts into the back bodice as this doll is chunky. The instructions are well written but some of the pictures are hard to decipher as the fabric used matches so well it is hard to see the pieces. But I figured it out. 

I made the petal hat again for the outfit. It is an easy sew but care needs to be taken to make sure all the seams line up at the top. I chose the strawberry fabric for the lining as it frames the doll's face. 

The next two outfits are chosen to be made. One is the Colonial Williamsburg and the other is the little outfit I saw in Sweden. They will be started once I finish projects I have on my to-do list. They are cut out ready for me to sew. 

I also want to do my take on Strawberry Shortcake using one of the Gotz doll's and a pair of overalls I made a few years ago. I am still thinking about the top. Yellow, the red print I have lots of. The red print would be the best as I can use up the fabric I have on hand. 

The next Strawberry Shortcake character I want to make later on is Blueberry Muffin. I have started to collect pictures and have fabric in the doll's stash to use. I have no idea what pattern I will use for that outfit. It is still coming together in my mind. 

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

Under Dress Successfully Sewn

 I have finished the under dress for the Strawberry Shortcake outfit. The instructions are well written and easy to follow. For me the hardest part was the button holes which ended up being a no issue. The button holes are put in before you start on the skirt. 

The dress fits well and will be cute peaking out from underneath the over dress. 

The over dress is cut out and ready for me to sew when I have some spare time. 

I also have the hat lining and 2 pieces of the outer hat fabric cut out. 

I have more of the red fabric which I will cut out the remaining pieces when I lay out the next hat I need to make for the Gotz rendition of Strawberry Shortcake. 

At the moment I have to sew two bags for auctions. They need to be shipped in the next 10-14 days so I am focusing on them at the moment. Once done, I can get back to sewing the outer dress and hat. 

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

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