Country Line Dancing, Anyone?

My Twinn "Mallory" as "Emma Woodhouse"

I bought this doll a couple of years ago because she reminded me of Jane Austen’s Emma Woodhouse, right down to her “true hazel” eyes!  I finally got around to sewing a dress for her to model.  I used a heavily modified Morrissey pattern and a vintage floral chintz cotton print.  I added a tiny metal cross to a jump ring and ran a length of organdy ribbon through and tied a bow at the back of her neck for a quick Regency style necklace.

Wishing Everyone a Happy and Safe Holiday!

 

Happy New Year!!!

Gulli is enjoying a quiet evening at home, watching the fireworks on TV and enjoying some French fries from his favorite fast food restaurant.  He's such a party animal!

Another New Doll

This is one of several My Twinn dolls I got for Christmas.    I never intended to collect them, but they are just so darned cute and difficult to resist, especially when they are on sale at half price!  She is known to collectors as the “Cookie” sculpt.  The piano is also from My Twinn and makes a nice prop I think.

Jessie's Cami & Triple-Tiered Petticoat

I made this camisole and petticoat adapted from patterns in the book, Heirloom Doll Clothes for Götz.  I love this book!  The cami required a little lace shaping and mitering.  Spray starching and ironing, as recommended by the author, Martha Pullen, really help to coax the lace into position.  Isn’t my model adorable?  She is a My Twinn doll.  These dolls come in a variety of face sculpts and are able to be posed because of an internal armature. They are approximately twenty-three inches high.  This particular little girl has what is known to collectors as the Helen face sculpt. I’ve named her Jessie.

Ursula's New Slip

One of the goals I set for this year was to try French heirloom sewing by machine for my dolls. I purchased a beautiful book by Dr. Martha Pullen, Heirloom Doll Clothes for Götz, and this slip was my first attempt. I learned how to sew lace to fabric very securely and invisibly! I figure that should come in handy for making Santa outfits, too. My little model is a Götz Precious Day doll. She's advertized as being the same size as The American Girl dolls, but she's ever so slightly slimmer. I named her Ursula.

A Few More Dolls from My Gene Marshall Collection...

Still messing around in the "Redneck Photo Studio!" The dolls are "Iced Coffee," "Crème de Cassis" and "Breathless."

A Simple Summer Dress for Madra...

I whipped up this little number to help poor Madra beat the heat... We've had some relief from the humidity in the past couple of days but next week we are supposed to be heading right back into the soup...

Redneck Photo Studio

DH recently installed shop lights (with Philips daylight bulbs) in his tractor shed and was curious to see what kind of photographic lighting effects he could achieve with a simple setup and just those overhead lights. As you can see from the photo of Madra Lord (Gene Marshall’s nemesis), the light is actually pretty soft. And DH is well pleased with what he calls his “redneck photo studio.”

The name of the doll outfit is “Catwalk.” I paid $25.00 for it, brand new, on eBay. The (bald) Madra doll was around $8.00, if I remember correctly.

Repro Toni Doll

This is my “Sew for Me Toni” doll, a reproduction (by Robert Tonner) of the original Toni from the fifties. She came with a chemise and underwear, socks and two pairs of shoes. I made her a crisp little summer dress of cotton chintz. She is a joy to sew for…

My sister purchased the original P90 Toni for me at an estate sale. Her condition is a little rough, but I love having both the vintage and repro dolls in my collection.

Hope everyone is having a safe and happy holiday!

Mixed Time Periods...

I recently bought a bolt of muslin primarily to make Santa bodies but I also wanted to be able to use it to test-drive commercial clothing patterns for my dolls before committing to fashion fabric. First up is a little number I sewed for my beautiful American Girl doll, Elizabeth Cole. Although she is supposed to be a nine-year-old from 1774 Williamsburg, I think this dress style places her squarely in the early 1800s. I found the floral applique in my stash of lace and hand stitched it to the bodice. Beneath her feet, are the pieced blocks and borders for the miniature Baltimore album quilt I hope to make (pieced from recycled sheet). Baltimore Album quilts were not popular until the 1840s, way after Elizabeth’s time!

Vintage Barbie Clothes for Gene

Well, I wondered if the old Barbie patterns would work, scaled up, for Gene. Yes, they do! I enlarged the dress pattern 130.5% to fit my 15 ½” Gene doll. The fabric is a lightweight wool challis – a joy to work with! I’m going to make the matching coat like I did with Barbie, but I think I may make it shorter than the dress for even more of a retro look.

It’s important to remember that when the patterns are enlarged, the seam allowances get bigger, too! This is my second attempt on this dress because I forgot and used ¼” seam allowance the first time and the garment was too big! The adjusted seam allowance for Gene is 3/8" which is the default seam allowance on my sewing machine.

Memorial Day & White Shoes - The Unofficial Start of Summer!

Here is one of my Goodreau BJD dolls (Innuendo) modeling a casual little summer outfit I designed over the weekend consisting of a lightly fitted, embroidered tee top and a slim skirt with a ruffle. The outfit also fits Ellowyne.

Instructions for Robe/Cover-up

I wanted to make another robe following my notes just to make sure I didn't forget anything before I published the directions. Modeling my little cover-up is Gene Marshall's wisecracking sidekick, Ivy Jordan. (I'm a huge fan of Eve Arden, so I had to add Ivy to my collection!) I purchased her sans outfit on Ebay but didn't want to keep her in the box until I found some clothes for her. So far, the robe fits (without any adjustments) Ellowyne, Gene, Goodreau BJD dolls, Tyler and friends and Madame Alexander Alex fashion dolls.

The directions are below. I hope you will try it - please let me know if you do or if there are any parts of the instructions that need clarification. If you have any questions, leave a comment and I will answer either here or via email.



All seams are 1/4". Rummage through your stash and find two compatible pieces of fabric. Pre-wash. Cut each 14" square. One will be the robe; the other will be the lining.

With the right side up, fold robe fabric in half toward you; then fold again, left to right. Measure 2 1/2" from folded edge and cut. Repeat for lining.

Measure and mark 3/4" out from top edge and 3/4" down from top edge. Draw a slight curve to connect the marks. Mark 2 1/2" down from shoulder on each side (as a guide for sleeve placement). Cut along curve for neck opening. Cut open down the center front. Repeat for lining. Mark 1" up from bottom edge on all sides to indicate side vents.

Cut sleeves 5x4" out of both robe and lining fabrics.

Right sides together (and using marks as guide for sleeve placement), stitch the 5" width of sleeve to the body. Press seams toward sleeves. Repeat for lining.

Right sides together, stitch lining to body, beginning at the vent opening mark on the lower side edge, all the way around the front and neck and back down to the vent opening mark on the other side. Stitch the lower back together, beginning at the side went opening mark and ending at the opposite side vent opening mark. Stitch the lower sleeve edges together. DO NOT stitch side or underarm seams, yet.

Clip corners and curves. Clip side vent openings to the mark. Turn right side out and press well. Fold back the sleeve edges 1/4" so that the lining fabric looks like cuffs. Hand baste to temporarily hold in place. Press well.

With lining side out, fold robe so that side seams are aligned, Stitch side seams, including underarm seams. Reinforce the underarms (about 1" in both directions) inside the seam allowance. Carefully slash where sleeve and body intersect. Zigzag or overlock seams to neaten.

Turn right side out. Press well. Try on doll and turn back collar.

For belt, cut a strip of the lining fabric 1 1/2" wide by 15" long. Fold in half, lengthwise. Press. Mark a diagonal line on each end (from the fold to the raw edge). Leaving a 1 1/2" opening in the center, stitch a 1/4" seam along the raw edges, and down the diagonal lines. Secure threads. Clip corners. Turn right side out. Press well and stitch the opening closed.

Somers & Field

These girls (Willow Somers and Daisy Field) are responsible for my walk down Memory Lane or, more precisely, 1960s Carnaby Street. I originally purchased the mini dress pattern (previous post) for them. I love their hair, especially Daisy’s iconic asymmetrical Vidal Sassoon cut. And their make-up is perfect for the time period. I remember white lipstick – yikes! These dolls (made in 2000, I believe) are from designer Doug James, the same artist who designs the CED dolls. His attention to detail is amazing. There are updated, articulated versions of Willow and Daisy, named Violett Somers and Gabby Field, and I’ll probably be adding them to my growing collection, although I am trying hard to resist...really I am...

"Quantized!"

Ellowyne found one of her mom’s old dresses in the attic – along with the de rigueur white “go-go” boots. Who didn’t have a pair of those back in the day?

I made the dress from this pattern.

The background is a big piece of lutradur I painted a few years ago in Susan Sorrell’s wonderful Personal Symbols class.

Charming “Mirror”

Been having fun playing with dolls! I made a funky little dress to go with the shoes I made last week. Modeling the outfit is Goodreau’s BJD Mirror.” She is borrowing one of Ellowyne’s wigs.

Ellowyne Goes Christmas Shopping...

In the holiday rush, I forgot to take a photograph of Ellowyne in the new fur jacket and hat I made for her two weeks ago. The jacket is from a pattern that is in the current issue of Doll Reader magazine. The hat is from a Kitty Collier doll pattern.

Ellowyne’s Christmas tree pin is actually a cheap earring! Her miniature shopping bag was one of several in a package from the dollar store. Who doesn’t love the dollar store?

Merry Christmas to All!

DAE’s Smoking Flame Vivian is borrowing Gene Marshall’s American Countess gown. Madame Alexander’s Suzette is borrowing Gene’s Crescendo gown (with violin). This photo was taken a couple of years ago.