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Wearables Low budget sewing

Aug 29, 2024

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    1. I've moved all the way across the country and had a bit of a hiccup with my housing situation, which means most of my dolls and crafting supplies are in storage, but I still want to sew, so I'm creating this journal thread to document my experiences sewing for my dolls with limited supplies and budget.

      My self imposed rules:
      -No buying from craft shops until something critical runs out (the nearest craft shop is about an hour away, must resist allure of pretty new fabric)
      -Use the patterns I still have on hand

      I was inspired by @AlisonVonderland 's Nostalgic Dresses thread which gave me some fun ideas with the fabric remnants I already had!

      My first idea is for a set of overalls based on the 1/3 female engineer's overalls from Missy's Imaginings with some modifications: I'd previously made a test pair out of an old sheet and discovered what needed tweaking to fit the notions I had on hand, plus my SD10 solid torso girls are wider in the waist than the Angell Studio body the pattern was made for

      [​IMG]

      Here's the plan – doing contrast pockets with scrap fabric, shortening the legs to make them more shorts, and modifying the straps to use a faux button and press stud closure.

      [​IMG]
      The pattern and materials: some decade-old fat quarter remnants and a $2 pair of op shop jeans.

      [​IMG]
      First test fitting on Saki before finishing the leg seams. I decided to forgo the contrast bottom hem and used the existing jeans hem instead. I also used some fat quarter scraps to cover some small holes in the denim I used for the top pocket, hand sewn as I'm not confident enough to tackle something that small with my machine yet. Had a little mishaps with the pocket seam but overall (no pun intended) I'm pleased with my progress.

      [​IMG]
      Testing the straps. The original pattern used tiny overall fasteners, which I don't have, so I'm shortening them for my button-and-press-stud replacement. Zigzagged stitched the raw edges as I think the denim would be too rigid if I lined it.
       
      #1 castironteapot, Aug 29, 2024
      Last edited: Aug 29, 2024
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    2. These are looking very cute so far! I'm happy and flattered to have provided some inspiration :hug:
      I love the orange details for these, it's a great compliment for the denim! Also, I empathize with your situation as I just made a big move myself. I left behind my dear old sewing machine though so no real projects for me just yet. I hope you get settled in well and enjoy your sewing! It can be kind of liberating to work from fewer materials at times.
       
      #2 AlisonVonderland, Aug 29, 2024
      Last edited: Aug 30, 2024
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    3. Thank you! I'm hoping to get some more sewing done as I have the whole weekend off
       
      #3 castironteapot, Aug 30, 2024
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    4. Sounds like a great goal!

      Looks like you have a cute pattern so far - I love overalls on dolls. I've made simple ones for the 24cm Obitsu body but haven't tackled anything larger than that yet. The studs / buckles / etc. seem a little bit tricky if you want a realistic look. I see good options for Blythe-size clothes, but it is harder to find things like that for larger sizes (although I could be missing some good resources).

      Will you be hand-sewing or machine sewing or both?
       
      #4 StellaMarigold, Aug 30, 2024
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    5. You're lucky that your craft store is an hour away, because mine's in town and it takes all my strength not to walk out with 100 dollars of new fabric :lol:

      Overalls are so dang cute, she's gonna look great <3
       
      #5 Gikidari, Aug 30, 2024
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    6. The coveralls are great so far! And I applaud your effort to stay "low cost". Back when I had sewing project ambitions, i was unlucky enough to have a convenient Joanne's nearby. I justified that I mostly only bought remnant pieces, but those can also be a bulk temptation, both in cost and in storage space!
       
      #6 hobbywhelmed, Aug 30, 2024
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    7. hahaha, I can imagine the justification gymnastics :D I have so much leftovers from when my mom was sewing that I probably won't be buying any fabric for at least a couple of years. :/
       
      #7 Lady Mariko, Aug 30, 2024
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    8. Thanks for the kind comments everyone!
      I'm going to be mostly machine sewing as I don't have the patience to do a full piece by hand!
       
      #8 castironteapot, Aug 30, 2024
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    9. - who has patience for that? XD But at some point hand sewing is unavoidable. :/

      I have lots of skirts done but none of the blouses and haven't found time to sit on my butt, take the photos and post them here. :/ I really need to do that. :/

      Also, for sewing purposes, as 1/3 dolls tend to be heavy - I bought an articulate 1/3 from aliexpress and I love her. She's light but has the same measurements as your average 1/3 doll, so sewing for her is much easier (I have oily hands so I handle my bjd in gloves and this is pretty inconvenient, when dealing with fabrics), so if someone struggles with weight or handling the bjd I strongly recommend investing in her, as she is a fraction of price of a bjd. Unfortunately they only have 1/3 size and I wish they also had 1/4 and male bodies, but at least this helps. It made my sewing adventure so much easier.
       
      #9 Lady Mariko, Aug 31, 2024
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    10. Overalls are done!
      I'll add a picture when I have light, but it's dark right now.

      Next project: a two-tone long sleeved shirt to go under the overalls, made from stretch fabric, using the remnants of white and purple fabrics because I don't have enough of either to make a shirt by itself.
      I'm using the shirt pattern from Missy's Imaginings' Rainbow Candy set with some modifications: a wider collar so I don't have to wrestle the fabric out of my sewing machine's feed dogs, and shorter sleeves because Saki's SD10 body has shorter arms than Missy's Angel Studio model.

      [​IMG]
      Fabric and pattern – the purple is a bit more vivid in real life

      [​IMG]
      Sewn together fabric, cut in pattern pieces.
      Next step, putting it together!
       
      #10 castironteapot, Sep 5, 2024
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