Wearables Mogu mogu gotta sew! (sewing journal for motivation)

If you're familiar with this drink with it's fun slogan you will get what I'm referencing here I don't love drinking it but the caption always cheers me up. Anywhooo.....

Sewing, am I right? I get so many ideas but pulling through with them is often another story - I thought perhaps keeping up with a loose project journal might motivate me a bit? I think at least some of those ideas are good and deserve to get onto my dolls! Especially if I already bought the materials...

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Today's project is a fleece jacket for Dott! I bought this weird fabric from Aliexpress thinking I'd make a Labubu costume for Nonoo (it reminded me of the Exciting Macaron ones) but then never got going with the project because it felt a bit too complex. Since the materials were already there, I thought I'd make a much easier thing for a bigger doll instead! I wanted to make something similar to a jacket I own myself (albeit in another colour) to vaguely twin with my doll and the idea pumped the motivation up a bit indeed :3

Sleeves always annoy me but my life hack to this is just sewing or knitting a raglan (no curves! Straight lines only!). I referenced a sweater I had already made and was happy with the fit of, and drew some shapes on the paper. They are referenced below on a 1x1cm grid if anyone wants to sew along... just know it took me A LOT of edits to actually fit it to my doll so it is not a cut+sew pattern and more like a vague reference.





I then cut out the pieces, found out that the fabric frays into lil microplastic lint everywhere and decided to continue work with a dust mask on.




Et voila, after some sewing, fittings, cutting off lots of extra fabric and sewing some more I arrived at this:



I then measured the jacket's neck hole and drafted this collar pattern:



With surprisingly little fiddling, done she was. I ended up sewing the zipper in by hand because the fabric was hard to maneuver with the machine. I wish I had brought the zipper higher so I had to sew in a hook & an eye for the collar to sit right instead. Nobody will know. Oh, and I'd highly recommend getting some zipper stoppers! Any zipper can now be a doll-length zipper!



The back panel has some elastic in the lower hem for a better fit at the back.



And here it is unzipped:



I think it came out really lovely! I'm happy I went for it, it looks so cozy. I still have some of the fabric left so maybe some other dolls get some jackets, too?

Maybe the next thing Dott needs is a good pair of pants? Gotta see what my fabric stash offers me for the next session.

 

Thank you all!

I'm still figuring out what fits her and what looks weird but I'm glad this one worked out. Somehow it's always much more motivating to keep sewing when things turn out good

I knooow, she looks so warm, it's almost like teddy bear material

I made that skirt out of a piece of hellish faux suede (fraying, slippery, not laying flat, not allowing itself to be ironed....) so the "decorative" seams are actually just where the fabric went askew and I had to hide the mistakes But I'm glad it looks cool and not messy!


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Today's little project is a pinafore dress for Midoriko! SWD Kaede has a red pinafore in her fullset so I always thought my "awake" Kaede would look cute in something like that, too.

I quickly drafted a pattern and cut out some pieces - cut first think later etc etc



At some point I realised I should have given the order of steps a bit more thought beforehand but I had already started sewing and decided to wing it. While doing the decorative seams, I ran out of orange thread, of course, and had to find ways to preserve the little that was still left on the spool



This is what I had left for the last hem, godspeed to me.



I ran out just as I had done the last stitch, incredible luck! I think the contrasting stitches look nice, it would have been a shame to do it all using the red thread that disappeared into the fabric more.



I even fished out some orange scrap yarn from the trash just to attach the straps



The dress turned out quite cute but I'm not happy with how the front panel sits and will have to taylor it a little.



I think this would look better? Gotta get more of the cursed orange thread to fix it though!




Happy Halloween! Hope everyone's thread situation is less scary

 

I wouldn't say it looks neater but I think the size works better.



I guess if I'm ever to sew this garment again, I'll have to reduce the front panel to avoid dealing with some extra bulk later.



The pocket's very practical though! I love when my dolls' clothes become my storage

 

Thank you @quilleth and @P0laris ! I don't love wearing cute so I'm having a blast filling my doll's wardrobes that way

Another piece for Dott! I quickly (maybe too quickly?) drafted a raglan pattern for a 2-colour t-shirt:



Hmmm yes the white panels ended up too wide I think. But obviously sewing is going to be trial and error if you don't do any scrap garments as a start, so I am fine with this for now and will just adjust the pattern next time (I'll redo the lower hem though, I want it to fit more tightly)





I feel like it resembles a calypso more than a tee but maybe that's just the lycra

 

Thank you both @P0laris & @RabbidBunnies ! I agree, the red trim is fun... but it also leaves no room for wonky seams

Quick low effort project today - bloomers! The fabric is kind of a weird, tracksuit-y material.... I'm thinking I should probably make long track pants out of it instead? The pattern used is the boxers pattern from UndeadThreads (sd13 boy size for extra slack).

 

Thanks for the nice words pals!

I couldn't put the idea of long sweatpants to rest and spent longer than I would have liked fiddling with them to get them to taper just right (and I think now one leg is longer? ), but here they aaaaare:



If you wonder how I remember which side is back and which is front, then I don't! I need to add little details like this for myself sometimes:


@AlisonVonderland , this is for you it looks really cute as an outfit, what a great idea! It truly is a fun body to sew for as well, I'm so lucky I stumbled upon this doll

 

I'm also super happy with those pants! In an ideal world there would be pockets, but that would also add to fiddliness during sewing (waistbands don't love me it seems!) so I'll just appreciate them for what they are


Having a project journal must be working because lo and behold - another item! I thought the red looked out of place with the light pink/white combo going on and made abother raglan shirt:



Not fully sure if the turtleneck really works but I do like some variety in the wardrobe so ¯⁠\⁠_⁠(⁠ツ⁠)⁠_⁠/⁠¯

 

@AlisonVonderland - it wasn't a turtleneck, but I also had a zebra print shirt that I now kick myself for giving away... could have at least kept it and made doll clothes from it! And pockets do have their pros and cons, when they work they are really nice to have though.

But alas, no pockets today.

I bought this scrap of weird brown printed gingham some time ago... realising now how small the piece is, I feel like I paid a bit too much for it but what's done that's done. It's been a while since I sewed something from totally regular cotton and it's nice not to fuss with weird fabric at least! I found a pattern I had made pants from some years ago in my pattern folder and adjusted it slightly for a better fit.



I kept gaslighting myself that I will do the pants' leg hems on the machine after assembling everything but obviously that does not happen at 1/4 scale so I tried my best to hide the hand sewing into the brown squares



I'm still trying to work out how not to have the waistband gap so much but I guess this is as good as I can get it this time. I'll have to study an actual pattern next time.



All in all, a solid pair of pants I think! Something for a brunch in the city or a spring picnic? I'm thinking maybe some patches would look cute on them?

 

Thank you @quilleth ! Hemming can be an utter pain haha I know darts can help (because that's what I always do when this happens) but by now I'd just like to know why it gaps so I wouldn't have to alter the finished pants every time

 

@Quirked thank you thank you thank you this is great info! The waistband does still gap when the doll is sitting, and yes of course it's a straight piece I swear I have sewn a pair for myself where a straight waistband fits without gapping but maybe that has something to do with humans being soft... In any case, I'll investigate further and take note of your tips

 

Thank you @Follow-the-Wind ! The compliment means a lot coming from someone with such a cool collection!

I wanted to sew something not super stressful this week so I took on a pair of cargo pants for Bug and decided to go for an easy stretchy foldover waist. I found a denim shirt to destroy so maybe I'll use my new waistband knowledge by making jeans later on



Love making storage units... I mean little patch pockets (the dolls have to earn their stay alright). Not the neatest looking at the waist, and I wish the side pockets were a bit bigger but it is what it is. Maybe I'll just add some more little details here and there.


Non-sewing action, but I did some knitting by the TV and finished a hat for Midoriko as well:

 

I liked the green fluffy jacket so much, I had to make another one. The orange fabric is unfortunately somewhat worse in quality, so it doesn't look as neat... But at least once my own orange fleece comes out of the wash, we can somewhat match and I think it'll be very cute

 

Thank you @AlisonVonderland ! I'm often inspired by what you're making as well, it's so nice to see fun original doll clothes
I love orange on my dolls, and it took me quite a while to hunt down some orange fleece quite surprisingly (so worth it though).

 

Working pockets? Pants with a waistband??? Over the course of 2 evenings, I have made a pair of JEANS. I used a denim shirt for this and am looking back to my memories of sewing jeans for 1/4 out of a much thicker denim with lots of pain now. Everything was a bit fiddly regardless, and my sewing machine is not a lover of small details, so they are not super neat, but I'm happy enough.




I made the belt loops a bit bigger than the waistband to allow for a wider belt, but forgot to stitch the lower ends down properly. They are not supposed to float like this


The yoke is perhaps a bit too deep but I was mostly only eyeballing everything and the pants fit, so I'm not too mad.

Just to see how comfy they apparently are, some "editorial" shots behind the jump:

Spoiler

Easy to sit like a man!


"does my butt look big in those?"

The most important thing: no gapping! Thank you for the tips @Quirked !

 

No sewing does not mean no clothes making! The new addition to the crew needs better eyes, a wig trim and yet another try at the faceup, but at least she has a sweater I knit over the last week to use up some butts of this black sock yarn.



I really like the choice I made to cast off in a contrasting colour! I think the black edges really elevate this sweater. I had some trouble weaving in the collar edges without it showing so I jokingly made it very visible - this is not a Maison Margiela design but... it could be! Accidentally not that far off I think



A late new year greeting and happy sewing to all!

 

Thank you both!

@AlisonVonderland : I'm thinking of Morrow, but her face is so interesting to me that it's really a struggle to come up with the perfect and fitting name. Maybe once I settle on a faceup and eyes I love on her I'll know The schoolgirl look is a bit accidental, I think I'll also try something more tomboyish on her... how weird to have spent so much time looking at this sculpt on photos and yet not know anything about her!

 

@AlisonVonderland - well the name stuck after all! Still not sure who she is, but I'll find out eventually



As much as the title of the journal is about sewing, the hyperfocus changes without a warning so:




I had this great idea about a fluffy white sweater for Nuoyi and, lo and behold, found a funky white fluffy yarn in the store! It is meant to be used as an effect yarn, knit together with another one... hehee... of course I went on to knit it by itself and struggled greatly with it being annoyingly slippery and impossible to tell what is a stitch and what is fluff.



After some days of struggling and needles slipping out, we had success!





It is so soft! At this density it's almost like fur of some sort. It's very pleasant to touch, but very difficult to photograph properly... it must feel either very fun or very annoying to wear

 

Thank you all Knitting is my absolute favourite thing to do, so even if it was a bit annoying it was also fun. I still have some of this fun and cursed yarn left (I of course bought way too much) so maybe I'll make something else fun out of it

 

As a complete surprise to me, I had some time off today so I ended up taking on some sewing which I was not really planning to do.

I've had this scrunchie for a while but I never really wore it so I took it apart. I did not expect there to be so much fabric to be honest, but I was, of course, happy it was enough to make something out of.


A normal course of action would be making something 1/4 out of it because then there would be plenty of room for error. Obviously, I decided to sew for 1/3. Also obviously, I did not measure enough times as you can see from one of the skirt panels.


Thankfully there was just enough extra to kind of sort of fix my mistake.





The waistband ended up bulky and gappy but I did not have enough to redo or reconfigure so it is what it is. To be fair, the gapping is functional as the skirt would not come off otherwise.






Aside from the issues, it's cute enough on Dott, I think it makes a nice addition to this outfit:



And this tiny bit was all that was left of the fabric. It's very satisfying to use it all up!

 

thank you @quilleth ! I'm surprised a scrunchie had so much fabric in it!


Today's sewing is a little bit different: it's a wig.

I've made middle parts with a hard cap wig before, but I don't really like making and using hard caps on my dolls that much these days. So I challenged myself a little and tried out a New Thing. I've watched lots of wigmaking tutorials to have learned that there is a separate crown/top part one should make, and I referenced this video to figure out how to make it without needing any new tools or materials.

Voila a toupee lol:

It's a little janky but it's my first time so bear with me


I also tried a new thing with the wig cap - I usually make a channel for the elastic and put it in all around, but then it's kind of visible in the front so I just attached it to the back this time. For the wig cap, I use the fur wig pattern from undead threads, only that for a 6-7 inch head I use the MSD (7-8) pattern to give it some extra give and space for error if I sew the wefts on too tight later on (plus I also need extra room for the elastic's channel).



You never know when you're going to run out of wefts unfortunately... ugh so close


Thankfully this is not my first rodeo and I diligently keep all wigmaking scraps so there are some unplanned white highlights now.


Attached the parting, gave it a boil wash


It felt too pin straight so I used a curler to add a bit or movement (and I think went overboard with the volume after this pic was taken so I might have to redo it later)


This is what it looks like semi-dry! Not the wig I thought I'd make from this hair, but I think it was a good challenge with okay results and I can use the tricks I learned next time.


Does Vickie look too bimbo now? Possibly. I think I'll have to straighten some curls out

 

I'm glad it's interesting to see! Since the wig cap is sort of snug and fits like a hat, it stays on okay (although I think the elastic at the back is a bit too loose, gotta fix that). If you look at "professional" sewn doll wigs, they also don't have elastic all around usually.

 

Thank you both!

@castironteapot - she does give a bit of a mean girl vibe here haha! I think I've just accidentally dressed her up as a 00s teen which greatly amplifies this, but maybe that's not a bad thing

 

Any death stranding fans here? So the 2nd game has this jacket... and a real-life version exists, too. Obviously one can't really buy it in the first place, yet alone the TINY version one sees in the game at some point (I will not spoil any further), but it's the coolest jacket I have ever seen and I guess I could at least try DIYing a 1/3 version (but of course I'd love to just wear it myself............)

Due to a lack of a fitting fabric in stores or in my stash we are going extreme DIY and using a yellow tote/groceries bag and a pair of old pants I've been cutting bits for doll clothing from. I just had to buy batting and thread and could start.


Great perk! The bag came with a doll-sized bag lol. I'll be making the jacket for Morrow because... well play the game and you'll get whose name I was inspired by when naming her.


Cuttings! Great perk of disassembling clothing is that you get extra stuff like a free zipper!


The jacket has a lot of quilted details, so I tried to mimic them to my best abilities:

The jacket has this diagonal zipper going across the back... I cut the back in half and sewed it in, only then realising the zipper is there just ON TOP attaching an extra strap... but I guess it would have looked super bulky if I did that anyway. Too late to fix now!



The front detail zippers are just pieces of ribbon with a zig-zag stitch, I didn't want to order and wait for miniature zippers that'll end up too bulky anyway. It's the idea that counts!


I wasn't too happy with how the elastic was so I took it out for now and will try to reconfigure. I'll also need to adjust the arm holes and make the sleeves that I haven't fully figured out yet. I really hope it doesn't end up too stiff with the batting (it will), and I will need to think about how to make the hood still (you can't have a timefall jacket without it) - at least I know it's detachable/attached with snaps so that'll give me more room for error. Gonna keep on keeping on after a bit of a sewing break!

 

Thank you both! Adding detail has been surprisingly not very hard, but I don't think I'd want to attempt this at any smaller scale None of the pockets work though, might have saved myself from going insane there.

Usually I get the body done easily and then botch it up at the sleeve stage. I almost cried happy ears when I managed to get them on NEATLY this time, especially with the thick triple layer sandwich happening everywhere.


Several steps later, we have a JACKET:


This lil lady unfortunately just swims in it Taking notes: cute oversized sweater pattern =/= cute oversized padded jacket.





When will I learn that the intended doll will never wear the clothing in the end? Dott looks much better in it:




Closeup of the front details:


the one (1) working pocket in this ensemble:


Surprisingly little went wrong with this and I'm very proud of how it looks so far! Not super happy with the sleeve cuffs but I also didn't want to stop and buy more materials so it is how it is now. I still need to figure out how to make the hood, as I don't have a good pattern for it ready to go, but I should have enough leftover material for some trial and error (the chiral network better have something for me).