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My sewing progress

Nov 25, 2007

    1. I saw someone else doing this on D.A. and it's a pretty good idea to keep track of all the things I'm going to sew for my doll and how I progress. Before yesterday I'de only ever been near a sewing machine maybe 3 or 4 times. :sweat
      He hasnt arrived yet. I ordered him a week ago and he should arrive right around Christmas time (perfect! ^^) so I've got plenty of time to sew him a full wardrobe.
      Ah! I forgot to mention, He's a Dollzone Wing and I've named him Lucifer. He's gonna be my first BJD :D

      ______________________________
      23rd November 2007 - I saw a tutorial for a dress on DOA and decided to give it a go. I made the pattern and cut out the material but the last minute I chickened out and made my mom do all the sewing. My moms great at sewing! :) She used to have her own shop and sew stuff for her friends. The dress isnt finished yet, I still need to buy some black lace for the trimming. Well anyway here it is:
      [​IMG]
      [​IMG]
      I really hope it fits him. My mom put so much effort into sewing it and she gave the ideas for the gathered thingy at the top and the ribbon criss-cross at the back. If it doesnt fit I'll cry! Actually I won't. I'll just ask around until I learn how to unstriing the doll, put the dress on, and the string him back up.
      I also made him a little bag today out of some scrap material I saw lying around. It's really cute. XD

      ___________________________________
      24th November 2007
      Made him 4 more bags today. Thats all I know how to make! I'm slowly slowly finding my feet on the sewing machine and the more bags I sew the more I learn. The bag thing is turning into a collection. :sweat

      Mom made a hat for him out of some animal print material. This time I helped with the sewing! And I sowed on the little button as well.
      [​IMG]

      Mom (yet again) made him a white skirt to go under his dress or any other skirts he's gonna wear. I heard somewhere that some clothes stain the resin so I begged her to make one. But I helped aswell! I hand-sewed the white trimming at the bottom. :) Oh! and mom made him a full length green skirt. Really big and puffy. But it's not finished yet. I need to add something to it cause right now it's so plain.
      [​IMG]

      I made him a top out of some black velvet today! This one I made completly by myself. I sewed white material on the inside just incase it decides to eat the resin and dye it black. I still need to iron the bottom cause it was originally the bottom of my mom's old trousers. :o yeah, I know. Shocking! But I'm running out of fabric...
      [​IMG]
      [​IMG]
       
    2. 25th November 2007
      I ordered the doll exactly a week ago. At the very most it should be here in a month so exactly on Christmas day. XD But I think everyone will be at home. Royal Mail will prolly be dead on xmas. :(
      Anyway today I made him yet another bag. :sweat He has 6 now. Or I have 6 now. Because I seem to enjoy making them for myself more than he'll ever need or want them. :lol:

      [​IMG]

      I'm nearly almost practically out of material now. I'm using whatever scraps I can find. :sweat Actually my mom has some really nice blood red shiny fabric with flower pattern. Gosh! It's so pretty. But she won't let me use it because she says she wants to make something for herself and I have to wait till she's finished for left overs. It's so cruel! :...(
       
    3. Definitely keep it up with the sewing! I bought a sewing machine when I got my first doll, and bought a pattern and got right into it. I can't sew without a pattern, I'm terrible (I'm mathematically dyslexic, so can't grasp the numbers needed for measurements, etc), but I found it *really* easy with a pattern to follow. And yep, that was my first time on a sewing machine as well! So I'd definitely recommend using that dress pattern yourself, it will really build your sewing confidence.

      Any chance you could re-size your pictures a bit? They're too large to take in properly, and I have to scroll across on my (big) monitor lol ^^

      What size are the bags? Actual doll size? If you've got something to compare them against, you might be able to sell them on the Marketplace :)

      Black material *should* be okay once it's been washed, but it is better to be safe than sorry. However, if you do find anything stains him, just go grab some 'Magic Eraser' from either the home department in Woolworths, or Wilkinsons (not sure what it's called in Woolies, but it's only a quid in Wilkos and it's called Erase Away). It's fab stuff, works a treat every time! Just remember to wet it!!

      If your mum's ever in need of a bit of extra cash, or she just wants something to do to fill her time, you should get her to sell clothes on here ^^
       
    4. congrats on your new doll. I hope he arrives fast. The shirt is really cute. You need a black hat like the animal print one to match it! *nod nod*

      As for material, if you by it in 1/2 and 1/4 yard increments (you don't need much for sewing doll clothes, I've found) it does get cheaper to get a hold of. You usually don't need more than a yard for one piece of clothing. Also, old clothing is good. And shop in thrift stores too, because old clothes are great for getting fabric from.

      Good luck with the sewing machine. I just got one today and I've been wrestling with it all day to figure out what the hell I'm doing. >>
       
    5. Thank you Lunameth. Yeah, the pictures are quite big. I'll resize those.

      The bags are all pretty small. But I don't think anyone will want to buy them. I'm not that good yet. But hopefully I will be in a few months. And I still have to learn how the marketplace works. ^^

      And big Big BIG Thank you for the info on the magic eraser thingy. I've been wondering where to buy that. :)
       
    6. Thats good to know. If I don't need much material then it should be ok. But I suppose it really depends on what I want to sow him. I mean a small top won't take nearly as much a wedding dress.

      XD My mom's determind to make him a wedding dress when we get the material. She likes making clothes for this doll more than I do!
       
    7. Your mom's awesome :D. I wish I had someone who would make my doll's clothes for free instead of me having to do it >.>
       
    8. *commissions your mum*
       
    9. Your mum is awesome for helping you out! And you're doing great yourself

      And patterns do help at building some sewing confidence, plus you could ask your mum for help :)
       
    10. All of it's gorgeous :D ... and that collection of bags is mouth-watering! I'd love some like that for my dollys.
       
    11. 28/11/07

      Just finished the top bit for another dress I'm making. This one I'm making all by myself (no help from mummy ^^) and since I broke the sewing machine It's all hand sewn.

      [​IMG]

      See? I told you I was running out of matetial. It turned out the middle bit was too small for Lucifer. His bust is 26cm. So I had to add another 2 bits of white on the edges. It took so much more work but I think it was worth it cause it makes the overall thing look better. ^^

      Hopefully going to the rag market in Birmingham this saturday to buy him loads of material. And if not I'll make my mom get out that lovely red stuff she has.

      My brother was going to throw away a pair of jeans but I stopped him and said I wanted it cause I could use the material. Now he says he wants to keep them and his trying to sell them to me. Friggin *******! -_-

      Oh! nothing rlated to this topic but thanks to my friend I made a sig icon with Lucifers pic. ^^ Thanks Luna.
       
    12. P.S. I just realized everyones complimenting my mom. What the heck?! What about ME?! :...(
      Well anyway thanks. I'll tell my mom what you guys said and she's the sort of person thats all over you if you give her a compliment. So she'll prolly be real happy and make him a bunch more stuff. XD Deviant. Thats me :sweat
       
    13. Brothers can be such a pain in the butt :D

      Keep it up! Sewing is a great skill to learn, my Mum taught me when I was 5 years old. I'm now 42, and I still love it!
       
    14. You are very creative :cheer
      Sewing is an addiction. The more you learn how to do it well the more fun it gets.
      I like the top you made! It doesn't look like you hand sewed it.
      Great work. I would love to see the dress finished :)
       
    15. Thank you. I'll post pics when I'm done. :)
       
    16. "Mum taught me when I was 5 years old. I'm now 42, and I still love it"

      You could sew when you were 5?! Thats amazing. I couldnt even hold a needle til I was 7. you must be something of a miracle. :)
       
    17. lol I remember learning to sew at school (like stuffed felt animals). I never was any good at hand-sewing!

      That top looks fab! The stitches are unbelievably tiny and neat, are you sure you did that by hand?? (lol Just kidding, I really mean it when my hand-sewing is awful, the stitches are always too big and wonky >_<)

      Don't forget bargain/cast-off bins in material shops, and market stalls, they're always great for cheap material. Oh, and Ebay!
       
    18. Thanks. XD You don't belive me when I say its hand-sewn? Don't worry. Not many people do. But I love doing stuff with my hands. Painting, drawing, sewing, making, cutting etc etc etc. Anything like that; I'm good at it. ^^

      Thanks for the tip off about ebay. I'm an ebay fanatic so that helps a lot. :)
       
    19. your new shirt is looking good. If you're planing on attaching it to a skirt piece, you don't have to finish the bottom edge. It's looking very good!
       
    20. Wow! Those all look awesome, can't wait to see your doll model them!
       
    21. lol I did say I was joking ^^ I was just trying to say, compared to my hand sewing, yours looks like it was machine sewn!
       
    22. Gosh! you sounds like you were panicking. No worries. Besides it takes a lot to upset me. I'm a very happy laid-back sorta person. And its more of a compliment that you think it looks so proffesional that someone might think its machine work.
       
    23. I'd have to say, you guys are skilled. xD I like the unique way of making your own 'eyelets' I would've never thought of that!
       
    24. 29/11/07
      _________________
      My mom took me to the Rag Market today. We were suppose to go on the weekend but so n so happened and the date got moved up.
      So now I have tons of brilliant new fabric to work with! And it was all so cheap. The market was buzzing with energy, it was so much fun! And my mom was haggling with this guy to give her a discount XD It was so funny, I haven't seen anybody do that for a long time. So anyway heres the new fabric/ribbon/lace:
      [​IMG]

      I was bidding on this really nice pack of star eyelets on ebay but some twat came and stole it right under my nose for just 5p more then what I was offering. -_- I swear I wanted to kill her. Well anyway I bought another pack, so no worries. ^^ I'll post more pics as soon as I make something new. Now I just need ideas for what to make...
       
    25. Forgot to mention. If you live anywhere near Birmingham then I definatly recommend you pay the rag market a visit. It's such a cool place! And its pretty close to the Bullring so you can't possibly get lost. Heres the website if you wanna check it out:
      http://www.ragmarket.com/

      Enjoy! If you do visit tell me how it goes. :)
       
    26. Its not really sweing but I dont wanna spam and make unnesecesary threads. Made Lucifer a pair of wings with the material I bought today. Here are pics:

      [​IMG]

      [​IMG]

      If you wanna make it, then its really easy.
      Get some see through sparkly material and lay it out flat.
      Get some wire (the thicker the better) and mold it into the shape you want the wings. Leave a bit of wire at the end and twist it around the wings to keep them together.
      Then put glue (I used UHU but I think PVA will work aswell) on one side of the wire ans lay it down onto your fabric.
      Wait for it to dry and cut around the wire to get rid of excess material. Wallah! You can put some glitter on if you wanna make it fancy but its not necesary.

      I still havent figured out how to attach them to my doll since he hasnt arrived yet but I'll work that out when he gets here. ^^
       
    27. Those look great, i need a new sewing machine then i think i will start up again
       
    28. To attach the wings to him. People usually put little straps, or loops that slip over the arms. Looks kinda like a back pack. Keep going! you are so inspiring with your enthusiasm!
       
    29. wow they look gorgeous, i love the bag collection, if you ever find that your running out of material just pop into a charity shop or go to a car boot and get some old human sized clothes from there and chop them up, you can get some nice patterns tat way, and if you get them from a charity shop your helping a good cause :D
       
    30. 30th November to 1st December
      _________________________________
      Yeah, all yesterday ans today I've been slaving away on this shirt for Lucifer. He better appreciate this. My hands are aching and my eyelids are droopy and I'm hungry and tired and sleepy etc etc etc.
      I worked so hard on this shirt! If it doesn't fit him I'll kill myself! (or I'll just sell it on DOA :sweat )

      I started it yesterday after seeing the pattern on DOA. First I had to resize the pattern. Now pay attention cause this is important. It's gonna help you if your trying to get a pattern off the internet in the right size.

      1. Paste the pattern you want to use onto Microsoft Paint
      2. On the moniter screen measure one thing you'll be using e.g. bust/waist/hips/whatever you need to/etc with a ruler. I measured the width of the back of the shirt pattern. Lets just it as an example and say it was 7cm.
      3. Then measure the same thing you did on the pattern for your doll. So for me I measure the width of the back of the shirt pattern. It was 14cm.
      4. So you need to get from 7cm to 14cm. Use the paint tool to resize the pattern to 200%. Measure the pattern on the moniter again with your ruler to make sure its right. If it isnt just keep repeating this till you get the right pattern size.
      5. This is the clever bit. And I thought of it all by myself. So give me credit. XD Put a piece of plain paper on your moniter screen and trace the pattern with a pencil. Then all you have to do is cute it out and wallah! you have your pattern. ^^

      Sorry, I didn't explain it very well. I was having trouble with it myself yesterday. I was really struggling to get the pattern the right size and then this idea struck me. You may have to use a calculator to find what % you need to resize and you dont really have to use paint. Any program that does the job is good enough. ^_^
       
    31. So anyway after I made the pattern and cute it out of a charity shop shirt (see? I'm learning the tricks of the trade. I washed the shirt before using it of couse ^^), I realized that my dear mother wasn't at home to help me sew it. :| Wannied to hit something. But then I realized I wasn't gonna learn anything but making my mom do it all the time so I decided to give it a go myself and tackle the sewing machine again. *Fan cry: "OMG! The Epic Battle" * LOL! XD Sorry, erm... getting back on track. :sweat
      I set up the sewing machine,
      put my work under it,
      put my pood on the pedle.
      ...and wrecked it! :sweat
      Well it wasnt so much wrecked. The fabric stretched a bit but it fixed itself when I ironed it.

      Okay! Okay! I'm sure you've listened to my rabble long enough. You must be sick of me. I'll cut a long story short: My mom got home and the next day she sewed on the sleeves for me and thats it! Everything else I did myself. The buttons, the snaps, the ribbons, the frilly lace from hell. But it turned out beautiful (after wasting 13 hours of my life) so it was worth it. ^^

      Pics:
      [​IMG]

      [​IMG]

      Cont next post...
       
    32. [​IMG]

      The snaps. These were a pain to sew. -_-
      [​IMG]

      The sleeves. I'm so proud of these! They're so cute! ^^
      [​IMG]

      [​IMG]

      And finally the back...
      [​IMG]

      ________________________________________
      So it took me 2 days and I did 90&#37; of the work myself. Over all thoughts: I'm pleased! both with myself and the shirt. :)
       
    33. :thumbup :sumomo: :cheer :abow:
      Good work!
       

    34. I guess I've been really lucky, both my parents were very artistic and creative, they encouraged me and my brother do do all sorts.

      I was definitely 5, I started school at that age, and we did some sewing in class with big plastic needles and felt. When I proudly took home my clumsy little bag I'd made, my dear Mother praised me for the ugly lump of mess....
      and that weekend she sat me down with a smaller needle, and showed me how to do it with some slightly better fabric and a finer needle and thread.

      I was making little bags and stuff quite early on.... pretty clumsy, but okay as learning for a kiddie :D

      When I was around 9 or 10 she showed me how to make a pattern by tracing around my 6 inch Pippa doll and we used old socks to make sweater dresses and sweaters etc.

      I was hooked! I still make dolly stuff now and I'm so pleased to see your work :) It looks beautifully sewn and really professional.

      (Sorry to clutter up your thread with my ancient history, lol)
       
    35. You made wonderfull Stuff! The Fairy Wings are so cute!

      Regards from berlin... Mela
       


    36. Clutter? Don't be rediculous. If you could see my face while I was reading ityou'de see how happy I was. I was grinning this wide! ^___________________^
      Thank you so much for telling me that story. I feel all fuzzy now I wanna hug you. Oh Well, Cyber-internet hug will have to do for now. *huggles*
       
    37. The shirt is *really* good! I hope it fits him, but if not, at least you'll have the pattern and the practice to make one that does. And you're right, you'd no doubt be able to sell it on DoA.

      Maybe some sexy trousers to go with it next? (I always find trousers the easiest thing to make!)
       
    38. :D aww thank you! *Huggles back*

      The thing that kept me hand sewing... I hate using a machine... is that in the "Old Days" all those beautiful historical gowns worn by real women, were all hand sewn, so doing it by hand is every bit as good as using a machine :)

      (Takes a bit more practice though! :lol: )
       
    39. Trousers the easiest? You must be crazy ... or incredibly talented. XD I'm sure its the latter. ^^

      The reason I put off trousers is that theres no garantee it'll fit. (and they're hard to make :sweat ) I'de like to try it anyway, make something to go with the 18th century outfit but I havent got a clue where to start! :...(
      And I've never even attempted trousers before...
       

    40. Very true. The sewing machine often goes out of control. The thread snaps. The needle breaks. Basically it's a pain. Hand sewing is much more enjoyable. ^^ But it takes so long. And I'm not known for my patience....
       
    41. Ah well, the ones I make are easy, because I'm lazy and make them either with elasticated waist or to close with snaps. I can't be doing making proper little zip bits and everything -.-

      But yeah, you get your four pieces, sew the fronts together, then the backs, then put those two pieces together and sew up the outside of the legs, and then up the inside of the legs. Et voila! Trousers :D (Kind of lol)
       
    42. Again, nothing to do with sewing but I see no point in making a new thread. I saw a tutorial for this and decided to give it a ago. In the tut they made the books with plain pages but I decided I wanted text in mine and I even numbered the pages. Took me 2 friggin hours! (to make a simple 2 by 3 inch doll's book!) ^^ But it was fun. I'll make some more mini books later.

      The book and my doll share the same name. ^^
      I called the book Lucifer cause I filled it with quotes about athiesm (audience: what the heck does that have to do with anything?) . XD Yeah, I'm wierd but I find that sort of stuff amusing.

      Well here are pics:
      [​IMG]

      [​IMG]

      [​IMG]

      [​IMG]

      [​IMG]

      [​IMG]

      [​IMG]

      [​IMG]
       
    43. I just realized, this doll isn't even alive and he hasnt even arrived yet but I'm treating it like it's my baby and in a few short months I'm gonna give birth to it. XD (that makes me laugh so hard! lol)

      I means I'm making a book for it with text but he's not even gonna read it. He wont care if I make him clothes or not. *sigh* It was the same with my bunny. I made him christmas cards and little hats etc etc etc.

      But theres no harm is being best friends with your doll and loving it. So I'm ok. ^^
       
    44. That is great! I love it :D:D Books must be so hard to make, especially with such a gorgeous cover.

      You do some really nice stuff.

      It's funny what you said though, my doll hasn't arrived yet either, and I have a whole backstory, name and character type for him.
       
    45. Keep up the good work! I love seeing someone get excited about sewing, it helps keep me motivated to go on learning. I've been sewing since I was l ittle bitty too, and I've found that the more you know about sewing the more fun it is to find new things and try new techniques.

      Keep sewing it's all looking good!
       
    46. Thank you for your encouragement guys. ^^

      I'm currenty working on some trousers. (Luna makes them sound so easy!)
      But I dont have the measurements so I'm trying to guess them from looking at a photo. ^_^"""
       
    47. Don't forget, you can always ask in the Large section for someone that's got a DZ boy to measure him for you, I'm sure they wouldn't mind. Aren't there peeps on the UK meet threads that have got them?
       
    48. Somewhere on DoA there is a spreadsheet with all 60cm BJD measurements... I lost the darn link! grrr... but if anyone knows where it is that is a really useful thread.
       
    49. Thanks Luna.
      Thanks_________?!

      I'm sorry I forgot to ask your name. :sweat I'm Del by the way. ^^

      I havent made him any clothes but I did make some new books. I'm hoping to make a library. XD I'm in love with libraries, so obviously Lucifer has to have one too. I'll go take photos in later.
       
    50. I made 2 new books.
      -The Funny Book
      -Beautiful Words

      The first funny thing about the funny book is that the person who made it did something stupid and glued it on the wrong side so now it opens from the right. :sweat


      [​IMG]

      [​IMG]

      [​IMG]

      [​IMG]

      [​IMG]

      [​IMG]


      I made the pages on Microsoft word first, printed it out and then cut them out one by one. If you want the files then just message me with your email and i'll send it you.
       
    51. :D Not sure if you mean me, but I'm Tess, hi!

      ..and oh god! I love those beautiful little books! I used to keep an art journal... you can find some lovely ideas if you google it, or I can send you links. some gorgeous little hand made books for my dolls would be great.
       
    52. At school right now. Not really suppose to be on the internet but anyway.
      Yeah! Tess, if you could get me those links, that'd be great!

      I made tons of new stuff for lucifer. The eyelet setter I gotb from ebaty arrived and I'm having so much fu with it. I'll pierce anything i can set my hands on.

      Anyway I'll post photo's of everything when I get home. ^^
       
    53. Lucifer is gonna be shipped out on the 17th! (I asked the sller off ebay)
      and hopefully he'll get here before the 22nd.
      Because on 22nd my moms taking us to wales so I may miss his arrival.
      I just hope they dont leave him with those nasty neighbours. :(
       
    54. hehehe. I said when I get home but I forgot abou it and now its way past I'll upload the pics anyway.

      I was feeling very creative that day. Heres the table:
      [​IMG]

      Anybody know Yoshitaka Amano? It's not really related but heres a painting I did:
      [​IMG]

      Back to the topic of clothes. I bought an eyelet setter and some eylets from ebay. A bit hard getting the hand of it at first but when you do they're really fun to use. I was sticking eyelets on everything.
      Heres a belt I made him to match with his hat:
      [​IMG]

      A dress I made for him. I havent completed it yet because nI want to make sure it fits him so I'll wait till he comes (in about a week's time! :)). I made it by myself, no help from mommy, and its 100&#37; hand-sewn:
      [​IMG]

      [​IMG]

      The eyelet setter and a new cloth project I'm working on. ^^
      [​IMG]

      I was feeling bored so I gathered this for no reason. ^_^"""
      [​IMG]


      Since he's got himself so much stuff (before he's even arrived!) I made him a box to put everything in. It was an old showbox and I just decorated it and made it all pretty and stuff. Only problem is he has so much stuff they dont all fit in. *sigh* My parents really need to move to a bigger house. Where to keep this doll?...
       
    55. Very nice! I like the belt. Just be careful with eyelets, because sometimes they can scratch the resin. A lot of people use them and they're fine, just keep an eye on him when he's wearing stuff like that.
       
    56. your joking, right? thats going to be a problem then.....what if I stick some fabric on the back of the eyelets so it covers it up? Then it'll be ok. ^^ Although the eyelets wont look as good cause then you cant see through em...
       
    57. Lucifer came today but none of the clothes I made fit him! :(
      I'll have to make everything again in his size. But I dont have any more material for the green dress...
       
    58. I took these photos before Christmas! But I forgot to upload ^_^"""
      My mum adjusted the green dress to fit him. I think it looks great on him. ^^

      [​IMG]

      [​IMG]

      [​IMG]

      Here he is sitting on my dads lap with Robbie. My dad's quite fond of him. ^^ And the dress looks best when he's sitting down.
      [​IMG]


      I made him another outfit while I was in Wales but I'll post pics later. I need to resize them.
       
    59. how did you do the printing in the books? ive been trying to do something like that but it just dont want to come out right :/ could you give me some tip?
       
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