Wearables Sewing Project: Basics [ Round 98]

I didn't realize the lace was printed on the fabric until I went back and looked again. That's awesome!

 

That's great! I love the fact you can see through the skirt to her wonderful legs.

 

Well done - that net fabric is a perfect find for her.

More progress - all the petticotat panels are darted and sewn together, I've added the last of the pre-gathered trim as a ruffle to one of them and started gathering one of the ungathered trims to another. I'll leave gatheing or pleating them onto the waistbands until last. as i have to cut different length waistbands for different waist sizes (SD10, SD13, Modded SD10 boy, Luts Delf, CustomHouse Ai, AiL, Elfdoll.... which is one more size/shape of body than I've actually cut shaped-panel petticoats for, and two more than I've cut unshaped petticoats for, but I'll burn that bridge while I'm crossing it).

I'm getting through a lot of audiobooks while I sew.

Teddy

 

@PoeticSoul wow Elvira looks stunning in that dress! The pink and green look so good together and I agree that the see through skirt is really nice.

@Teddy listening to audiobooks while sewing is a good idea! I’m often conflicted on wether I want to spend my time crafting or reading, but if you ‘read’ audiobooks you can do two things at a time.

I finished the last legging, so I only have some socks left to sew. With all these new pieces of legwear I figured I might as well get started on some simple t-shirts. I have no illusions about finishing these all this round, but cutting in bulk seems to work for me so here’s the new batch:


Simple pink, blue and two white short sleeves. One white longsleeve. One blue flowered shirt with waistband and a dark red/brown shirt with big waistband that might turn into a dress depending on the length.

 

Exactly. I've been doing it since hte days of books-on-tape, then CD, then playing them on my laptop in the sewing room, and now i download them a cheap MP3 player that clips to the collar of my T -shirt while so I don't have to pause or rewind if I need to leave the room for some reason.

That's an imptessive number of ready-to-sew garments!

Teddy

 

I finished the last socks! The whole original pile of pieces has been sewn.



Now we can start working on the t-shirts. But not today, now it is bedtime.

 

Well done!

I've got the ruffles on shaped petticoats two and three:

The pre-gahered trim goes on quicker, but is hard to attach without puckering the edge it's attached to. Petticoat number 2 is better than number one, but still puckered a bit.

And I am in the process of pin-gathering the ruffle onto petticoat number four:


Teddy

 

{laugh!} You wouldn't say that if you looked under the outer layers of some of them. Poor Sera, for example, still has to put up with having a ball of yarn shoved up under her petticoats when she wears a bustle gown:


Teddy

 

@PoeticSoul That is so pretty! It makes the entire doll look like some sort of a rare flower fairy.

@Enitnerolf With all those pieces to mix and match your little doll wll have a huge number of possible outfits. You are incredibly productive this round. You are doing a fabulous job.

@Teddy Oh, all those ruffles! And don't worry about the ball of yarn- buste. The magic of it is that, to us who only see the shape of the skirt, we still "see" a proper bustle under there. The illusion works.

For my own project I have made some progress. The dress itself is finished-ish. There are a few things that still needs fixing, but over all the dress is done.
So what is left to do is accessories.
At the very least she neds some sort of a head piece and some jewelry. She has plenty of both allready, and while she has pinks enough to match almost anything, there really isn't any darker tones among her things. So a few items made specifically to match the dress is next on the to do list.
Here is the dress so far:

 

@Lillith That is REALLY cute! The fabric is so perfect. And I love your choice of pattern placement for the skirt. Is that a separate band for the waist with the thin flower row?

 

Thank you! I'm quite pleased with how it turned out.
Yes. The waistband is made from the narrow stripe in the fabric, just like the shoulder straps. I managed to pattern match the stripes of the skirt so that the waist band ended up in the same place as the narrow stripe would be in the print.

 

I noticed that! I don't think you could have found a better scale match for this design. Most of my resin kids are guys and the two girls aren't exactly into dresses, so I just have to admire from a distance. Leather pants, now, if I don't get those made for Morgaine as soon as the sewing machine rises from the bog, I fear for my life!

@Enitnerolf All your wonderful itty-bitty dudses are getting me death glares from the shortest (and most deadly) of my kids. The pond is clear, the kitchen clean at last, and the anniversary party is today. Tomorrow: fabric!

 

Wow! @Lillith It came out gorgeous!!!
@Teddy bustles are mysterious no matter their reality, lol.

 

I admire anyone who make doll pants and leather pants even more so! I have at least one doll who would probably kill for a pair of leather pants if he could. Pants are my patternmaking nemesis. My poor pants wearing dolls usually have one or two pair each at best, while any one wearing desses have extensive warderobes.

@SteamWitch Thanks!

 

I can't say I'm particularly scientific about it. I just make a generic pant out of scrap material, put it on inside out, then baste until I get the fit I want. Here's Morgaine in the pattern pant. They need to be tight to fit down into boots, and I think I'm going to make them lace down the sides, though that's still in flux.


Because the ChicLines are so hippy, instead of doing darts, I made a seam all the way down the back, rather like a princess line in a bodice. I tend to prefer seams over darts anyway...don't ask me why. I also don't want to restrict her movement, hence all the poses to make sure the pants move with her.

 

Such a pretty result! Would pink headdress and jewellery from her exisitng collection not tie in with the flowers on the stripes if you don't get darker coloured ones finished to go with it....?

Clever - well done!

Yay!

Ditto - My boys are the poor-relations when it comes to wardrobe choices - I just don't ike making torusers as much as dresses, so seldom do it.

You could use that ultra thin "velcro" tape down the seams instead, if it's for ease of gettign them on and of and you don't want the bother of lacings....?

Teddy

 

@Teddy All pink accessories would work in a pinch, but I think having some grey in there would help balance things out a bit. Especially on the head, at least when she is wearing this pale pink wig. But I will play around with the stuff she already has as well for sure.

 

Thank goodness for audiobooks! I love sewing and listening too.

Is pin gathering like cartridge pleating?

Oh Teddy, that dress is gorgeous! I'm sure she doesn't mind having to wear a ball of yarn to make it fit properly.

The dress is beautiful! Pink accessories would look lovely, but so would a lightish toned green.

Those pants fit like gloves. The seam rather than dart method seems to work really well.

 

I hadnt thought of it that way but the end result is similar, if a lot smaller. Basically, I pin either end of the length to be gathered, then find the middle and pin that, and just keep adding a pin in the middle between every pair of pins until there's no space left between pins to fit more pins into, then I sew.

I do pleats the same way except I stop at the point the pins are as wide appart as I want the pleats, and pleat the remaining fabric between them instead of keep pinning in gathers.

Pictures of the process here: Making Bits - Instructions and Tutorials

Teddy

 

@PoeticSoul, Elvira looks stunning in that gown!

@Enitnerolf, that's an amazing tiny wardrobe you've finished for your little girl.

@Teddy, your girls' petticoats are beautiful! Such pretty lace..

@Lillith, that dress is gorgeous! That fabric is so pretty.

@Vindalootoo, beautifully fitting pants!

 

Yay! I finally had something useful to offer! Hope it helps someone. I lurk a lot, but don't do a very good job of responding.
I admit, I do the same technique for most tailored things. For Wiishu's Dr Tom cosplay frock coat, I just looked at pics of the original, guesstimated the pattern shapes from the seams, and did the same inside out thing. The one thing you need to watch like a hawk is your grain direction.

@Teddy (couldn't get the quote to work right) "You could use that ultra thin "velcro" tape down the seams instead, if it's for ease of getting them on and of and you don't want the bother of lacings....?"

Good idea. I haven't actually found any velcro that's thin enough or flexible enough not to disrupt the line of the clothing. Would love to have some. Where do you get it?

Oh dear...you should have seen Morgaine when I suggested it. I...don't think she approved. I don't dare make her mad. She has a sword with what amounts to a black hole on the tip. In actual fact, the CL legs are tapered enough I can probably make them slip on, but I think lacing would look pretty cool. Depends a little on how the tiny grommets I have end up looking. They might still be too large.

 

I can't remember where I got the last lot - it's a double sided sheet so you can cut strips off that you sew it down either way up depending whther you wnt the hook or the grip side up.

I sew for doll have some of the single sided stuff, but I don't knwo how thick it is: Sew for doll

B041 1mm 1.5mm Super Tiny Mini Eyelet Doll Clothes Sewing Craft Supply Blythe BJ

I tend to go for the tiniest papercrafting eyelets I can, but again I tend to pick them up when I see them rather than buing form a particular source, so can never rememebr where I got the last lot.

Teddy

 

Ahh, got it. I do pinning like that for sleeves and pull thread gathers. Your gathers are just so uniform and perfect they look like cartridge pleating. I really appreciate your willingness to share your expertise with us. It's so helpful!

CharleneluDesign on Etsy has all sorts of notions in perfect scale. I'm not sure if she has velcro as I've not used it yet, but she has zippers, eyelets, an incredible selection of buttons and much more. I bought a large order from her and was very pleased.

 

Since 90% of what I do came from someone else in the first (or second, or third) place, I'm just paying it forward.

As with a lot of stuff - there's no One-Right-Way of doing things. It's more a matter of finding the way that works best for you, and sharing alternatives helps people figure that out for themselves.

Thanks! I'll have to check out their listings

Teddy

 

While following a google lead for a sculpting tool yesterday I discovered Morezmore (a seller on EBay). They have grommets, buttons & other miniature items, as well as sculpting tools. These may work unless they are too small. But I didn't look far enough to see if the had the grommet setting tool...

 

I love how everyone in this thread is always sharing tips and sources for both techniques and materials. It’s nice to learn from you all and see everyone be so supportive
It’s one of the reasons I keep coming back every round even when the theme is not really for me. And the pictures of pretty dolls and even more pretty clothes of course

I’ve seen one of the t-shirts so I could test te fit. Result: the shirt fits like a glove and I discovered a small problem with my little lady. I suspect she’s not sporting her original s-hook, the thing doesn’t fit through her head. So I fiddled around for a bit trying to make it fit, but after a while my husband just took out some pliers and squashed the hook and was able to get her head off. The opening in her head was already missing a shard so I guess I now know how that happened.

Anyways, here’s a disassembled Sakiko in her new shirt:


It has some stains from the marker I used that I need to wash out but other than that it looks like a good addition to her growing pile of clothes.

 

Enitnerolf, for some of my dolls I have to keep a ribbon handy to pass through the elastic before removing the S hook because the S hook plus elastic won't fit through the opening in the head.
That is when the short "head puller" hook from Volks is a handy tool.
And for other times, I just make the back of most tshirts open all the way down with an overlap & Velcro closure as removing heads to dress the kids can be a chore. ;}
It's fun to see her wardrobe growing! Nicely done.

 

I do the same (well... a shoelace, a piece of string, or whatever else I can find in the moment, but ribbon works too).

Teddy

 

I used a long twist tie to restring my vintage Betsy McCall. She's not a true bjd but was strung with rubberbands which disintegrated since 1957. The wire in the twist tie allowed me to pass the head rubberband under a tiny bar in her neck.

 

Adorable! It's a perfect fit on her.

 

Howdy, really enjoying all aspects of this thread and challenges, so thanks for posting the various catagories. I don't yet have the right doll to attempt hand stitched haute couture, but that's my ultimate goal. I'll start out of order with basics and children's clothing. Hehe!

 

We don't get back around to another Haute Couture round for about fourteen months, by the look of the list of upcoming rounds, so you have plenty of time there.

My basics (a shedload of petticoats) is progressing slowly. I've started gathering the ruffle to the hem of the lst of the seven shaped petticoats, so can move on to puttign them on waistbands once that's done. It's a Bank Holiday weekend at the end of the month so that will be four days off-work for me and I might even get some of the unshaped petticoats made as well.... emphasis on the "might"...

Teddy

 

WHOOOOOP!!!

Teddy

 

The month is goming to it's end and I think I can call myself done, even if I made almost none of the original plan.

Iv'e finished a headbow for Daisy to go with the dress:


In addition to that I've made some more bracelets to tie in better with the colours of the fabric. And while I still think this will look even better whith a pink blouse, it's not too bad now.
So made in this round is: dress, headbow, one of her petticoats and some of the jewelry. The rest is things that she allready had.

 

Well done!

The bow does look adorable with it.

I've got one more rugfle to sew on and six wiastbands to finish the originla seven petticoats, but it's a holiday weekend to finish the month, and I have Friday through Monday before I have to return to work so I might get around to doing some seewing....

Teddy

 

Thanks. And I'm sure you can get those petticoats finished. Please post pictures when they are all done. Daisy will be jealous, but I'd love to see the all together.

 

Okay so I would say it would be unfair to myself to say I didn't do a "basics" project as part of my work haul this month... so hoping I can share this little dress in a kosher way

I needed something at least relatively "easy" but flattering for the tiny doll I'm making from scratch, so I made a pattern for a simple dress with a fitted upper bodice.




I tried out a few different pattern pieces, hoping to make a set of pieces that are maybe interchangeable. After a first trial run of sewing, I didn't end up liking the upper yoke, so I just went with a strapless tube-top.




Since obviously a doll I'm making isn't on-topic, I hope this is an okay way to show the dress... just cropped as much of the doll out of the photo as I could while still showing the dress It's a little hard to see the seam-lines around the bust, but they are there - it's challenging to make a garment so tiny be fitted much at all!




And here's the back. I was able to do a little bit of finicky work to get this tiny zipper in. I have to be careful not to unzip it all the way as it stands right now, but could probably run a quick line around the bottom seam to relieve that problem.



Will need a little cleanup but I'm happy with how tiny and cute it turned out! It's a new skill for me to try to sew this small, so I'm very pleased.

In the process, I also discovered a scanner that I didn't know about (LOL) that my printer has, so I'm pretty excited that now I can make pattern copies easily!!

 

Well done!

Teddy

 

Very nice and neat and Yay! on the new scanner knowledge. I've used it to make multiple sizes from one pattern.

 

@Teddy @SteamWitch @PoeticSoul Thanks y'all!! It was fun ... challenging.. but fun.

I learned that I like using little wooden sticks (I'm not sure what they're called) that I got from the fabric store to hold the tiny seams in place as I guide it into my machine!

Also the fabric is a nice one that pretty much holds it's shape, so it didn't tend to get stuck in my machine, which helped

 

@maxxxamillion Wow you are so organized! I love your drawing and planing notes. I am so ADD when sewing I usually grab some fabric scrap off the table and tell myself it's a trial run and then spend hours and hours making it work. HAHA gotta laugh at myself. I was going to join this thread cause I started a petticoat and it was too tight at the hips so then I was planning a bustle at the back and it's still sitting on my sewing table. Maybe I'll work on finishing it today to squeeze under the wire before the month ends. It is cold like winter here today in MI, a good sewing day I think.

It's almost finished here are some pics
I decided to sew deep darts in back to make the bustle poof and then cut the front panel wide enough to fit over her hips when sewn to the back. The front panel has elastic so I did not need a closure.
She is wearing pantaloons and a bum pad under the pettycoat.
pettycoat by Linda, on Flickr
pettycoat by Linda, on Flick
pettycoat by Linda, on Flickr
pettycoat by Linda, on Flickr

 

Looking good. So pretty.

That should provide a lovely fooundation layer for the skirt to sit over.

Teddy

 

@tinyseams fantastic job! That looks amazing and it's sad that it will be covered up.

 

Petticoats!

Slight glitch....

It seems that the washable markers I used to mark my cuttign lines, darts, etc, aren't as easy to wash-out as advertised.

The markings in green and navy washed out just fine, but the orange ones (the majority) turned VIBRANT pink and bled intot the surrounding (formerly gleaming white) fabric.

An overnight soak in Vanish, followed by a run through the washing machine has, luckily, got rid of about 95% of the pink, but it's still visible at the tops of the front panels where the darts go into the waistbands on several of the petticoats. Hopefully it will be fainter when they're dry. It's a good thing they're petticoas and the wiastband is the least likely part of them to be seen under dresses and skirts.

Once they are dry, and pressed, I'll add the fastenings at the waist and they'll be done (although I'm a bit worried the riun through the washing machine has shrunk them a bit, so there might be fit issues at the waist... but I'll burn that bridge while I'm crossing it).

Meanwhile, here are all seven petticoarts, washe, and hanging to dry:



Teddy

 

@Teddy Oh, what satisfying images. You did great this round!

 

Thanks @Lillith and @PoeticSoul.

I've just switched off the sewing machine and iron to give my aching back a break. After I treat ti to a rest, I'll get back to the machine for one more seam (once I finish pinning the gathers), then I'll have two of the unshaped petticoats sewn to their waistbands as well. The rows of tucks around then bottom have come out fairly well, and will really help hold-out the skirts of the dresses worn over them, but it's Hell on my back pressing them all in place and sewing them.

Teddy

 

@tinyseams Thanks for the compliment!! This is one of few times I've actually planned out something I've sewed.. so I'm very proud! Your petticoat is SO cute... I love all the lace....

@Teddy Ah!! You got so many done! These pictures are so cool!! Nice work!!

 

Thanks - The last two (unshaped but with tucks) just slid in under the wire before the end of the month:



The one Nesta is modelling holds out the skirts more easily, but I prefer the look of the one with the more closely-spaced tucks

Teddy

 

@Lillith, what a lovely ensemble you've made for your girl! The accessories add the perfect finish.

That is simply adorable @maxxxamillion! Sewing for such a tiny doll is not easy.

Beautiful work @tinyseams! That's a very lovely petticoat.

Congratulations @Teddy, on getting so much done! They all look totally awesome.

I'm done. I managed to finish one tiny basic dress. I'd intended doing more, but at least I now have a working pattern for the new little girl. The planned bloomers were way too bulky under her dress, so that idea's been put on hold for now.

a new dress by Linda Lou Brown, on Flickr

 

Well done

It's so pretty on her - perfect scale of the tiny flower pattern.

EDITED TO ADD: Are those Penny Brite shoes she's wearing?

Teddy

 

Thanks Teddy! I'm happy to have actually finished something.

I don't know what doll these shoes belong to. I don't have a Penny Brite to try them on. They came with an order of vintage Sindy shoes, but they don't fit her. Sindy shoes have a high heel, and these are flats. They measure about 29mm by 14mm, and are marked 'HongKong' on the back. They're a very good fit on the tiny MYou doll.