Wearables Sewing Project: Bohemian [ Round 108 ]

Thanks everyone, looking forward to see more accessories like bracelets! I am not there yet nor skilled in that area.
Instead I plan for crocheted pants. I chose white. Not very colourful bohemian, but I am afraid the shirt will look pale in a too colourful company.

 

Sewing attempts by mare joy smith, on Flickr

I have found (not for the first or last time) what a difference specific choices can make in the outcome. I haven't been happy with results so far, though the overskirt is fun. I just chose a fabric a bit too stiff for the right draping and with no matching color to the under skirt... on the embroidered shirt I used too thick thread, too many beads, and let it fringe instead of knotted down to shirt. I want to try this again. And this is the beginning of about the 5th attempt at scarf with patchwork bits ( which I haven't started on yet)

As always I am enjoying watching all of your results. Here again is my inspiration picture for comparisons.

March sewing daydreams by mare joy smith, on Flickr

 

I am so happy with how my kimono turned out. I wish I went just a tad shorter with it but overall it's 1000 times better than my first attempt years ago.


@JennyM If you have a blue yarn that is close in color it maybe nice to add some blue details to the flares on your pants. I am excited to see how they come out.

@dailymare embroidery thread is made of 6 strands you may want to try 2 or 3 strands instead of the whole thing for the detail on the shirt. I honestly like the where it's going. It looks really cool.

With my kimono being so long I think I would rather put her in shorts which I have already. (I made them a while ago.) I think I will start a skirt as another outfit option. A tiered peasant skirt style.

Also I found my fray check so I will finish off those bracelets. You can kinda see the crazy pieces of hemp hanging off her wrist.

 

Perhaps give it a boil-wash to remove any finish from the fabric and help it drape better?

One of the things I like about making dolls clothes from second-hand shirts is that they've been worn and washed so much they are sofer and have much more drape than new fabric.

Yay!!!

Teddy

 

Good idea, I shall do that. Your outfit looks so good, I would like to wear the kimono myself.

 

@JennyM Oh, chrochet pants! Those are going to be amazing. What tread will you be using?
And if you want jewelry for your girl, I can wip up some things for her.

@dailymare The skirt will probably drape better with time. These things tend to soften up a bit when handeled and washed. If nothing else you now have more data to go on in case you decide to make a second attempt.

@nekoKaori Lovely. Great choice of fabric.

 

Aww Thank you.

I started sewing my skirt yesterday. I got it to a point where it's 2 pieces. I may have to hand stitch these 2 final pieces together.


I once had someone hand paint on a top they made me in a swap and I want try maybe painting a couple of feathers on a top for this. Has anyone ever tried something like that before? I wonder if I should attempt the painting before the sewing.

 

I've fabric painted a lot of things - If you do it after making up the garment (nice because you can continue your painted design across seam lines etc) be sure you have something inside the garment to prevent the paint going through all layers and showing on the other side of the garment.

When doing T-shirts we used to put a oiece of board or sturdy card inside and use bulldog clips aroudn gthe edges to hold the fabric taut to make it easier to paint on. This is a good idea for non stretch fabrics too.

Teddy

 

I've done fair amount of fabric painting. Usually I paint on the finished garment if the garment is fairly simple and if the design is such that I can easily access the entire area. So, for a basic paint design on the front of a t-shirt or similar I usually sew first and paint later. On the other hand, if i want to paint the entire surface of the garment or I want to paint a pattern that will be partially obscured in gathers or similar, I would paint the fabric first.
Fabric paints needs to be set by heat and the easiest way is to do that by ironing, so anything that don't lie flat is also a good idea to paint and set before construction.

It's also a good idea to test out both the paints and the heat required for setting on scraps of the fabric you will be using.

 

Good point, although I often get around setting the paint on awkward-to-iron bits by draping them over a radiator for a few hours.

Teddy

 

Yes, there are workarounds. I sometimes use a hight effect hair dryer. It works, but it takes a lot longer.

 

@Lillith and @Teddy Thank you for your sage words of wisdom. I appreciate it. I may use some scraps to see how painting even works out before actually committing to an actual garment.

 

I will use linen 16/1 and dc(us), needle 11 (us). Actually inspired by your crocheting for the tinies @Lillith. I have tried to add some colours to the flares. I found a blue and a grey that looked well before I inserted them. But the result was not good with the shirt once crocheted. Now I try with some pale pink. I could have made the pants all white and done some embroidery, but for some reason I want it all in the crocheting, don't know why actually.

 

{shrug} It's just your vision for them, probably

Teddy

 

Progress report: 3 more cm to go. Then the tricky part to make one more leg with the same pattern. When finished, make the pants flat and soft. The linen is quite stiff.

 

Does it get softer when washed? Like linen fabric does?

Teddy

 

Yes. But a quick way for this small piece is to make it wet and squeeze it while getting dry. This will do the job. Once again Lillith taught me.

 

@JennyM Looks lovely so far! Second leg is always tricky, but I know you can do it.

 

That's handy.

Good luck with the second leg

Teddy

Teddy

 

I've made some progress.

The dress itself is mostly done. The ribbon is just a placeholder for a belt or sash of some kind and she will need a slip for modesty since this fabric is very thin.
Over all I'm happy with how it turned out.

 

Am I wrong in thinking that NOT having the slip would be more bohemian...?

Teddy

 

Maybe, but the fabric is a LOT more see through in real life than it looks in the photo.

 

@Lillith It looks great! cant wait to see it in real life and try it on Fiona.

 

I'm looking forward to it as well. I just hope she'll like it.

 

@JennyM Your pants are coming out nicely. I like that pink thread you are using.
I agree doing the other side of anything to match the 1st side is always like "Please work out the way I want you to."

@Lillith I love the embroidery detail. Your dress is looking good.
As to the too thin part, I do camis with built in bra for that reason. My ladies don't want to be showing the goods to everyone and anyone.

As for myself, I attached the top and bottom of my skirt. I just need to add a snap or velcro for the closure in the back.
It fits perfectly though so I am happy.

 

Wow!!! Everybody's work is fantastic. I'm getting more creative energy just admiring

I got the market bag finished, in the end I didn't care for how thick the webbing was compared to the bag itself so I swapped it out for some grosgrain ribbon! I did actually make the pattern for the vest, but I have yet to start work on it OR the shoes I desperately need to make this guy (I swear he gets smudges on him just by LOOKING at him)... The shirt is storebought, but it's been motivating me to finish the outfit seeing him look more and more put together. Clashes horribly of course, but fun patterns are on-theme enough for me. His eyes and wig are here, too! I made a test granny square to see how I liked it, but I'm not sure I'll do that this time around. Time consuming, lol

DoA sewing round 108 progress by Jules B, on Flickr

 

@Mamo Your boy is coming together. What color are his eyes?
I really like the bag you made. I look forward to seeing your vest.

 

Yay!

It's certainly coming together, and it doesn't look like it clashes to me.

Teddy

 

Exactly. Fiona has a larger bust than this body does as well, so going completely without support may not be quite realistic. I'll figure something out. If nothing else an extra layer will help the dress to hang right on the doll and not slip around as much.

Your skirt turned out really pretty. That bottom lace looks very nice too.

I see nothing wrong with it. Totally on theme, I'd say.
And I love granny squares. If you make a couple you will get your speed up in no time. The most tedious thing about them tends to be weaving in the many ends. You could also do a hybrid and use the squares as a broder and just plain chrochet for the rest of the garment to save some time while still get the granny square look.

I am working on a crochet sash for Fiona. We'll see how it comes out, right now it doesn't want to drape the way I want it to, so I may start over. We'll see.
And now @Mamo made me want to make something with granny squares for her, perhaps a bag...

 

Thank you!! His eyes are a brownish grey, but they do look very dark in anything but dead-on lighting. I don't mind it, but I almost regret not going a liiiiittle bit lighter so I could enjoy the color more, lol.

I've done grannies before, got a whole quilt in my bedroom actually, I just wasn't sure I liked how my tester square turned out enough to do those tedious bits, lol! For now I think I'll save that idea for when the crochet urge next strikes me, because at the moment I'm not feeling super motivated for it and the other pieces are higher priority (at least for right now). One thing at a time, if I take a project off the list before I start it, it's one less thing I gotta do for the next Unfinished Business round!

 

Teddy: I was thinking the same thing.

Lillith: How about making some bloomers to go under the dress or some cute little panties? Surely they wore some underwear under their clothes?

 

I love all the outfits so far. Keep at it.

 

I think it will be easier to make a slip lie smoothly under the dress than a pair of bloomers would, but some sort of thin panties could probably work with the slip. I don't want them to show through and I don't know if I have any materials thin enough for that. But it's worth looking into. Both the fabric of the dress and the fabric I have in mind for the slip are very thin. Together they will proivide enough coverage to give her some modesty, but if something too substantial was worn underneath it would definately show.
I think this one comes down to what materials in white I have at home and how many "boring" plain pieces I can motivate myself to make.
I fully admit that my decisions are driven in part by what I feel like making. Accessories just seems like more fun.

Edit to add an image of the finished sash:

The main part is done in crochet with double rayon machine embroidery thread and a 0,6mm hook.
The end pieces are glass beads.

 

If it were me, I'd go for my favourite LRK88 Cotton, but since thats only available over her i n the UK, I don't know that it's caught on anywhere overseas.

Teddy

 

I think any fine knit and elastic thin enough should do the trick. But I don't have a lot in my stash. At least, I don't think I do. I will take a through look later. But for now I am working on the slip. Panties are just for the sake of making it a complete set, anyway. They won't ever show when she is dressed, they can wait.

 

Not LRK88 then, it's a plain weave. I ten to void stretch fabrics unless there's no other option.

Teddy

 

For panties, I don't think there is much of an option, really. The doll is hard, after all and without some sort of closure it would be impossible to get them over the butt and hips of the doll.
Othewise, in a more genereal sense, I agree with you. I don't much like stretch etiher.

 

@Lillith I love your sash. It's so delicate.

I attempted another top this week. it came out nice but I forgot to take the shoulder width into account so I can't get it on minifee. I may try it on my puppy girl as she currently has a boho look and I can access the elastic knot to try to take in the shoulders more but I am not sure how well it will go. For now, I may remake the top in a knit style instead so I have extra give.

Also I finally got my car back from the mechanic so I may or may not run to the fabric store.

 

Poop! Bad luck!

I hope you can make it work for the smaller doll

Teddy

 

@Teddy My puppy girl has a much narrow top so I may be able to make it work for her.

For now though I made a whole new shirt.

I used acrylic paint to give it some color to match some beads I have. I was going to attempt painting feathers on the front but I have found metal feathers to use for a necklace instead.

Spoiler: Shirt pieces first painted

Spoiler: Shirt and Skirt together

Spoiler: Jewelry feathers and flowers

 

@nekoKaori That top turned out very cute! Good use of the paints.

 

a bit of success -- hope to spend time on colorful shoes before the month's end...

Sewing progress by mare joy smith, on Flickr

 

That came out well.

Nice alterntive

Yay!. Good luck getting the shoes done too.

Teddy

 

@Lillith Thank you. It's double layered on the front side since it's a thin knit and I have one body blushed girl.

@dailymare The patchwork scarf looks good. I know you struggled with it in the past but I think you nailed it this time around. I am liking the rest of your colorful pieces too. They look great.
Good luck with your shoes. Those seem like they could be difficult.

@Teddy Thank you. I feel like a long pendent type necklace is the staple of the boho style.

@PoeticSoul Thank you. I am excited to start putting some finish touches on these looks.

 

Hope you'll continue working on this project saved the linen scarf idea))

Could you please name the mold of left doll from the last photo?

 

I love it!! It gives the outfit a lovely gentle flourish of color

What a wonderful bunch of outfits!! I'm about to get to work on shoes myself, I wish you luck!

 

Pants are finished!

 

@dailymare Beautiful! Best of luck with the shoes.

I am oficially finished for this theme. Yesterday @JennyM came to visit and I handed the clothes for Fiona over. I even got to see them on her so now I know they actually fit.
Here is a picture of Fiona in her outfit:

The bag is a simple design made from three granny squares. 1/16 linen thread and a 0,75mm hook.
I forgot to take a picture of the slip, maybe JennyM can snap a picture of it. It was the only part of this outfit where I had to do a bit of guesswork to make it fit the larger bust of Fionas body so it was the only piece I was a little nervous about. But it worked out!
JennyM chose to use the sach as a head scarf and I think it was a good call. Is works so well both for the theme and with her hair colour.


Oh, and I got to see those crochet pants she made in person and they are amazing!

 

@JennyM @Lillith @PoeticSoul you've all done incredible work!! I'm inspired AND impressed

My shoe bases are drying as we speak, and I've got all my other pieces cut! I'm hoping I can finally keep this guy's feet under control, he basically lives with a magic eraser in his lap right now. We'll see how it turns out! Even if they look a little raggedy in the end, it's better than nothing (especially since he is officially Too Big To Fit in my doll cabinet )

 

Oh well done! They really look the part.

Yay! That all seems to have worked well

Excellent!

Sounds good!

Teddy

 

Shoes! by Jules B, on Flickr
I'm using the TOMS tutorial for these, I've never tried making my own shoes before! Excited to see how it turns out

 

I'm looking forward to seeing the results too.

Teddy

 

Back home from Lillith, I have taken a some pictures of the slip she made. Like the dress and the sash it is all so very detailed and well done. I am impressed. And it all fits Fiona so well, now she has got more than one outfit

@PoeticSoul I love the kimono you made and I share your pain with the dress material, had some problems with mine as well.

 

Nice - simple, stylish, and effective. Fits well too.

Teddy

 

I finished one shoe, but I had to readjust a piece unfortunately due to an assembly mistake i made. So one is done, and one is half-done and drying. Someday... someday I will finish these shoes that have been in progress for what seems like all month, lol