Wearables Sewing Project: Designers Choice! [ Round 150 ]

I've been looking forward to this one!

I'll be making a ballgown for Petronella (Withdoll Emma).


I'm still a little bit vague on the design, but I do have some lovely fabrics to work with.

 

I've never joined this before (though I've lurked and watched for a little while!) but I think this month, now that I have a sewing machine, I'm going to work on a dress for one of my half-OT girls.

The happy couple (for now) by Indifferent Red, on Flickr

Tatyana (red hair) is a Supia Heeji head that's on a smartdoll Pear body, and for Big Backstory Reasons, she needs a wedding dress. I, conveniently, have white velvet that isn't earmarked for anything so I might take a stab at it. I also need to make a suit for Valeska, her wife, who is the person beside her, but I don't know of any premade patterns that would get me a nice suit for a 72 cm girl with slightly weird proportions, so I'll start with Tatyana.

 

This is my newest girl, Lemon! She’s a KDF45 from Luts, I love her! She needs some more clothes so I am making some outfits a priority for her this month.

On the left are a few fabrics and a heap of lace that I’ll be using to make gracefaerie’s pattern #47 Rats. I’ve already prepped by drafting a pattern for the bust to fit Lemon specifically, but in spite of this modification to the pattern, it’s otherwise gracefaerie’s entirely. I’ve actually loved this pattern since 2008 and only got it recently so I am quite excited for it! The teal striped fabric will be used for the corset. The other fabric is actually a knit and I’ll use that for the stockings and arm warmers. Hopefully I find some other things to embellish this outfit with, but I will wait until the outfit is more complete before acquiring those.

On the right is a fat quarter of fabric for making a dress and a skein of yarn to make a sweater for her. When I was at the store last week I knew I wanted to make a yellow sweater for her, but I definitely picked that yarn specifically because the colourway has Lemon’s name on it



Last month I had some sewing machine woes — I still haven’t been able to take it in to get it looked at. Soon though. The week where I’m without it I’ll hopefully work on the sweater. I will probably also be going back to work on the mori outfits I didn’t finish from last month. Those I will probably keep to the other thread though.

 

@PoeticSoul I love your doll! He’s such a unique and eye catching sculpt (I went to go find his doll profile and turns out I already liked him lol). The fox fabric, especially the one on the right, is so charming. I look forward to your creation this month!

 

This is just the round I need! I want to Susu another outfit, but I’m not 100% sure what to call the style. Maybe “balletcore” or himekaji? I thinking of something feminine and pink or purple and pearly. I’ll have to see what’s in my stash of fabrics. I’ve been collecting some pictures for inspiration, and I’lll come back an edit this post with a collage

The inspiration ^
And the sketch ^

 

I definitely have to participate this month... my new boy has no clothes!!!

I'm halfway through getting him fixed up, He doesn't have eyes yet in this picture, when I go to get his outfit ready. I have a lot of shirts, from the project I did those on, but surprisingly no more long boy shorts. I have a few school shorts that would work, plenty of jeans but nothing I wanted to put him in. I had shirts, but they don't feel right for him.

I am taking some of the fabric that I was going to use last month. I have plenty to still make Emily an outfit later with it. I am using the brown material with the hand writing for the long shorts, it looks more masculine, but I want the bird cage material on part of the shirt. I'm thinking to off set the sleeves with the gentle flowers. I think it will make just a light contrast with the main body of the shirt.

Debating lace? Do you guys think lace? Maybe on the sleeves, or around the shirt bottom. I'm going a bit mori boy here, but I want to polish it and not fray it up.

Anyways Sinjin ... wearing material because he has nothing he wants to wear. (T&D Piao Chiyue)

IMG_9334 by Rabbid Bunnies, on Flickr

 

I visualize and just wing almost everything I sew for my dolls, so I’m going to wing this round rather then try to plan, so it will be a mystery to you and me as to what I make!

I have a few Peakswood slim sd dolls that need something special and a few more chunky Sd dolls that need something special as well. So I’ll be focusing on those sizes and whatever I make and what doll that it looks best on, gets it! I’ll do updates as I pick materials and progress. Fun fun fun

 

Oh boy, so many options!

I've been noodling on dress ideas for Violet; I have a length of sparkly gauze and a couple fat quarters I picked up last time I visited the local quilt store. One is colorful and floral, I'm thinking of doing a kimono or similar with it, and I want to pair the gauze and some other sparklies with the glittery galaxy print FQ. All of 'em pictured below:

(link)

The problem is that I busted my sewing machine while finishing a quilt top for a couple friends getting married later this year... So beyond deciding on a design for stuff, I need to hand-sew it!

I'm thinking a front-open dress just so I don't have to cut into the gauze for a back opening, but what if? Jumpsuit? Hmmm. Much to think about

 

Hmm depending on how things go this month, I might try to make Vanora's formal outfit, or at least start it. I have most of the fabric already, though Silk Baron just had their scrap sale, so I bought another shot silk that might work for her dress. It's pink/ green instead of pink/ blue, but that might look better with the shrug, depending on how it looks and drapes in person. The fabric I currently have for the dress is a synthetic pink/ blue two tone satin from Joann's. Unfortunately, it often ends up looking more fuschia than pink, and the new fabric might have a similar problem, but finding pink heavy pink/ blue fabrics was harder than i expected when I was designing her dress!

I do want to figure out some kind of embroidery for her shrug. Probably with birds, but I've had a hard time finding patterns that I think would be small enough. I also need to overdye the fabric for it. It's a green crushed panne from Joann's that I've had for more years that I'd like to admit, and I want to use it for both her shrug (and possibly shoes if I have to make or redecorate some) and for some accents for Faolán's formal outfit, once I get around to finishing the design and patterning for it. I've got some pearl cotton for the decorative trim on the waistband, and the tie that i'm going to use in the back to close it.

 

I got a bit obsessive making this outfit for Sinjin! I am really happy how it all came together. I ended up hand sewing parts of it like the vest sleeves, and some of the lace. He ended up with long shorts and a lace ruffled shirt, plus a reversible vest, a reversible hat, a beanie hat, socks, shoes, a messenger bag, and a pillow, which I forgot to get a picture of. It's small, same material as the pants with lace trim, and I shoved in the messenger bag to make it look more full, which is why I just remembered it. I really love the mori boy fashion and I think he pulls it off pretty well.

100_3971 by Rabbid Bunnies, on Flickr

Spoiler: More pictures of the outfit...

I wanted to show a picture with the socks and shoes I also made to show the whole outfit. He's kind of tall 62cm, so it is difficult to get a good a picture of it all. have him standing on a stool with a doll stand.

100_3976 by Rabbid Bunnies, on Flickr

This is the vest reversed, so it gives a more plain look with the flowers gone. Sinjin is also wearing the beanie in this picture.

100_3978 by Rabbid Bunnies, on Flickr

The first hoodie hat can also reverse. So it matches the vest on both sides.

100_3979 by Rabbid Bunnies, on Flickr

I am really happy with how the whole outfit turned out!

100_3982 by Rabbid Bunnies, on Flickr

I can't believe how fast I did all of this! I couldn't stop sewing and ideas kept coming to me to add to the outfit.

I'm looking forward to seeing what everyone makes this month!

 

Oooh that was so fast @RabbidBunnies I especially like the hood!

 

@quilleth Thank you! I found myself getting obsessed with making this.

 

@RabbidBunnies He looks wonderful!!

 

@RabbidBunnies wow that looks so perfect on your doll, it all turned out so well, love all of it!

I do that too, I start and can’t stop, you can always make something else, you have all month,

 

@JaxxCapta Thank you so much!!

@mydaffer Haha, yeah I either don't want to do something, or I do it all at once.

 

@RabbidBunnies Wow, that was quick. He looks great!

I have started my project, but no pictures yet. I tried to take pictures of the materials yesterday, but I failed miserably at getting anything usable. The main fabric is a very pale, muted green and for some reason my camera does not like it. It turns out either brown or mustard on photos. Hopefully it will be better once I get a bit of context for it.
But on a positive not I have started on a crinoline and it's going well.

 

I've been meaning to make Cloud's Wall Market dress - part of the impetus for getting him in the first place was that I really wanted the official figure but decided that I'd rather go all-out and customize a BJD than spend that much on a figure with plastic hair and molded-on clothes. His head and hands are currently off getting painted, so it's a good opportunity to get started. I don't think I'll make an exact replica necessarily (there are a lot of tiny details on the figure) but it's an outfit I have a lot of Opinions about, so please forgive any rambling.

One of my concerns is figuring out how to get the correct silhouette, so to speak. Since in the context of the scene he's trying to disguise himself as female, I want to try to create the illusion of a more feminine shape. On a real person (or a videogame representation of one) a corset can do some body shaping to create curves, but resin is too solid for that, meaning I'll need to bulk out more, since I can't squeeze in. The lower half shouldn't be too hard as long as I make a yoke so the bulk of the skirt hits more at the hips. For the upper half, I'm a little less sure what to do. I'm thinking that I'll make the inner layer of the bodice fit close to his body, while the outer layer will be curved to create more of a bust, and I can add some padding in between to fill it in. I did find a pattern to make a corset-style bodice for male BJDs on Etsy, but I'd need to scale it down and alter it to fit, and to be honest, I wasn't super impressed by the quality relative to the price of the other pattern I purchased from them.

I have gotten started on parts of the outfit. For the bolero portion, I modified the top part of this pattern a bit and made a paper towel mock-up, sans sleeves. I've also made a pair of shoes using a free Smartdoll pattern copied at 82%; I'd like to add low heels to them, or at least a more solid sole than felt.

Spoiler: Pictures

The mock-up of the bolero. It was actually easier to get it to fit him than I expected, given that it wasn't sized for him at all. I just added a bit of width at the front and back (on the fold). Currently it's just taped shut at the front to keep it in place.


Some of the various fabrics I'm considering using, as well as the shoes I made. It's a lot of satins, which I'm mildly dreading working with... I might have to see about heat sealing the smaller pieces. I don't know if I'll actually get to them this month, as I'm going to need to spend quite a bit of time drafting and making test versions, plus I want to make a petticoat first.

 

@RabbidBunnies you made a great outfit so fast! I'm impressed! I'm going to join this round with Selene, my Miracle Doll LanQi. I only got as far as making her a skirt in the Alternative round, so I'm going to make a top to go with it, and maybe a jacket. Here she is in the skirt-
Selene's Outfit in progress

 

@RabbidBunnies He looks so good! Quilleth already mentioned the hood (which I also like), but the bag is really nice too

@Tira-chan Depending on how accurate you want to make him, you could maybe do a shorter, under-bust corset and extend the ruffles, kinda like a flowy blouse? It would give the illusion of a bigger chest that way!

 

I made an sd bodice this late evening I need to iron it but I’m super happy with it so far. Now I’m trying to figure out where to go with it and found some materials that would look good but are stiff compared to the top material that is more light weight. So I’ll have to stop and think on what I need to do to go forward. This may not be for the doll it’s on, I have others that need clothes, she was just easiest to get out of my doll cabinet.



I may not use any of these but they look nice with the ribbon and button.

 

@mydaffer Looking good so far! And the fabrics you've picked out looks nice. You can probably work around the stiffness by either making something that would normally be done with heavier fabrics, like jackets, heavier shorts or pants etc. Or you could force it to conform and use the stiffness to your advantage for things that you want to be voluminous, like a puffy skit.

I have finished a basic hoop skirt for Petronella.

Nothing spectacular, but it will get the job done.

Next thing to do is an underskirt, to weigh down the hoops to make them hang right, to smooth out the lines and to give a nice base for the actual dress.

 

@Lillith that looks great! Did you make the lace to go around it, I love it.

 

@PoeticSoul It was one of those whirlwind adventures! I think the combination between the style and the doll pulled it out of me. I just love anything to do with the forest to begin with so clothing that is inspired by nature is so much fun! I am excited to see what you do with Picot Prince Makoto! I love the fox boy look! He has a great face for it!

@Lillith Thank you! I love the way your hoop skirt is looking! Your outfit is going to be great! I am looking forward to more pictures!

@Tira-chan I'm super excited to see your finished look! I'm a huge FFVII fan! This is going to be awesome!

@Leo Pheonix Thank you! I love the skull print of your fabric! I'm looking forward to to seeing the whole outfit once you put it all together!

@ArtsyCreature Thank you! I do like the messenger bag. I'm thinking it something that can carry over with his school uniform. I might make it his item he brings everywhere.

@mydaffer Your clothing is always so adorable! I love the material that you have laid out the deck of cards is much fun!

 

@PoeticSoul thank you very much. I can’t believe I finally after YEARS, sewed a bodice together properly! I made a basic sd pattern that can be used for shorter or longer bodices. This can be altered for larger or smaller sd dolls depending on the seam allowance, and it can be shortened or lengthened. I visualize so it’s hit or miss, that’s why I get excited when something stays together and fits! LoL The best part is the lace around the neck, it made it easy to pull through the shoulder part. Unfortunately, when I sewed it down it flattened, probably should of ironed it, but lesson learned, I’m not able to seam rip thread through lace, it never ends well! Even if I have plenty of practice on seam ripping! LoL oh and eventually I will add sleeves, but baby steps and I’m not used to using patterns for anything, my favorite sewing is just cut, sew, pray!

@RabbidBunnies thank you, I’m blushing!! I hope I don’t disappoint, I’m going to give this a lot of thought before jumping into sewing the bottom part, I really am not sure what I want the bottom to look like. I love the cards material and if I don’t use it I plan to at some point!

 

Wow slow down everyone - it's only the 4th Well done for finishing already @RabbidBunnies - that's an inspirational outfit!
I love that cute top @mydaffer - it looks sweet even without sleeves.
@Lillith that hoop skirt is incredible!

I'm continuing with the Mori girl outfit I barely started last month, for Delia. Finished the underskirt (or overskirt?) today with an elastic waist - Spent ages trying to get her to stand as it doesn't look great with her sitting but her stringing is hopelessly loose so that's a job for another day! Started figuring out how to make a matching top now - just winging it with no pattern

mori top by elve, on Flickr

 

@mydaffer Thanks!
The ruffles are just strips of fabric, gathered and slipped between the layers of the hoop casing before sewing it shut.
The scalloped hem is simply done as you would a rolled hem, only using a zigzag stitch and a high thread tension, causing the thread to pull the rolled edge into those little nubs. I really like this finish for ruffles in thin fabrics. Not only is it pretty, but it's much softer than a regular machine hem done with a straight stitch, so it doesn't effect the drape as much.

@PoeticSoul @RabbidBunnies & @elve Wow, thanks for your kind words. I swear, this is where the sweetest people on line is hanging out.

 

@elve that is a great way to make a top, winging it, I find that I learn so much better that way! That’s going to be awesome to see all together and it’s so unique! ❤️

@Lillith what really made me double take is that it doesn’t look factory made but more personalized, I love the bottom stitching and it looks beautiful with that material, well done!

 

Everyone’s ideas are amazing and I’m sorry for lack of communication, my dog unexpectedly passed and I’m sorting through my emotions. Please no reply, just understanding! I truly love reading and seeing everyones project ideas and comments! ❤️

 

I appreciate the suggestion, but I do want to mostly stick to the original design. I think I have some ideas for moving forward after experimenting with some of @MB Lilac's FID patterns. I also managed to add soles and heels to the shoes; they're somewhat messy, but they won't be that visible. He can stand unaided in them, but that probably says more about the quality of Telesthesia&Dragon's engineering than my shoemaking skills.

 

Wow everyone is doing awesome so far!! I haven't even started yet lol. I think I need to make the dressform I patterned out but haven't tested yet, because the bodice will need to be draped. On the plus side, the fabric I ordered from Silk Baron already shipped and should be here Monday!

 

First dress for Lemon is done! I’ve been sewing like mad for the past week — most of this was done by hand.

Though I haven’t made the arm warmers and tights yet. Not sure if I should use the black/white/magenta flower knit from my first post here or go with a black or grey knit to make the teal fabric stand out more. Any suggestions are welcome!

The pattern was mostly a success, though I think the bodice came out a little small in the back — there’s some slight gapping. I also had to iron the seam down instead of up, as the pattern calls for, otherwise the bodice wouldn’t fit her. It’s making the lower stomach area drape in a weird way. These issues are on me though, not a flaw in gracefaerie’s pattern as I had made the pattern for the bodice. In the future I will make the back panels a little longer, that would solve both of these problems.

This was also my first attempt with using eyelets, they are a little uneven, but not really noticeable once the dress is all laced up.

Other than some of the issues I mentioned, I am happy with the way this turned out! I’d definitely like to make more of these dresses for my other dolls eventually.

 

@Leenah I love the dress, the lace is really pretty

 

@Leenah She looks so pretty! I love the fabric choice!

 

Susu
I finished the outfit for Susu. I struggled through this project lol I def need more practice sewing with knits cuz omg The top did not come out the way I planned, but I still like it! It kind of looks like she diy’ed a cropped, off the shoulder sweater from a big sweatshirt. At least that’s what I’m telling myself The back of the outfit is tragic. Neither piece actually closing the way it’s supposed to. I think I also deviated a bit from the original style I had in mind. I was going for “balletcore” or himekaji, but I would say this project turned out more “coquette”. Overall still very cute! Just more sexy than I planned lol

 

She looks cute!! The pleats in her skirt are so sharp and neat!

 

@lully.lullers This outfit is adorable! She looks like she is going out for a date. I hope her romantic partner appreciates all the hard work that you put into making her look good!

 

@Leenah woah! That’s amazing, what a lovely outfit and the material and colors look so perfect! You did a great job on this, and front and back look great regardless of any issues you may have with it. Your doll is so adorable and with the wig and eyes, this outfit really brings out how adorable she is! ❤️

 

@lully.lullers your doll looks amazing, the outfit is so perfect for her and had you not mentioned anything about the sweater, it looked as though you made it like that intentionally and it’s definitely a lovely fashion style! All the colors and entire outfit and doll look amazing. I’d of asked where’d you buy the outfit had I not known you made it! ❤️

 

Thank you! Pleating has become one of my favorite sewing details! I keep sneaking it in my projects

Thank you! I’ve been wanting to buy her a boyfriend I’m not so patiently waiting for Impldoll to release their 1/4 male body they have been teasing. Hoping he comes with a cute face!

Thank you! You’re too kind

 

Thank you!

Since I finished my first outfit pretty quickly, and we are still in designers choice month, I working on a second outfit! I didn’t draw a sketch for this one. It’s a bit more go with the flow. I’d had this corset pattern for Minifee dolls for years now. I’ve made it a few time, to varying degrees of success haha So I’m giving it another go!
Minifee dress wip
Here it is in pieces and partially sewn together.
Minifee dress wip 2
Here is the corset so far. I added the lace at the bottom cuz I cannot resist using lace wherever possible lol I’m still deciding how I want to do the skirt. I’ve been looking at corset dresses for inspiration. This project is kind of leaning modern rococo? Princess themed?

 

That looks cute! I like that fabric. It looks like a good scale for dolls!

 

@lully.lullers that is really pretty material and looks amazing on your dolll. ❤️

 

@Leenah I love the contrast in texture between the soft, tightly ruffled lace skirt and the more robust striped fabric of the bodice. It looks great!

@lully.lullers That is an absolutely adorable outfit. Knits are never easy, you have to both accommodate their quirks while still showing who's the boss. I think you did a good job. It looks intentional to me. Who cares what the style is called, she looks fabulous.
And the corset looks pretty too. Good use of the print in the front.

 

@Leenah That corset is lovely! Great job on centering the design on the front panel, and the lace is so cute with it. I agree, lace everywhere! Always room for more. And Lemon's dress is beautiful, too, with the combination of its fabric and black lace.

@lully.lullers Ah yeah, knits can be wiggly. The bow is an adorable finishing touch on it, and the sweater is that perfect ballerina-y dusty pink. The fabric of her skirt and the lace on her tank top/bralette are sweet, too.

I've been working on hand-sewing stuff, and surprise surprise, it's nice to hand-sew things and not have to worry about my sewing machine chewing up my fabric or causing a weird fold somewhere it shouldn't be! I can't say much in defense of my backstitching's strength, but for doll clothes, it does the job.

I do have a tiered skirt in progress using a sample of shot cotton I'd bought, but I decided to bead the edge and I keep running out of beads. So I'm afraid that one will have to wait and see when the yarn store's got the beads back in stock. (The original beads were leftovers from a knitting project.)

In the meantime though, I made a dress for Violet out of the floral FQ I had. Definitely not enough for the kimono I'd been thinking of initially (turns out I can't ignore fabric requirements even if my doll ain't the same as the one in the pattern!) but still cute. I debated on whether to do something with the skirt edge, but the fabric's got enough going on that I don't think it's in desperate need of a fancy trim!

(link)

 

@JaxxCapta that’s adorable on your doll, lovely material, bright and cheerful! ❤️

 

@JaxxCapta Pretty!

 

Congratulations to everyone on their progress! I finished the tulle underskirt. It may be a bit long in places, but I'll wait until I have the main skirt done to alter it further, so I don't cut off too much. It's pretty simple, and I cut a few corners on the construction since it won't be visible, but I feel like it came out how I wanted it.

Spoiler: Front and back pictures

Up next is figuring out how to do the main skirt. I'm definitely going to want to make a trial version first, before cutting into my good fabric. I've also realized that I'm going to need a saddle stand to display him in this outfit; my current solution isn't really stable enough long-term.

 

Wow everyone's been super-busy!
Love the back lacing on your Lemon's dress @Leenah - I wouldn't have a clue where to start with eyelets.

@lully.lullers that is totally 'ballet-core' IMO - so adorable and I would call the top a happy accident rather than a mistake - it looks perfect, as does that corset you're working on - so pretty!

@JaxxCapta that dress is super cute & well done with the hand stitching - hard work & I always end up drawing blood

@Tira-chan a tulle underskirt is a great start to any outfit!

Meanwhile I started doing laundry this afternoon & while it was soaking in the sink I thought I'd just 'quickly' pin the lace to Delia's top - then got totally carried away and finished it while the laundry soaked for hours in cold water LOL - Delia's base layer is made from a pillowcase so limited fabric & I used an existing seam for the shoulder seam of her top - Then made a total hash of the back of the top trying to cut a straight line while she was wearing it

But in the event it was a happy accident as I like the lace I used to fill the gap! Decided to fasten it with a button at the waist as I'd cut a simple slash neck in the pillowcase seam & didn't have a clue what I was doing really LOL

top back by elve, on Flickr

Really happy with how it turned out anyway as it's what I had in mind originally - Now I can do the other layers to her Mori girl outfit but NOT TODAY (tempted haha - but I need to eat and sleep!)

mori1 by elve, on Flickr

 

@lully.lullers The bodice is so pretty! I love the way it fits her!

@JaxxCapta What a sweet dress! I love the colourful flower print! I can see the kimono design in it. She looks so pretty!

@Tira-chan Oh, this is coming along nicely! It's going to make the skirt you put over it very very full. I am looking forward to seeing the finished project!

@elve I love pillowcase dresses! The material is always so soft to touch!

 

@Tira-chan that’s lovely, love how it fits!

@elve I love the outfit and it looks perfect on your doll! I look forward to the Mori additions to it! ❤️

————

Well, I’m not real impressed with this because I’m not really good at making skirts, so moving on from this, I’d call it complete and hopefully try something new to make since there is plenty of time!

 

@PoeticSoul thank you very much, I tried to make it a dress and tried at so many other skirts, I don’t know why I just couldn’t do anything I really envisioned doing. It is cute on her now I look at it so I’m going to let her have it! ❤️ I have so many more dolls that need clothes made by me, my original idea years ago was to make soft colored, white dresses for them all. I have a long way to go…….. I honestly think I sew better without pre planning for some odd reason.