Wearables Sewing Project: The Alternative Styles: Lolita/Decora/Gothic/Punk/Steampunk/etc. [ Round 148 ]

Nice selection - they all work well together.

Sounds like it.

Good luck!

Teddy

 

@Tira-chan Nice! Making nicely fitted pants is not easy, even less so for dolls. Well done.

@Teddy Thanks!

My energy levels are ridiculously low right now and whenever I try to get myself psyched up to actually do something, it seems there is always something getting in the way. But I did manage to get the pattern done today.

It wasn't too much of a problem since I have good base patterns for this girl. But it still took way longer than it should have.
Ah, well. It is what it is.
The rough sketch is more or less what I am aiming for, but I may make changes as I go. We'll see.

 

I’m late to joining this round, but I will attempt to be joining nonetheless



Edit: not sure why the pic isn’t embedding, but link here

Pardon the bad lighting. I don’t really have a space set up for sewing yet, so I will be hand sewing this one. I have not sewn anything in several years.

My model is Gremory, my Rosette Doll Fir, posed with the fabric I’ll be using to make a sort of Visual Kei inspired outfit. There’s other stuff I’d like to get for the outfit but I don’t have the stuff yet. There was a spool of studded ribbon, for instance, that I almost bought yesterday, but figured I’d wait until I finish the dress in case this project ends up being a disaster

The past two nights I drafted my first pattern using the cling-wrap and tape method, so this is some totally new territory for me! I am not going to let myself get too upset if this goes poorly I got that black and white fabric as a test piece anyway.

 

@PoeticSoul thank you!

Most of hand sewing isn’t a problem, just a pain for larger areas. Shouldn’t be too much a problem with this dress though. I’m hoping to have my sewing space and machine set up for the next challenge (I’d better lol).

I love the dotted fabric you chose for your project!

 

Fingers crossed on that!

Yay! I always think rows of tucks look so pretty on a garment.

Teddy

 

Is it me or is there a lot more people joining ?

I love it am excited to see all the new clothes that are made! Definitely an interesting round - yay!

@PoeticSoul love the dotted red outfit and looking forward to see the over skirt! Your cat is adorable by the way. ❤️

 

It does seem like more than usual this round.

Teddy

 

Thanks! I'm having good hope for this one.

I've only managed to trace and cut the interfacing for the bodice so far, but if nothing goes wrong I think I'll be able to make some progress today. I met with a hobby friend yesterday and that did give me some much needed inspiration and motivation. So, with the caveat that my sewing room gets ridiculously hot in the afternoons this time of year, I think I have a good chance to get the dress, if not done, then at least well on it's way.
May be a bit optimistic, but we'll see.

 

I got a strong urge to sew last night and this probably doesn’t fall in the theme of this round but these rounds are causing me to sew excessively LoL

 

Yes, yes, that sounds good, thank you very much!

Definitely embracing the urge to sew along with the inspirations is something we should act on definitely . I myself and others I’m sure have had periods of time the drive, time, or life, kept us from our creative urges.
I think that’s awesome you make different outfits in different colors from the same pattern. After my last attempt of making a pattern, this round, I’m sure I will be using that with different materials for different dolls. I love dolls but I love creative sewing equally if not more. It’s two loves since my mom used to sew my doll clothes.

This thread is definitely an inspiration to have for DoA, thank you for hosting them, you’re very much appreciated!

 

I'd have thought so too.

Teddy

 

My first attempt at the dress bodice went a lot better than expected, albeit with some mistakes. I’m redoing it, but at least I know the pattern is working.

Managed to pick up the studded ribbon, chain, and some lining as well. I didn’t use lining in the first attempt since I didn’t have it around, but it will be much better with it.

 

Using up the scraps from my last dolls outfit - to be continued

 

That bunny hood is adorable!

 

@mydaffer You are being so productive this month, I am thoroughly impressed!

No pictures yet, but I have almost finished the upper part of the dress I'm working on.

 

Oh wow thank you so much, I was surprised it turned out so cute myself. I am almost out of these scraps but hopefully I can dig out more antique fabric to make a fancy dress (antique) to go over it, that’s the plan but nothing I plan pans. LoL

thank you for the feedback, I am happy you like it, it’s fun creating silly accessories for a doll. The last doll outfit, I sewed with this material, I took her photo and thought, she needs ears of some sort, and that hat worked so well I had to make a second, but they are sewn from scratch so they are both very different, I don’t have a pattern. ❤️

LoL yes, I’m sewing a lot and it’s the way I’m most comfortable, from scratch. Grab material, cut, sew, fix mistakes, add as I go, seam rip, change bobbin, find a doll it fits because a better half of the time it doesn’t fit the doll intended, but it’s really fun for me, lastly take pictures.

I’m excited for the reveal of the dress, I know it’s going to look amazing like all the things you make do! Wish I could sew like you but my mind functions differently, it’s not possible for me. I just realized your artistic abilities far exceed sewing! So cool!!

 

I wholeheartedly agree!

Teddy

 

thank you @Teddy that really means a lot to me. I was kind of unsure whether to post the photos now I’m glad I did!

 

@mydaffer This is so cute!! I love the ragged soft look, and that little bunny eared hat is the best! She is so adorable!

 

Oh wow I’m becoming speechless, thank you so much for the sweet comment! I’m certainly surprised it’s liked as much as it seems to be.❤️

 

From my perspective (as an extremely nosey person) I'd say it's always a good idea to share the photo's.

Teddy

 

Yay! Well done!

What fitting outfits for a doll with her name.

Teddy

 

@PoeticSoul The outfits are so pretty, I love the skirts material very much, great choices. Are they for all your dolls to wear? How I’d love to see them all together wearing them if you plan that.

 

Sooooo….. I wanted to make a dress to go with this girls last outfit but the colors were way off and didn’t compliment each other all all so I made a whole new outfit. I’m still wanting to add some sort of head dress, I’ll probably work on it tonight because I am loving sewing so much lately. This is so off my expectation and there are so many many and I can’t stress enough many mistakes, but I just sew for fun and it doesn’t bother me so much anymore, I’m getting used to messing up! LoL

PS my doll is seemingly tired of all these fittings…..

 

I just want to mention, I added a cherub to the side of my dolls dress, it came from a early 70’s baby’s birthday card. I seen a way to add pictures to t-shirt's etc. I wrapped it in between that sticky on one side saran wrap but you can use saran wrap, then cut off extra saran, put parchment paper over top of the picture and iron on high but not too long.

 

@PoeticSoul These outfits are both so pretty! I love the newspaper print pattern on the shirts!

@mydaffer She looks so sweet, the little cherub is such a cute touch to the outfit. I love her little socks!

 

Pretty!

Teddy

 

@RabbidBunnies thank you very much and the socks I made with one of my most favorite material.

@PoeticSoul your comments are always so kind and encouraging, thank you. Yes, I find lovely ruffle tops and am particularly fond of vintage and antique clothes, material that I find and I use them to create my doll clothes. There is a place not to far from me and I pay low cents to the pound, I find a lot of laces as well. I also had a Joann’s near me but they recently closed and my mother ordered me a lot of material when I got into sewing for dolls. I hear Michaels has material now but I love art so much that I try to stay away from them. LoL

@Teddy thank you!

 

Gremory by Lina U, on Flickr

A few nights ago I finished the main dress for this month. My phone crapped out that day though and I couldn't take pictures (it's been replaced now) but I managed to get out with my better camera today to take a few shots. Today like many other days this month, it's been crazy humid so my girl Gremory still, unfortunately, doesn't have a face-up.

This is my first finished BJD dress ever -- about time considering how long I've been in this hobby. I have some sewing experience, just not so much with dolls. Pattern making was totally new for me though. There are definitely some flaws in this dress that I will need to work out and refine for the future, like the darts along the bust are slightly uneven and the way I sewed the skirt in the back was kind of wonky. It's not really visible from the outside, but I can definitely improve this the next time I make this dress. The fabric is also quilting cotton which is not ideal either -- I didn't hem the bottom for instance, which I would have done with a lighter cotton. I might go back and give the bottom a more ragged look, but who knows, that might happen on it's own over time.

The bottom, for now, is staying put with FrayCheck. I saw a doll seamstress on youtube mention this stuff and it's amazing. I'd never heard about it before and once I got it, all of my prior struggles with tiny pieces of fabric shredding apart evaporated.

There was a petticoat with red tulle that I tried to make to go along with the dress, but it didn't go well (same day of the phone crisis). I kind of like the dress as it is without the red tulle though so I am going to leave it like this for now, but who knows I may go back and try again. Yesterday I spent most of the day refining the outfit ideas I have for next month's Mori and Dark Mori prompt and ordering the fabric I need for them. I'm hoping to make outfits for two of my dolls -- and hopefully it doesn't take too long for the fabric to get here. I think I would have made the petticoat if getting everything together and planned for next month wasn't preoccupying my mind as much.

Anyway, there's my attempt at a visual kei dress for Gremory.

 

@Leenah Wow the dress looks perfect for your doll, lovely photo, well done. ❤️

 

@mydaffer Thank you!!

 

That looks great!

 

Ah, that makes sense and is probably why I haven't seen them produce another printed velvet dress in well over a decade now. I am 99% sure the original was screen printed on to the velvet. I wish I had the patience to learn such a skill, but sadly I do not at the moment lol.


I love everyone's projects so far. So many beautiful dolls, and they all look wonderful in alternative styles. I haven't been feeling too great, but I'm still hoping to finish by the end of the month along with everyone. For my dress's print, I ended up just using some dark iron on transfer paper and tried to carefully cut it out, before ironing it onto the velvet. The print didn't end up looking how I wanted it to at all, but I didn't want to think about the process anymore. I *think* I have figured out how to put the dress together from looking at photos of the official crown trump dress and translating the very limited instructions provided by the magazine I'm using for the pattern. I also picked out the rest of my lace, although some might be switched out for wider lace once I start sewing. I'm still worried that the crown lace is too big for the scale, and I'm nervous that the smaller laces might make it look even more drastic. We'll see when I sew it all together tomorrow.

 

Sometimes you just need to regard the first try as a wearable mock-up and go with it. It looks good, and that's always a win.

I'm impressed that you even thought to do that with velvet, it would never have occured to me.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the lace works out for you.

Teddy

 

@Teddy : thank you! Your words are encouraging!

@PoeticSoul : thank you as well! Joann’s closed right as I got back into the hobby and the only place to get fabric nearby (that isn’t all the way in Philly) was a yarn and quilting shop. I’d actually brought Gremory with me into the store to find fabric that might look okay at doll scale. There are issues with quilting cotton not draping right, and every time I tell myself to quit getting quilting cotton for dolls I find some prints are still too irresistible …and I needed something to get me back into sewing, and what’s wrong with a few fat quarters, right? Anyway that fabric I was very much drawn towards because of how great it looked against her, and it’s really nice to hear that someone else thinks the same!

 

Have you tried boil-washing it beofre you use it to make anything to take the manufacturing sizing out of the fabric and soften it up a bit? That can improve the drape. Whether it is improved enough is another matter, but it can help.

Teddy

 

I have not! I will give that a try though since I’d gotten several fat quarters of fabric from that store. Any improvement to make them more usable would help for sure.

Thank you for the suggestion!

 

I finished the band outfits. I wasn't sure if I would get them done, I had to kick myself into doing them. I am happy how they came out. The hoodie hats are reversible. I had to change the thread a lot, because parts of some outfits were white and other parts black and some mixed colours. But I did get it done before the end of the month.

I didn't dress my dolls in it, because they are dressed for a different photo shoot, and one of the dolls is still on order, but eventually I will get a picture of them dressed in these clothes.

Here are the outfits...

IMG_9329 by Rabbid Bunnies, on Flickr

Everybody is doing a great job this month! I've enjoyed seeing all of the progress pictures.

 

Looking good! I think the pattern calls for that incredibly wide lace because it's the exact same one used on the full size version. I think I'll be switching it out for something narrower, when I finally get around to ordering materials...
I did come across someone else who used this pattern on tumblr, if that helps at all

 

@SunnyPinkSky I love the material choices especially the lace, I’m looking forward to seeing the outfit complete! ❤️

@RabbidBunnies those turned out so well, I love the way you changed up the color choices to make them a bit different, very clever! I’ll be eagerly awaiting the photo of your dolls in them once you get the new one!

 

Thank you! I am happy with how they turned out. It was fun to mix up the material a bit to make all the outfits come together.

 

These look awesome! I like how they all coordinate but are still different too

 

@RabbidBunnies Your band outfits are so cool!

Thanks for the encouragement @Teddy @mydaffer and @PoeticSoul

@SilverDawnArrow Thank you so much for the link. I wish I would have logged on to see this just a bit earlier, as seeing the completed dress would have made it easier to figure out placement. Unfortunately, I ended up putting pieces together wrong, despite re-reading the instructions over and over. I'm excited to have a better reference for a future second try.





Here's my completed dress. While I made many mistakes, I'm happy enough with it. I think I put a front panel in the wrong place, used lace in the wrong spots and definitely used too much lace on the hem. I also made the print way too small after fussing over it for so long. Despite all that, I learned a lot during this project, like the melting point of velvet while ironing my print . Some of the stitching from the first areas I worked on look poor, but I did eventually learn that velvet should be hand basted first. That helped a lot. I'm still aiming to complete the other components of the outfit in the next two days and take photos of Macha wearing it. I think that the collar will cover some of the flaws, while the detachable sleeves help blend the massive lace I used on the puffy sleeve hems a bit. On the plus side, I can reuse the same accessories after they are made. I do want to retry this pattern in the future, now that I understand how it all goes together.

 

Yay! Wel done - especially all that changing of thread!

But it looks so pretty, so I'm glad you're still happy with it.

Teddy

 

That looks great @SunnyPinkSky !

 

@quilleth Thank you! I tried to get them to go together!

@Teddy Yes! The thread was a pain! But I didn't want the thread to look bad and show on the clothes.

@SunnyPinkSky Thank you! I love your lolita dress! It looks so pretty! Velvet can be hard to work with, you did an awesome job!

 

Between traveling and going down with a cold, I only started on Amadis' goth dress this week. I made a pattern for the bodice with the cling wrap + masking tape method and did about half the sewing, so there is not much to show, but I have a clear understanding of what and how to do next. I'll be traveling again in the first half of August, then I hope to continue working on this project. I like the idea of making this Amadis' Halloween outfit this year. If not, it will wait till another unfinished business round.
I've only had the time and energy to lurk and like posts, but every time checking everyone's progress and seeing the finished projects was a delight.

 

@helgie awe hope you’re feeling better!


@SunnyPinkSky wow that turned out wonderful, I’m so impressed! Great job, I think it looks perfect! ❤️

 

Congratulations to everyone else on their progress!

My attempts to insert eyelets ended up disastrously, with two ruined eyelets and a big hole in the front of the top. It doesn't show up very well in the photo, but it's obvious in real life. Considering all the other hurdles I've run into, I ended up opting to just finish what I have and call it done for now. Maybe once I get more experience I can come back to it, or consider remaking it, but for now, I'm just glad to have it at a state where it's "finished," instead of sitting around in my unfinished projects pile forever.

 

{nods in agreement} Yep!

Teddy

 

Some really cool outfits this month!

I didn't manage to finish anything, myself. The bodice didn't turn out quite right, something about the proportions were off and the whole thing just stalled, I never got past that. I intend to finish the dress eventually, but it just didn't happen right now.

 

It's a shame, but at least you got it started

Teddy