Wednesday, September 4, 2013

Entry #69


Second Outfit Entry

Draping is how I sew. I looked for cute fabrics, and there was this lovely girly lavender - with eyelet detail. As a human I love eyelet lace, but for some reason this wasn't working well with Emily. The navy gradient outfit would make a lovely dress, but I didn't like the exposed shoulder look. Time to get radical!!


You can see how I turned the material inside out, on it's side, and on it side and draped it like a jacket. That's the only way I could manage to utilize the fabric details I liked best. The snap buttons were a gift! I like flailed cuffs, but some careful cuts meant I just had to stitch seams. I had to be really careful pinning this. It took ages of pinning, trying on, re-pinning, etc. the pins would slide out, it's white material so I didn't want to mark it up. The elastic could be forgiving, except, cutting the wrong stitch on the original garment would ruin it - I know this from experience. I removed the red bow. Stitched the sleeves and back. Added extra closures after cutting it for an adjustable hood.



The skirt should have been simple- cut the skirt in half (with one half slightly larger than the other), trim it at the waist, stitch. But of course, I cut a hole into the side without the bow- crisis! Luckily some very delicate scissor work, and the careful stitches made the smaller half of the skirt work out well for doll couture!

Doll shoes. I tried several times to make doll shoes but didn't like it very much. (A few shown here). Luckily Emily likes to go barefoot at the harbor. Yes, the green turquoise shoes here are Sonali's shoes. The haven't had heavy play, but for some reason the bows didn't hold up well at all. Did this happen to anyone else? So they were in the scraps box. Hot glue and micro beads made new shoes. Unfortunately, microbeads get EVERYWHERE!!  Next time I would use super glue or regular glue instead of hot glue- which is kinda bulky for small detailed work like this.
The cardboard is to protect the rest of the shoe.


Completed Outfit

Emily, here, models "Eastern Harbour" (again Melody Valerie is an inspiration here because I fell in love with Emily after I saw her Lisette).  Also, I really liked the blue and white MV dress in lightweight cotton that had a nautical theme. This is a 2-piece outfit with a printed maxi skirt and a double front jacket. The lightweight blue and white cotton is something a doll could wear on the New York harbor while waiting for the ships to come in. People don't do that much anymore, but the harbor and ships are still there. I thought it fit in with Emily who is "pseudo"-historical. That is she's only historical when it "suits" her. ;)



There's enough fabric for a double fronted jacket and hood - 
to keep a doll protected from wind or rain.
The hood is gathered to keep it from falling off on a blustery day!


Here you see more details of the front, as Emily enjoys a port-side sunset


Here's the back details, it's blurry, but you can see how the hood falls when not in use.


The front jacket has 2 fastenings: a "hidden button" sewn inside -at the hips) so that you can't see that stitches when it's closed, and a decorative "diamond" higher up.


The sleeve cuffs flair at the wrist also the sleeves are gathered, 
and detailed to match the top of the maxi skirt.

Here you can easily see the printed details of the maxi skirt.





Thank you for your entry!

Vote for this outfit via comment on this post or by emailing us 
at nora.demington@gmail.com.

One vote per person.
You can vote for yourself.
You can vote for more than one outfit.
Hence, you can vote for multiple outfits. :-)

Voting for Second Outfits ends September 25th, 2013.


Information about this contest:

First Outfit Tasks Due July 14th, 2013.
Second Outfit Tasks Due August 25th, 2013.


Entry #68


Second Outfit Entry

For my second outfit I wanted something modern and casual, something I would wear. So, I went to my closet and pulled out this outfit and that was my inspiration.


First, using a purchased pattern, I started on the jacket. This was my first attempt at buttonholes, buttons, and topstitching using my machine on an actual garment so it wasn't the easiest for me.






I did finally finish the jacket and was happy with the results.


Next, I tackled the shirt. For this I upcycled a women's t-shirt and 
just made my own design by trial and error.





 
When I had completed the shirt I realized it was a little snug 
so I added a button closure to the back. And then I had my completed top.


The last step in this process was the pants. I chose to use a purchased pattern and light denim material (as I am not quite sure how to use heavier fabrics yet). 




It was going well until I accidentally had my iron too hot and melted a spot on the front of the jeans. So I grabbed some sandpaper and gave them a distressed look and put some lace behind the holes. I think that made a nice cover up for my mistake.

Last, I thought the jacket looked a little boxy so I decided to take it in a 
little in the back for a more tailored look.

I chose Chrissa to model my outfit. 
I hope you all like it and good luck to everyone!






Thank you for your entry!

Vote for this outfit via comment on this post or by emailing us 
at nora.demington@gmail.com.

One vote per person.
You can vote for yourself.
You can vote for more than one outfit.
Hence, you can vote for multiple outfits. :-)

Voting for Second Outfits ends September 25th, 2013.


Information about this contest:

First Outfit Tasks Due July 14th, 2013.
Second Outfit Tasks Due August 25th, 2013.


Monday, September 2, 2013

Entry #67


Second Outfit Entry

From Forever Friends Doll Clothes

The Pattern:  So, this dress for Lexi  was not at all what I had planned for part 2 of this event.  At one of the craft markets, I saw the cutest dress on a 10 year old and had planned to design one like it for my project.  However, after making a dress like this for my sale, I decided to make this instead.

The Dress:  Again, the big thing is deciding on fabrics that will showcase the pattern that, by the way, is a Melody Valerie design.  Blue being a favourite colour of Lexi, was a starting point.  In the end, these two fabrics were selected.  Cutting the pattern was easy.  Sewing the sleeves and collar on was more challenging as there was either something missing from the pattern or from the instructions.  But after several attempts, everything went together just fine.


The Necklace:   Having completed the dress, it was time to accessorize.  Lexi’s ‘pearl’ necklace was a necessity.  Making it with the help of my husband’s stronger hands for tying the fishing line was fun! 
The Purse:  Then, of course, the purse.  After first making it with white poplin, it was obvious that Lexi would have to give it to her friend.  Lexi wanted  to have a Shiny Satin Purse made with the ‘MOLLY’ pattern.  That also was fun.

The Shoes:   But the most fun of all was making my first pair of shoes, a Liberty Jane Ballet flat.  That was so much easier than I had expected, and so cute when finished. Again, Lexi chose the shiny satin pair and is giving the other pair to her friend when they are finished.

Lastly, The Sweater:  Lexi chose this sweater material because the small dots of yellow sprinkle on the white knit compliment the yellow dots in the flowers on her dress.  She gave the other soft, off-white sweater to her friend.   The pattern was a McCalls.   It was decided that buttons on the sweater were not only unnecessary, but actually interfered with the overall appearance of the outfit so they remained in the button box. 

In-Progress Pictures

To view and read my steps, please click on the SMILEBOX photo album.  Wait a few moments for the photo album to load, then click the bottom page turning arrow.  If the photos load too slowly they will be loaded when you page back to the front of the album.  There is music.  You can view the album large by clicking on the 4 way arrow at the bottom left.  Press the ESC key to exit the smile box, and click the back arrow to return to this page.


People can click on any photo in the SmileBox to enlarge it. 
 Then click on it again to reduce it again.



















Completed Outfit













Now, all the friends wanted to be in the final picture.  Because do not ever think that you can get away with making a dress for just one AGD.  Before you know it there were 5 dresses, similar but not the same.  How cute is that.




From Forever Friends Doll Clothes


Thank you for your entry!

Vote for this outfit via comment on this post or by emailing us 
at nora.demington@gmail.com.

One vote per person.
You can vote for yourself.
You can vote for more than one outfit.
Hence, you can vote for multiple outfits. :-)

Voting for Second Outfits ends September 25th, 2013.


Information about this contest:

First Outfit Tasks Due July 14th, 2013.
Second Outfit Tasks Due August 25th, 2013.