Pattern Review: Simplicity 1245 by Keepers Dolly Duds

 I have had an idea for a project for a while now. 

My mom remembers very clearly a coat that she had as a child in 1957. My grandmother made the original coat. I thought it would be fun to make this coat in doll size.

The coat had a matching bonnet. It was dark turquoise, has a leopard skin print collar, and brass buttons.

I used Simplicity 1245 as the pattern.

I was able to go fabric shopping with my mom, so she could help me identify the closest color match.

The bonnet was very easy to make. The coat was more complex, but I was happy with the way it turned out.

I left out the flanges on the shoulders, as I wanted this to match my mom's coat. They would have been easy to include if desired.

I was very happy with the finished project.

I deliberately left out the leopard pint collar for two reasons: I only like leopard print when it is on the leopard, and I didn't think it matched the turquoise color anyway.

Mom says that this is close, but that her original coat didn't flare so much at the bottom, and her bonnet didn't have as much of a brim. She said it stopped at about the hair line.

I haven't added buttons yet, because I think it will be hard to find small enough brass buttons. I am trying to decide what I should do instead.

I may make another coat to try to replicate Mom's more closely, but all the 1950 coat patterns that I am aware of flare at the bottom.

Meanwhile, I really do like this coat.

Merry Christmas!

 Merry Christmas from Anne and me! We hope that you found some dolls under the tree!

Christmas for Felicity

 I fell in love with Felicity at her release, and got her for Christmas in 1992.

We have spent a lot of holidays together.

I still swoon at how pretty she is in her Christmas gown.

I am also really pleased that I have her doll and her Noah's ark to play with.

I am always on the lookout for more of her collection, but grateful for what I do have.

More Christmas pictures!

 Here are some Christmas pictures of Addy, Melody and Samantha!

Melody

Addy

Samantha

Christmas for Kit

 Here are some Christmas pictures of Kit!

She ran to the Christmas tree still in her pajamas, but she had to change into her Christmas dress later for family pictures!

Holiday PJs!

 Jess and Joss are celebrating Christmas in their PJs.

Girls of the Year have to hang together!

Getting Ready for the Holidays!

 Caroline Abbot and Laura Ingalls are ready to show off their holiday finery!

Happy St. Lucia's Day!

 Happy St. Lucia's Day from Kirsten and me!

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas!

 Kanani, Aurelie and Danielle are eager to show off their holiday looks!

Aren't they cute?

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

Happy St. Nicholas Day!

 Do you celebrate St. Nicholas Day?

I fell in love with it in second grade when I read about it in a book in second grade. 

I also got to celebrate it with my host family when I was studying in Germany!

Joss left her shoes out, and St. Nicholas brought her a Moana book and some lollipops.

Cleaning Doll Clothes

 Something that has been low-key bugging me for a long time was that some of the doll clothes in my collection were dirty.

I am really careful with my doll clothes. However, for example, my Felicity's meet dress is 28 years old, and I kept her in that dress most of the time, so it was just grubby from handling, even though I kept an apron over it.

I buy a lot of doll clothes used, and some of them came with spots on them.

However, when I was little, I washed my Barbie doll clothes in the sink, and some of them shrank beyond use. I really didn't want to repeat that.

So what I did was, I bought this powdered OxiClean, and I added the recommended amount of powder to hot water.

THEN, this is the important part, I let the water cool before adding the doll clothes.

The hot water is needed to dissolve the powder, but hot water might shrink your doll clothes, and I didn't want to risk it.

I let the doll clothes soak for six to eight hours, then I rinsed them with cold water and let them air dry.

It worked great! I reused the same tub of cold water with OxiClean in it for several cycles of doll clothes each. I dumped it out when I could see the water becoming discolored.

I am so happy to see the doll clothes looking clean!

The Kindness of Strangers

 I am in a group on Facebook about sewing for 18 inch dolls.

A lady in that group posted a free knitting pattern that she had designed. I complimented her on the pattern.

She knitted me a doll dress and coat and mailed them to me all the way from Switzerland, out of the kindness of her heart!

I was so surprised and so touched.

She made me this beautiful doll coat, modeled by Aurelie. 

She also made me this cute doll dress modeled by Kanani. 

I really love the tiny sunflower buttons on the back.

This gesture really touched me. It was so kind of this lady to do this for a complete stranger.

I'm actually a little speechless, can you tell?

So this Thanksgiving, I am thankful for my health, my family, my home and the kindness of strangers.

A Girl For All Time Bex

 I finally got A Girl for All Time Bex!

I have been wanting Bex, but I was also sort of waiting for one at the right price point. I found a nice condition used Bex online for less than $100, and she came home to me!

She's so sweet!

Here is Bex together with Nisha.

I am happy to have Bex.

She is the last of the A Girl For All Time dolls that I want.

I like them all, but I just want a small diverse collection of these dolls.

I now have Bex, Nisha, Amelia and Elinor. I should get a group picture!

Thrift store Surprise!

 I went to the thrift store on my birthday, and I found a great surprise!

I had gone to this thrift store last week, and they had a few American Girl dolls for $75 each, but they were in carrying cases locked in a glass case so that I couldn't see which doll they were or what condition they were in.

I decided that I didn't want to go to the hassle of getting an employee to unlock the case, partly because of COVID and partly because the dolls I want are newer and unlikely to be donated to a thrift store.

This week, I tried going to the thrift store again on my birthday.

In among the porcelain dolls was a naked, sad Girl of Today #1 for only $25.

That was a price point I couldn't resist, so she came home with me.

Since she was naked and sad, I put her in some pajamas and posed her in Melody's bed so that she could get warmed up.

I think I am either going to name her Miranda, or name her after one of the girl characters in Melody's books.

For now I am calling her Miranda.

She has silver eye, and her wig is in bad shape. Her vinyl had some marks that I was mostly able to remove with a Magic eraser.

I think that she was very well loved by her former owner. I think that owner carried her around by her hair. Her elastic is in great shape, but her hair is very thin. It looks okay in a ponytail, but it's too thin to leave it down. It's also shorter than it should be.

The pointer finger on her left hand has a few chew marks.

A line has been drawn on her teeth to give her the look of braces (I assume).

I want to fix her up, but there's only so much I want to spend on fixing her up, given the chewed finger.

I have thought about giving her a fantasy wig, but fixing her silver eye would be my first priority.

Also, changing her wig would take away her cool identity as a #1.

So I am definitely going to think about the best way to help Miranda look her best.

Happy Halloween!

 Happy Halloween from Katie and me!

The pumpkin is one that I grew in my own garden!

1980s Doll Clothes Patterns

It looks like our newest historical doll is from the 1980s! Her name is Courtney Moore.

I am not a fan of 80s fashion, really, so I haven't been looking very hard for patterns.

Yes, I was alive in the 80s.

No, it does not make me feel nostalgic.

On Pixie Faire:

Crafty Lil Turkey Splash Back to the 80s

Crafty Lil Turkey 80s Ensemble

Doll Joy Puff Sleeve Joy Top

Eden Ava Couture Awesome 80s Party Dress

Farina Rae Hip Hop Hannah Romper

Flossie Potter 1980s Workout Wear

Forever Eighteen Inches 1980s Romantic Heroine

Forever Eighteen Inches 1980s Mix and Match

Frog Princess Fashions Holly and Lace Dress

Frog Princess Party Like it's 1985

Jen Ashley Designs Wild and Wacky Sweatsuit

Liberty Jane Off the Shoulder Tee

Little Miss Muffet Puff Dolly

Matilda's Closet Fanny Pack

Miche Designs Roller Skates

Thimbles and Acorns Fantabulous! Overalls and Oversize T-shirt

Thimbles and Acorns Jelly Flats

Elsewhere:

Appletotes Aerobics Exercise

Mara at the Park

 Mara was able to go hiking at one of the state parks recently!

It was a warm day, so she was comfortable wearing short sleeves.

She enjoyed the beautiful fall foliage!

Girls Just Gotta Have Dolls

 Here are some cute pictures of Anne and Danielle with the new minis.

Anne is reading Charlotte's Web to her mini doll.

Danielle is admiring her mini doll.

Danielle hugging her mini doll.

American Girl Minis

 I recently bought on Zulily two of the American Girl mini dolls that are offered in their Smart Girl's Guide Kits. I wanted the minis, but did not want to pay for the full kit at $45.

It looks like I was not alone in this, as the kits are currently either no longer available or in limited quantities on the website.

I picked out the two minis that I liked the best.

There is a lot of debate on what mold these two are, especially the one on the left.

Addy? Sonali? Jess?

I kind of thought the one on the left looked like the Jess mold.

Then I got her and I thought that maybe she had the Sonali mold, like the one on the right, but I am still not sure.

Anyway, they are cute, and they add to the diversity of my collection.

Here is the picture of the maybe-Sonali mold mini. Her face is very similar to other Sonali mold minis, yet it has a distinct look to me.

This is the one I think for sure is Sonali mold.

I heard that the minis are back on zulily again now, if you are interested in getting some. I think I will stick with the two that I have.

I guess I need names for these two, but nothing has come to mind yet!

Mattel Toy Store

 I paid another visit to the Mattel Toy Store this weekend.

This store has a lot of different toys sold by Mattel, including American Girl. The AG dolls are full price, but you can get clothes and accessories at usually half off.

You never know what you will find there, which makes it a fun adventure. 

The thrill of driving up to American Girl headquarters never gets old for me.

Store entrance! They are currently open only certain days of the week and mask wearing is mandatory.

They have lots of American Girl dolls. Not all of them, though. Some of these are definitely retired, such as #62 and Tenney. They cost $110.

American Girl clothes and accessories!

There was a smaller selection this time. I bought Nanea's accessories and a Wellie Wisher nightgown that I have had my eye on because of the dragonflies on the fabric.

Lots of Barbies

Lots of games

Holiday display

There were lots of other kinds of toys that I didn't take a picture of.

Even though I didn't buy much, I really enjoyed the adventure of getting to visit the Mattel Toy Store.

It's like a mini MCM Benefit Sale.

You can read about my first visit here from a year ago here.