Small Work Dress for Tiana

 This dress is inspired by Tiana's yellow work dress. It is sized for the Disney Animator dolls.

It's not really a sailor dress collar.

I kind of felt like, at this smaller size, this was close enough for a play dress for a Tiana doll.

I used the pattern  Requiem Art Designs Disney Animator Toddler Basic Dress.

I made the sleeves longer and used the dropped waist.

It's a cute little dress!

Snow White is my model, because I bought her at the thrift store for modelling purposes.

Seeing Snow White in this dress with her hair in braids makes me want to sew her a Wednesday Addams dress, haha.

The dress will be going to a little girl that I know who owns the Disney Animator Tiana.

Here is the dress together with one of the AG sized sailor dresses that I made.

Pattern Review: Joan Hinds Sailor Dress

 I did a lot of sewing this weekend!

I was inspired by the new Disney release to make some Tiana inspired dresses. These are not exact matches for the AG versions. It was much more fun to use what I had in the house and see different combinations come together!

I was lucky that I went to the thrift store on Friday and found a big piece of plain yellow fabric that I used for two of the dresses. It was only $2!

The pattern that I used was the sailor dress from Joan Hinds Heritage Doll Clothes. 

I bought this book used. The pattern pieces were not in the book, they were on a CD. I was able to get the patterns off the CD with the help of the library, but a lot of laptops no longer have a CD player, so be aware of that if buying the book used.

I made the skirt 1.5 inches longer than the pattern because it looked to me like Tiana's work dress skirt hits her at mid-thigh.

I also added a sleeve cuff by cutting strips of fabric 1.25 by 5.25 inches.

Other changes that you could do to make the pattern closet to the work dress would be shortening the top a little bit and shortening the sleeves about 1.5 inches so that they are 3/4 length.

The collar is only on the front of the dress and does not extend around to the back of the dress.

I had so much fun picking out different color combinations from my stash. It was hard to stop!

I like all of the combinations. 

Claudie is my model for Tiana. She is so cute, and so is the Tiana doll.

Pattern Review: Keepers Dolly Duds Balmoral Holiday Coat

 I was so scared to make the Keepers Dolly Duds Balmoral Holiday Coat!

It offered some great opportunities to totally mess up- the scallops in front of the coat, the button holes, the asymmetry.

Well, I eliminated one of those hazards right off the bat by putting in snaps instead of sewing real button holes.

The pattern was easy to follow and I didn't have any problem with the asymmetrical design.

And the scallops turned out better than any I have done before. My theory is that is because these scallops are somewhat larger than any that I have sewn before.

I love this coat and the cloche hat! They are so cute.

I am so pleased that I overcame my fears and tackled this pattern!

Pattern Review: Dolls at Heart Vera's 1920s Dress

 I made the Dolls at Heart Vera's 1920s Drooped Waist Dress, available on etsy.

I had first bought the cloche hat on ebay, and then I made the pink and green dress to match the hat.

I used fabric that I had on hand, which is why the green fabric is not an exact match to the green on the cloche.

I ended up not liking the pink fabric that I used at all. It was second hand from someone else's project. It looked like they were making a giant pillow case maybe? I don't know.  It was slippery and a bit sheer and it did not feel high quality at all. 

When I dislike the fabric that I used for a sewing project, it ends up affecting how much I like that particular project. Am I the only one with this idiosyncrasy? It's a perfectly cute dress, but that pink fabric... Ugh.

I did not pleat the skirt. I had trouble understand the way the pleating was marked on the pattern piece. I couldn't access the pattern instructions because of laptop problems.

I put velcro on the cuffs instead of snaps in order to finish the project sooner. 

It's a very nice pattern. It reminds me of some of the Keepers Dolly Duds patterns. I will no doubt be using it again. Maybe next time, I will make the pleats.

Merry Christmas from Claudie!

 I love Claudie and I love her Christmas coat. They are so cute!

Matching 1920s Christmas dresses

 These dresses were made in a hurry for a little girl who had COVID. I wanted to give them to her grandma so I didn't have to pay for shipping, so I didn't get a picture of the dolls wearing the clothes.

The girl has a 16 inch Disney Animator Tiana, and a 18 inch Madame Alexander doll named Mary.

I was going to 1920s style dresses, since that would be appropriate for Tiana.

I thought it was super cute to  make them matching Christmas dresses! 

The Disney Animator  dress was made using the Requiem Arts Designs Disney Animator Dress Basics  pattern.

The 18 inch doll dress was made using the Dolls at Hearts Vera dress pattern. 

Both dresses fit the dolls, and made their owner very happy!

I was relieved, since I did not have a Disney Animator doll to use as a model to test the fit.

Pattern Review: Keepers Dolly Duds Downtown 1920s Dress Pattern

 I have made the Keepers Dolly Duds Downtown 1920s  Dress pattern before.

Apparently, though, I didn't post about the pattern on the blog before. Oops.

The pattern looks so fancy. It was easier to make than it looks.

I really love patterns where you can combine two different fabrics in contrasting colors, so I love the pleats in contrasting colors in this pattern.

I really ran with the color play this time. I made Claudie and Phryne matching Christmas dresses. Both dresses use the same fabric. I just swapped which fabric is the main focus. It makes a big difference in the way the dresses look!

The hardest part of the dress is probably the piping. I cut the piping extra long, ironed it before I sewed it, drew the line the sew along on the fabric, and clipped extra fabric carefully. It didn't turn out perfectly, but it turned out pretty well.

Phryne got the green dress to match her eyes.

Claudie got the striped dress because it's Kwanzaa colors, and to match with Melody and Addy.

I am really pleased to have made Christmas dresses in such a timely manner.

I often end up making doll clothes out of the season they are meant for. At least dolls don't outgrow clothes

Getting Ready for Christmas!

 Claudie is getting ready for Christmas!

How about you?

Two Coats for Claudie

 I just realized that both American Girl and I made green coats for Claudie.

This amuses me.

Here is the green coat that I made. I used the Keepers Dolly Duds pattern that is available at Pixie Faire.

The snowflake on Claudie's nose in this picture kills me. So cute.

Here is the coat that AG made! 

It's a different shade of green, and a different style coat. They both work well for Claudie!

Here is a bonus picture of Phryne Valancy wearing the same coat.

I will have to take a side-by-side comparison photo when it's winter again!

New Items for Claudie

 Claudie's new stuff is the cutest.

She recently had a release with four new items: a polka dot middy dress, a winter coat, Christmas accessories, and a suitcase.

I bought all four new items, and I love all of them.

It's hard to choose a favorite, but I really love the Christmas accessories. It comes with a stuffed Velveteen Rabbit, a mini Velveteen Rabbit book, a Christmas tin, Christmas cookies, and a postcard to her grandmother.

Everything in the set is adorable. The cookies are some of the most realistic doll food that AG has done in a while. Well, the Pizza Hut Pan Pizza is also amazingly realistic and a must-have.

The pamphlet that came with her Christmas stuff was a mini story about her Christmas. That is not in her books. Her books take place 100% over the summer. They should put it in the catalog or something. It's adorable and will totally entice people to buy these items.

My biggest peeve was that the beret didn't fit well on her head and had to balance on top.

I really like her polka dot middy dress. The fabric feels nice. The boots are a nice quality. Her hat is adorable and sets well on her head, although the curls make it harder to put on her sometimes.

The coat is just beautiful and well made. The coat is even lined! It closes with Velcro in the front. I don't mind this. Sometimes when it is snowing and I want to take the dolls for a quick picture, it's a really a pain to manipulate the buttons and belt on Kit's coat.

The beret with the coat does not fit well on her head. I had to balance it on top of her head.

I also liked Claudie's suitcase and its contents. The suitcase is heavy and should stand up to a lot of playing. The mirror inside it has a loop on the handle so that Claudie can hold it easily! I love that.

I also love the historical accuracy of Claudie having Madame CJ Walker hair products.

All of these items are a flash back to the Pleasant Company. They are so well made and detailed.

I hope that everyone buys these so that we see more items like this from AG in the future!

Removing Claudie's Painted Eyelashes

 I have removed Claudie's painted eyelashes. 

I kept her the way she comes from AG for a few months. But I really think she is cuter without the extra eyelashes, and I have no regrets.

Here she is before eyelash removal:

(the wet spot on her forehead is from a snowflake melting on her face)

And here she is after:

She is cute both ways! No judgement from me, you can keep your Claudie any way you like.

Here is my blog post on how to remove the eyelashes if you wish.

1920s Frock

 I had this scrap of fancy fabric, and I wanted to make a basic 1920s dress that would be fancy from the fabric used, not from the pattern.

I used some of the pattern pieces from the Keepers Dolly Duds Nautical Pleats pattern for the bodice and sleeves, and for the length of the dress.

I made my own Peter Pan collar pattern to go with it.

I added a black velvet Peter Pan collar and sleeve cuffs.

I am happy with it. I feel like it's something a girl could reasonably wear to a jazz concert with her parents in the 1920s.

Both Phryne Valancy and Claudie got to try it on.

Who do you think looks better in it?

Pattern Review: KDD Nautical Pleats

 I made the Keeper Dolly Duds Nautical Pleats pattern. I was already planning a different 1920s sailor dress when this pattern was released, but this is the one I made first.

I have to admit, it took me months to finish this one. I made the top, and pleated half the skirt, and took a break. I left the half-pleated skirt under some cookbooks for the pleats to get really set in.

Then the whole project sat all summer. Finally, I finished the other half of the pleats, couldn't find the top, panicked, found it again, and finally finished it.

I still haven't added the bow on the front. I am just going to make it out of ribbon. That's one reason why I went with blue and white. Also I just like the classic look.

I am still not totally happy with the pleats, but I was using a very slippery fabric that I got at a yard sale. I am not even sure what it is. Presumably this might work better in cotton.

I want to make one of these for Claudie, anyway. This dress is for Phryne Valancy. Claudie will probably get to try it on, though.

So hopefully next time will go better!

Pattern Review: Keepers Dolly Duds 1927 Coat

 I made the Keepers Dolls Duds 1927 Coat pattern.

I am very pleased with this pattern. 

I actually made this coat twice for myself, in red and in green.

I wanted to see how they both looked on this doll.

I would have preferred a darker green, and I may try that yet.

I liked the pattern. It made a very elegant coat.

I didn't realize that the coat has a kick pleat in the back. That was the hardest part of the pattern. I kept reading the directions. BUT once I got to that step in sewing, it was clear enough what I needed to do.

The finished kick pleat looks so good! I keep turning the doll around to look at it.

I also want to share a picture of the lining, because I love the fabric that I used. The print was a little large for an AG dress, but it looked good as the coat lining!

I am very happy with this pattern and the coats that I made from it.

I know I am making a lot of coats. It's cold here, and the snow makes the perfect background.

One of these days I should try making the matching hats, I suppose.

New Keepers pattern!

Keepers Dolly Duds has a new pattern!

This one is Downtown 1920s.

It's very pretty, and there are so few patterns for the 1920s out there.

This pattern even includes a pattern for a hat!

You can see my list of other 1920s doll patterns here.

I am interested in this era because my grandma was 9 in 1920.
Maybe I should make some of these patterns in her honor!

1920s doll dress patterns- Patterns for Claudie!

Carpatina 1925 period dress

Carpatina Robe de Style

Dolls at Heart Designs Flora's Dropped Waist Dress

Dolls at Heart Vera's Dropped Waist Dress

Hint of History 1920s Wedding Gown

Keepers Dolly Duds Balmoral Holiday Coat

Keepers Dolly Duds Downtown 1920s

Keepers Dolly Duds 1927 Coat and Tam

Keepers Dolly Duds Nautical Pleats

My Sunshine Dolls Jazzy Dress

My Sunshine Dolls Lotus Dress

My Sunshine Dolls Style Moderne Gown

My Sunshine Dolls Razzle Dazzle Dress

Rachel Kerby Couture Robe de Style

Thimbles and Acorns A Piece of History Dress

Thimbles and Acorns 1920s Underwear

Thimbles and Acorns 1920s Mary Brooks Dress

Thimbles and Acorns 1920s Mary Brooks Hat

The2ndLifeMercantile Vintage 1920s Dress Pattern

Wren*Feathers FREE 1920s Bessie dress

You can read a reprint of a vintage 1923 book about doll clothes, Your Dolly's Clothes.

There is Simplicity 8038, which offers a 1920s doll apron, as well as human sizes.

I love the TV show Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries, which offers delightful 1920s eye candy.
It's also very clever. Miss Fisher is a force to reckon with!

As you can see, there are not many 1920s doll clothes patterns currently.

I am sure that will change if there is ever a 1920s doll!