A Stitch in Time 1916 Summer Dress

 I haven't made many patterns by A Stitch in Time.  The 1916 Summer dress is lovely.

I found this pattern to be relatively easy to sew. It is really beautifully engineered, so that everything matches up perfectly.

The opening on the back of the dress, for instance, end at exactly where the first ruffle starts.

It includes several possible variations on the skirt, sleeve, etc.

I loved this and will be making more variations of this pattern!

Pattern Review: Keepers Dolly Duds Victorian Caroler's Coat

 Ladies and gentlemen, I did it!

I finished the 47th Keepers Dolly Duds digital pattern.

This one is the Keepers Dolly Duds Victorian Caroler Coat.

It has a lot of pieces!

But that's not the reason I made it last. I just couldn't find fabric that I was happy with to use as the trim. I debated several options, and just decided not to do the trim.

Like the Double Cape pattern, the pelerine is removeable from the cape. So if I decide that I hate the red I included, I can replace it by making a new pelerine. Easy peasy. It's fun to know that you can switch looks up and that decisions are not irrevocable!

I am happy with how it turned out!

This coat reminds me of the Thimbles and Acorns A Long Winter Coat. I know that I have made that coat, but maybe I never posted it to the blog, because I can't find a post to link to.

Anyway, the coats are from a similar time period, and they are both long coats that are fitted at the top and flare out at the bottom to make space for women's skirts. If you wanted to make a group of carolers, you could utilize both patterns for some variety!

Rebecca's Spa Day

 Well, Rebecca was one of the AG dolls that I was never going to buy. I'm just not a big Josefina face mold fan.

I was re-reading Frances Hodgeson Burnett's A Little Princess a few years ago, and I thought about customizing Sara's doll Emily. And Rebecca is pretty close to the book version of Emily. I don't remember what she looks like in the movies, I always prefer the books.

So I decided if I could find a really cheap Rebecca, I would have a go at customizing her.

I found this Rebecca for $30. She was naked, I already had this dress because I loved it so much.

She needed some attention.

I did not take any before pictures. It was late, and I was eager to get started.

I sprayed her hair with braid spray, brushed it out curl by curl, and finger curled it. This made a huge improvement!

I used magic eraser to clean all the marks off her face. She had a lot of little pink marker marks.

I then used non-acetone nail polish to remove the nail polish on her fingers and toes.

She still has pink marker in two places. There is pink marker on her ears, which is hidden by pierces ears. And she has pink marker on her fingernails, which was under the fingernail polish.

I am pretty sure that this is the same pink marker that was on her face, but because it's in a crevice, I haven't had luck removing it with the magic eraser. I also wonder if somehow being under the nail polish sort of sealed it on.

I might try using benzoyl peroxide on them, but these don't actually bother me much.

Overall, she has cleaned up very nicely so far. I want to eye swap her with light blue eyes to make her Emily. Emily is described as having blue-grey eyes, so I decided light blue will be closest.

I just need to find the courage to try this!

The only reason I am considering it is because Josefina molds are the easiest ones to eye swap. Jess molds are the hardest to eye swap.

We will see what happens.

A Little Princess was published in 1905, so Emily's wardrobe would be closest to Samantha's. I am thinking of still giving her some of Rebecca's dresses, like the one she is wearing.