I made the Keepers Dolly Duds Nancy and Mary Jane pattern in full!
I used a version of the pattern to make Nanea's Christmas dress, but that didn't have all the scallops.
This version has the scallops!
I always feel when I make scallops that they could be more defined.
These aren't the best and aren't the worst.
But it's a pretty dress, and I am happy that I tried to make the pattern!
I love this fabric. So pretty!
My friend talked me into buying a Scare-adise Draculaura.
(You know who you are, and I know you are very proud of yourself.)
I didn't want her to be stuck in a swimsuit year round, so I needed to sew her a dress.
I made the Requiem Art Designs Petite Curvy Goth Girl pattern.
I had the perfect fabric in the form of a fat quarter that I bought at Wal-Mart a few years ago.
I did most of the sewing by hand, since the pieces were so mall. I was sitting on the couch with all the tiny pieces in a bowl.
I am not sure about the collar. I feel like it didn't turn out as well as I would like. I am not sure white was the best color for it either, but I couldn't think of what other color to use.
The bodice fit is a little loose on her. It doesn't look bad. I just don't know if I should have bought the petite small size instead.
The sleeves are so narrow that I had to take her hands off to get it on her. Thanks goodness for removeable hands!
Hopefully, this will not be the last dress I made for Draculaura.
My first doll dress of the year!
I made the Thimbles and Acorns Wrap Front Regency Dress pattern.
I'm so proud of myself!
I did have to read the instructions carefully on this one.
The sleeves are actually the easy part. They are straightforward sleeves, just long and with a wrist band and snap to create the bunching.
The top was the challenging part, but I got there!
It's so pretty! I love this fabric print.
Caroline is happy to have a new dress to wear (and to get out of the closet, let's be honest.)
I was very sick over Christmas. It feels so good to be up and doing things again!
I need to start sewing again!
I started with Keepers Dolly Duds Sweet Summer Days.
Yes, I consider it a hilarious and wonderful joke that after I sewed all of the Keepers Dolly Duds patterns, three more were released.
I am happy to have more wonderful patterns to sew!
I made this dress in yellow gingham. Having learned my lesson the last time I sewed this dress, I lined the skirt so that it wouldn't be see-though.
Nanea gets to wear the dress. It looks great on her! I was sewing this on a rainy day, and the dress was like a drop of sunshine.
If you are not into the midriff gap, Forever 18 Inches Country Diva is a pretty similar pattern.
I'm excited to be sewing again! I'm less excited about winter approaching, but oh well.
I have had this pattern for years, and have been waiting for the perfect fabric.
Well, I finally went with "good enough." I was thinking of making it with the red and blue checked fabric, but I decided that with the curvy pattern pieces, this would work better with a less geometric print.
And I think I was right, because looking at this dress with the flowered print, I can't even see where the seams are.
The pattern pieces fit together perfectly, and they fit the doll perfectly as well.
I did one mistake, which was totally mine. I sewed the neckline shut before I added the collar. So I had to unpick it and add the collar. I think that the extra work was worth it!
Yes, I have been sewing for Julie a lot lately. I just have been thinking sundresses, and I guess that the 70s had a lot of sundresses? Or I am really inspired by that red and blue checked fabric. Either one.
Makena also got to have a turn at modeling the dress!
This is the second dress that I have sewn for Julie from the same fabric.
For the first one, I used the Heritage Doll designs Wrap Top Dress pattern.
I knew that it reminded me of Julie's Patchwork Outfit.
So I decided to sew a version that was even more similar to her original outfit by using the pattern Bunny Bear Patterns Endless Summer.
I really like this pattern! It's elegant, and the fit is perfect.
It was also very easy to sew.
Next, I want to make an all-white version of this pattern for Kavi. I think it would be cute on her.
Here are Julie and Evette modeling their "matching" dresses!
It reminds me a bit of the Beverly Cleary book Ellen Tibbits, where the moms sew dresses for their daughters from matching fabric.
I wanted to make some historical doll clothes for my cousin's daughter, but I didn't know what dolls the younger cousin has or what her favorite colors are.
I decided to make two Regency dresses using Simplicity pattern 9438.
One of the dresses is pink, and the other is white and purple.
Caroline is hiding from me currently, so I used Saige and Isabelle to model for me. I think Saige actually resembles Violet Bridgerton a bit.
I didn't change their shoes, haha, but the dresses are so long that you can't see Isabelle's ballet slippers or Saige's gold sandals.
The dresses were VERY easy to sew. It's a pretty basic pattern, but it is easy to make and it looks great!
I saw a dress made from the Kay and May 1860s Civil War Dress pattern made by someone in a Facebook group.
I thought it was really cute. I really liked the sleeves and the square bodice. The belt was also unique among doll patterns that I have seen.
The pattern was affordable, so I was happy to buy it and give it a try.
I ended up not being very happy with the skirt. I felt that the skirt was the right length for a 1950s dress, but too short for a 1860s dress.
I also felt that the way the hem was curved made it harder to hem it neatly.
I think that the skirt should be about two inches longer than it is. You can see the dress sewn to the original pattern in the picture above.
I made a second, longer skirt, that could be worn under the dress that I had made. This gave the skirt three tiers.
I wasn't really happy the way it looked. It didn't look like it was planned, because it wasn't.
I did not give up on this pattern.
I have made two more dresses, in which I used the bodice pattern and a skirt that I just cut as a rectangle about 25 inches wide by 8 inches long. I gave up on making the skirt tiered.
I will share the other dresses I made from this pattern when I have a picture of them. I still think it's a cute pattern, but I am annoyed by the skirt debacle.
I made the Joy Dress from the Doll Joy pattern maker on Pixie Faire.
The repetition in the pattern name and the pattern maker name is a bit annoying.
Anyway, I was really excited to get this pattern as a Freebie Friday, thank you.
I made the pattern sized for 14.5 inch to 15 inch dolls.
Sadly, I don't totally 100% like this pattern.
I like the sleeves, they are really cute. I love doll clothes with long sleeves!
I thought that the neck was too big on Stella, and it would be better with a narrower neck. Which I can fix next time, but not this time.
The dress is meant to be a very loose fix around the waist. It looks cute in pictures, but it bothers me in real life.
The material for this dress is from a blouse I got at the thrift store. I like the fabric.
All I have to do to finish this dress is finish the bottom hem. I have not yet done so.
For one, thing, I do not want the dress to be any shorter than it is. Next time, if I ever make it, I might make the bottom ruffe a half inch longer to compensate for that.
And as I said, the loose fit around the waist bothers me. I am tempted to cut the whole thing shorter and add a fitted waist. Or even make it into a blouse.
Anyway, I can't make up my mind what to do!
I found this fabric, purple sparkled with gold, at the thrift store. I thought for a while about what to do with it.
I wanted something modern and classy, but not TOO dressy as it is cotton.
I found the Liberty Jane Catalina Crop Top printed out, and decided to give it a go.
I love the finished product! I like this better than Saige's official hot pink fancy dress.
The bodice has 14 pieces, so it's a lot for a beginner. But it made sense and it came together easily.
I am glad that I had gold shoes (from Lea's collection) that went well with this dress!
I finally made a dress for my 8 inch Caring for Baby doll using the Lemon Bay Doll Co Vintage Dress pattern.
I think I have had this pattern for a couple of years. I have meant to make this FOREVER.
The pattern is very straightforward, and it comes with a lot of suggestions on how you can easily alter the pattern to make it suitable for different decades.
I wanted to make a christening gown, or one that looked like a christening gown. Just because they are pretty, not because of religious belief.
I cut a skirt 4 inches by 18 inches. Next time, I may make it even longer!
I added inset lace on the sleeves and the skirt.
This dress is so cute!
Now I want to make lots of them, all in different colors and with different skirt lengths.
I am happy. :)
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!
I posted about sewing the Keepers Dolly Duds Pilgrim Boy pattern and turning it into a folk costume from the German city of Braunschweig.
I also made the Keepers Dolly Duds Pretty Pilgrim pattern and made it into a female version of the Tracht costume originally worn in Braunschweig.
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I am going to post the caveat again that no one dresses like this anymore! It's a historical costume.
This is actually not the first time that I sewed a version of the Braunschweig Tracht, but it's the first time that I have made it in American Girl size.
I made a Wellie Wisher sized version before, using the Keeper's Dolly Duds Spring Dirndl pattern for Wellie Wishers. You can read that post here.
So there are multiple options for sewing your own traditional German's girl outfit.
The Pretty Pilgrim pattern has a lot of pieces. I made a chemise, a neck ruffle, waistcoat, apron and petticoat.
I did not make the coif, because the headwear that goes with the German Tracht is more like a pillbox.
I think that the end result is adorable, and I love it!
My German boy and girl look really cute together.
So when I set myself the goal of sewing ALL of the Keepers Dolly Duds patterns, I was not very enthusiastic about making the patterns for the Pilgrims. I knew it would drive me crazy if I decided to omit these two patterns from my goal. However, the Pilgrims, while they were just trying to survive, did set off a set of events that led to genocide.
One of my friends suggested that I look at European folk costumes. I decided to make the Pilgrim patterns and turn them into the folk costumes, or Tracht, of the German city Braunschweig.
I should make clear that I lived in Braunschweig for a year and I never, ever saw anyone wear Tracht there. It would be kind of embarrassing. I just love the city so much, I wanted to research what would have been won there historically.
After all that explanation, here is my version of the Keepers Dolly Duds Pilgrim Boy.
I didn't realize how many pieces are in this pattern! It includes a shirt, breeches, jacket, hat, stockings and shoes.
I omitted the hat and the jacket, as they did not match the outfit I wanted to create. I was really glad that the stocking pattern was included, otherwise I didn't have a way to obtain blue stockings as used in the Tracht.
The shoes I made are not going to pass for professionally made shoes AT ALL, but they are less of a distraction than making him wear sneakers with this outfit.
He borrowed Felicity's tricorn hat to top the outfit!
I am pleased with how this project turned out. I hope to eventually make him a coat to match.
I loved the Keepers Dolly Duds Rising Star pattern as soon as it was released!
I was a big fan of Shirley Temple as a little girl. I was pretty certain that the name and style of the dress was a Shirley reference.
I was intimidated by the pattern, however, and it took me a while to tackle it.
The part that intimidated me the most was the pleats in the middle. And I have to say that, yeah, my pleats aren't quite playing as nicely as I would like that to.
But I can keep working on setting the pleats and it will not hurt the rest of the dress.
The rest of the dress was quite easy, including all of those zig zags.
I would be willing to try to make this dress again!
I made the Keepers Dolly Duds Double Cape.
Mine is blue, like the one on the pattern cover. I like blue.
This pattern has three pieces: the bonnet, the cape, and a mini cape which is more over the big cape, but is a separate piece.
The pattern was easy to follow and to sew. I am very happy with it.
As you can see, I did not add bias trim. I think it is fine without it.
I am happy to have this finished, and to post it. It took me a couple of weeks to post it after sewing it.
I finally finished Keepers Dolly Duds Sunday Stroll!
I had a spot of trouble with this one. I had almost finished it, when I had some trouble finishing the bottom of the jacket with the ruffle. The lining of the coat and the outside did not match up, so I must have made a mistake cutting somewhere.
I had to set it aside and calm down so that I could do a good job of solving the problem.
The calming down period ended up lasting three weeks. This was longer than I had intended, but I had family visiting me.
I chose solid red, because I thought it would match nicely with Christmas outfits and possibly some non-festive ones as well.
I chose cotton fabric because it would hold the shape of the jacket. Something like velvet wouldn't work as well on this one, in my opinion. Plus, making the ruffle out of velvet would not work.
I was going to make the bonnet solid red with a solid red ruffle. I then realized that it was going to look like something out of The Handmaid's Tale. So I added lace around the brim and a red and white ruffle to soften the look.
The back of the jacket is just as cute as the front!
I may try this pattern again someday and see if I can do a better job. For now, I am so happy to have it done!
I made the Keepers Dolly Duds Parade Day pattern.
This was a quick and easy pattern.
The top of the blouse has some pleating, but it was easy to do.
The skirt and jacket were very easy.
If you are intimidated by sewing asymmetrical patterns, I think that this jacket would be a good one to start with.
I really wanted to make the jacket a solid color, but I was using what was in the house. I couldn't find a solid color fabric that coordinated.
As a result, the blouse, skirt and jacket are all three different florals. I think it works.
Anyway, it can be used for mix and match.
Here is a picture of the dress from Parade Day with the jacket from Church Tea. This combination works too!
I made Keepers Dolly Duds Tea with the Governess!
My goodness, this pattern is so elegant and fancy, and it was so easy to make!
I was especially intimidated by the pleats o the bodice. It turned out not to be that bad.
I also did the fancy ruched sleeves, and that was also easy to do!
Honestly, I had more trouble trying to get a picture that would clearly show the pleated bodice than I did sewing it.
I love this pattern! Caroline is going to have such a great wardrobe!
This is my first time making the pattern Keepers Dolly Duds 1850s jacket and bonnet.
It came out beautifully!
I used wool pants from the thrift store for the jacket and bonnet. This is the third jacket that I have gotten from the same pair of pants.
In this context, they were giving me real Jane Eyre vibes.
I decided to leave the ruching off the outside of the bonnet because of the Jane Eyre vibes.
What I wanted to make was a nice but plain jacket and bonnet that could be used with a variety of dresses.
I used snaps instead of making buttonholes. The nice thing was that if I had made a buttonhole and messed it up, I could have easily replaced the tab with the buttonhole on it instead of ruining the whole garment.
I am so happy that I have conquered this pattern! I won't hesitate to make it again.
I found Pleasant Company's trunk for Molly! It was $20 and I found it in a pile of stuff in the garage (!) of my local thrift store. It...
