Another Button-up Shirt

This one, though, is for dolls

Specifically, for a 1961(ish) Ken

 

Have I mentioned...doll sewing?

I started cutting doll clothes from random fabrics--most of them were pieces of cloth that I didn't have much left, and some were things I was inspired to use while rummaging around for the pieces to use up.

There ended up being...several things made.

OMG Qi Pao

I was working on a somewhat extensive doll customizing project,and had an idea for a dress I wanted to make for one of the dolls: a qi pao/cheongsam.

I have made similar dresses before, for a few different sizes of dolls (including a pattern I shared here), but the challenge this time was that the intended body was a LOL OMG.  If you're not familiar with those, they're extremely...hippy.

I did have a version of the pattern in a size that would fit the doll's torso, so I traced that and added significant hip flare.

It wasn't enough.

I poked through my dolls and found someone else who could wear it: this vintage Hasbro Leggy head on a mildly hippy Jakks Pacific Tinkerbell body

I traced the pattern again, this time adding a lot more hip.  And it ended up very close!

When I shared this picture, a few people said they thought the drag lines added realism to the way it fits, because it's a challenge in the real world to find things that fit hips like that.  And while I do find it  acceptable for this dress, my goal was to make this pattern in lamé, so I really didn't want to put that much strain on it.

I traced the pattern again, adding a bit more hip space, then tried it in an absolutely flimsy tissue lamé that was far more uncooperative than other lamés I've sewn, and I really botched the hip curves.  Fortunately, a Bratz body is about the same size across the chest and shoulders, so I needed only to flatten the hip curves a bit to make it acceptable for that body.

Then I sewed it again in a sturdier lamé and it fit like I hoped.  No proper photos of that yet, though.  Soon!

Oh, right. More doll clothes.

 I'm working on another patchwork thing for me, but I did sew some more doll clothes this week

Posting to keep accountable.  I used up all of everything but the olive green floral, so that's nice, too.

Once Again: Doll Clothes

It started simple, with putting fabric scraps into a better storage situation, and happening to notice a few pieces of a print I thought I had completely used up long ago, and it looked like there was just enough to make a dress bodice

 However, while looking for a print to coordinate with it, my brain veered off into thinking about using textured fabric.  Which I didn't do for this dress (although the alien print is a very lightweight twill), but I tried, to varying degrees, on a few other things

So. I make doll clothes.

And I've decided to post about them here more than I used to, mostly to account for my time.

And, oh, what time I put into these

I have not yet, however, put time into photographing them individually. (I hadn't even found shoes for all of them when I took the photo above.)  I started sewing the raindrop dress, on the Barbie in the center, on Friday afternoon, and finished with the patchwork dress at the top on late Sunday.  I had only planned to make the raindrop dress and the pink and white dot dress on the Momoko in the lower right corner.  But.  I kept having ideas.

And while I definitely did not pace myself while making these, I am attempting to pace myself when it comes to photographing them, because I know my natural inclination is to photograph and edit and post them all at once, which would probably take an entire day.  I'd like to do other things...

So. More doll dresses.

At the end of the previous post, I mentioned that I was thinking about updating the pattern I used for those dresses, and I have now done that

 

 ...and then some

Oh, look: more doll clothes

 I rerooted a doll, but felt like the clothes I had that fit her didn't suit her.  Time to sew something!

 

 which also included sewing five more dresses with the same pattern

And then I sewed these

 Yes, I made the previous post of doll clothes I'd sewn over the last few weeks, then spent the intervening time (that was posted on the 20th and today is the 22nd) sewing more doll clothes.

A Smattering of Doll Sewing

While I am also sewing a stack of doll clothes to sell, I have also sewn some random things for my own dolls

Slim Shirt and Wide Pants

 ...for dolls!

The shirt and pants patterns are designed for "original" (2016) Barbie bodies, flat foot and high heel.  The pants have optional pockets and possible waistband width variations.

You should be able to right click and save the patterns and instructions.

Just-Post-Mid Project Pause

 I'm sewing more doll dresses to sell--these were all sewn with the thread already in my sewing machine and serger

I have two more of the high waist dresses, and two more of the A-line dresses, cut out and ready to go, but I need to change the thread in the sewing machine and the serger for those, so I'm making a few other projects before doing that.

The A-line dresses are a shortened version of an original Blythe-size pattern I made, so they fit Rainbow High bodies like this

As much as I am not the target market for the overall Rainbow/Shadow High Aesthetic, I do appreciate that I can use Blythe patterns for their clothes.

Little Shorts

 I have spent the last few days working on a doll pattern...that I'd originally started nearly a year ago, then...kinda...did other things instead.

I present: Three Variations on Little Barbie Shorts

Curvy, High Waist Original, and Original

I register my usual grumble about how that body was created in 2016 and is most definitely not original.  Which is what prompted me to try a pair made with High Waist Original on an actual first Barbie body

 

 along with another pair of High Waist Original on a slim waist early 2000s articulated Ken body (wearing a Mod Ken head and completely different hands.)  There's plenty of room for Barbie to tuck in the somewhat bulky shirt, while Ken doesn't have that luxury.  I don't think he minds. 

The non-high-waist Original shorts fit the Rainbow High/Shadow High body fairly well, too, although the waist becomes super high in that situation.

You should be able to right click and save the pattern and instructions, and there's a 1"/1cm scale to double check that the size prints correctly.

Suitable fabrics include quilting cotton, chambray, pinwale/baby corduroy, lightweight denim, and any similar sturdy, but still doll scale, woven fabrics

In the first photo, the Curvy doll on the left is wearing the shorts over my Curvy Bodysuit pattern, which can be found here https://sewiam.blogspot.com/2018/07/the-doll-pattern-ive-shared-so-far.html , and the Original on the right is wearing Blouse with Front Variations, included here https://sewiam.blogspot.com/2020/07/doll-clothes-pattern-roundup-part-2.html .  I don't have any coherent wardrobe building plans in mind whenever I decide something should be a pattern I share, so it's nice when they do turn out to work together.

wait no this one

 I shared a doll sewing pattern a few days ago, but I was unhappy with the sleeve shape, so I did some work on it today and now I present this version

and I'm happier with the sleeves, so I'll leave it alone now.  Probably.

Pencil Skirt Pattern for Original & Curvy Fashion Dolls

 

This one was prompted by my own needs–the sheath skirt pattern I had made a few years ago was belly button Barbie body size, so juuuuusssst a bit too tight for the current “Original” size bodies, and when I’d actually remember to add a bit of width on the fly, the results…varied.

And then I wondered if it could be made Curvy size by simply adding a quarter inch to each side, and, yes, yes it could.

If you want both sizes without printing everything twice (and don’t want to hassle with cutting along the smaller lines without cutting away the larger size, which is…uh…probably what I’d do), I’d suggest tracing one of the sizes and using that copy for your second version of the pattern.

 Right click and save; the 1"/1cm reference lines will let you know of it prints the right size

High Waist Pleat Front Wide Leg Cuffed Cropped Trousers...for Dolls: The Pattern Hack

So I wondered, would it be enough to trim the pattern pieces just a bit to convert the pattern from Curvy size to "Original"* size?

 Yep!

 The Curvy waist is 1"/24mm larger than the "Original" waist, so I hypothesized that it would be enough to take ¼"/6mm off of the sides.  Once I drew on that contour, I realized the area above crotch level (the rise) would be too long, so I measured (yes, I actually measured) and then reduced the rise by ½"/12mm.  The waistband got a simple inch taken off of one side.

Here's a picture with my pencil sketch lines for the alterations

   I know it would have been better to print a new copy of the pattern and alter it with actual cutting and taping, but...it's me, so I just folded things.

I might still reprint it sometime, so I can add length to the legs--probably by cutting both leg pieces at approximately the level of the word Front and then taping in the half inch pieces cut off from rise.  There will need to be a bit of angle tweaking, but the way the bottom of the leg is designed to accommodate the cuff means I wouldn't add the make up length there.

Or I could leave 'em short


* anyone who knows anything about Barbie knows "Original" size has been around no longer than Curvy size.  Bah.

High Waist Pleat Front Wide Leg Cuffed Cropped Trousers...for Dolls

In late 2018, I made this somewhat random pair of pants for a slightly-larger-than-Barbie doll

(She's a Calico Lassie, sold in the 1960s by Kellogg's on cereal boxes, whose original style was heavily influenced by Ellie May from The Beverly Hillbillies)

The pants got a decent reception, so I made a quick sketch recreating how I'd cut the  pieces and said I'd make a pattern to share.

I started working on that a bit over a month ago.  It took a few iterations

I'll spare you the photos of the process of getting them right, with all the "oh, if that were a real person, that looks like it would be...uncomfortable" fit issues, so here's the final fit on two Curvy Barbies, left and right (while a Takara Cool Girl looks on from the center.)

Yes, I stubbornly refused to change the thread throughout the whole process, and completely expected the dark printed plaid attempt wouldn't fit right, either, so of course it did and that contrasty thread at the waistband is...contrasty.   It blends better with the lightweight light purple denim, which I made after the dark plaid pair to check that the pattern did indeed work.  The other pair is one of the bad-fit versions, but that doll has a different body so she can wear them a bit better.

You should be able to right click and save each of these.  There's a 1" line and a 1cm line on the pattern, to check that they print at the correct size--make sure *not* to click Fit To Page on that!

All of the shirts are pattern I've created and shared, too--they're on this blog, but I'll go ahead and put copies under the cut here

Burda 6800--finally!

In late 2014, I decided I really wanted to sew a motorcycle jacket from a chintz fabric that I had recently thrifted.  In early 2015, Burda released this printed pattern AND THEN Joann actually had a Burda pattern sale, so I bought this right away

And then I did nothing with it for nearly five years

Fashion Doll Shawl Collar Coat Pattern (with optional lining)

I have been in a "too much doll stuff, gotta get rid of some of it" mode for the last few weeks (this seems to always strike when winter daylight is at its lowest...)  A result of this is that I have been digging out dolls I've wanted to do more things with, and...doing things.  Like sewing.

I started with making this coat

Extended Shoulder Shirt...for dollsssss

In March, I had an idea for altering one of my doll patterns to make a shirt with extended shoulders, and then I kinda forgot about it, then remembered and felt guilty for not finishing the pattern, then I used the unfinished pattern a lot in sewing for a trade and I realized it had more potential than I expected, and I finally sat down and finished it today.

 The initial idea was only the short sleeve version, but I eventually realized that a sleeve variation could work, too (the fact that there are raw-edge bottoms on both of 'em was completely unplanned, and, indeed, something I only realized as I was editing this post.  My brain does stuff like that a lot.)

 also possible: adding a gathered skirt

as well as cutting it short and adding a skirt (oh hey look it's like the dresses I've been making for me  lately)

And and as you can see, the one pattern, originally intended for Curvy-size Barbies, fits larger bodies pretty well, too

 Tulabelle's hands had to come off to fit through these sleeves, but the short sleeve version fits fine over 16" dolls' hands

I find this really easy to sew, as well as being surprisingly fun, because it has a "loose sweatshirt" vibe even when made from wovens.

...and now I'm wondering how it would look with a fancier woven or even lace...