A little intense...

The doll clothes sewing continues.  I found two books with lots of 18" (read: American Girl) doll clothes patterns.  Little Chloe here almost fits those, with a little tweaking. 

This wrap dress jumped out at me and I thought it looked fairly simple.  Ha!  I'll say the good news is that I learned A LOT about clothing construction making this dress (and the pattern is well-written, don't get me wrong).  However, in the time it took me to make it, hubby thought I made a matching one for the doll's owner too!

Wrap dress from here

The bodice is lined and handstitched from the inside - not a strongsuit of mine. But, I'm happy with the end result. It's cute and hopefully easy for three-year-old fingers to put on.




back detail

  A much simpler option is the Popover Doll Dress from Oliver+S.  I've had this fabric in my stash for at least a year and finally dared cut into it.  I'm glad I did!

Popover Doll Dress from Oliver+S found here

The matching pants are from a self-drafted pattern using the doll's pajama pants (remember she was here for a sleepover?).  I will say I made a bunch of these for our smaller baby dolls and didn't cut the straps on the bias.  It made a big difference.  Look how happy Chloe is! 

strap detail

Fabric is cut for three more items that I just could resist!  Really, the doll clothes are slightly out-of-control.  I don't know if I would spend this much time/detail on my own kids' clothes!  But, it's somehow very fun (and makes me giggle) to sew up these patterns and fit them on the doll.  Look for the rest soon!

Hope you are finding something to make you giggle today!

A new project...

Our good friend is turning three very soon.  Her doll is in need of some new clothes - especially ones an almost-three year old might be able to do herself. 

What's a Jane-of-all-Trades, crafty friend to do?  Sew the clothes, of course! 

Here is Chloe (she came for a sleepover and a fitting) with her first set of new threads - very preppy.





Chloe in polo shirt, pattern from Liberty Jane clothing



The knits used for the shirt were repurposed from two maternity shirts.  The skirt is a simple A-line made from gray knit. 



Watch for more as the week rolls on.

Happy Monday!

Girl on the go headband

It's summer and there are two busy girls in our house - one of whom has crazy hair that always needs some help getting tamed.  The other barely has any hair, so she needs something to shade her little head.  The solution?  The "Girl on the go headband" - an easy, quick, satisfying project.  Want to make one?  Here you go:

Materials:  one 12" x 12" square triangle of fabric*

                    one headband (mine are child-sized, about 14" long)

*Note: if you are using a fabric with a directional print, line up the print with the long side of the triangle (the hypontenuse for you math-lovers) - see mine above

1.  Cut about 1" off each end of the long edge.

2. Serge (or zigzag or pink) around all the edges.

3.  Fold over and press all sides but the long edge.

4.  Stitch the pressed edges down.

5.  To make the casing for the headband, fold the long edge over - either measure or use the headband to figure out how much to fold over.  Example - my headband is about 1/4" wide, so I folded 1/4" plus the serged edge.  You want it to be snug, but not so much that you can't feed the headband through.

 6.  Stitch along the long edge to form the casing. 

7.  Feed the headband through the casing, fold the pointed edges up and stitch straight across to close the casing.  

8.  That's it!  You can snip the little point off if you prefer.

9.  One girl ready to be on-the-go!

How about some rainy day fabric?

Or bold, primary color flowers?

Or a vintage-y looking blue and white?

Have fun digging through your stash and creating a little something for your little one!