Please NOTE:
Navi’s little Christmas in July dress ends this evening (Tuesday) on Ebay. You can see it by clicking on the picture at the right side bar or you can click HERE. If you need a Christmas dress for your little Twinkle, by My Meadow Dolls, there are only 148 “shopping” days left…so why not get a dress now? :o)
Okay, to today’s post… there was some debate in the comments yesterday as to what should be done about the difference in the sizes of the American Girl dolls bodies. I had made a bodice for a new Civil War dress and when I tried it on the doll I wanted to use as my model, I knew it wasn’t going to fit any of the chubbier bodied dolls. So I had to figure out what to do… make this dress ONLY for smaller waisted dolls and leave out the chubbies… or figure out a way that any size doll could wear it…
I decided on the latter… I certainly didn’t want someone emailing me saying, “Could you make it so my chubby girl can wear this, I’d really like to buy it?” There’s nothing worse than taking something apart after it’s TOTALLY finished. So I decided to fix it while the fixing was easy… well, sort of easy. At least I didn’t have any snaps sewn on… :o)
Okay, so to review, this is what the dress looked like in the back on one of my slimmer dolls and a chubby girl…
Joy said she’d like to see the dress on Elizabeth so I tried it on her…. Miss Pretty Blue Eyes looked fabulous in it!
Here was the back on Elizabeth…she has a 10 1/2″ waist as well…
I decided to try it on Felicity as I thought she was probably my chubbiest girl… but she wasn’t… Her waist is 11 1/4″ and my new Kirsten is the chubbiest…at 11 1/2″.
Felicity looked very pretty in it too…
But the back on her fit about like it did on Kirsten.
So this is what I did. I undid the back right center back seam (looking at the back) up to the neckline seam and pressed it open and flat… Then I started at the top and trimmed off about 3/8″ and tapered it down to the waist without trimming off anything there.
The problem wasn’t so much at the back of the neck area…it was the waist that wasn’t meeting on the chubby doll’s body. Sorry, I forgot to take pictures as I did this…
I wanted to add about a 1″ extension but I wanted the extension to be straight not crooked like it would have been if I had that extra width at the top by the neck.
I then added a piece about an 3″ wide and stitched it onto the center back seam on the right with a 1/4″ seam… all the way down… I was wanting to turn it under after fixing the top part… I’ll show you what I mean…
So this is what it looks like now…
I finished it off by hand and because of the print it is hardly noticeable…
I put some pinkish/red stars so you can see where the seam is… like I said, it’s hardly seen. If you click on this picture, it will enlarge and you can see it better.
So now when I put it on Felicity’s chubby body, I took 2 yellow ball pins and placed them perpendicular where the back left side came to on the right back side…
Then when I lifted the left side up, I could see how much room I had to sew my snaps on…
Here’s another shot…Those little red stars aren’t on the actual fabric… I did that with my computer… If you click on that picture you can see the extention better too.
So I’m sitting here at the computer and just now realized I never took any pictures of it on my dolls after I had sewn on the snaps…OOPS… so I’ll just snap a picture to show you and you’ll HAVE to come back tomorrow to see how it looks, but it’s wonderful now… the girls all have plenty of room but it doesn’t look sloppy on any of them…
You can see that my extension is even in width all the way down, but my snaps were sewn on at an angle… That’s because of the way I trimmed off the edge when I opened it up…
I finished the peplum and now it’s quite flattering on the AG dolls, even though they are quite boxy in the torso area.
I started working on the skirt tonight and hope to get it finished tomorrow…
Thanks everyone,
See you tomorrow,
Blessings, Jeanne
It looks like you came up with an excellent solution to the fitting dilemma, Jeanne! The dress is coming along nicely.
I really like the lace ruffles on the peplum; I gather there will be a skirt underneath, so it will be a 2-piece dress. This will be quite a feminine style! (Hopefully the bodice will fit over the skirt waistband, no matter whether the doll is slim or not!)
Thank you Charlotte,
I’m liking this dress set too…
Yes, it’s going to be a 2 piece dress set. I’ve been working on the skirt today and just have to hem it…it’s getting close to being finished.
Blessings, Jeanne
Oh Jeanne! What a fantastic solution to your need to extend the bodice…beautifully done!!! I would never have thought to place the snaps on an angle, but why not? Thank you for sharing this tip as well as the lovely bodice. Your work is super special.
Blessings.
Thank you Becky,
I’m glad it all worked out too.
It’s such a pretty print. I couldn’t remember where I bought this fabric but last night I saw Joann’s on the selvage so I guess it came from there.
Thank you for your kind comments, Beckh.
Blessings, Jeanne
The cookie factor certainly worked out well. And I love how the fabric print matches up on the back. Perfection. 🙂 Elizabeth does look lovely wearing the top. She is such a pretty girl. If she is chosen to model, maybe a pair of pearl earrings for her. Looking forward to seeing the skirt for this outfit. This one is definitely going to be a favorite of mine.
And we still haven’t bought the new bed. Other person had everything ready to push that click button and got cold feet. Maybe courage will return today. 🙂
Please tell George that I would love to see some more German Owl photos. Hope there have not been any more snakes this year.
Hi Joy,
Yes, don’t you LOVE that matched up back? Truth be told, I tried to match it up, but was thrilled when it turned out as well as it did!
I almost have the skirt finished…yay!
I just told my hubby about you wanting to see some new pics of his Old German Owls…he smiled and said he’d have to send you some pics of his new babies… :o)
Thanks Joy,
Blessings, Jeanne
Now I know why I don’t like to alter things. Just seeing what you did overwhelms me. I admire your expertise. I have to alter the bodice when I use an A Girl for All Time pattern for my one rescue doll. She is 16″ tall but broader across the torso than the AGAT girls, mostly because her body is stuffed. I find that just adding to the center back on both sides and increasing the skirt width to keep the fullness does the trick without doing too much else. Thankfully. But then I’m only trying to fit things to her and not several others so there is more forgiveness.
I’m a bit stonewalled at the moment regarding some of my sewing plans for the week. My washer and dryer don’t arrive until Wednesday evening, via David who will be nearby at our church working on the A/C and will pick them up on his way home. But then there is the question of how soon he can hook them up. Fortunately our one son lives on the property and can help him unload them, but whether it gets done Wednesday evening or not depends on how tired they are. Then if they have to work Thursday… I was all for having them delivered and hooked up but it was extra and my DIY hubby said there was no need. He suggested I spend the difference on doll stuff. Sounded good to me at the time, but I need to re-wash some fabric and t-shirts before I can work on the projects I’d planned, and I also have a load of clothes that needs doing, so I’m a bit antsy. I’m not sure where in the cycle the washer stopped working so I don’t know if things were rinsed well or not. I just wrung them out and threw them in the dryer with the intent of rewashing. But it does give me an excuse to work on some more dolly clothing to pass the time, so I will count my blessings and know that eventually everything will be up and running.
Looking forward to seeing the skirt for this beautiful Civil War dress, not to mention all the accessories that will surely go with it. I know it will be absolutely lovely.
Thanks Barbara,
Well, alterations aren’t always the easiest to figure out and do, but this really wasn’t that bad…and it was a pretty quick fix…
We were heading to Harbor Freight this afternoon and I was reading my comments. I read the part in your comments where your hubby suggested you use the $$ saved by him setting up the new appliances to spend on dolly stuff! My hubby just smiled…then he took me to s fabric store that is going out of business…but alas….the lights were on, the sign said open, but no one was around! :o(
Oh well, I came home and sewed!!
Thsnks Barbara,
Blessings, Jeanne
You did the right thing and it is hardly noticeable! If your buyer is not a blog reader no one would know. Looking forward to the skirt…and I’m sure a hat or bow ?
I’m all excited to sew after seeing so many fun ideas at the convention. The French fashion doll dresses and dolls on display from Ruby Red Galleria were stupendous. I wasn’t in love with the French Fashion doll but I am getting to like them. For a seamstress the dresses are are just a perfect challenge.
I took pics so will send them as soon as my phone is fixed. Not a good time to have it break when you are at a doll convention!
Hi Kathie,
The top and the skirt are both finished…so now it’s time for the hair accessory…what will she need????
I’m sure those doll conventions are super motivating. I go to a quilt show and just seeing all the creativity and the vendors showing new products gets me pumped to making more things!!!
I’ll be waiting for your pictures!
Thanks Kathie,
Blessings, Jeanne
Kind of late today, but the day after therapy is no piece of cake! Talk about sore! Two down and 6 more to go, ifI live through this!
What a unique way to fix the dress for a variety of waist sizes! Really, though, unless it is a molded torso, there is never one size of waists on dolls. That’s just a given.
I absolutely love that dainty peplum! It gives the bodice such a delicate look. The colors look just wonderful on every doll you put it , and it goes well with brunette, blonde and red hair too. This will be a winner for sure!
Hi Linda,
I hope the therapists aren’t TOO hard on you, but I know it’s their job to push you harder and farther than you think you can go!!
This fabric does look nice on all my girls…I’m trying to figure out who will be the main model for it…hmmmm…
Thanks Linda,
Blessings, Jeanne
Very clever solution, Jeanne. Leave it to you to find a way that all the dollies can enjoy your creations. What a lovely dress this is becoming. I love the design with the tiny buttons and all the lace. 🙂 The sweet neckline bow and cameo are a perfect touch. I’m another one who loves the peplum as well- just beautiful. Can’t wait to see the skirt and the “proper topper” you come up with.
Hi Laura,
I have the top and skirt finished but I have a question to ask everyone tomorrow… wondering if it’s just me or if others can see it.
I took the bow and cameo off and straightened it up…it kept turning to the left side…but now it’s fixed…
Thanks for your compliments Laura,
Blessings, Jeanne