Thank you for your kind comments about Bailey in her Christmas dress. She’s just sitting on that little chair smiling at me as I scurry in my sewing room! Pretty soon I’m going to have to figure out some way to talk her into getting undressed…(there are 2 bidders trying to win her dress!) :o) I’ll think of something…
As I mentioned yesterday, I wanted to show you a couple of things I use for my dolls all the time… one more than the other… I’m talking about hair bows and purses.
Julia asked about both of these things… so here goes.
This is the kind of clips I use for my dolly hair bows…anything else is too fat or too long for the dolls I sew for…
I call them snap clips but there is probably another name for them… I like them because you just slide them in a few strands of hair and they stay in place…
They come in all different shapes and sizes, but the way they close is usually the same… the middle section snaps up and then down to lock in place…
I use the small silver ones for my tiny dolls and the largest ones for the American Girl dolls..
I found these teeny tiny clips at our Dollar Tree and thought they would be perfect for tiny dolls like Navi and Ten Ping, but they are too cheap and when you bend them back they just don’t have the spring to them to snap back in place…
The bow is made first and then the snap clip is attached. Make sure you pick one that is no wider than the width of the center of your bow… you don’t want the silver or other colors to show through on the front side.
Make sure you know which way your snap clip goes… you don’t want to sew it on upside down… (ask me why I’m telling you this…)
It goes with the curved sides down on the bottom of the bow… so when it’s turned over and snapped on the hair it curves down over the crown of your dolls head. You can probably see it the best in this picture…
I hold it centered in place and begin tacking it on in the middle, weaving my needle back and forth (like a figure 8) going under that middle part of the clip sticking up… and catching the clip on both sides a couple of times… then I carefully take my needle and slide it under the clip and go to the ends. I like the clips with the little holes in them because that’s what I use to anchor the ends. I take my needle and carefully try to only catch the back side of the fabric, and not the front. You don’t want your stitches to show on the front of your hair bow. Go in and out the little hole in the end a few times… then take your needle and head to the other end of the clip… you’ll find the holes at the other end too. Take your needle and go in and out catching a bit of the fabric and going round and round. I hope you get what I mean…
Then take your threaded needle back to the middle and knot it a few times…and cut your thread…
This is with the clip up… so you can see the threads in the middle going from side to side…
Here it is with the clip down…
See how it fits on Bailey’s head…
Is that understandable or do I need to show it more as I do it?
Well, let’s move on to the purse…
These are pretty simple to make too and if you don’t mind them being flat you can get by with no sewing or minimal sewing. The one I made for Ten Ping and the one for Bailey has been top stitched but the rest of it has been glued.
Okay… I’m going to show a quick one I made from a piece of felt…you can make it any size you want, but the demo one I’m making is made from a piece about 4″ long by about 1 1/4″ wide.
You’ll need your piece to be cut out similar to mine or it can be squared off in the front, if you don’t want it to have a curve on the front flap.
You’ll also need a skinny strap cut out too… measure a piece of string over your dolls shoulder and down to where her hand is… then allow about another 1 1/2″ that will glued under the flap…
If you want you can topstitch the edge of your purse piece and your strap on the machine… I just used a marker on this demo purse..
Turn your top stitching down on the table, and find a quarter, or a washer, and place it in the mid section of your purse… fold up the bottom half of the purse just to cover it… you can put a pin there if you need to mark it or just hold it in place… Take your glue and put it along the sides of the quarter on both sides.
Fold the purse sides up so your quarter is encased like this…
Take your straps and place them the way I have them in my picture… make sure you have the right sides facing up… (if you have stitching…if you don’t have stitching it won’t matter)
This is usually when I decorate the front flap of the purse… you CAN do it when it’s just a flat piece, but sometimes you need to see where the flap fits on the front before you can center it.
I just used some colored markers instead of stitching anything, but I think you get the idea… you can use leaves or flowers, or ribbons or buttons or whatever you want…
When you are happy with how it looks, you can add a bit more glue to hold down the front flap.
It should look something like this…ONLY BETTER! :o)
Here’s a side view…
This is Bailey’s purse…
Clear as mud? Hope so!
If you have any questions I’ll try to help you…
Here is a blog post I did back in 2015 on dolly purses… maybe this will inspire you!
Purses, purses and more purses!
See you tomorrow,
Blessings, Jeanne
Very good tutorials, Jeanne–thanks so much!
In the past, I found good-quality, really tiny snap clips at KMart (back when we had one–boo hoo), in their hair care section. I think I may have seen some really tiny ones at RiteAid, too–I would just check hair care sections of whatever store you happen to be in. You never know what you will find there!
Love the purse idea; I have some scraps of Ultrasuede and Ultra leather, from when I bought a bag of pieces one time, long ago. May have to try this out, as I’m sure some of my other dolls may want them, too, once they see Gigi’s! (Hope her outfit gets here tomorrow!! Every day she keeps asking if it’s here yet! LOL)
We did something today we haven’t done in over 10 years–went to the laundromat! Our washer’s drain hose sprang a rather impressive leak (it started very small, of course!) and no one will be here to replace it until Tuesday, so we took 3 loads to the laundromat. Glad my dryer is working, as I wouldn’t have wanted to stay there very long–they’ve taken all the chairs out! Ron brought his walker in and sat on it, and I went out and sat in the car! Makes you really appreciate the conveniences you take for granted!!
Thank you so much for both tutorials, Jeanne! I have made hair bows using the clips you showed and metal craft barrettes.
As for doll purses, I’ve always made mine functional. But only for AG sized dolls. Now when I think about it, I did make my Barbie a shoulder bag when I was in grade school. I still have it!
Love the purse. So cute and so tiny. 🙂 I might try one, but definitely want to add a snap so it opens. Hope the dollies here don’t see this because they will all want one.
Picked up the last grand gift at Target yesterday. A big rush as we’re going back to limited shopping for the next three weeks. Also just had to go to Joann’s in case they too are closed. Picked up some brocade and some silvery stuff to make an outfit for Ardyn, Meadow 19″. Crazy me, as the last time I sewed that slippery fabric, I said that I would never do it again! Also gathering a little family history for grand who is doing a second grade project. Lots going on right now and not a decoration up here yet at all. And we are due for high winds soon. We are in a drought, so the fire danger is extreme. Can’t believe that in December. Not fun.
I think I looked at every clip in the universe today and didn’t see any with the holes. Where can I find those?
Hi Joy,
I’ll have to see if I can remember where I got the clips…
Blessings, Jeanne
Nice tutorial on the little 👛 and the hair bows. I’ll try some when I go back to sewing a few doll clothes. Too busy with masks right now. I thought demand would taper off with the vaccine news, but my DIL Suemae just sold 45 masks to the orchid farm gift shop and seven to her Tai Chi instructor.
We had winds here, Joy, in SoCal but not as fierce as last month. No rain here either in living memory at this point in the “rainy season.”
We’ve been watching the latest wildfire in S. CA. So strange for December. Although, I do remember one December back in the late 60’s when it was 96 on Christmas day.
What a cute little purse and bow! The little brown/tan purse would even be cute with the right outfit, something rustic! As for the clips, I have some of those for my dolls, but not the tiny ones. They lay so much better since they are flat.
I have been decorating the house, and my dolls are fixed up in their pre-Christmas activities. The week before Christmas they get to wear their Christmas dresses, but for now it is all prep time, getting ready for Santa!
The weather here is so-so, just OK. Not too much sun, just a cloudy day, The Christmas lights look so much more festive on gloomy days, I think. In a week or two I will start baking, but who is coming? I sure don’t need the extra calories!
Thanks for the tutorial Jeanne it was very helpful.
I went to the Delta Inn Christmas lunch yesterday. So much fun for $3. Chicken, ham, stuffing, roast potatoes, pumpkin, broccoli, and salad, then meringue, ambrosia, trifle and ice cream for dessert. One of the ladies in the office sings beautifully and even writes her own songs so she entertained us and later we had the ukelele group playing for us. It was great.
Ashley and Sam came over on Thursday night and helped me with the decorating. Actually they pretty well did it all! Greg hates Christmas and hates decorations and Sam and the girls love it. They are already planning what they will do at my house next year when they have moved in! Like putting lights all around the room! As long as I don’t have to stand on ladders doing it they can do what they like lol. Except for tinsel on the tree. I don’t like it, it hides the decorations and looks too heavy so I did get them to take it off. I just like the beads. But I have tinsel on my wall unit and across the fire place and over the archway and on the entertainment unit where the TV is! Ashley did most of that. Probably not how I would have done it but hey, she had fun so that is all that matters.
Well done Joy for having your pressies sorted. Still have most of mine to do. luckily for us we have no restrictions on shopping just have to try to remember to sign in with the tracer app (I often forget). We had no new cases yesterday, not even in managed isolation so that was good news. We have had a very dry winter so fire is going to be an issue here this summer I am afraid. We have already had a few outbreaks and summer has barely started.
Have a lovely day everyone and stay safe
Hi Anne,
That lunch and entertainment sound wonderful. I’ve made ambrosia before and trifle a few times. I like to tap into my various heritages with making traditional foods.
How sad to hate Christmas and the decorations. I’m never tried of them by Epiphany when they come down and many years we started right after the Thanksgiving dishes were cleaned up.
I’m sure Sam, the girls, and you will will have an over abundance of decorations next year.
We still use the old lead icicles on the tree. My grandfather saved a few packages and by taking them off very carefully each year and putting them over a coat hanger covered with tissue paper I have used one box for a decade and still have boxes unopened left.
The only place I put tinsel garland is outside on the porch tree so it shows during the day as well. I’m not surprised Ashley spread the tinsel all over. Kids love sparkle.
Oh, my, Laura….lead icicles! I remember when we had them, too! Daddy was very particular about how they were put on (one at a time!) and taken off (ditto!) and put away (over the cardboard in the original box) so they would be nice for next year. But all that detail really paid off, because our tree was always perfectly “tinselled” every year! Then the Saran icicles came along, and they were a pain–static electricity gave them a mind of their own! LOL
Oh, snap clips, I call them that as well. I thought you might use these when you said not the french barrettes for dolls
https://www.ebay.com/itm/12-Pin-Curl-Hair-Clips-Vintage-Goody-Metal-Made-in-England-plus-2-Perm-Rods/223902965595?hash=item3421a81f5b:g:mgIAAOSwWtBbkajc
I still have a handful of these pin curl clips and snap clips in a drawer.
The snap clips as well as the pincurl clips I used when I made toddler hair bows and they are indeed perfect for dolls as well. I do remember they both sit flat against a child’s head.
Thank you, I’m glad to be reminded of them.
Cute little purse and so easy for the tiny dolls.
Brilliant sunshine here today. I got to take a walk this morning and that was wonderful.
Can’t stand being cooped up inside without a few minutes outside each day.
Great tutorials Jeanne! When I used to make baby bows, I bought the small clips at Hobby Lobby. I don’t know if they still have them or not, as it’s been several years since I looked for them. They were the same kind with the little holes you could sew through.
I have finished my Christmas shopping except for one thing I will have to sew. I actually got it cut out last night. My mom has an antique China head doll and somehow managed to lose her dress. I borrowed the doll and got a pattern drafted for her. I sewed a muslin last week and made some adjustments to the pattern, so I am ready to sew this weekend. I’ll be glad to have this project done. I had the hardest time deciding on a fabric for the dress, but I finally decided to just use a poly satin. If I don’t like it, I may be starting over.
Hobby Lobby still has them, at least on their web site! Look for “hair clips with three holes”.
I have some of those clips I bought to do hairbows for my granddaughter. Even at nine her hair is still so fine. But she doesn’t like wearing bows so I’ll use them for my dolly girls. Do you have dimensions for the size fabric you start out with for bows or do you just wing it? I’m going to make some purses for the girls for Easter. Lots of embellishments for those. I’m terrible at accessorizing, even for myself. I bought these little dolly headbands. A pack of bright colors and one of pastels. Weird thing is they don’t exactly fit any size dolls. They are actually too small for 18″ dolls and too big for almost everyone else. They do work well with FF dolls and H4H because they have bigger heads and I put one on my Paola Reina and, while it is too big, it actually looks like a ribbon because it’s long and looks like it goes back under her hair.
Looks like Susette may be in the mask business for awhile longer. I keep seeing and hearing that the vaccine will not preclude us wearing masks and we will continue having to wear masks and distance for maybe most of next year. Even with more and more being vaccinated or having immunity. Austin, TX, just passed a state of emergency through December 2021. Governor Abbott says no more lockdowns here but he totally can’t control what the cities and counties do. The state mask mandate is still on. Our county mask waiver has been rescinded for the time being. Numbers are up a little but most all recovering at home and no new deaths. The vaccine was supposed to get us back to normal and now it’s not. Time will tell how this plays out.
Agreed with Barbara — it looks like masks through April at least. Susette’s masks in their beautiful fabrics will be in demand.
Speaking of beautiful fabrics, today’s tutorials gave us a chance to see your beautiful lace close up. And thinking of lace reminds me tat a Christmas in Williamsburg or New Orleans dress might make a pretty project.
I love reading Anne’s posts and being reminded that Christmas is a summer holiday for her. My friend Donna in Phoenix says winter has arrived there — it’s down to 62 degrees.
Take care, everyone. We all want to be well for Christmas.