I didn’t get as much done as I wanted, but you’ll be happy to see that dear Molly is up next for a new Spring dress… maybe even her Easter dress! I looked at all my 1940’s Sear’s catalog pictures of young girls dresses and then a few little pamphlets of the 1940’s and decided this was a close enough match to some of the prints I saw and just decided to go for it.
I had another busy day as my hubby has decided it’s time to do the floor in his office… which means ALL the stuff on the floor has to be moved out! UGH! His office is very small, only about 8 x 10 but he’s got more things crammed in there than you can imagine. Two file cabinets, all his winter clothes, the washer and dryer, all the laundry, a desk, plus a big bookshelf… I personally don’t know how he stands it but he likes it and I know he’ll like it a whole lot more when he get new flooring in there.
Okay, back to what I managed to get done dolly-wise!
Here is Molly with her bodice piece just pinned on and a little bit of decoration at the front…
I wanted to put a white peter pan collar on the dress and thought since I was doing it, I’d show you how I do it… you might want to give this a try.
I don’t cut out the front and back of the collar and sandwich them together… too tedious getting those edges to line up… so I just cut out the top piece of the collar and lay it face down on a piece of fabric large enough to cover the back of the collar… generally something lightweight that I’ve added a lightweight fusible interfacing to. Then I stitch around the collar with the back piece being much easier to maneuver… like this…
When you’re finished, it will look like this…
Here’s a close up…
Then trim them to 1/8″ along your stitching…
Press them on the wrong side before you turn them.., it kind of sets your stitches…
Then turn them and press them from the backside, pulling the front just slightly to the back… to keep that lining from showing.
You’ll have wonderful looking matching collar pieces… hopefully… if not try again…
I have the collar pinned on Molly’s bodice for you to see…
…and one more picture because she’s waited SO long for her turn to model again…
Well, I’ve got to get to bed…
See you tomorrow,
Blessings, Jeanne
Molly is certainly looking pleased that she’s the next one to get a new
dress! I do like that fabric, too. Very spring-looking!
Thanks for showing us how you do collars; I just cut them out and sew them, but your way seems so much easier! Plus you have the extra fabric to hang onto while you are stitching those curves. I am going to have to try that.
Do you clip the curves before turning, as well as trimming them, or do you find trimming them to 1/8″ is enough for them to turn smoothly? Just curious.
So it’s Molly! she is my first AG doll, and remains my favorite for many reasons. I love that fabric you picked out, so 40’s! I also had a dress with a cherry print somewhat like that so hits the mark perfectly, Jeanne! I think Molly is smiling just a bit more after seeing what is in store for her!
Now that tip for sewing collars, is right up my alley! So much easier and you can see exactly how your stitches are before turning it. Yes, I also was wondering, do you just trim the edges or clip the curves?
Molly is one of my favorite AG dolls and she is just going to rock that dress. Love the print but not a fan of the lace…looks kind of 70 ish. Maybe it would be cute on her slip.
I had the same question about the collar…clip or trim close? Thanks for that time saving trick…never would have thought of doing it that way….you clever seamstress!☺️🤗
Getting one more floor done will be great…is that George’s BD present? 😉
Glad to hear you and George are going to get that final part of the flooring done. He’s going to love it. Perhaps, he can ditch one of the file cabinets? Seems like there is no need to keep a lot of paperwork now. Or, it can be put in bankers boxes and stored in the attic if it can’t be parted with freeing up a lot of space. Wish I could get other person to get rid of the big desk and find a smaller version that would work just fine. Still nagging on that. 🙂
Molly’s dress does look springy and the cherries are so pretty. Maybe some buttons or decoration with cherries would be cute? A couple of ribbons in her pigtails and she’ll rock spring. I’ve found that the collars I’ve been making lately work very well with just the top decorative fabric and the underneath a lightweight lining. No need to use the collar fabric also on the bottom, kind of like your collar. I’m going to try not clipping the collar next time and see how it looks. With the seam trimmed pretty close, and the pressing before turning that you recommended, it might prevent those sometimes poky little edges from being difficult and turn smoother. Sounds like a great idea.
Frost here this morning, but another clear day without a cloud to be seen. Come on rain!
I love Molly. She’s one of the two mini AGs i have. The other is Julie. I love the cherry fabric and can’t wait to see what the finished product looks like. I will have to try your collar technique. Some of the patterns I get from overseas call for tracing the pattern onto the fabric. I don’t usually bother with this on the larger pieces, but they also suggest tracing smaller pieces such as collars onto a piece of fabric and sewing it and the lining together then cutting out the pieces. That is similar to what you suggested, and I do find it works well. I also have a pattern for a scalloped edged dress that calls for sewing the scallops before you cut the bottom of the dress. I wasn’t sure this was necessary, but I did it anyway. I’ve never had scallops come out so perfectly.
Jeanne, one of the ideas I borrowed from you is the use of netting for linings. I’m about to make a dress for my LD out of Tana Lawn fabric. The fabric is so delicate that even doing a narrow hem would be difficult on the overlay piece because it is curved. But I want it to stay light and flowy so even light lining fabric would be too heavy. It hit me the other day to line it with netting. The piece would stay light and there would be no need for “hem stitching” along the edge so the dress will stay wispy looking.
Evianna has arrived and I’m over the moon. The main idea behind the L’il Dreamers was to create a Dianna Effner doll that was not so expensive it was out of reach of many. Thus they are not individually painted. Evianna’s face looks as close to hand painted as anything I’ve seen so far in mass production. Geri Uribe did the painting that was used as an example for production and it’s lovely. I just finished the prettiest Easter outfit for my LD Greer Adele (dress and coat) and she and Evianna are standing together on my living room table. The L’il Dreamers are meant to be younger sisters of the LDs and the sizing is very good. Smaller but not too much smaller. Evianna actually will be the younger sister of my LD Amelia Dawn that I ordered from Magalie. The only disappointing thing was that the clothing will not be arriving until late April so. I will have to make Evianna an Easter dress because the dress that is not arriving until after Easter was meant to be her Easter dress. But I’m sure she will not be upset to have two pretty dresses. Right now she is wearing one of the Trentsation pinafore dresses I made for my MA Lissy. She also can wear Lissy’s shoes so she will not have to stand around with cold feet in her underwear for several weeks.
Yay! Molly’s next! I really like the material you choose and I love anything with cherry prints in it. It’ll be fun seeing what else you do with her outfit.
By the way, I just realized that black and white check is my family’s tartan in Scotland. I like the dress even more now.
I had to pass on the collar instructions because, as you know, I don’t sew or understand anything about seeing – other than seeing on buttons. Wish I could though. Regardless, I still find your sewing techniques amazing!
My root canal went very well. No pain during the procedure and hardly any pain afterwards. Glad I live in modern times and having a great dentist and dental specialist helps.
Jeanne, I’m going to send a picture of my Queen Mary tea set for you to share with the sofa sisters if you have a spot sometime.
Hope the flooring goes fast and smooth!
So glad to hear your root canal was pain free, Paula. I had my first a few years ago and I had what was the best endodontist nearby. I would have to say mine was a horrible experience. Pain during and a lot after. The high dose of epinephrine also made my heart feel weird and nauseated. The dentist was just amazed. At the follow up I told her that giving birth to my daughter completely naturally with no drugs was far better.
The fabric is so cute and is giving me Mary Engelbreit vibes ( maybe with a dash of Makenzie Childs thrown in). Yep, just pulled out one of my copies of MEHC magazine and see the checks and cherries.
Nice trick on the collar. Definitely a faster, simpler solution.
Thankyou for the tutorial about the collar!
I love the fabric for Molly. That tip for making the collar is just great. I used to make a lot of fabric dolls a long time ago and you drew the arms and legs on to the double fabric, stitched around the marks and then cut them out so similar to your collar but I never thought of doing it with anything else. Brilliant, thanks.
How’s the Covid outbreak going in NZ? I read about it in the newspaper I think last week. Hope all is well with you and family.
Molly! What a great choice. She’s one of the oldest dolls, and still has a very loyal following. The fabric you chose is perfect for her. The collar trick makes perfect sense. I keep getting better — maybe some days my hands will sew again.
Wow! What a great trick for the collar. I will definitely do it that way from now on because I adore Peter Pan collars, but mine are always wonky. Thanks, Jeanne.