…but this is first…
Judy Harris sent me an email and I told her I was SURE you’d all like to see what she’s been up to…
Hi Jeanne,
I am so excited about my new little girl, Eveianna. (She’s a new doll sculpted by Dianna Effner and is 11″ tall) She is so tiny and I was anxious about sewing for her. I found a Boneka pattern and added to the back and made the sleeves wider so her hands would fit in. These are my first attempts at dressing her!
Thanks again,
Judy
I’m also sending a few pictures in case you need something to write about while remodeling. I know how crazy that can be! Anyway, these pictures are of my Mini Maru dolls. (I believe the Mini Maru dolls are very close in size to the Dianna Effner Little Darlings) I pulled out my silk ribbon from MANY years ago and tried to remember how to do it. I remembered how to do a rose and some leaves. I need to study up to learn some more flowers. I hope you enjoy the pictures!
Thank you Judy… I just adore that pink fabric on your Mini Maru doll… Thanks so much for sharing your pictures. I know your dolls are loving all this extra attention… who doesn’t like to be in the spotlight?
Okay, now to the book bag. When I made this one…
…it just wasn’t what I initially had in mind… I wanted a book bag… a little bit wider, with a “squarish” look to it… and buckles… gotta have buckles! So I drafted a new pattern this evening, cut it out of my brown leather so it will match her boots, and tried putting together this prototype…
The first time you make something and you are “winging it” as you go, you don’t really know how it will turn out… if you got the pieces cut to the right size, is the strap the right length, will the buckles be in the right place… etc… but it actually turned out pretty nicely… I did discover a few things I’ll be tweaking but I was happy with it and you should have seen Rozen… she was thrilled… except she wants some books to put in it now! :o)
I made this book bag a little differently with my stitching being on the sides and not going all the way around the bag.
I wanted the bag to flip over the top and have the buckled straps snap shut if possible… this is how I did it… I used the tinest little magnets I had just bought and added them to the straps… using tulle to hold them in place. They are glued down into a hole I punched and covered with the tulle.
Then in the part where the snap hits the side of the bag, I did the same thing… only this time I glued the magnets to the piece of leather, covered it with tulle, punched a hole in the right spot, added a bit more glue to the tiny square with the magnet on it, and placing it on the inside of the purse, found the hole and pushed the magnet through. The tulle helps hold the magnet in place. They are quite strong and without the tulle, they just pulled right out when the top flap hit the spot it was supposed to snap to.
It might be too technical for you, but here are a few pictures and even a 9 second video…
I was thrilled that I could show you just how it works with the magnets… in fact, I may have done a little jig! :o)
Ignore that last little part of the video…that’s when I was jigging! :o)
Now Rozen is just about ready for school!
I discovered it was easier to put the bag on the floor and slide it up to her shoulder than it was to raise up one arm and slide it over her head… but that’s just me… :o)
Have a wonderful weekend….
See you Monday!
Blessings, Jeanne
Now, THAT’S a bookbag, Jeanne! No confusion about it being a purse, so I guess Rozen will have both a purse and bookbag? What a genius way to get the bag open and close, with those tiny magnets! I skipped right over HOW you attached thos magnets, because i will never be dong anything like that! I will leave that up to experts like you!
Judy did a wonderful job with her doll dresses! Those last two dresses are just gorgeous! Thank you Judy for sending in those pictures. What talent your readers have, Jeanne!
Thank you for posting my pictures! It is so exciting to see them here! I’m still learning how to sew so small!
Judy, thanks for sharing your pictures with us. It’s more difficult to sew for those smaller dolls, but well worth the effort! I have found you sometimes have to do things in a different order than you would for “people clothes”, too. Your little Evianna is so sweet, and seems quite happy to have a whole new wardrobe!! Your mini Marus are darling, too, and your embroidery on their dresses is just lovely.
Jeanne, you have truly come up with a book bag! So clever, to use those tiny magnets that way!! Rozen looks very pleased!
I finished the apron tonight, and it is pressed and hanging on a hanger, waiting for tomorrow. I am also entering a blouse and a dress (both for me) as well as my 2020 “twinsie challenge” tote bag I made (a friend and I buy the same fabric at Expo and agree upon a project to make during the coming year; then we “reveal” at the next year’s Expo) and a doll dress for Leneda (one of the Leeann group of dolls). Those will all be entered into Sewing. Then I am entering the dress I smocked for LD Delaney this past year in the Needle Arts competition. It’s been a busy day, getting everything pressed and ready!!
Thank you!!!
Fun seeing Judy’s dolls and the great outfits this morning. The girls look very happy.
I’m sure Roz is pleased to have a new bookbag for her return to school. Those magnets must be very strong to keep the leather closed, and I do think she needs some books and pencils as well that fit inside. 🙂 For the next bag, I’d like to see a similar size but with straps for the shoulders so she can carry it like all of the kids do their backpacks. And I would love to see some luggage now that Jeanne has those cool magnets. Kind of vintage looking, like Anne of Green Gables. Maybe a little suitcase, or makeup case, and a hatbox. 🙂
We’re going to be hot here the next few days. Hope it goes away soon.
Great book bag! I liked the other too. What a boon if someone wins both at auction.
Judy, I love your outfits for Evianna. I had to forbid my Evianna from looking at the blog today lest she get the idea I am not clothing her fast enough. KathyAnneDesigns on Etsy has some wonderful patterns for LDs that also fit the Mini Maru dolls (I have two Mini Maru – Savannah and Chloe)). She is also starting to do patterns for the L’il Dreamers. She has a wonderful summer dress pattern called “Bow Shoulder Dress”. She has it in every doll size I think. I made one for Chloe, Evianna and my Siblie Sydney. That’s three different sizes right there. The dress looked wonderful on all of them.
Well, I must get back to my carpet cleaning. Saturday seemed the best day for that since I have less people running in and out. I’ve confined David to his shop for the day but that’s kind of like confining me to my sewing room. Oh how I wish someone would do that.
Thank you!!! I’ll take a look at her Etsy page. I shop from her frequently, she has nice patterns!
Thank you Judy for sending pictures of your dresses. Always fun to see what others do to the same pattern. The double fabric patterns you use are so sweet and look so good together.
My goodness Jeanne…give you a new tool and away you go to make something so original. The teeny buckles and magnets are giving you all kinds of ideas! Your imagination is going a million miles an hour! Have fun inventing and designing☺️
Judy, that Evianna is one pretty girl. I can only imagine the challenge of sewing for some of these dolls the smaller their size. It is clear you are about “there” with the 11” size. Good for you, and your Maru outfits are really awesome. Thank you so much for submitting these pictures to Jeanne and to her for posting them. We hope to see more of your work in the future. Your outfits are really, really pretty!
Charlotte, I am so happy to hear you have several items to exhibit. Good luck, and please send Jeanne pics.
Dorothy in PA, thank for the link for the virtual convention. I signed up for emails, very intrigued.
Jeanne, this book bag is much more to my liking for this outfit. No wonder you bought all those buckles and magnets! You had your plan already.
Louise arrived here a few days and I am surprised how much I really love her, especially in her dark wig, which I managed to fool around with a bit and it looks pretty cool. The Monique wigs I ordered for Daphne arrived and the Jojo in reddish brown is a winner. I was going to take a picture of some of my girls to send to you and then it started sprinkling. Next week will be rainy, so maybe tomorrow before we take the granddaughters out to lunch, I will be able to do some.