Well… in half of her dress. It took a while to do those ruffled sleeves, but they are so pretty… I learned something from taking apart her original meet dress… first sew the white ruffle to the sleeve, serge the edges, turn that edge under, press, and then topstitch close to the edge. THEN sew the more narrow ruffle on top. I made her blue satin dress using the Pleasant Company pattern, but stitched the ruffles at the same time.
Pleasant Company did come out with some patterns for the first historical dolls, but Felicity’s meet dress wasn’t one of them. You’ll find people selling them on Ebay for pretty high prices, but you can find them on American Girl Playthings doll forum, for free.
So far, so good, on Felicity’s dress. It is looking very pretty on her. This fabric is more dainty than I thought. It’s starting to look like a delicate Easter dress…or maybe something for a Spring dance… if it snows some more, I might have to make her a wool felt capelet.
Here are a few pictures …
Stick around to see what’s next for Felicity!
See you tomorrow,
Blessings, Jeanne
Jeanne! WOW! I love, love, love this dress! It is BEAUTIFUL! I have never ever seen anything like it! I have my Felicity with me right now and she is telling me she would love to have that 👗 dress!
On another note my Aunt might let me use her sewing 🧵 machine for quite some time! Is it hard to learn? Do you guys have any suggestions for a beginner? Comments are very welcome!
Please and Thank You Sisters! 🙏 😊
Lauren,I’m so excited that you are wanting to learn to sew!! First check around for some basic “how to sew” classes that might be offered. Fabric stores, machine dealerships, even community colleges or technical schools might offer them. In addition, check and see if the American Sewing Guild (asg.org) has a chapter in your area; someone in that group might be willing to give you some lessons.
Invest in better-quality tools; “cheap” may save money initially but you could end up having to redo something or even pitch and start over because of, say, a rough needle that snags the fabric every time it sews a stitch.
Measure measure measure! Most doll clothes patterns call for a 1/4″ seam allowance; sew your seam, then take it out and make sure it’s exactly 1/4″ from the raw edge to the seamline. If not, it can affect the fit.
Above all, be patient with yourself! Learning to sew is actually a life-long thing. I’ve been sewing since 1956, and I sew OFTEN and regularly, and I’m still learning things!! Feel free to email me if you have questions. Jeanne can give you my email address.
How wonderful that you want to learn to sew. I have been sewing since I was about 13 and beginning these days has got to be a lot more intimidating. I say that because I have to overcome it often to move forward. When I started all you needed was a pattern, fabric, notions and, of course, a sewing machine, and for me there was always one of those available. Today there are so many possibilities out there that you can become overwhelmed easily.
I’m encouraging our 11-year-old granddaughter to learn to sew so we bought her a good but very basic sewing machine with enough bells and whistles to be fun but not enough to make her shy away from learning. I have a sewing/quilting/embroidery machine all in one and definitely would not encourage a newcomer to buy one. I say that because I’ve sewn for years and it still took me a little while to get started. I stood and looked at it for days before I went for it.
We also bought our granddaughter a nice sewing kit (Walmart) because I believe that you won’t even get started if you don’t have all you need to do a project right off. We also bought her a “learn to sew” pattern and there are a lot of them out there. It has three views, easy, more involved and most involved, but all still manageable for a beginner. Charlotte suggested classes. They can be great if you can find one. My problem is I usually have learned on my own before I can even find one. The classes for my new Babylock serger are few and far between so I just took a deep breath and plunged right in.
Once you have put the apprehension about learning behind you, sewing can be amazing in so many ways. For sure I can tell you there is not one of your sofa sisters who sew, and even those who don’t, who won’t be totally supportive of your efforts so don’t be afraid to share what you accomplish. We’re looking forward to it.
Sewing with Cinnamon (the owner of PixieFaire doll clothes patterns) has a series of beginner sewing videos on her YouTube channel. She also offers some free patterns on the PixieFaire website.
Thank you all for your wonderful suggestions! I would be sewing for my AG dolls. A simple Calico pioneer dress is what I am hoping to make first. I do have some patterns. Sometimes Hobby Lobby has a book of patterns for 18 in dolls! Now what kind of needles do I need? Thank you Charlotte for offering your e-mail to me I may just take you up on that!
Sadly I don’t have any classes around me though!
Hi Lauren, I learned how to sew on my own, but now a days they have lessons at JoAnn’s sewing and cloth stores, I would also thing Hobby Lobby might have them as well as Michael’s Craft stores. Do you have any of those stores near you?
Hi Lauren, I just thought of how I learned to sew on a sewing machine myself. I played around with my Pfaff Hobbymatic that I bought for myself in W. Germany but did not feel very confident until I actually sat down to practice with a piece of fabric and using different tensions and stitches (mine only has a few different stitches). I also got my confidence from doing Craft projects like Lop Bunnies with clothing on them. I like patterns that have photos and step by step information. There seems to be a lot of designers now a days, back in the 80’s and 90’s they just had the pattern pieces and instructions and you had to imagine what they were talking about which drives me crazy. So I always, even now a days, try to find a pattern that has a step by step by step photo and instructions for everything you need to do on a project. Over the years, I have learned a lot from going to Sewing centers and asking questions on what a pattern is telling me to do. This was before it got easier like I said with photos and step by step instructions. I always get a pattern and look at the back for the notions and what I would need to complete a project and find those things firstly. You will need a good sewing thread, sewing needles you can probably get from your Aunt since it is her machine, she might even have the thread you are needing as well in the color you need. Seam ripper, pincushion on your wrist or on the table, straight pins with a magnet holder so if you drop one you can wave it over your floor and it will pull them right off the carpet or floor. Scissors, for cutting cloth only and smaller scissors for snipping threads, look on your pattern if you need buttons, lace, zippers, it will tell you what size and how many to get. I would stay away from zippers right now, too tricky for a beginner. You can find a lot of these elements for sewing in a Walmart or even a Dollar Store. Get a decent sized sewing basket with a lid that closes to put all your gadgets in there. Maybe a small ruler for measuring things and also a measuring tape. They should even have a snap, hook and eye package with different things all together in it. I would also get some hand sewing needles and thread as well. If you want to use Velcro to close your sewing project get some of that in the appropriate size and color, remember there are two sides to velcro, one is fuzzy and the other is coarse to grip it. I try not to use Velcro because it tends to attack other things on a doll or other fabrics and it is not easy to sew on. It can slide a bit in your machine. Some times you will need tracing paper because patterns some times come where you can’t just cut them out with appropriate scissors, you have to trace them out and cut them that way. Most of the big Sewing Patterns like Simplicity, Butterick and McCalls etc. have their patterns on tissue paper and after you are done with them you just neatly fold them up and I put them in a ziplock bag for future sewing with the pattern envelope and instructions. Some people use plastic for patterns that they use all the time like for making shoes or something like that. You might need a fabric marker for some reason too and that would probably be with the other sewing notions at the store you get everything else at. I am not sure if I am forgetting anything? Maybe some of our sisters can chime in for me. We want to hear all about your new adventures on sewing and what you are trying to tackle as your first project. Oh I forgot fray check which is liquid that you put on the edge of your seams so it won’t unravel. It is handy to have this if you don’t want to zigzag stitch the edges. Put in on the edges and let it dry and you’re good to go. I can’t wait to hear how you are doing. It is so much fun to sew for yourself and others. It is a great hobby to start at any age. Good Luck Lauren!
Felicity looks lovely in what you have started, Jeanne! I always did think that the best part of that dress were the sleeves, and you have mede them even prettier than I imagined! This is going to knock it out of the box when it is finished!
Lauren, if you want to start learning how to sew, one thing I would recommend is leanring on a machine that is simple!! Using one with all the bells and whistles will only make it more difficult to learn the basics of sewing. I actually learned on a treadle machine that my grandmother gave me to learn on as a child, but you don’t have to go THAT far back! Another thing, get patterns that are easy to use, and are beginner patterns. The more you sew, the more you learn. And third, use material that is easy to sew with. Some fabrics just are too hard, like slippery satins, ultra sheer fabrics, and then things like plaids, which are hard to match up. Taking a tip from my Home Economics classes from years ago, start with simple things like aprons. You will gain confidence in yourself and won’t get discouraged when you do simple things first. So, to sum up, simple machine, easy to work with fabrics, and easy to do first projects. Hope this helps!
Linda,
My family may be moving to Missouri in fall of 2024
Oh, that is exciting! What part of Missouri would you be moving to, or it another member?
This is going to be one beautiful dress, Jeanne!! I love it already!!
I can’t resist chiming in on the request for suggestions when learning to sew. I’ve been sewing for all but ten of my 81 years. Reading the directions that come with the pattern and understanding them is so important. Very early on I bought the Vogue Sewing Book, vintage for $11 on eBay or Amazon, which has wonderful simple tips, well indexed. Be very attentive to centering a design at the neckline and waistline of a dress and matching it at the sides. You can see the pattern of the fabric through the tissue pieces and line them up by using the little notches after cutting them going outward and not inward when cutting out the fabric. Enjoy a great sense of accomplishment when you finish a project and don’t be afraid to alter a pattern after you have some experience. Have patience and have fun!
I’m really glad that Jeanne decided to operate on that damaged dress. The pattern is a classic and the dress is turning out lovely. 🙂
For Lauren, if you are thinking of sewing for dolls, definitely choose a larger one to start. The AG girls are easier to sew for than some of the tinies. I believe someone mentioned making an apron. That is something that would be perfect for your Felicity, to change up an outfit and fairly easy to make. Simplicity has lots of patterns for AG’s or you can probably find a free pattern online. 🙂
On a happy note, I received a notice from Pixie Faire that I had won one of their 12 Days of Christmas prizes. Barbara was right. It was me after all. 🙂
Told ya so! I just knew. You have an uncanny ability to win things. I enter their contests all the time and never win.
Congrats, Joy. I too enter their contests too and never win a thing. Can’t wait to hear what you won. You must have the Midas’ touch when it comes to winning.
What did you win on the 12 Days of Christmas? I tend to shy away from those contests because there is so much to do on the computer and it drives my brain crazy. Anxious to hear all about it? What did you have to do to win firstly, and what did you win? Thanks
Linda, made the suggestion when beginning to sew pick easy to sew fabrics. Sadly one of the easiest to sew with is Liberty of London Tana Lawn but it is pretty pricey for a beginner. When Jeanne mentioned it once I had to try it out. It is the most amazing fabric I have ever sewn. So now I’ll tell you my horrible story. I now have two beautiful pieces of Tana Lawn that I hesitated to buy because of the price. So I had a couple JoAnn gift cards that I really needed to use so I decided to spend them on that since I really didn’t need anything else. So I picked the fabrics and put them in my cart but couldn’t figure out how to use the gift cards. In the process of trying to find out I hit the PayPal button. Well my PayPal purchases go straight through and bingo I just spent almost $200 out of my bank account. Plus I still have $150 worth of gift cards I need to spend. I tried everything I could think of to rectify the problem but apparently once you finish the transaction you can’t even cancel it. But they are beautiful pieces and the prints are small enough to use the scraps for my dolly girls.
Felicity’s new dress is getting prettier and prettier and should work nicely for Valentine’s Day. You could make her a red cape to go over it — or a blue one, since you have the fabric. Fortunately she lives in Virginia, which warms up faster than the more northern colonies. She’s going to be very happy in this dress.
Felicity’s new dress is lovely and there’s plenty of green to show off her eyes. She’s such a beauty and should be a model far more often than she is.
I remember when we were in Williamsburg on vacation, seeing the ladies dressed in historical costumes, that the front part of the dress was flat, or straight, but the gathers were on each side, making it stand out on the sides. They weren’t gathered equally all around, just on the sides and back, so that the point where the skirt meets the bodice in front, is not full of gathers. Does that make sense?
I didn’t have time to comment on the dress earlier. I got whisked away for lunch. I love the dress, especially the sleeves and the fabric is wonderful. Can’t wait to see the finished product, and, of course, all the accoutrements you will put with it.
I think you are so creative Jeanne with taking apart Felicity’s dress and creating a new dress pattern for a new fabric. I had a long story about how I have always loved dolls and what does I had and have now and it got erased because my computer said I had no internet. I was so discouraged that I called it a day. Sorry! I love your new dress for FM. She looks great in it. Looking forward to seeing what else you have in store for her as well.