Well, some of you think I can work miracles when I run into a problem making a doll outfit, but this one, was a bit different because I only had a small piece of fabric… and really couldn’t afford any mistakes… which I made the very FIRST time I cut out the bodice. I cut it too short, thinking that making it a baby doll style, would need a shorter bodice. Uh… who said so?
So looking at the dress with the sleeves out, the skirt off and the bodice looking like this…
… I decided to cut out a new bodice, (actually a new pattern too)… the old one is on top…
The new one is behind…
Here is the difference side by side.
I could only find my pattern piece for RRFF dress bodices that are SLEEVELESS…and have misplaced my piece where the sleeves are added… so I drafted a new one.
I made the vintage lace “placket” longer this time and there are 5 buttons now, not 3.
So this is what transpired today… but, but I have to tell you, I had the skirt off and on 3 different times, as I was trying to add a band at the midriff, but ended up not using it… it just got lost in the fabric anyway.
It’s not hemmed yet, but serged. I only had this one scrap of fabric left to make a new skirt… with no ruffles this time…
Stella was pretty happy with how she looked in this one…
I’m not positive, but I think I may make her a new green hat… one that is just slightly smaller all over… this one looks too much like a Sun bonnet to me…
But I might be persuaded otherwise…
My hubby finally got his “electrical” plug “thingies” finished tonight… It looked like we were being invaded by outlets! They were strung all the way into the kitchen because he took out the bottom drawer on my stove, to plug these “baby’s” in and make sure they worked. MacGyver did it again! :o)
Have a wonderful weekend… and I know I will! I will try and get some hayride pictures, if I can!
Blessings, Jeanne
My goodness, Jeanne, that dress has really had you running in circles! But it is totally worth it–I just LOVE the results!! The longer placket, the shorter sleeves, no ruffle at the bottom….it’s all good!!
What a confusion of cords, etc. you have there!! You will just have to trust that he knows what he’s doing–and let HIM plug all those crockpots in!!
Thank you to everyone who commented on my pictures yesterday. I think I replied to every such comment. You also might want to go back and read the very last comment I wrote, which is a funny but definitely true story!!
Charlotte, I loved your story of fabric shopping with your dolls. The comment about telling all of you about your well-behaved children was great. Unfortunately, too many are intimidated by people who take life less seriously. I know my son’s girlfriend did not at all know how to react on seeing all my dolls. I’ve known her since she was a child and I totally understand her reluctance. She comes from a family where “up-tight”, especially her mother, is not a misnomer. Life has never been a lot of fun for her.
I just caught up with your comment about the fabric store caper. Too funny!
Oh I LOVE the “newer” dress, Jeanne! It’s just the perfect little girl dress for a fall day! Nothing to add here about what to change or do over!
As far as the hat, well, maybe it is a tad too big, but I do like the style and color a lot. Maybe try to trim it a bit around the brim, and make the bow slightly smaller?
What a mess on the table! I am wondering whre you ate dinner, or was it all cleaned up before that?
Looking forward to hayride pictures!
I agree with Charlotte and Linda that the new dress is really cute, I love the print and style!
I would like to see what a smaller hat looks like, just for comparison.
Charlotte, thanks for taking the time to reply to all of our emails! Since I don’t post that often I always wonder if what I say is making any sense, ha ha! We used to have many doll shows in Arizona, some in other cities like Payson and Prescott, those were always fun to travel to. After ebay came along they started to dwindle, plus many of our doll clubs quit sponsoring them because of the age of their members. Unfortunately, younger people don’t seem interested in joining doll clubs or collecting dolls.
Got it on using the stove outlet which I presume is 220. Now, hopefully, that wattage when powered down to George’s outlets will allow for all of those electrical warming devices to work and not blow any fuses. My dad put in a 220 extension outlet to the garage off of our dryer to run a paint sprayer I think. But, that was a long time ago. Now, it can probably be used to charge a car. 🙂
I believe that the new skirt would have worked with the old shorter bodice. It would be short and what a lot wear. Maybe Jeanne can add the left over ruffle to the old top and make a cute top with long sleeves to wear with jeans, shorts, or a jean skirt? I do like the new sleeves as they show up so much better against the dark print. I think Stella needs a single red rose to hold in one of her photos. This is a winning outfit with the perfectly adorable hat. 🙂
I’ve got my own problems here with my old tiny bedroom tv having reception problems. I’ll be in the garage testing cables today to see if I can fix the problem which may be with the splitter. We are planning to switch over to the new system, high speed internet, but we have to move so much before that can happen. We will also need a couple of new tvs as well. Ugh.
One thing that shocked me when we went to streaming TV was that we had to buy a new TV. We had a wide flat screen TV in the living room but it could not handle the new system. We gave that one to the grandkids to use for playing games and went out and bought what we hope will be our TV for some years as it was rather pricey. We have two other TVs one in my study and one in my sewing room. We decided to just use them for playing our personal videos. Life was sure less expensive when we were growing up.
The dress looks just like a little girl’s fall dress and as much as I am in favor of a ruffle around the hem it looks fine without. I love the hat the way it is, looks like a big picture hat.
Oh, I just love this little dress. It is lovely and Stella wears it well. I’m sure you can use the other bodice and, as Joy suggested, add the ruffle to the bottom to wear with jeans. It’s always great to profit from you “mistakes”. Maybe the hat needs to be downsized a bit but I think you should keep the one you made and just do another. The bigger hat might work well with a coat.
Right now I’m working on two dresses for my Sylvia Natterer Minouche dolls. They only have the clothes on their backs and I have some great patterns for them from (off the top of my head) Les Cheries de Vaniline. They look like school dresses from my childhood and I have several pairs of saddle shoes that I think are the right size for them to go with the dresses.
I’d love to see your Sylvia Natterer dolls. I have some too. They have been neglected though since the Meadow kids and Ruby Reds. Bad me. And besides Vaniline, I’d also like to know what patterns you have found. My dollies will thank you. 🙂
Here’s another one with Sylvia Natterer dolls! Haven’t had them out in quite some time, but they sure are cute!
“Perfect!” as the teens say! I admire your patience to keep trying to make things better…. especially with all of us advisors!
Love the fabric store caper! and the fun Halloween costumes.
I think we need a dolly Halloween Parade! Remember those from grade school?
Dear Jeanne, I like the dress very much. I like the hat also. I think I see the hat with a sweater set or a coat. It seems more out-doorsy. But I’m the non-sewer so I could be totally wrong.
Wishing you and the Sofa Sisters a fun dolly weekend.