I was thinking of making a St. Patrick’s Day dress for one of my Effner girls since they’ve been sorely neglected. Lian was the first one to start pecking on the dolly cabinet glass. I heard something and saw Lian waving wildly when she caught my attention. I guess that deems her the winner of the new dress… at least for now.
I didn’t do much toward the dress, because I got sidetracked with shoes for her. S-O-R_R_Y… for those of you who just want sewing! I had never attempted a pair of leather shoes for the Little Darlings, so guess what I did today… I found a picture of a pair of shoes with a drawing of the shoe pieces. I copied it and then tweaked it just a bit at the heel part and hoped it would fit their foot… AND IT DID… on the very first try. I was so excited! It’s a Mary Jane style, which is pretty versatile and can be used lots of different ways.
I used a piece of “what I thought was blue green” leather, but it was about 9:00 this evening and when I got them finished and decided to take pictures of them, they looked more blue than green. SOOOOO… I may have to find a different fabric than the one I initially wanted to use for St. Patrick’s Day.
Here are the shoes… they are my most slenderizing shoes so far and they have “matching” soles.
I made them with my magnetic closure… watch this… shoes never closed so easily! :o)
Even I was impressed at how easily they snapped together.
Here they are on the fabric I had picked for St. Patrick’s Day… hmmmm… maybe??? I can make the insides neater next time. I didn’t know where to punch the hole for the tiny magnet this time… Once I know where it goes, I can put the magnet in while the leather is flat. It will make a big difference.
I ordered some 1/8″ eyelets for the boots, and in the lot were some snaps… so I’m going to try them on the next pair. It will make the shoes even more slenderizing on the sides where that buckle sticks out…
My dolly nail trimming tool has helped me so much in getting the soles smoothed down and no gaps in the leather that is stacked together…
Ooo-La-La!
After I made that pair, I quickly cut out another pair and they are “definitely” green…
They have just been started, but I already found a nice piece of fabric for them…
So now I have 2 pairs of shoes, one done, and one on the way, for St. Patrick’s Day outfits. I hope to show you 2 completed pairs of shoes tomorrow… and with the fabric for them…
I will see you tomorrow,
Blessings, Jeanne
Nice to see that something for our LDs is next! I have to ask, though–what is that sweet little dress Lian is modeling? It’s so cute!! Is it something you made? It would be a cute summer sundress for someone! (hint hint)
The shoes are coming along nicely. I particularly like the green leather ones, and the fabric you have to go with them. I’m looking forward to seeing the progress of this outfit!
You certainly do wonderful work in making those tiny shoes, Jeanne! I struggle with fastening buckles on those shoes for Betsy, and that video you showed was what is needed, somehting easy to close!
I do like both material you chose, and wonder if Lian is going to be the one wearing and modeling both? And yes, what is that little sundress you have on her now? So cute and simple!
Like Valentine’s Day I never had a special dress when I was a child for St. Patrick’s Day, just wore whatever I had. Our dolls certainly are spoiled now!
Adding on here, maybe a crisp white collar and cuffs on some sleeves would brighten up the first set, since it does look on the dark side.
The blueish shoes remindme of the girls’ school shoes 🙂
Dear Jeanne,
I never comment (though I read your blog every day :)), but your wonderful shoes have compelled me to step out of lurking. Your skills as a cobbler definitely rival your excellence as a seamstress. Have you thought of creating a blog post with a master class on doll shoes, similar to the one you did for making tights? That would be amazing. Also, would you mind sharing where you get the leather that you use?
The blue green pair look great with the fabric. But, the vamp seems to be cut too wide and there is too much space at the heel. The green pair are better fitting across the vamp, but still too side at the heel in the back, I think. But, with a sock, maybe they might fit? Maybe some solid green could be mixed in with the print used for the green shoes to tone down the business a bit? But, don’t know what pattern is planned yet. Maybe one with a collar and slightly puffed sleeves that could be solid green or have the green as a cuff or collar trim? Just a thought. I’m sure whatever is chosen will be great for Lian. 🙂
After the big fiasco with everyone trying to purchase dolls at RRFF recently to no avail, it looks like the company is listening. 200 dolls were gone in minutes and their site crashed. Ugh.
We have light rain so far with more coming. It was great to have a dry day yesterday.
Just wonderful! I cannot wait to see them with their finished dresses. I love the fabric in Lian’s dress. So beautiful, and the dress is so sweet!
Dear Jeanne, I can see that you are really enjoying making dolly shoes. They are adorable.
The weather here has been fairly warm. I think Phil, the Groundhog, got it right! We will have mild weather and May will be here before we know it.