HI everyone,
I have been getting an accumulation of emails from my readers built up and decided I better get them sorted out and shown or I’m going to lose something someone sent me.
I’ll be the first to admit, I’ve been a little more than “smitten” with making those bathing suits for the Ruby Red Fashion Friends. I like to call it “practice” when I make them… every time I make one, I try to figure out how can I make them faster, easier, and neater than the one before. It really has surprised me… the very last thing I ever thought I’d enjoy would be sewing swimsuits. Guess I proved myself wrong.
I did add 2 new ones today; ones I had started but hadn’t gotten finished.
If you click on any of the pictures they will enlarge.
If for some strange reason you haven’t seen the ones I’ve made, you can find them in my Etsy shop…
Okay, let’s see what some of you have sent me…
First up is Elizabeth…
Jeanne…Here’s the before and after photos of the Kimberly doll I described in your blog post recently. I used an 18 inch doll clothing pattern for the tee shirt, shorts and jacket but really had to alter them more after reducing the pattern pieces to 90% of original size. I may try Ruby Red patterns in the future since Kimberly’s hard body is similar to the RR dolls body.
(Jeanne) Wow, Elizabeth, what a transformation on the doll you rescued. She is just beautiful and no one would EVER know how terrible she looked in the beginning! Great job!!
Next up is something from Marilyn…
Rachel Field was the first woman to be awarded a Newbery (for children’s literature). The book was Hitty: Her First Hundred Years, about a wooden doll she found in an antique shop. There are quite a few Hitty collectors. These dolls, like the original, are 6″ tall. The dark haired one is Hitty. Her friend is Anabel.
(Jeanne) Aren’t they cute? Hard to believe something carved out of hard wood could be so adorable.
Here is a link to the Hitty dolls with lots of different clothes options for them. It’s a fun website.
From Linda in St. Louis:
Sara is so happy with her new swimsuit! It looks so cute on her and she and I love the little “sparkles” on it!
Thanks so much Jeanne, for having the giveaway! She now has a Jeanne Marie Original!
Love to you,
Linda💕
Here are some girls in swimsuits out in California, at Susette’s house!
Hi Jeanne,
Here are a couple of pictures of the girls in swimsuits. You’ll recognize the one Sara is wearing. It’s the Jeanne Marie first attempt at swimsuits. She really did pick out every stitch without leaving a trace.
I have to admit that the little suit was sooo small that I thought it was for a Siblie! It sure looked baggy, but I knew Jeanne had corrected that issue. So it stretched its little self to fit perfectly on Sara. The joke was on me.
Susette, thank you for wanting to buy that first swimsuit from me. That built up my confidence and I attempted more… and that created a monster in me wanting to sew day and night for the Ruby Reds. Your girls look SO ADORABLE in their swimsuits! VERY ADORABLE!!!
Well, I better save something for tomorrow,
I’ll see you then.
Blessings, Jeanne
Oh, what a fun post this is! First of all, your two new swimsuits are as cute as can be. I’m so glad you switched from foldover elastic to the narrow elastic as you did–they look much more like “real” swimsuits, in my opinion.
Elizabeth, your Kimberly doll cleaned up really nicely, and her new outfit turned out beautifully! You might see if you can find any patterns for the Magic Attic dolls, as they had slimmer bodies. They’ve been out of print for a long while, but would be worth the search. As I recall, there were only two, but each one had several garments/outfits in it, so they are quite useful. I own both, and have sewn for my Magic Attic doll (I used to have two, but now only one). And, I, too, am looking forward to seeing the wardrobe, etc. for the Siblie for your great-granddaughter!
Marilyn, I love your Hitty and Annabel dolls! I have the book, and I have a Hitty, Annabel, and Magnolia, all made by the Robert Raikes company some years ago–they were mass-produced by an overseas company, as I recall, so not as pricey as his hand-carved dolls would be. They also had clothes, and I bought several dresses for them. I love Hitty!
And I recognized the website, too, as Gail Wilson’s; I have one of her cloth dolls from some years ago (a UFDC regional conference event doll), as well as kits to make another and some outfits for her. I read some of her pages on her website, and apparently she’s not doing the cloth dolls any more, edging towards retirement.
Linda, Sara looks so happy with her new swimsuit! It’s perfect for her!
And Susette, loved seeing your girls all ready to go to the beach, too.
Referring to yesterday’s blog, Joy, I remember back in the 1990s, the men’s “short” sleeves came down to the elbow or longer, and they were a problem for Ron, as he had rather short arms and legs, but a long torso. I think he had me shorten some of the “short-sleeved” shirts I got him!
Yes, Barbara, Kish’s Riley is very tiny and cute!!
Thank you all again for continued prayers. I talked to the nurse today, and he thinks it might be a couple more days before Daniel can go home. He needs to finish a course of IV antibiotics, as well as be able to maintain a good oxygen level in his body while just breathing room air. His O2 has been reduced from 5 liters to 2, though, so that is some progress.
I’d forgotten about the longer short sleeves. I’m sure there are a few still hanging around here. 🙂 Glad to hear that Daniel is improving. Good news.
Two more darling swimsuits, Jeanne! You are on a roll! Did you ever imagine when you started the blog, that you would be making swimsuits for dolls?? Me either!
Elizabeth, what a wonderful transformation you made on Kimberly! She looks brand new now! I love those little clips you put in her hair! Too bad her original cheerleader outfit is so discolored, because it is a darling outfit for her. Did you try cleaning it up or is it hopeless?
I remember reading the book about Hitty in grade school, and have never forgotten it or her! Those pictures are just darling, and I loved looking at the website for her. I think Hitty would make a cute little doll for an American Girl doll, but I am afraid she is way out of my budget for a doll’s doll! The paper dolls are a nice alternative though.
Charlotte, I certainly am hoping that Daniel will soon be able to go home and get his life back to normal!
Elizabeth’s Kimberley doll cleaned up beautifully! Her outfit is cute and she looks like she is off for a day of fun.
Martha Pullen did a book of clothes for Kimberley a LONG time ago. It’s one of the first books she ever wrote and it was printed before the American Girls arrived on the scene and took over the “play doll” market. It’s primarily Heirloom Style clothes, but they are beautiful. Here is the link for the only one I could find currently available online:
https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/1737273477/vintage-martha-pullen-book-with-patterns?variation0=4804753570
I still think Kimberley is one of the prettiest dolls and I love seeing her again.
Oh, Mary Sue, thank you for providing this information! I thought I remembered Martha did that book but when I looked online last night, I couldn’t find it. Martha loved the Kimberly doll, but I think she did that book before I knew about Kimberly or really was much of a doll collector at all (look at me now! LOL).
I’m at the library, trying to stay cool. It was 89 in my house when I left. (No a/c in the older houses in the Seattle area–it “doesn’t get hot” here!! HA!)
You are very welcome!
Martha did love that Kimberly doll. She writes about how much she loves Kimberly in the beginning of the book, I think.
I found a couple of the Kimberly dolls in the toy store in the mall, when there used to be a toy store in the mall. Well, actually, the mall is gone now too! Anyway, I made simple smocked dresses for them and the local smocking store sold the dressed dolls. Sometimes I wish I still had a Kimberly.
I hope it has cooled off for you. It’s sweatshirt weather for the next couple days in norther Ohio.
I love all the photos, prayers for Charlotte ‘s family,
and read that is here but my ride is ready to go so I have to leave.
Hope I have time to keep up with Y’all. Have a great week!
Wow, so many interesting items to read today. 🙂
Love Jeanne’s latest swim party innovations. So cute.
Elizabeth’s before and after photos of Kimberly are amazing. That little price tag is sad. What a great transformation. Love her outfit and new hairstyle. I hope that she saved the original clothing which also included the pom poms. I’m sure a collector would want them in any condition. She’s a beautiful doll. 🙂
For Marilyn, I have the 1941 edition of Hitty, not the original 1929, but it is still pretty old. 🙂 Loved seeing your photos and the website.
Linda’s Sara is adorable in her new swimsuit. I’m sure that she will wear it a lot with all of the hot weather in St. Louis.
And Susette, sure hope that you are back in the pink. Sara is adorable in her new Jeanne Marie. Love that suit maybe the best of all of them so far. What a perfect photo of Sara with her things already to go for some beach fun. And the rest of her squad is also well dressed and looks like they can’t wait to hit some waves. 🙂
We’ve cooled off, so were back to deck work and weeding. Yesterday, I was tackling the wild mint. It’s managed to travel quite far in a short amount of time. Hate that stuff. The apple tree is loaded and even though we thinned a lot, it also needs more attention so it doesn’t lose a branch. Always something to do here.
School starts here today. Our oldest high school is now sporting a chain link fence across the front. So ugly. Many movies have been filmed there, but not anymore with that fence. Supposed to be for safety, but there must be a better way. Eventually, the fence will be black iron, but still not to my liking.
Thank you, Jeanne, for sharing my photos of the Kimberly doll redo! And thank you to the readers who posted comments about the doll! And for the link to a book about patterns that would fit Kimberly. The book is a bit more pricey than what I could currently afford, but I might check on Better World Books. I order my favorite western romance or Amish novels from them and have ordered a few books on dolls and miniatures too. Their prices fit my budget and my oldest daughter often sends me a BWB gift card online which is totally enjoyable spending money! At my previous Texas address, the Public Library offered at-home delivery service for those without a car, etc. But the library closest to me now is smaller and they don’t offer home delivery. So “strolling thru” the Better World Books selections and adding to my wish-list, eventually ordering, and receiving a package in the mail is great! And I don’t need to return books in 3 weeks! Plus, I share the reading novels with my son-in-law’s mother who is in her 80’s and loves to read the same type of novels as I do.
I do have a couple of the MHD doll patterns for 14″ and 16″ dolls, and I can reduce pattern sizes as needed and tweak to fit a doll. The MHD designs (https://dolloutfits.com/patterns/index.html) are a special look in my book and offer several coordinated items to go with dresses, like hats, stylish jackets and “blousy” pants. I’m looking forward to try the patterns for Kimberly and my RR 14″ dolls!
I did soak and wash the original Kimberly cheerleading outfit but the top, underwear and socks were too stained and even the plastic tennis shoes seemed to have embedded dirt….it took a scrub brush to loosen the dirt. The elastic was shot in her undies so I made a nice new white pair, using the original as a pattern. (And I made full-size “granny” panties instead of hip-huggers!!) Only the red cheerleading skirt came out clean and okay to use again.
Hope to return to sewing for Kimberly and the Ruby Red dolls by the end of August or when I complete the Siblie Doll wardrobe of outfit and accessories!
Glad you tried to save the outfit. I’m sure you are way ahead of me, but maybe you can cut off the cheer icon from the top and make a new one. Then, sew the old cheer logo back on?? Just a thought because it is an adorable vintage outfit.
Jeanne, the new new suits are exceptional. Wow.
Every doll needs a swim suit!
Elizabeth, your Kimberly doll was a treasure to be found and loved.
You certainly cleaned her up so well and now she is beauty. She is a pretty doll!
I do not know Hitty Dolls, they look beautiful, and certainly a treasure for a girl.
Wow. Everyone needs a doll too 🥰
Susette, your dolls are lined up so sweet, I love these scene photos: 4 beautiful flowers ready for a warm day to frolic.
Happy Tuesday loved ones
What a lot of good stuff today. I really like how you’ve worked with the fabric design in the 2 new swimsuits. And then — all the swimsuits. all different and all beautifully modeled.
I am so glad you rescued Kimberly, Elizabeth. She looks healthy and brand new. You should take her back to the store and let them see what you’ve done.
As for Hitty —
I misspelled Annabelle.
Here’s an Etsy link with photos to go with the info in Jeanne’s post
https://www.etsy.com/shop/TheHittyShop
It shows the finished products instead of sketches. Rachel Field’s Hitty was all wood. The ones shown above are cloth bodied with paper mache head, hands, and feet.
Or you could make your own all cloth Hitty
https://www.etsy.com/shop/peacheydi?ref=shop-header-name&listing_id=1432452640&from_page=listing
Here’s Wendi Dunn’s website with photos and background for Rachel Field’s “Hitty.” It’s especially interesting.
Or you could make a “Flat Hitty” — the best alternative if you have a little girl you want to introduce to Hitty’s world. This is also a website by Wendi Dunn. It has background information, projects, classroom ideas for related language arts and social studies projects.
https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/store/a-tale-of-two-hittys
Included is a downloadable Hitty travel paper doll.
I wrote a long comment, but it disappeared. I’ll try a short version — maybe it will stay.
After compliments on the swim suits and on Kimberly. I added some websites.
For info about Hitty
https://ataleoftwohittys.com/the-antique-shop/?fbclid=IwY2xjawL_VklleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBicmlkETFRRUtJN1Nua1pueDVBemZuAR4IQL7XVZZFeBP-1kHOiGqljA6gorm8cIeu9F_wrxx3hsUsm0yHpa58O_LdtA_aem_1ATrLZMFVPbBSSjQ9LrhvA
The “Hitty Fun” section includes a traveling paper doll you can make for a young Hitty fan.
“The Antique Shop” is interesting background information.
And here’s the Etsy shop that goes with the link in Jeanne’s post.
https://www.etsy.com/shop/TheHittyShop?ref=shop-header-name&listing_id=1211967204&from_page=listing
Hitty is quite small, but Jeanne sews for dolls this short. The day may come when Jeanne sews for Hitty.