Lovely Lolita Blythe dress

Ruth told me in no uncertain terms that she was tired of me sewing for Barbie and she wanted a new dress.

Don't let her sweet face fool you. She rules the roost. So of course, she got her new dress.

Ruth has a Pullip type 3 body, so she's considerably smaller than Barbie. Fortunately, Pullip enthusiasts are a crafty bunch, so there are tons of detailed sewing patterns available.

This is the Lovely Lolita Puffy sleeve dress, designed for Blythe, but you can see it works well for the Pullip body also. It is a bit large in the waist and short in the skirt, but I think that contributes to the sweet look.

Since I wasn't sure it was going to work for Ruth, I modified the pattern to simplify it just a little. As designed it has a doubled sleeve that has the appearance of an undershirt/dress combo. I skipped the undersleeve/cuff and also omitted the belt.

Of course, I had to keep the sweet little collar, even though it was a bit fussy to turn. I added a line of yellow buttons to the bodice as well.

The pattern also includes an elastic waist crinoline, which Ruth is a bit embarrassed to show you. There is a pattern for socks/stockings included, but I didn't think they would work well on Ruth's longer legs.

The crinoline really gives the skirt a nice poof, but to add to the volume I also underlined the skirt panel in silk organza.

The bodice is also fully lined, as per the pattern. I used silk organza here as well. Lining fabrics at this scale can add bulk, but this isn't a problem with organza.

Ruth and I are both pleased with her new dress. It's terribly sweet, and it suits her well. As a bonus, it fits Skipper too, so now I know that I can use Blythe patterns to sew for Skipper. Very cool.