Midge gets a new sundress: Advance 9938

Poor Midge has been hanging out in her negligee since I made it. It was time for her to get out of her PJs and into some day wear!

Time for a sundress!! *jazz hands*

I was so happy with the sundress I made for Evie last month, that I decided to use the same pattern  (Advance 9938), but with the princess seamed bodice. 

I defined the seam lines further with a little faux piping. It's done with red ribbon, just inserted into the seam. It definitely accentuates Midge's curves!

I added a red satin rosette just where it waist seam intersects the princess seam.

The bodice closes in back with three snaps, which I accented with tiny red buttons. This bodice has a higher back neckline than the darted bodice I used last time.

It also features a slightly dropped waistline, which I think is seriously cute. I used the same skirt as last time, so the added bodice length makes this almost a tea length dress. Very sweet..

The fabric is a quilting cotton, but somewhat more lightweight. It drapes nicely, while still having enough body to maintain the full skirt. It's pretty much the perfect weight for Barbie clothes, and the scale of the polka dot is right on.

I think she likes it. She even blew us a kiss!

Simplicity 3678 Knit dress

Springtime arrives and suddenly all I want to make are dresses. Comfy, knit dresses.

So on a whim, I made one. Because this fabulous fabric had been in my stash far too long.

Since this is a border print, I needed a pattern with a straight hemline, and I generally favor flared skirts, so none of my favorite knit dress patterns would do. I perused the pattern stash and came across Simplicity 3678, which was a PR best pattern in 2008.

I'm actually not sure why I haven't made this before! It has almost all of my favorite things - wrapped, pleated bodice, midriff band, nice v neckline... I must have been nervous about the gathers around the tummy area, but my favorite maxi dress pattern has them, so I decided to go for it.

The only thing I had to add was pockets. I cannot wear a dress without pockets. I just grabbed the pattern piece from Vogue 1027 and added them to the side seam.

Speaking of side seams... Print matching, much?? So happy with how well the motif matched up here!! It was partly careful planning and partly luck.

For fit, I made my usual Simplicity flat pattern alterations. I think this bodice may run a bit short, as it turned out that way on me. The shoulder seam is just slightly forward at the neckline, but the fit is still OK. When I'm making a surplice top, I basically ignore the pattern markings for the wrap. I construct the bodice (including side seams!) and then try it on, arranging the wrap the way I like. I generally find that I like a more snug wrap than the pattern calls for, so I often have to alter the skirt to fit after I've wrapped the bodice. In this case, I took about an inch out of the midriff band width, and just gathered the skirt to fit.

I do love the fit in back though. So sleek, even with the slightly gathered skirt!

The fabric is an amazing border printed ITY from FabricMart. I got this one in a fabric bundle, and it was exactly enough for this dress. I love those bundles. I get something amazing every time!

So basically this is my new favorite dress. I can't believe I let this pattern and this fabric sit in my stash for so long!! What gems are you holding on to? Go! Cut!

Jeans and tees for Barbie

Generally, I sew fantasy-type clothes for my dolls. Ball gowns, 50s sundresses, silky negligees - the kind of stuff I just don't have occasion to sew for myself. But all that frou-frou stuff just didn't seem to fit for Katniss.

So, I decided it was time to make jeans for my girls. I really love making jeans for me, so it seemed like a natural extension.

Teresa (standing) is wearing my first attempt. I am using Simplicity 4702, view E. I made Teresa's pair out of a thin stretch denim, and it turned out just too big. On the advice of some Instagram friends, I roughed them up a little, rolled the cuffs and called them boyfriend jeans. I think it works. For the jeans details - button and rivets - I used hotfix studs. The 2mm studs are the perfect size for Barbie jean rivets and the 4mm size makes an excellent button. The jeans actually close with a snap at center back.

The second version, shown here on Allriane, is my favorite. I slimmed the jeans through the waist, hips and thighs and took in the waistband. The critical change I made was to firmly interface the waistband to prevent the stretching out that happened with the first pair. I also added functional hip pockets, so that Allriane can put her hands in them. One thing to note here is that Allriane actually doesn't have a Barbie body. Her body is a Liv doll, which is slimmer than Barbie. I love these jeans, but they don't fit the fuller hips and butt of Barbie. They are perfect for Liv and Obitsu dolls though.

For Katniss, I went back to the original Simplicity pattern. My only alteration for fit was to slim the back hip slightly (like 1/8 inch), and to interface the waistband. The fabric is an extremely stretchy lightweight baby cord. I also flared the legs to give them a more wide leg look. With the waist interfaced, the fit is perfect. Since these are cords, I didn't do the front pockets or rivets.

In back, all three pair of jeans have traditional patch pockets. I did have to slim the pocket pattern piece slightly (1/8 inch on each side) to compensate for the stretch of the fabric.

Once I had the jeans done, I realized that my dolls have no casual tops. So I set about making a few.

Katniss got the first one. This is again Simplicity 4702, this time view F/H top. Other than adding 1/4 inch of length, I made no changes for fit. For the front piece and the neckband, I used a Superman sock. I am beyond thrilled with how it came out, and I really wish I could find a giant sock to make myself one. The sock was too small for the sleeves and back of the top, so I used a scrap of rayon jersey for the rest. The necklace was also made by me, from a lock and key charm which Anne sent me. Thank you!! Katniss loves it!!

I made Allriane's top next. The pattern is Simplicity 4719, and this is view G. Again, the pattern is sewn unaltered. I'm pretty thrilled with my teeny neckline binding, which I did sew as a binding rather than a band. The fabric is cotton lycra jersey left over from this top. I have found that using fabrics with a bit of lycra, really improves the drape in these teeny little clothes, and makes them look more realistic.

Teresa's top was the last one I sewed, and I'm not sure I completely love it. I wanted something relatively unfitted, to go with the boyfriend jeans vibe. This top is Simplicity 5785, view A. I made it out of chiffon, double layered for opacity and a clean finish at the neckline. After it was done, I thought it was pretty shapeless and unflattering. I took in the side seams a little, and shortened the front hem so that it hit at the waist instead of the hip. I also added some beading to the neckline to bring the focus up. I'm still not sure I LOVE it, but it works with the style.

I kinda love the easy, relaxed vibe they have together. I like to think that if Katniss had grown up in the US, maybe this would have been how she dressed.

Ottobre "Bert" shorts: take 2

This guy. He's so awesome. But man, is it hard to make clothes for him!!

I think we have a winner this time, though. These are the "Bert" shorts from the 03/2009 issue of Ottobre. I made them for him last year, and he won't even try them on. Silly me, made them in a woven. Logan only wears knit shorts.

Since the pattern is drafted for wovens, and has plenty of ease, I went ahead and used last year's size. They're drafted quite long, so I left the length alone. I did omit the faux fly, since it seemed odd in a knit short, but I love the other details, so all the pockets and yokes got to stay. Logan loves pockets.

The main feature of these shorts is the deep back yoke, which I decided to highlight in a contrast fabric. Logan loves his Rocketboy tee, so I used some leftovers from it to make the back yoke and pockets. The main fabric is a 10oz. interlock from Chez Ami. Beefy, but still nice and soft.

The biggest challenge for these shorts were the back pockets. I wanted to coverstitch them on for a professional look, but all those points... I did manage to pivot a few of them - tricky with two needles - but some of them I had to tie off. I'm pleased with the end result though, and Logan does like them.

On the boy, the yoke hits just at the bottom of his bum, and right where the front pocket inserts the seam. I find it a quite pleasing juxtaposition, and the seam intersection right there is nice and smooth, without much bulk. Very easy to sew.

Yay! A win! These are going to see a lot of playtime. Just no more pictures, Mom!

Monthly Roundup: April 2014

Y'all, I have been very bad about keeping up with my sewing output this month. I have an excuse though. Early this month, my computer's monitor died. It's a laptop, so that is pretty much endgame. Anyway, I sent it off (still under warranty, whew!) and when it came back a couple of days ago, I found that they had wiped the hard drive. Now, I am no computer genius, but that seems excessive for an itty bitty monitor replacement... Anyway, no biggie, I had all my files backed up, but it's online (Thank you, Carbonite!!) So it's taking a while to download them all back onto the laptop. Especially since my internet service can't seem to keep me online this week. My signal has dropped 3 times since I started typing this. Very annoying...

Anyway, since I upload all my work to Flickr, I still have a pretty collage to show you, even if I can't share the raw numbers just now.

Was it month of the frou-frou or what?? So. Much. Pink. It was so fun, y'all. Barbie got dresses and dainties, Myra got all the pink satin her girly little heart desired, and even I got a swirly dress. Good month. On top of that, I BOUGHT ZERO FABRIC!! Woo-hoo!!I am determined to make it to the move with no more fabric purchases. I have 2 months (May and June) and I think I can do this.