Dolly Has New Clothes

Okay something went terribly wrong as I was just finishing my post and the whole thing disappeared on me.  Now I'm irritated and I'll try not to take it out on all of you.  Serves me right for not saving with every paragraph. Argh!

You might recall that I had a dollhouse when I was younger.  And I had a doll leftover from the dollhouse and kept in storage for years.  She was in pretty good shape, hair still on her head, face and hands not yellowed or anything.  Her clothes however were another story.  They were stained and frayed and really in bad shape.  She deserved better after waiting in a box so patiently.

I'd made her clothes when I was about fifteen I think?  I'd like to think my skills at sewing like my writing have improved since then.  Along with things like my attitude, perspective, my bank account all the boring adult stuff we tend to accumulate as we get older.  I know... so not as much fun as a dollhouse.

She's a nice little doll, not fancy but she has long brown hair, porcelain head and hands and feet.  Her body is cloth and stuffed and she can be posed but unless you've gotten her put into a tight chair she doesn't stay where you put her very well since she doesn't have wire inside her arms and legs like these newfangled porcelain dolls.  She's sized appropriately to the dollhouse though, for a girl about twelve or thirteen.

So I took her old clothes apart and used them as a pattern.  Maybe you remember that I went through all my fabric and remnants and sorted them out so I have a box of appropriately sized patterns and fabrics for a dollhouse.  No? I was sure I told you guys about that.  Huh, maybe not. 

I found some pretty purple/lilac and white fabric and lace leftover from my nieces Christmas gift a while back and made my doll a whole new outfit.  The ensemble includes bloomers, a petticoat, a dress, an apron and a sunbonnet.

By the way this process took at least three hours a night for a full week.  I did this the first month I was in my new department full time and my brain was fried so I couldn't write.  All I did was sit, sew and watch TV with the husband.  He kept an eye on the cats so they wouldn't run off with the doll or the pieces of fabric.

Here's a picture of her bloomers, I got everything on her and then didn't want to remove it all to take the pictures.  I'm lazy. So sue me.

This position is a little embarrassing for her, please don't say anything.

Next we have her petticoat, I fancied it up a little with a double layer of ruffles, one more fluffy than the other, she deserved it I think after waiting so long for new clothes.  Don't teens and preteens like ruffles? I know I did. Still do sometimes. 

You can't quite see the purple thread I used on the white for contrast.

Next we have her dress and bonnet.  You can't quite see it but I might redo the collar of the dress. It's supposed to stick straight up and it looks uncomfortable to me, plus with the bonnet on its hard to see.  I put a little piece of the lace for detail on her bodice though, just as a nod to all the pretties a teen girl might like.

The bonnet was a lot harder to make than it looks, lots of gathering and sizing to her head but I think it turned out fairly well.

You can't see it too well since the bonnet squishes the collar down.

Her apron was actually kinda fun to make, it had to be functional in order to protect her dress after all, but its pretty too, with lacy straps.  So I used purple thread on it again to give it a little flair on the hems.

You can just see the purple thread.

 And here is the entire ensemble, I don't think it turned out too badly.  And the dolly deserves some pretty clothes after an undisclosed amount of time in a box. 

She is a cute little doll.

She reminds me of Laura Ingalls from Little House... And now I've really dated myself if I hadn't before.

I think she must be pretty pleased with her new clothes.  I've got her room picked out too, and furniture for her.  She's going to be in the third floor room on the left side, above the master bedroom.  I haven't decided if she's going to have a baby brother or sister or if she'll just have a cradle to keep a fancy doll she hasn't quite outgrown.

So there we are.  Hope you all like, in spite of having to type this whole thing out again! From memory.  Definitely need to save more often.