Category Archives: Crafts

Some Fiddly Drawers

Posted in Crafts, Dolls, Ruby, Sewing by

I’ve finally dedicated some time to work on Ruby’s drawers and they were so fussy and fiddly! I decided to use the Susan Sirkis Wish Booklet WB 23 Fashions 1880-1885.

The Wish Booklets are wonderful with lots of patterns that are relatively easy to follow…if you understand garment construction and have some knowledge of period techniques. The original chemise I made was based on a different pattern because I wanted something closer to what is shown in the Bloomingdale’s Illustrated 1886.

The drawers however are a sweet design and just fine for Ruby.

Many of the reproduction doll patterns I have seen and used include some errors, omissions and sometimes just confusing instructions. I remind myself they are written by humans (fallible as we may be) and rely on my sewing experience to fill in any gaps. In these drawers for example, there is no instruction to hem them or to add the lace trim.

Should you wish to make these drawers, I suggest you make a rolled hem before starting, and then make your pin tucks, or adjust the placement of your pin tucks up a quarter inch so you have space to hem and add the lace at the end.

Also, there’s no mention of added the bows shown in the drawing but that could be put down to it just being a suggestion. I liked the look and added silk ribbon bows.

I also chose to use French seams since voile can fray just as badly as silk! Being such a fine fabric it is very delicate, but gives such a lovely result. Another step not really mentioned is the waistband. While the instructions do indicate the yoke should be set to a narrow waistband, there is no mention to add ease stitching since the yoke has bias edges. Again, not too difficult to figure out.

They fit Ruby nicely and I closed them with a hook and thread bar. I think a button would add unnecessary bulk.

Ruby is pleased to have drawers again!

An 1860 style doll quilt

Posted in Crafts, Dolls, Misc, Pictures, Sewing by

Here’s a project I had to hold onto before sharing because it was made as a Christmas gift.

Block quilt

I followed a basic tutorial which guided me on how to press the seams inside – necessary since this is the first “proper” quilt I have made. I just noodled the previous doll quilt I made.

The pattern is based on antique doll quilt patterns from the 1860s and I also used reproduction fabrics. The quilt top is assembled from blocks of four. It’s important to stay organized. I see where I made a couple mistakes but I bet you don’t.

Quilt back

The quilt is 100% hand sewn, as would have been done by a young lady making a quilt for her dolls in times gone by. It’s interlined with a piece of flannel to give it some body.

The finished quilt is about 16 x 20 inches. Dottie and her friends will be quite comfortable with this quilt to keep them cozy. This is the kind of quilt I used to get lost in, just dreaming about the people who used it before me.

Dora’s Rebirth

Posted in Crafts, Dolls, Mom, Pictures, Sewing by

You may (or may not) remember I mentioned last year some time that I have a doll who I specifically acquired to make a new body for – in anticipation of repairing my cousin’s doll Ruby.

Poor little Dora

This sweet Dora Tudor doll was badly damaged. Her entire body was spotted with what looked like mold. Yuck.

Ouchie

She has a broken arm.

Pigeon toes

Her feet are both cockeyed and the tips are chipped.

This past week I deconstructed her to start over. I felt in the spirit of her becoming a new doll she should have a new name.

Hi, I’m Edna!

Edna was filled with some kind of foam rubber stuff that was breaking down badly. Along with the mold I felt it necessary to just dispose of her former cloth parts.

New arms

I’ve drafted a new body pattern and made the arms. I thought I’d make her a bandage for her broken arm. Perhaps we can come up with a plausible Victorian injury. Let me know your ideas. :-)

Next time I will have her legs and maybe even her body, but for now I have to go clean my house, boo.

Follow along: A Finished Skirt

Posted in Crafts, Dolls, Follow Along: Caroline, Sewing by

We are in the home stretch now! I’m quite excited and already working on the next piece of Caroline’s wardrobe, but thought I’d take a moment to pause and share the finished skirt.

Front view

The skirt is a lovely silk brocade that I bought from a costuming friend a few years ago. The pattern is cranberry colored paisleys on a tan field with small golden threads shot through to frame the paisley motifs. I believe the pattern expected readers to use a lighter weight silk than this but I don’t thinks it is too much of a problem.

Back pleats

It is fully lined with white cotton batiste. this gives the skirt quite a firm body. I managed to get it to stand on its own.

Facing hem
Center back opening
Center back seam
Whipped side seam

The seams must be whipped to control the fray – either pressed open and whipped to the lining or whipped closed. On the lower hem, I chose to use bias tape as a facing to cut down on bulk. It has the added benefit of making it easier to curve the hem – it’s not straight – so it doesn’t ripple. If you used a lighter weight fabric you could easily make a standard hem. I also chose this fluted ribbon trim instead of pleats or fringe. It suits my style and Caroline likes it too.

Side view

I will share the polonaise soon. It’s coming together quickly and I will hopefully be finished with it by next week! Exciting. There may be a hat and maybe even a reticule. Fun fact: in French reticule means ridiculous.

Follow Along: Empire Hoop

Posted in Crafts, Dolls, Follow Along: Caroline, Sewing by

This is another piece of Caroline’s wardrobe that came together fairly quickly. Unfortunately this is the first piece I don’t completely love.

Front view

I made this piece from lightweight linen and the three basic pieces are fast to construct. Frankly, the casings for the inside of the garment also came together easily and quickly. It’s not a difficult item to construct.

Side view

The frustration began with the overlapping of the wires at center back. This was sooo fidly. The instructions say to overlap by 1/4” and bind the two pieces together with thread. I found this to be tricky at best. Because the gauge of hat wire used, it is not very flexible and so quite difficult to manipulate into place, then get it to hold still while tying it together and not accidentally stitching the piece to the body of the garment. All this machination mangled the raw edges of the casings. Since the instructions are a bit sparse here, should you want to make this item I recommend leaving some length at the ends of the casings, shaping the wire as desired, and then sewing the casings closed. These are doll clothes and it’s not like Caroline is going to be walking around causing the wires to shift. I wish I had thought about that before I spent so much time at this juncture of the project.

Back view

The second area of frustration was the binding of the side openings. I believe this pattern is based on recreating an original and honestly, maybe this bit should have been updated. Rather than four individual pieces of binding, it might be easier to use one longer piece that would also encase the lowest point of the opening. This raw edge is left exposed by following this pattern and I would prefer it to be encased.

Final critique, no where in the instructions do they tell you to hem the garment. I recommend doing this before you add the boning. And maybe even add the lace trim at the same time. Once the boning is in, the skirt behaves very differently from an unstructured garment. Just my two cents.

I don’t super love the outcome based on these issues and I can’t seem to get the wires shaped the way I want them. Maybe I’m overthinking it.

Yes I put the petticoat over it

Follow Along: Doll Corsetry

Posted in Crafts, Dolls, Follow Along: Caroline, Sewing by

Hello again, doll loving friends! A variety of side projects and real life stuff has kept me from this particular project, but I’m so thrilled to have completed it!

Caroline’s new corset

This little project felt intimidating at first, but once I did up a mock up and made a couple adjustments, it came together in a few hours.

If you have ever made an IRL corset, this one will feel a bit incomplete because it is made with only one layer of fabric. IRL corsets are made with several layers and no thread tails will be visible. Since this is not in fact a real corset, there are some differences. :-)

The five pieces come together very easily. Boning channels are added to the inside with colored thread, which has the added benefit of the decor color. The flossing is added after the boning and since the instructions didn’t give any detail, I used the flossing to secure the boning in place inside the boning channel.

The book included no photos of the inside of the garment, so I’ve taken some for your viewing pleasure.

It is necessary to make the inside very tidy.

The brass eyelets were quite easy to add. I think if I were to make another of these, I’d extend the center back by about 1/8”. The boning channel is supposed to stitch down the raw edge of the fabric, but with only 1/4” folded under and the need to allow for the 1/8” eyelets, it’s a little more crowded than I’d like.

But ooh la la, it’s so sweetly pretty! This garment is particularly useful for Caroline since her body is sagging a bit from age & settling inside (sounds a bit like me, too haha). You will want to bind the ends of the twill tape ties in a faux aiglet to they will thread through the eyelets and not fray. To do that, bind them in thread several times and knot it once or twice very neatly & tightly.

Next for Caroline will be either her hoop skirt or a corset cover. See you again soon!

A pretty side project

Posted in Crafts, Misc, Pictures, Sewing by

The next bird in the Squishy Cute line that I made recently is this beautiful hummingbird.

My mother really liked it and it was pretty simple to make, so double win. If you decide to try some of the Squishy Cute patterns, I recommend tracing the pieces onto the felt rather than pinning. For dark colored felt use chalk. This particular one calls for a black sequin and a seed bead but I didn’t have a black sequin. I used a black button.

Find them on Etsy here. They have more than birds, too.