Sizing Should Be Simple

Here is yesterday's dress Simplicity 2269 that one of my Madame Alexander dolls wore. My American Girl Doll "Julie" measures slightly larger around the shoulders (by 5/8 inch). She fills out the waist and hips a bit better too.

I think this dress is still too roomy, but it's a better style for this doll than the M.A. Next time I use this pattern, I will fit the bodice piece to the doll ahead of time, and I will use interfacing on this section of the dress.

The doll's accessories are listed on my previous blog entry.

Combining Two Prints

I love these two prints together, using Simplicity 2296. This pattern is for 18-inch dolls, yet this doll is swimming in this dress. You may like your doll clothes to be loose, but this little dress easily falls off her shoulders.

This doll is a Madame Alexander. She has great lips and hair. I think I left her hair a bit too wild. These Espadrilles come from the Springfield doll section at Michael's. I found the moonstone necklace at Carpatina.

I wonder if perhaps I stretched the top when I was sewing. The pattern doesn't call for interfacing, but I'll use it next time. Seriously. This dress is huge. American girl is larger through the shoulders. I think I'll try the dress on her.

Fashionista in Polka Dots

I put the finishing touches on the dress that I featured in my last blog. I shortened the dress considerably, and I added some off-white lace to the bottom.

In addition to altering the length, I changed the shoes to dark brown boots, and I added wide brown ribbon to Dollie's hair. Maybe I missed my calling as a "stylist." Compare our model to the one in the previous blog. Comments?

Doll Clothes Alterations

Below is an unfinished polka dot dress that I made with Simplicity #4654 that still needs a hem. Please note that the designated hem is only one quarter of an inch. Since I've revisited my childhood hobby of creating doll clothes, I've become dissatisfied with many of the patterns that I find. The clothes have a strange fit, or they're basically boring. This dress is too long:

I appreciate anyone's effort to create, period. But what I envision is simply different from anything I see. Once I hem the dress--and add the velcro to the opening down the back--the dress won't look much different.

I am trying to dress dolls as if they're kids, fashionable kids, at that. I don't see little girls wearing mid-calf or ankle-length dresses. Why would anyone dress American Girl or Madame Alexander in a long dress unless the doll is supposed to be a wearing period costume or a princess dress?

I'm going to hem this dress somewhere above the knee after I change the look of the dress with a pleat here and a tuck there. With a few tiny alterations and with some accessories, this dress will look vastly different, and much better. That is my aim, anyway.

Please check out my next blog entry to see the results.