Let it Snow

With winter deciding to make an appearance, #Hearts4HeartsGirls Shola decided it was time for a new coat.

After checking out all the options, she decided that her favorite was the one Caroline modeled for "Warm in Cream" on sewdolledup.blogspot.com.  Seeing as the pattern was designed for 18"dolls, alterations had to be made to the pattern so it would fit her 14" size.

For fabric, Shola chose a pink felt and pink bead buttons.

And the weather decided to cooperate for her photo shoot with a pause in the storm long enough to get pictures with a nice dusting of snow in the background.

Watch Flickr and sewdolledup.blogspot.com for pictures of this look.

Want to make this look?  The pattern is Simplicity 3551 View C at 73%.

Dueling Christmas Duos

With everyone thinking alike, the girls decided to take some pictures in matching groups.

#Hearts4HeartsGirls Zelia and Shola posed on the couch for their picture.

Alicia and Laura posed by the doorway for their picture.

Both pictures show off the girls matching dresses.

Check out Flickr and SewDolledUp.blogspot.com to see these pictures.

Like the couch?  Its the #JourneyGirls wooden lounge set recovered in pink flannel.

Shola's Fifties Style Christmas

When #Hearts4HeartsGirls Shola saw Zelia's Christmas dress she just had to have a matching one.

So an identical dress was made.  And Shola also chose the velvet ribbon for her hair so they could be "twins" for Christmas.

Check out Flickr and SewDolledUp.blogspot.com for pictures of Shola's look.

And keep an eye out for the picture Zelia and Shola took of their looks together.  It turned out adorable.

Samantha's Fifties Style Christmas

Apparently everyone was thinking alike.  Samantha liked the look and feel of her dress from the Simplicity pattern 1086 earlier this summer so much she also decided that would be the style of her Christmas dress.

For Samantha, the dress did not require alterations.  She also chose to do the yoke and sleeves in a solid red with the skirt in the gingerbread man Christmas fabric.  And liked the red glitter ribbon on Zelia's look enough to copy the effect.

Check out Flickr and SewDolledUp.blogspot.com to see pictures of Samantha's look.

Zelia's Fifties Christmas

#Hearts4HeartsGirls Zelia fell in love with look "C" of Simplicity pattern 1086.  And was disappointed that the pattern was for 18 inch dolls.

This was the look she wanted for her fifties Christmas dress.

So we did some math and then copied the pattern at 73%.  With just minor fit adjustments from the resized pattern, and Shola modeled the trial of this look in a previous post.

Zelia was delighted with the way it turned out using the red for the yoke and sleeves and the gingerbread man Christmas fabric for the skirt.  She decided to accent the yoke seam with a red sparkle ribbon instead of matching fabric as shown on the pattern. 

In the end, Zelia chose to put a red velvet ribbon on her ponytail instead of taking on the alteration for the hat. 

Check out Flickr and SewDolledUp.blogspot.com for pictures of this look.

And stay tuned -- Shola didn't want to get left out of the fun...

Laura's Christmas Fifties Favorite

Laura liked Alicia's dress so much she decided she wanted a matching one.

So once again, the Crabapples Fifties Favorite pattern was dug out.

Laura decided to add sparkle to her look. 

She ran a red sparkle ribbon along the curve of the yoke and across the red of the pocket.

Check out pictures on Flickr and watch SewDolledUp.blogspot.com for pictures of this look.

50s Favorite in Gingerbread

The year is flying by and already Christmas is just around the corner.

So when I was testing the new Crabapples Botique pattern Fifties Favorite designed for #AmericanGirlDolls Mary Ellen, I used a gingerbread and candy canes Christmas print fabric.

I used a solid red fabric for the yoke and the tops of the pockets.  Then the rest of the dress is the Christmas fabric.  The sleeves and the top of the pockets are edged with a red bias tape.

 Normally, patterns designed for #AmericanGirlDolls do not fit on Alicia (#JourneyGirls Kayla) due to her thinner frame and sloped shoulders.  This one however is an exception.  It looks every bit as cute on Alicia as it does on the #AmericanGirlDolls.  The only difference, I had to overlap the velcro tighter in the back for Alicia.

Check out sewdolledup.blogspot.com and Flickr for pictures of this look.

Want to make it yourself?  The pattern is available via Pixie Faire.

Edwardian Fancy

Now that the Crabapples Botique pattern Edwardian Fancy and the pairing pattern Dress It Up have been published, I can share all the fun I had with them.

As mentioned in a previous post, I used a mint crinkle satin for my dress with a white lace. 

From the Dress It Up pattern, I used a white lingerie knit with the lace from the dress to make the gloves.  While the pattern recommended using freezer paper to cut out the gloves, I did not have any available and used Glad Press 'N Seal instead. 

I really like the way the gloves go around individually around the fingers instead of just looking like mittens.  

I also made the purse from the Dress It Up pattern.  For the purse, I used a pink satin, the lace from the dress and gloves, white fringe and pink ribbon. 

And as referenced in my last post, I topped the entire look off with the Heirloom Hat.

The final accessory was a locket I put together from a bracelet chain and a bracelet locket charm.

Check out sewdolledup.blogspot.com and Flickr for pictures of this look. 

Want to make it yourself?  The patterns are all available via Pixie Faire.

My Fair Hat

My Edwardian dress looked incomplete without the proper accessories. 

Fortunately, I found that Crabapples Boutique has a Heirloom Hat pattern available on Pixie Faire.

While working on my hat, I was watching My Fair Lady with Audrey Hepburn. This movie has some of the most over the top hats I've ever seen. Over the top hats were quite common in the Edwardian period.

So inspired by all the hats in the movie, I went a bit overboard decorating my hat.  There's a ruffle around the hat in the same fabric as the dress.  Then on top of that, there are 3 large flowers, organza ribbon poofs, tulle poofs in the back and feathers.

I also tested a pending new Crabapples Botique pattern for gloves and a purse....more details on these pieces soon.

Keep an eye on sewdolledup.blogspot.com and Flickr for pictures of the hat (and eventually the full look - still waiting on the pattern release).

1970s Sunshine

While I missed the official testing window for Flossie Potter's 1970s First Formal, I had a spare evening and a couple fat quarters in shades of yellow and gold.

So I decided to try out the pattern.  The instructions indicated it could be something I could whip together in a single evening.  And it was.

To finish off the look, I cut some of my leftovers and created a fabric headband.

Watch for pictures of the look on Flickr and sewdolledup.blogspot.com.

And check out Pixie Faire to get the pattern and make this yourself.

Edwardian Style Dress

So I've taken a little break from designing looks to participate in the Pixie Faire pattern testing group.

I can't provide a lot of details at this time, but let's just say Crabapples Botique is working on a new Edwardian dress for the American Girl Doll.  See a hint on their Facebook page.

Edwardian is that window between 1901 and 1910.  This covers American Girl Samantha and ends just before American Girl Rebecca.

I chose a mint green crinkle satin with white lace for my test.

Watch SewDolledUp.blogspot.com for the pictures to load after the pattern moves out of the testing phase. 

Watch Pixie Faire for the Crabapple Afternoon Tea pattern to make it yourself.

Tinkerbell Tunic

The second look for the birthday girl's #JourneyGirl doll was an a-line tunic (made from an altered version of #AmericanGirlDoll Molly's slip pattern).

The tunic was made from fabric with #Tinkerbell printed on it.

The tunic was paired with black leggings.

For pictures of this look, check out Flickr and sewdolledup.blogspot.com.

Journey Girl Kayla's Jumper

So I thought I was going to be working on some new fall looks for #Hearts4Hearts Dell.  And then I got a 7th birthday party invitation. The birthday girl has a #JourneyGirl doll.

The first look was a black velvet jumper with a skirt made of three tiers of ruffles.

The look was paired with a #SpringfieldCollection t-shirt. 

As a special surprise, I ironed a cat applique on the t-shirt.

Check out the pictures on Flickr and at sewdolledup.blogspot.com.

Hearts4Hearts Fall Look

I have begun patterning a look for #Hearts4Hearts Dell involving pants and a top. 

My niece (whose 9th birthday is just around the corner) told me that Dell needed pants and tops.  She had enough dresses.

Earlier in the year, I created shorts and some tops for the girls dolls.  Now that the weather is cooling down, I'm thinking pants and tops with longer sleeves.

The pants have a nice fit and then just a bit of a flare towards the bottom, so they are easy to put on. I'd call them bootcut.

The top is not completely figured out yet.  So far I've just got 3/4 length sleeves.  Still a few details to work out left.  I've considered switching out the longer sleeves for the short sleeves from some of my other looks, but I'm also considering a look with a curved yoke...

Watch for the pictures and see which way I decide to go.

1950s dress for Hearts4Hearts dolls

The looks made using #Simplicty pattern 1086 (a #KeepersDollyDuds design) turned out so cute, I decided to see what it would look like on the smaller doll.

Thus, I've been taking my skills learned in #LibertyJaneClothing #PatternAcademy and am working on recreating the pattern for the 14" #Hearts4HeartsGirls dolls.

Watch for the look on Sewdolledup.blogspot.com and Flickr.

If all goes well, maybe the girls will plan a "welcome #BeforeverMaryellen" party in their 50s looks.

Mom's Wedding Barbie

So all the #Wedding #Barbies I've done recently got my mom to thinking. 

So I got a call with a broad hint that she'd like it if I created an artistic rendition of her wedding dress.

Then not long after that, three pictures showed up in the mail: a closeup, a picture of the dress from the front and a picture of the dress from the back.

I guess this means my future holds another #Wedding #Barbie.  Maybe I can get it done before their 45th anniversary.

Chelle's Wedding Barbie

After six prototypes slowly adjusting the pattern, I finally got the patterns to reflect the look I was going for.  (One of these days I might get used to all the figure changes Mattel has put #Barbie through in the last couple of decades.)

The under dress/lining is a mermaid style dress is in satin with a lace and shiny tulle ruffle.

The over dress is also in satin, but more of a fit and flare style.  Lace covers the dress from the strapless neckline to just past the hips. Lace also covers around the hem of the skirt and drapes partway up the skirt.

The lace on the skirt has white sequin interspersed in the design.

Just under the bust, a white satin ribbon encircles the dress with a teal satin ribbon centered over it for a pop of color.  The lace on the bust is embellished with beads.

The center back of the dress laces like a corset with a teal organza ribbon.

After all of this, I only hope the bride sees this as the perfect artistic rendition of her own wedding look.

Watch for pictures of this look on Flickr and Sewdolledup.blogspot.com.

JG Blue Flowered A-line Dress

This A-line dress is a new pattern of mine, I'm testing for #JourneyGirl dolls.

The dress has a yoke, so it could be made as a sheer yoke and a lined dress.

Or in this case, I made the whole dress from a fat quarter.

To finish the look off, I added a silver purse, flats with a blue bow, and a butterfly necklace.

Alicia (#JourneyGirlKayla) is modeling the dress in front of my peonies for the pictures.

To see the pictures, check out sewdolledup.blogspot.com and Flickr.

New Patterns

If you've been watching the pictures at sewdolleup.blogspot.com, you may have noticed a lot of new #Hearts4HeartsGirls looks.

I recently completed the #LibertyJaneClothing Pattern Academy.  My focus in the class was on learning to make looks for these dolls as the clothes are so hard to find.

One of my favorite girls told me her dolls needed pants and tops.  So I've created a shorts pattern inspired by the shorts she was packing for her spring break trip.  And a couple different tops to go with them. 

The looks have been a hit with my favorite girls.

Valentine's Dance

Although I've not been feeling overly creative lately, Samantha has been invited to a Valentine's dance.  And she decided that called for a new dress.

Samantha selected a look from Butterick 3491, a medium pink fabric and a white fabric with little pink hearts on it.

The pink heart fabric was used to cut out the bodice and the skirt.  The pink fabric was used to cut out the yoke and the skirt ruffle. 

Watch for the picture of Samantha's dance look on Flickr and sewdolleup.blogspot.com.

Ruffled Flowers

Anna chose a purple flowered fabric for this look.  It reminded her of spring.

The bodice has a slightly square neckline and puffy sleeves.

The skirt is three layers of ruffles. The middle and the bottom ruffles have a layer of sparkle tulle over them.

The dress is belted with a blue ribbon.

Anna accessorized the look with a necklace, white shoes and a yellow hair ribbon.

Anna decided to have her photo shoot at the park.

Watch Flickr and sewdolledup.blogspot.com for pictures of this look.