De-Poufing

I managed to finish the last project last night.  I would have posted it earlier today, but I was helping out at Church.  Mostly painting stuff.  It is a little odd.  I got paint (and dirt) on my hands, legs, and my nose, but not my clothes.  I actually checked all over them, not a speck.  I would be thrilled if it wasn’t for the fact that I still can’t seem to get it off my nails.

Anyway,  I made this dress specifically for Easter next week.  I am super happy with the way it came out, especially with the bodice.  It actually fits me, me!  Plus I love how the front section turned out.  It has plenty of lace, pin tucks, and ribbon.  Just a few of my favorite things.  The problem with this dress came with the puffed sleeves.  I’ve used this sewing pattern before, but only the bodice part not the sleeves.  I know now that if I am ever going to use them again I will have to pretty much cut it down to size.  They came out enormous.  Think Dorothy of the Wizard of Oz playing football.  Luckily I was able to take in some of the puff and bring them down to a manageable size.  Other than that, this dress came out perfectly.  Can’t wait to wear it.
Here’s the updated list:

• Doll dress
• White purse
• Shoes
• T-shirt
• Heart bag
• Pins
• Cuffs
• Straw bag
• Parasol
• Dress

Nine down and out, right on schedule too.

Read More »

Some Spring Things

I know I said I would post this on Wednesday, and Saturday definitely isn’t close to Wednesday.  I guess it’s better to be late than to never show. 

Anyway, sometime I think last summer I bought a package of tiny little straw hats from a St Vincent de Paul thrift store.  They are each about the size of my thumb.  I wasn’t sure what to do with them at first.  I thought they would make cute pins, maybe for Easter.  So whipped up these three.  A little gathered lace, a ribbon, and a fake flower and now they are Easter bonnet pins.

And because of their perfect size and the glue gun was still warm, I couldn’t resist decorating one for a doll Easter hat.  It ties on with the ribbon.  The only problem is trying to find a doll to stick it on.  It doesn’t look right on any doll I’ve tried.  I may have to make a doll for it.  Oooh, won’t that be fun.

Next up, a sort of elderly friend of mine gave me this parasol last year because she thought it would look good with my outfits.  It does sort of, but the problem with it beyond being less than sturdy, sort of costume-y and a little small is that it is a tad plain.  How do you fix “plainness”.

A little lace does the trick.  I added eyelet lace along the edge and overlapped that with another kind of lace.  I also added some lace around the thingie that sticks out on the top of the parasol (what in the world is it called?) just for the heck of it.  Then I added some ribbon and a snap to help close the parasol.  Before it had this odd plastic loop thing to hold it close that kept falling down.  Now the parasol is much cuter and about half an inch larger. 
Here’s the updated list:

• Doll dress
• White purse
• Shoes
• T-shirt
• Heart bag
• Pins
• Cuffs
• Straw bag
• Parasol
• Dress

Nine down, just one more to go.  And I’ve got just one week to do it.  No problem.

Read More »

A Big Pink Heart

Some time ago I got some pink felt from Goodwill. I can’t remember what I paid for it or what I originally intended to make with it. One day it hit me, I can make a heart shaped bag with it.
And heart shaped it became.  It came out mostly all right except…the white heart on the front is crooked.  It is really noticeable on the bottom and the left side.  I guess it doesn’t help that I stuck that heart decoration on that side.  It still looks cute at least.

Also, since it is sort of Spring around here, I thought it would be good to make a new pair of lacy wrist cuffs.  They are fantastic in warmer weather and I still haven’t quite perfected them.  I think this time I have come close.  They are made with two kinds of eyelet lace and a thinner lace at the top.  I opted out of using elastic and just threaded the ribbon through the top lace.  They look much nicer this way, but it’s a pain to try to put them on myself.

Here’s one of them on.  See, super cute.

Here’s the updated list:

• Doll dress
• White purse
• Shoes
• T-shirt
• Heart bag
• Pins
• Cuffs
• Straw bag
• Parasol
• Dress

Seven down, just three more to go.  The next should be up this Wednesday.

Read More »

Dressed Duo and Red Shoes

It’s the middle of Spring Break right now.  I could take this time to get a jump on my class work and studying and such, like a good student.  Instead I’m making doll clothes.

The last attempt to make clothing for a Monster High doll came out fairly decent (see Better Late Than..Oops), so I thought I’d take on the next challenge.  Something fitted.  For these two dresses I had to come up with a pattern for a bodice that would fit their oddly shaped figures.  I think they came out surprisingly well considering, did I mention how little experience I have with pattern making?  Good way to learn.
I don’t think I’ve mentioned my “new” Cleo De Nile doll, the one on the right.  I got her from Goodwill recently in a baggie with three other dolls.  Total price: $2.  I was shocked.  I wasn’t expecting to see any Monster High dolls show up in thrift stores for at least another few years, at least not with all their limbs intact. 

Speaking of Goodwill dolls, my American Girl doll has been in need of a pair of shoes since hers were missing when I got her (see Old and New Dolls).  I just happen to have a pattern for a bunch of doll clothes that included a pair of boots, so I whipped these up with red and dark brown felt.  I had plan on making them completely brown, but I realized I was almost completely out of brown felt.  I did have plenty of the red felt though.  Good thing too, they look much cuter this way.

Here she is admiring her new boots.

Here’s the updated list:

• Doll dress
• White purse
• Shoes
• T-shirt
• Heart bag
• Pins
• Cuffs
• Straw bag
• Parasol
• Dress

Five down, five to go.  I’ll have the next one up this weekend.

Read More »

It All Started With Goodwill

I had intended to post this earlier, but I had midterms this week, enough said. 



Anyway, I got this bag on sale at Goodwill for 50 cents.  It’s a roomy straw bag and proved to be extremely useful, I used it carry home the other goodies I got that day.  It just needed a personal touch.


A few minutes with a glue gun resulted in this.  I added three rows of two different kinds of lace along the top.  The thinner lace I got at the same time as the bag (so much for my “no more craft supplies” resolution).  I used it to cover the straps in order to both make them pretty and hopefully to make them stronger.  Only time will tell if it worked.



I thought it had been a while since redid a t-shirt, you know how much I love it.  So here’s the before.  A large size one that I got for less than 25 cents.  It has stains in odd spots, a pocket I don’t like, and is too big for me.



Here’s the after, after a lot of cutting down to size.  As I usually do with these, I added lace along the new neckline and along the edges of the sleeves.  I put the elastic about an inch from the sleeve hem to give it that sort of ruffled look. 

If you look closely, you’ll see that in addition to the lace edge on the sleeves I added a row of the same lace I used on the straw bag.  It’s also along the bottom of the t-shirt.  I usually don’t do anything special with the bottom hem when I alter t-shirts, so I thought I should try it this time.  Otherwise it would be like I’m mass producing these shirts and where’s the fun in that?



Now with this one you can see just how crazy I am about that lace.  It’s a simple little purse made with two squares of fabric and a zipper and lining.  The difference is that before sewing those little squares I covered them with rows and rows of the lace. 

So it’s sort of like a little beaded purse except with lace instead of beads.  It was easy to make but extremely time consuming.  Almost as long to make as would have been if I did bead it.  At least the results were worth it.  I think I will make another one in black, but maybe I’ll wait a while.

Here’s the updated list:

• Doll dress
• White purse
• Shoes
• T-shirt
• Heart bag
• Pins
• Cuffs
• Straw bag
• Parasol
• Dress

Three down, seven to go.  I should have the next one up by either Wednesday or Thursday.

Read More »

Back Again, with Twenty-Five

I may have missed a lot of February, but it’s March now.  And with a new month comes time for a fresh start.  Thus time for a new project list. 

Project List #25

• Doll dress
• White purse
• Shoes
• T-shirt
• Heart bag
• Pins
• Cuffs
• Straw bag
• Parasol
• Dress

This time I will definitely finish it by the end of the month.  You can bet on it.

Read More »