T-Shirt Redo for a Doll, a Tutorial

Remember that dress I made for a Cabbage Patch doll with a t-shirt (see Now You See Me, Now You...)?  Well, I did say I would show how I did it sometime after Christmas. 

So two months later, here it is.

Again here’s the t-shirt I used. 

 

A t-shirt and basic sewing supplies are pretty much all you need for this.

The first step is to try the shirt on the doll to see where it needs to be cut down to size.  Basically everywhere, especially around the shoulders and armholes.  Also don’t forget to remove the sleeves for later.

Snip, snip, snip.

After cutting, it looks like this.  A lot like a tank top.  It’s now time to pin the shoulders and sew.

Sewing…

 

Now it’s time for the sleeves.

Pin the sleeves in place, don’t worry about them being too large.

Ta da!  All stitched.

Now it goes back on the doll inside-out.  Just need to pin up the side seams and double check on the length.  The length depends on whether it will be a doll t-shirt or dress. 

All stitched and ready to hem the bottom hem. 

 

Could either zig-zag or serge it.  Or…

…Add a ruffle.

 

The t-shirt I used did have one and it’s only natural to work with what you’ve got.

Cut down to size and pin.

After sewing, the dress is complete.

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Dolly Dressing

I just wanted to touch base a little about what I’ve been doing and working on lately. 

Anyone hear about Listia?  I’m not sure if I’ve mentioned it much here, although I do tweet about it on twitter fairly frequently.  It’s a site where you basically “give away” stuff you have lying around or whatever.  It works like eBay except without money, except for shipping unless you offer to ship for free.  You put up auctions of whatever you want to give away, and other users bid on it using their points.

Anyway, I put up one of those pairs of doll pajama pants I made (see Tiny Jim-Jams) and someone almost immediately asked if I would list more 18 inch doll clothes.  I’m hardly such a person who would turn down such a simple and tempting request, so I whipped up of couple outfits.

You all remember my American Girl doll, Kirsten (see Old and New Dolls).  She’s the model today.  Here’s a simple sundress made from some scraps of green plaid.  This is the second time I have used this pattern and if was definitely quicker and easier to make.  I’ve improved!  I made the stretchy headband just for the heck of it.  It is just a tube of fabric about twice the measurement of her head with elastic threaded through.  Adds a little something doesn’t it?

The next one was intended to be a pillow case dress, but it came out a little short.  Now it’s a long top made with the same plaid.  I made simple little bag to match.  I also made these white shorts to go with the top.  The funny thing is the shorts were originally going to be pants.  Guess they were too short too.

I decided to put both outfits together in one auction, since they coordinated so well.  If you’re interested, here’s the link to the auction.  Hope it goes well.

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Little Surprises

As promised, though a couple days late, here is the “bonus” project. 

I used the pretty fabric I got at SAS to make this skirt.  It looks simple, except for one thing.  You see those paired rows of lace running vertically down the skirt?  There are four pairs of them and if you look on the under side you will see casings with ribbons through them.  I can pull the ribbons to gather up the sections as little or as much as I want.  I just love versatile clothing.  If you want to try it yourself, there’s a simple tutorial here.

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Better Late Than…Oops

Sorry for sort of disappearing for the last few weeks.  If you read my last post, you should understand partially why I disappeared.  Or there’s a possibility that you wouldn’t understand, people can be funny about those sort of things.

Anyway, I got back on track with crafting and feel all the more better for it. 



First up, some of you should remember my Monster High doll, Draculaura (see Old and New Dolls).  I had been meaning to make some clothes for her for the longest time and had never gotten around to it until now.  She should have something to wear besides pajamas. 

So I whipped up this wrap skirt and top.  The top is basically a tube made with wide lace and open in the back.  I cut a piece of the lace in half to make the straps.  The skirt is cut from a scrap of white felt.  I covered the edges with black ribbon.  All she needs now is a pair of shoes to match.  She’s still stuck wearing her bedroom slippers.



Next up is this skirt.  I promised my niece I would make her a pretty new skirt if she got a flu vaccine.  It’s mostly light blue with a pink panel in front.  Trimmed with some lace and bows, she feels just like a little princess.  Of course it needs something.



Like a shirt.  This was the bodice for that dress I messed up a while back (see Too Small? Nooooooo!).  After shortening it and adjusting the neckline, it was perfect for my niece to wear.
 

Next is another skirt, for me.  I got the fabric at Goodwill and thought it would be perfect for a simple-ish skirt for me.  Plenty of fullness with the slightest touch of lace along the hem, it makes for a lovely and versatile skirt.



Another Goodwill find, a flat sheet with lace on the border.  My first thought was that it would make a very pretty apron.  I was right.  It was so easy to do too.  I just cut off a section of the sheet, leaving the hems intact, and added the waistband after gathering the top edge.  Now I have a lovely apron to twirl around in and possibly do some baking or whatever.



Last but not least, remember that clock I decorated before (see Clocked In)?  I had another one that also needed a touch of something.  I also had some flocked bears that I needed to do something with.  Combine the two and what do you get?



This cute bear clock.  I just covered the clock with scraps of this cute “nature-y” fabric, added some lace along the edges, and glued on the bears.  Now I have possibly the sweetest looking clock ever.

Here’s the updated list:

• Doll clothes
• Black headband
• White headband
• Blue skirt
• White skirt
• Apron
• Clock

Seven finally completed.  Plus there’s a bonus one, I’ll show it tomorrow.

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Good Bye Angel

Some of you may have heard from my twitter account that I had to take one of the cats to the vet yesterday.   It was Angel, he was completely blocked and in critical condition.  He had to be move from the clinic to a 24 hour emergency center.  It was from there that I got a call last night at about 10:00 pm.  Angel had gone into cardiac arrest.  It was a shock for us as well as the doctors, that’s not exactly the sort of thing that happens with urinary obstructions in cats.  In case it isn’t already obvious, Angel didn’t make it.  It’s hard to describe how I’ve been feeling about all of this.  Shock, fear, sadness, guilt, the list goes on and on.  All the what if scenarios keep on running through my mind.  If only I had done this, if only I had noticed that, etc.  My niece and nephew have been taking it fairly well, sort of.  My nephew was told that we “lost” Angel and misunderstood.  He now thinks Angel is just somewhere outside.  My niece gets it.  She has lots of questions too, and she now knows what epinephrine is and what cardiac arrest means.  Overall, I guess we are just hanging in there.  All we need is time.

Rest well Angel.  We miss you and will never forget you.

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Heads Up

I love headbands.  When I have like no time at all to do my hair but still want to look cute, I just slide on a headband.  The problem is that lately I seem to be wearing the same headband too much.  It’s a pretty one with pearl beads and I can wear it with just about everything.  And I have worn it with everything, and every single day this week. 

The solution, these new headbands.  Basically, I wrapped each with ribbon and glued on a decoration.  By decoration, I mean a rosette made of lace with a ribbon bow and tiny roses in the center.  Kind of like the barrettes I made before (see Hair Accessories Again?).  Made in basic black and white so that they will easily go with everything with out looking like something you’d just wear with everything.  Perfect.
Here’s the updated list:

• Doll clothes
• Black headband
• White headband
• Blue skirt
• White skirt
• Apron
• Clock

Two down, five to go.  I plan to have the next few up by either tomorrow or Friday, and the list should be finished by this weekend. 

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