Category Archives: doll clothing and accessories

Fleece Ponchos for two American Girls

Posted on January 2, 2011 | 1 comment

PonchoLM

Central Florida has just endured one of the coldest Decembers in history, with more than 5 nights of  freezing temperatures and more likely to come.

Because of this bitter weather, Laurel called me with the most pitiful request.  It seems she is almost overcome with 6 year old maternal love for her new doll, Molly.  So my little granddaughter began by detailing all the chores she has been doing at home in order to earn money to buy Molly a coat. Her mother has wisely seized this opportunity for Laurel to learn the value of money, hard work and goal setting.

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“But  her coat costs $25!  I have earned $1.25 so far but Molly is cold NOW, Nana. Can you please make her a poncho?”  How could I deny this heartfelt plea?

As excited as Laurel was with their matching Christmas dresses, it seemed only right to make matching ponchos.   So I pulled out some red polar fleece from my stash and whipped these up in no time at all.

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Posted in clothing, doll clothing and accessories, girls, machine embroidery, serger

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Miniature Wonder

Posted on December 21, 2010 | Leave a comment

2 3/4" doll in sewing box

This is one of the sweetest Christmas gifts I have ever received.  The 2 3/4″  porcelain doll is nestled into a comparably tiny sewing box generously stocked with minuscule materials.  Rolls of silk fabric, 1/8-1/4″ spools of  thread, snippets of antique lace, silk ribbon and more set a needleworker to dreaming about dainty delights.  Continue reading →

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Posted in antique textiles, doll clothing and accessories, Holiday Projects, uncategorized

Molly’s Christmas Dress

Posted on December 20, 2010 | Leave a comment

December 25th,  Laurel will find her new American Girls Molly doll under the tree, wearing a dress nearly identical to Laurel’s Christmas dress.  As I sewed, I kept imagining the delight in my granddaughter’s big, hazel, doe eyes.

Much as I hoped to  embroider the bib with miniature Sugar Plum Fairy, just like Laurel’s, it was apparent that it was too risky to reduce the design to doll size.  So I hunted and hunted through my designs, searching for a fairy in a scene that could be extracted.

Finally, I came upon Martha Pullen’s Mother and Child Embroideryscapes from Amazing Designs.  This fairy isn’t exactly like the graceful ballerina on the child’s bib, but she is tiny and fit nicely. With BuzzToolsV2 I added little ballet slippers, but the design is so small that it was wasted effort.

Tiny as the design was, I did reduce it by 10%.  In order to compensate for reduction, I used 50, 60 and 80 wt. threads. Continue reading →

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Posted in doll clothing and accessories, heirloom sewing, Holiday Projects, machine embroidery

Cousin Christmas Tree Dresses

Posted on November 25, 2010 | Leave a comment

 Happy Thanksgiving!

Judy Day's two granddaughters and two granddolls

Judy Day’s two granddaughters and two granddolls

While most of us are likely busy stitching Christmas outfits or gifts, I thought you would enjoy seeing one of Judy Day’s outfits from a Christmas past.

My dear friend Judy Day made these for her two granddaughters a few years ago, along with matching dresses for their American Girls dolls.  And of course, Judy ALWAYS makes hair bows for girls and dolls. How cute are  these little Christmas darlings?

 

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A few years ago, Judy attended the Martha Pullen’s school when I was teaching.  We  both spotted a dress like these made by master teacher Lezette Thomason.  Judy proclaimed right then and there that she would be making similar dresses for Courtney and Kennedy that next Christmas.  And she did.

Judy started with the jumper pattern in Martha’s Favorite Applique’s by Martha Pullen.  She lengthened it, because the girls’ mothers like the longer, mid-calf length.  Then she drafted a simple Christmas tree for the applique’.

The jumpers and trees are both featherwale corderoy.  The trees are decorated with buttons.   And the girls themselves are cute as a button.

Thanks, Judy!

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Posted in clothing, doll clothing and accessories, girls, Holiday Projects, Judy Day's creations

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Pretty in Pink

Posted on April 26, 2010 | 5 comments

Some time ago, Mildred Turner and I did a series of doll dressing schools around the country. Each student adopted a 20″ porcelain doll, made by my mother, and proceeded to spend 4 days making a wardrobe. Garments included an heirloom sewn dress–always Mildred’s assignment, a bishop dress and/or nightgown–my assignment, and undergarments, or “unmentionables” we called them.

Each doll came with a biography, much like the American Girls dolls, and the wardrobe reflected the lifestyle and time of the porcelain character. In Atlanta, we dressed Melanie, a 20th century Southern Belle. In North Carolina we dressed Millie Lavonia, modeled after Mildred Lavonia Medford Turner herself.

 

Another time it was a fictional mountain girl, Daisy Renee, named for country flowers and the daughter of Capitol Imports vice president. The Mary Elizabeth doll was my Glenwood home town gal, said to have lived the life of Miss Alice’s sister, circa 1915. Continue reading →

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Posted in doll clothing and accessories, heirloom sewing, smocking, techniques

Good Ship CN05199

Posted on January 19, 2010 | 43 comments

boatoteWNCherry

 

What a great time I had collaborating on this project with my dear friend, Suzanne Sawko! The little boat tote and its crew were designed and stitched for an article we did for Creative Needle magazine.  With dolls as toys for quiet entertainment, the bag is actually a child’s purse.

When almost no one was doing in-the-hoop projects (machine embroidery hoop, that is), Suzanne was off and running. She designed and stitched the 7″ dolls as well as their clothes, all done in the 5 x 7 Brother hoop.

 

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There is an incredible amount of detail in the garments. Under her dress, Cherry wears a white “combination” suit, panties and undershirt, embroidered with a tiny flower at the V-neck, as well as a white slip with a tiny Swiss edge. A blouse sporting a peter pan collar is worn under her jumper with faux smocking and even a slip with a tiny Swiss edge. Of course, she wears Mary Janes. Continue reading →

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Posted in doll clothing and accessories, machine embroidery

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Butterfly Towel Sundress

Posted on January 18, 2010 | 2 comments
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Children’s Corner Katina pattern

Using linen towels for sewing is not a new idea, but it is one which I think is worthy of repetition. The sundress Laurel is wearing is made from an Irish linen bath towel. Measuring 29″ wide by 42″ long, it is a generous size for a skirt front. These imported towels are such a bargain. Not only does the buyer get a lot of linen for a relatively small price, the extensive handwork is quite lovely.

The towel was cut in half, rendering two pieces each 29″ x 21″. Cut from Children’s Corner Sissy/Katina pattern, the size 4 sundress uses the embroidered half for the front and the plain half for the back. Scraps of linen from other projects were used to cut the narrow front and back yokes as well as the straps. Blue piping outlines the yokes.

 

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Posted in doll clothing and accessories, girls, hand embroidery, heirloom sewing, home dec, linen blanks, Madeira applique

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Lemon Drop Doll Dress

Posted on November 16, 2009 | 6 comments

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Doll clothes are always fun to make. This smocked, lemon yellow bishop dress will be part of the petite wardrobe I am making for my granddaughter’s Christmas doll Molly, one of Pleasant Company’s American Girls.

Made of Swiss batiste, with French lace on the sleeves and in the fancyband, the color reminds me of lemon drops. The tiny yellow rosebuds in Bear Threads  Swiss embroidered insertion,  reinforces the lemon drop image it generates for me.

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Posted in doll clothing and accessories, heirloom sewing, smocking

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Binche Elephant Doll Bib

Posted on October 16, 2009 | Leave a comment

 

Binche elephant lace

I came across this little doll bib today as I was going through some old teaching samples.  This will be included with 5 year-old Laurel’s Christmas doll, the  American Girls Molly.

Made on my Elna Diva, circa 1994,  the bib was, to me,  a miracle of machine embroidery. I know I am easily impressed, but the perfect decorative stitch of elephants was strong testimony to the quality of the sewing machine. It still is a fine  machine, but its embroidery has long been surpassed by hoop embroidery capability.

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Posted in antique textiles, Binche Lace, doll clothing and accessories, heirloom sewing, lace tape

Lace Tape Doll Dress

Posted on October 2, 2009 | 3 comments

For Christmas, I will give 5 year old Laurel her first Pleasant Company American Girls doll. This yellow lace tape dress will be in the box with Molly, the doll from my era.

Made of quality domestic cotton batiste, it is replete with interesting, details,techniques and materials. Bright yellow lace tape, pale yellow antique lace, hand look machine embroidery, beading from machine made hemstitching and the use of both pin stitch and entredeux stitch along the hemline all combine to give this dress a multitude of topics for discussion.

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Posted in doll clothing and accessories, heirloom sewing, machine embroidery