Patty Play Pal Dress...again!

So, I brought the Patty Play Pal dress over to my friend, eager to see it on her doll.  And, horror of horrors, it didn't fit!  Actually, the entire dress fit fine except for the neckline, and that's where it was about 1 1/2" too small.  I could have cried.  Oh, well.  That teaches me not to have the doll in my possession (or at least important measurements) when I sew for it!  I was a little perplexed, though, since I had followed the pattern exactly.  It just goes to show, I guess, that you always need to measure and try things on often to check fit.  This goes for people as well as dolls!

I brought the outfit (and the doll!) back home, in order to alter the dress.  This entailed ripping out the entire back seams and snaps on both sides, adding a new, wider facing, and moving the skirts over to meet the new width.  Have I ever mentioned how much I hate sewing snaps?  They're not difficult, but they are time consuming.  And there were five sets, which I ended up sewing on twice.  That means 20 little snaps.  Ugghhh.

This dress so reminds me of the dresses I used to wear when I was a kid.  Puffy sleeves, short skirts, and big bows.  Such a classic, little girl look.

Isn't this doll lovely?  My little Sophia was entranced with her...she would dance with her and have lengthy conversations with her, as if Patty Play Pal were a real child.  Of course, this doll was originally marketed as a "companion" for children, so I suppose they got it right! 

She will be going back to her house soon.  And while this is not generally the type of doll I like to collect, I must say that I will be a bit sad to see her go.  I can certainly see the appeal of owning a doll like this--she can wear real children's clothing (2-3T) and is fun to display--kind of like a mannequin.  When I was a kid, I used to love looking at the mannequins in the big department stores, like Meier & Frank's and Nordstroms.  They looked like real people.  I always wanted to take one of the babies home with me.  Today's mannequins are horrible, I think.  A lot of them are headless, and if they do have heads, they are void of features.  Actually, now that I think of it, Old Navy has nice mannequins that look like real people.  Hmmm.  I think I'm starting to talk myself into owning a mannequin someday.  Or maybe I should just get my own Patty Play Pal?