It's Been Too Long! and Sewing for Dolls

I can't believe it's been 10 months since my last post!  Funny how fast time can go by.  I don't really have any excuses, either!  However, I did have another back surgery (a lower lumbar fusion in my L4-5) in December, so that did keep me lying low for awhile.  But I'm pretty much back to normal, minus extreme bending or heavy lifting, so that's good.  I didn't sew for at least month after my surgery, and that was really hard.  I'm so happy to be back in my sewing room and playing with my dolls again!

Recently, my laptop died, so until it gets fixed, I have to make-do with my phone.  I tried several times to write a post on my phone, but just couldn't do it.  So now I am borrowing my teenager's laptop just so I can get a quick post written.

I have a huge pile of dolls that I've been stockpiling to sell on Ebay.  Many of them are naked, because that's how I find them at the thrift stores.  I hate selling them that way, so I decided to start with a group of Journey Girls and make them some basic dresses.  That is Callie above, an Asian Journey Girl.  She is actually a part of my collection and not for sale.  I have always loved her face mold so much.

I finally figured out how to add flutter sleeves to my basic dresses, and I think it looks so cute!

Callie looks so pretty in everything she models.

This blue fabric has been in my stash for quite awhile.

I came across this ballerina fabric not too long ago, and hesitated on buying it.  The colors are not your usual "girly" fabrics, but I really liked the yellow.  Once I paired it with the brown, I really liked how it turned out.

After I had Callie model a few of these dresses, I started wondering if they would fit any of my other slim-bodied dolls.  To my delight, I discovered that my all-vinyl Gotz dolls, as well as my Magic Attic Heather had similar measurements to the Journey Girls and could also wear them!

I just LOVE this Mickey/Minnie fabric on Heather.  I think I bought 2 yards of it, so I should be able to get quite a few more doll outfits out of it.

I made sure to "fussy cut" the print so that I could have one of the images centered nicely on front of the bodice.

I use an ultra thin Velcro which I cut in half lengthwise to close the back openings.

Two more dresses which fit the Gotz girls.  That umbrella fabric was from JoAnn's.  It was part of their 1930's prints last year, and I wish I would have bought more.  I've never seen it again.  But isn't it adorable?

Gotz Happy Kidz Charlotte on the left, and Gotz Hannah on the right

This is my BFC Ink doll, Yuko.  She stands about 18" and is jointed in all the usual places, as well as elbows, wrists, knees, ankles, and torso.  She has a more slender, teenager type body.  There seems to be quite a following for these dolls on Ebay, so whenever I find one at the thrift store, I snap them up and set about making them pretty again.  That usually involves making them a new dress, since like I stated above, they're usually naked when I find them.  I had to outfit three of these dolls, so I made 4 dresses, just so I would have one to keep.  Yuko is not for sale--again, she has such a pretty face (I'm really drawn to Asian dolls) so she is staying in my collection.  

I drafted the pattern for these dolls several years ago.  The bodice has two, vertical darts in both the front and the back so it fits nicely on her slightly, developed body.

And last but not least, these are the other cuties I've been sewing for.  

These 16" Disney Animators are just so cute.  Rapunzel is my favorite.  I think I may have at least three of them!

I designed this simple A-line dress for them with a center pleat.

I made this one with a contrast pleat.  

Another pretty fabric from JoAnn's.  I have become a little more impressed with JoAnn's recently.  I never used to buy fabric there because I felt the quality was so inferior.  But lately, they have introduced premium cottons (with a premium price!) which I really like.  I always use a coupon, though.  Or wait for it to go on sale.  JoAnn's always has something I like that's on sale!

How cute is this?!?  I've wanted to make something besides a dress for these cuties for quite awhile, and when I came across this pattern from Oh Sew Kat for her Backyard Bibs overalls, I bought it.  I probably could have drafted them myself, but I just didn't want to make the effort.  That said, I did end up making these twice, since the first pair just didn't fit the way I wanted them too.  The bib part showed too much skin on the side (so I raised that up), and then the straps were too long, so I shortened those.  I also ended up adding another 1/2" to the top of the shorts since they seemed to fit too tightly in the crotch and it was a little difficult to pull them on.  I loved how the second pair turned out, though!  The buttons are purely decorative since the whole outfit opens in the back with Velcro.

This pattern comes with the variation to make the outfit with different bottoms:  shorts, capris, an A-line skirt, or a gathered skirt. 

That's a real pocket on the bibs!  I need to find something cute to stick inside it.

This pattern goes together really quickly, and there aren't very many pieces.  I highly recommend it for its versatility and ease in sewing.  The first one I made was nice, but because it had less coverage on the sides than I liked, I pulled the straps too tight which then made the crotch too high.  So really, those fitting issues were my fault and not the pattern designer's.  If you're interested in purchasing this or one of her other cute patterns, here is her website:  www.ohsewkat.wordpress.com  

Okay, that's it for now!  I have lots of other sewing/doll projects in the works, so I promise to be back soon!