The thing I really want to make these days is the one thing I really hate making, doll clothes. Phoebe is finally getting into her dolls more and I want to make her loads of outfits to play with. But fiddly little doll clothes make me nuts! Doesn’t help that my old sewing machine seems to have only two speeds now, off or chomping through fabric. All the pesky finishing that clothing requires on a teeny tiny scale is too much for this clunker. I’m wondering if maybe I just tackle this all by hand. I have one kooky dress made that I’ll show tomorrow. In the meantime Phoebe is having fun with the doll clothes I’ve been stashing away for years. Everyone got new outfits this afternoon.
I think my doll had that dress with the pink nd suns! Is it vintage?
So it’s not just me! My doll clothes always end up wonky. They are just too small for me to manage. I end up having to fix them by hand sewing. My mother-in-law says she use to sew clothes for her barbie dolls. I can not even imagine.
I agree about doll clothes! They are so cute – but way to fiddly for me. I just made my daughter a very simple dress from _Embroidered Treasures_. The good thing about kids is that they usually love anything handmade for them and are not looking for perfect. Which is good, because not a lot of perfect happens around here.
I am a big fan of your work!
I am cutting off the legs of my daughter’s old pants to make doll clothes. The side seams and hem are done and I can hand sew the rest to make skirts, shirts, and dresses. Makes it a little easier and repurposes some of her favorite outfits.
Cute dolls. I love the hairstyle of that doll in a white and black dress. She is so cute as well as the other dolls. Recycling the old fabric or dress for the dolls is a good idea.
I have a trunk full of handmade doll clothes that belonged to my mother….and a trunk full of handmade doll clothes that my mother, in turn, made for me. They are all beautiful. The ones I’ve made? Definitely slightly wonky. I’ve adapted some patterns because there was no way a little girl could get them on & off. And some I’ve adapted because I just can’t work on that small a scale….
My great grama Pearl sewed hundreds of outfits for babies that all my Aunts played with through their childhood. It was a fabulous trunk full of vintage barbies and hand made clothes that she gave to me when I was 8 — and I promptly forgot it in the Seattle airport!!! Never to be seen again. We NEVER told Pearl!!!
I do so love the doll clothes when they are DONE though. My answer is tiny kamm snaps, size 16 is perfect for doll clothes — almost all the doll clothes I make have them these days.
Aww this is one of the BEST parts of being a mom to a daughter! Seeing them play wit their dolls! It must be so rewarding seeing your handywork in action. Especially with your little girl =)
BTW I’m guest posting about mommy fashion over at The Short and the Sweet of It this morning. You should stop by if you get a second =)
– Sarah
http://www.theshortandthesweetofit.com/2011/10/guest-post-sarah-from-girl-in-transit.html
I agree – clothes are the down side of making dolls. My very least favorite part!
I’ve just started to make some doll clothes again, but had forgotten how many tiny details there are. I agree about the hand-sewing, especially around the tricky little places, like necklines and sleeves. I’m looking forward to it, though! I love cute, tiny outfits!
I love all of the doll clothes and remember my middle daughter spending hours dressing her dolls up in her room. Mostly what I like is Phoebe’s outfit – my girls are now 9 and 12 and I miss the days of them wearing nothing but ballet outfits and princess dresses all day! I miss that!
What is the name of the doll with the braided blond hair?
Cinciallegra
http://pullipstyle.com/pullipstyle/product_info.php?cPath=21_29&products_id=164
I have two older boys and one little girl and I wish, wish, wish she was into dolls . . . cuz I still am! Would love to sew doll clothes for Christmas. I still have the handmade ones my grandmother and mother made for me.
This gives me hope. My daughter rarely plays with any of the dolls I’ve made her, but she’s only 3 and a half. So hopefully she’ll play with them someday??!
The Cinciallegra doll is painfully beautiful…as in painfully out of my price range for dolls…and sadly, I have no children to buy this for and then “accidentally” forget to give it to…my heart hurts now…hehe.
I’d love to see some doll clothes patterns on your site! That coat, for example! Felt is a great solution to finishing seams by the sound of it!
I started using an antique hand cranked sewing machine for dolls and doll clothes, and I actually enjoy it now. The machine moves slowly enough that I don’t freak out on all the tiny little seams. My son likes to sew on this one, too.
Then one of my girlfriends visited, and she liked the hand crank so much that I made her one out of a vintage Singer Spartan, and that worked great, too.
I learned how to convert the machine on treadleon.net