Etsy

March already??? How did that happen?

I haven't had much time to sew, but I have developed something of a late-night Etsy addiction! Officially, I am just 'looking for inspiration'... but I have had to buy a few things, too! These gorgeous dresses are from the Etsy shop 4everart. They were incredible value and the shipping rate to the UK was reasonable, too. Each outfit has a dress with the apron completely separate. They are so cute!

It's a shame how many Etsy sellers are not shipping to the UK. There may not be many owners of American Girls this side of the Atlantic, but we have far fewer options when it comes to buying clothes and accessories! Especially if we are looking for good quality. I am happy to pay for well-cut, handmade items in good fabrics (as opposed to cheap, tatty mass-produced rubbished). I'm one of the lucky ones, because I do have US shipping options (yay for Grandma!) - but I do think there's a gap there in the market.

So when I find an Etsy shop I like, I tend to buy in bulk! I bought six dresses from the lady above. Then I went in search of some mix and match items in a more contemporary style, to keep my daughter (the official owner of the dolls) happy. The cute little skirts are from Justmara . They're only $9.50 for two; you pick your own designs and they're made from nice soft cord. The t-shirts are from dollcloset and there were dozens of colours to choose from. They make cute and trendy outfits and her Ladyship approves.

Of course, the other thing I have been buying on Etsy is patterns! So that I will have plenty to do when I do find time to sew... And shipping is no problem when you buy PDFs. I got three patterns for $12 from Kotton Candy . The one I am really keen to do is the Sweet-Tea Summer Dress - it will be a great way to use some of the quilting cottons I have stashed away!

That's all for now. Thanks to everyone who has viewed the blog. I have really loved seeing my photos repinned on Pinterest! It's my favourite place for crafty inspiration.

February

It's the school half-term holiday, so I have managed to find some sewing time. Yesterday I used some of my daughter's old clothes and cut out a really cute outfit that I haven't yet stitched together... but I have high hopes for it! I am nervous about the soft cotton knit after my last upcycling disaster, so I started with some good quality cotton and made this dress. The bodice of the dress is the Doll Tag Clothing pattern that I used before, lined in plain red cotton. It's so quick and easy to make because there are no fiddly arm or neckline  hems. The skirt is a simple rectangle from the remains of the fat quarter, gently gathered to fit the bodice.

The floral print is just right for Spring! I had some scraps of Cath Kidston prints on my desk, so I made the little tote bag, too.

Update: Here is the upcycled outfit. The skirt is the bottom few inches of one leg from an old pair of sweatpants. The vest (tank top) is made from my daughter's favourite outgrown t-shirt. I still had trouble working with the thin fabric and it's certainly no work of art, but it will hopefully make my small girl smile.

Upcycling

At the weekend, I tried to use my daughter's outgrown vest to make a doll vest (tank top). I used the Liberty Jane Free Tank Pattern for American Girl Doll and positioned the pieces so that the hems along the bottom would become the bottom of the top. I even cut the lace edging from the old vest to use on the tank top.

I thought I was so clever! But it was a disaster from start to finish. My thread was constantly jamming and/or snapping. I checked everything I could think of on my machine. It took me forever to do each seam. It didn't matter whether I used straight stich, or zig-zags; both were a disaster. When I finished, I realised that the way I had sewn on the lace had completely distorted the neckline. The whole thing was worse than rubbish and I threw it in the bin :-( I didn't even take a photo!

Even though I was really frustrated, I had some cute quilting cotton with a ladybird (ladybug!) print that I was keen to make into a skirt. I didn't know what to expect from my machine, but guess what? It worked PERFECTY. So I am assuming that all the trouble was down to using old, worn cotton. It was worn quite thin and hadn't been a top quality garment to begin with ;-)

I am very pleased to have resolved what I feared was a problem with the machine... but I am disappointed that my upcycling failed. I will have to think more carefully about the fabric, next time. I am definitely going to use the pattern again; I LOVE the Liberty Jane Patterns!

Before I go, here is a photo of the ladybug outfit. It is a gift for a special girl who is mad about creatures of all kinds!

The skirt was made without a pattern: I wanted to practise doing ruffles, so I used a strip of fabric that was just under twice the length of the doll's waist measurement. The waistband is just about an inch longer than the doll's waist measurement and it is threaded with ribbon to tie at the back. The top is separate and I used the top part of a Doll Tag Clothing dress pattern. It's really easy and one of my favourites. You can get the pattern FREE if you subscribe to their email newsletter :-)

That's all for today. Did you notice I figured out how to do the links? ;-) 

Happy stitching x

Hello!

Hello!

I am a mother, wife and teacher who always has a dozen crafty projects on the go! My daughter and I are currently engaged in creating an extensive wardrobe for her two American Girl dolls. I've been knitting since childhood and sewing doll clothes for a year or so. I am learning as I go! I LOVE Pinterest; it's an endless source of ideas. I have created this blog to share some of the outfits I have made, and some of the lessons I am learning along the way. 
I would love to add links to some of my favourite online sources of patterns, such as the amazing Liberty Jane Clothing website. 

For now, here are a couple of photos:

I made this from a free online pattern: it was nice and simple, but very loose-fitting, so I tried again, trimming about 1/4" from each side and also adding a lining. I changed the neckline, too, to make it higher.

Here's the second dress:

I prefer it more fitted, like this. I used a fat quarter of a Cath Kidston print and lined the dress with sage green cotton. The ribbon and bow are upcycled from a Christmas gift package! 

That's one example of my trial and error, learn-as-I-go approach. All comments, advice, ideas etc. will be very welcome! 

Happy crafting :-)