Doll Magic

        Yesterday I shared a photo of a finished fantasy doll. She was fun to make and required a lot of working through the ugly stages. Dolls have so many ugly stages. I have had customers ask me to send progress photos. I pretty much always tell them no. Once in awhile I will send a progress shot, usually if it is to someone who sews. It can be very hard to tell where an outfit is heading when it is in the seemingly endless ugly stage. I have been doing this long enough that the ugly stage barely phases me anymore. Most of the time. 

      I am making a second fantasy doll, in different colors, who will be similar to the pink one but also different enough to not look like the exact same dress in a different color. This is the extent of the sewing done on these dressed. I sewed the skirts and the sleeves. That was it. 

     The next phase was to add the ribbon trim to the bottom of the skirts (this one has a double layer, the pink did not) and then to do a gather stitch at the waist to bring the skirt to the correct length at the ankle. This dress did not actually get any sort of hem. Just the ribbon (which was nicer).

     Next I took a piece of the black fabric that was used for the underskirt, cut a strip in a size that would make a nice bodice. I folded over (and glued) the flap on the back so she would have a nice finished look and no ragged edges. Even though in the very next step I was going to cover this.

     I took a strip of this material that I don't remember the name of and wrapped, trimmed and glued until I liked how it looks. If I stopped right now, I would have a prom dress. 

     But I kept going and I added the trim to the top of the bodice and made the straps with it. Just like the pink dress. 

      Next I put the silver trim on the long cuffs of the sleeves and went to put the sleeves on the doll. Since they did not get folded over at the top (like the pink sleeves) they were a tiny bit too long when they were off the shoulder. So I took off the straps and tucked the sleeves underneath. I think this looks a lot better. 

       I definitely possess the ability to sew. I can make some pretty complex things. But I also know that sewing is not always the best way to do things in miniature. This dress would not look this nice or this well fitted if it was all sewn or if it was removable. It is just too small to do well. You can't make doll clothes exactly like you would full size items. They just don't always work out well. But with some tricks, and a little magic, you can get some really amazing results!