Living vicariously!

I love the 50s. I wish it still WAS the 50s! In my little idealised version of it, everyone is nice and mannerly and there's a lot of pie and swing dancing. I've always secretly wished that crinolines would come back into fashion - there's something so feminine and dainty about all that tulle and big full skirts.

Anyway, to cut a long story short, my near 40 year old plump self might raise a few eyebrows if I were to wear a big ol' dress out to Woolworths, but I can always live vicariously through Blythe :) I've been just about sending myself blind making these petticoats but I love them! They really give a dress some umph and they are soooo fluffy and ruffly on the bottom! I originally intended on making a double layered one, just like the one I did for Miss B, but I soon realised that it would have been a petticoat of ridiculous proportions (not to mention double the amount of super-boring gathering) so I settled on the single layered one, which is more than full and fluffy enough to indulge my 50's fantasy.

They take quite a while, and are not particularly fun to make either, but I am kind on obsessed with the end result so I think I will have a few more in me before I'm done with them, I just love the extra dimension they add to a dress.

Who wore it best?

I finally finished the little yellow dress that matched the purple one yesterday and put it on Holly to model. I took photo after photo, all of them blah. I thought it might be my boring white background so I put a pumpkin in the shot to give it a bit of oomph. It looked better, but it still wasn't right.



And then I saw Ash out of the corner of my eye with her bright orangey hair...


I think she wore it best :)

Bloomin Bloomers

At last I have worked out a way to make these that does not make me swear like a sailor! Bloomers are available in my shop now, should you need a pair for your plastic princess.

To be honest, I probably would not have persevered were it not for the fact that I had a specific request for them and I was determined not to let a pair of tiny knickers get the better of me. There were a few failures...including a pair that would have fitted a pencil (elastic too tight!), an enormous pair that were miles too baggy and my first attempt that were a bit on the low-rise side (ie. the crotch was waaaaay too short!). Now though, I've got it all nicely worked out and they are pretty damn cute if I do say so myself.

I had fun dressing up all the girls in them for a photo shoot only to realise that there was no way to photograph them all together nicely since they wouldn't all fit in the lightbox and I am too chicken to prop them up against the wall in case of falls and scratched faces! It's a shame that Poe is not in better shape as I made 7 different pairs but only had 6 Blythes to model them on. I really need to get on and do that reroot for her as I'm hoping that Erica will soon be able to work her magic on her faceup. I've now found a place that has nice long mohair at a price I can afford without resorting to selling my organs, so hopefully it will soon arrive so I can get started.

The mohair I found is cheaper because it isn't washed, which I hope will not pose too great a problem. In the pics the seller shows it comes up gorgeously white and lustrous...I just hope that I can manage to get the same results. I have no idea how to wash it - should I use human shampoo or woolwash? Cool water or warm? I see a lot more research in the immediate future....

I had actually found some fibre through another Etsy seller, but after I had paid for it she contacted me to say that I owed her more money than the amount listed as she needed more for shipping and handling and she couldn't be bothered working out the postage to ship to Australia...double the amount that she had originally quoted. I thought that was pretty uncool as I would not have bought the item in the first place with shipping that costly. I cancelled my order, mostly through feeling a bit disgruntled, I must admit. The way that she worded her convo asking for more money wasn't the best - she sounded as though I'd tried to rip her off somehow. Incidentally, this was through my "buying" account so I'm not calling anyone out here.

I have found through my own shop that sometimes the amount I charge is not quite enough to cover the postage to certain places, and when that has happened I just absorb the cost myself and then adjust my future listings for that item. As far as I'm concerned that was my error, not the clients.

Anyway, I shall dismount my soapbox, I've had my whinge and feel much better. Until next time :)

Dollybird Vol. 14 Review - Alice in Wonderland Special

I must admit that I was more than a little excited about this mook - I mean it's the Alice In Wonderland special, there were promises of Blythe patterns on the HLJ website, Poupee Mecanique contributed a pattern and it is meant to come with a mini Kumar (which is apparently the latest craze). So pushing aside my recent disappointment with Dolly Dolly 22, I emptied my Paypal account and settled in for the wait.

My first disappointment came before I even had it in my hot little hands - no mini Kumar for me :( I was prepared to live with that, mostly because I don't particularly like them all that much, and in any case, I was buying the book for the patterns.

Being a Japanese book, it is "back to front" to our western eyes, and naturally...in Japanese. Unlike the Recipe Coordinate mooks, which have the traceable patterns and directions in clearly defined sections for each doll, the pattern pieces are back to back on light paper and are all at the front of the book mixed in together and it's a little more time consuming to figure out what's what. Instructions for making the garments are found in the pages following the fashion shoot and although they are in Japanese, the diagrams are very good and any experienced seamstress should have no trouble following them. Particularly in the case of the single Blythe pattern as it is very basic.



Which leads my to my second and major disappointment - Blythe patterns themselves. Or should I say pattern. There is only one for Blythe. And it's very ordinary. One bloody buggery ordinary pattern. That's not Alice-like in the slightest. The fact that it is keeping company with dreamy, detailed and fabulous dresses for just about every other doll ever made adds insult to injury and made me feel a bit cheated to be honest. There are a lot of amazing patterns in here - Unoa dolls, Dolfie, Betsy McCall, Petite Blythe, Nikki Cat/Odecco (the smaller one of the 2) and Momoko all get a look in with several very very nice patterns, but just the one for Blythe. And a disappointingly ordinary one at that.



So in short, my opinion from a Blythe seamstress's perspective - don't bother if you are buying it for the patterns. Aside from that, there is eye-candy aplenty and lots of inspiration to be found within its pages.
This is a great mook to flick through and admire the pictures, but not one to add to your must purchase list if sewing for Blythe is your motive for buying. I particularly recommend it for owners of Unoa and Dolfie. The Poupee Mecanique patterns are truly amazing - if you have a Unoa this mook is an essential. There's also a very nice outfit for Petite Blythe, and while it's just the one pattern set, it's nice enough in my opinion to justify purchasing the mook. Same goes for owners of Betsy McCall - there's just one pattern but it's a good one.



Meanwhile, I think I will try tweaking the Momoko pattern to see if I can get it to fit Blythe - I have to justify this purchase somehow!!

Ooh La La - Lingerie!

I know they aren't the most glamorous of clothes, but I think that knickers are necessary, even for dolls!

Actually, I hadn't even thought that much about it until someone on one of the forums was complaining about how their dolls kept arriving completely naked. I wonder what on earth people do with all the spare undies - it's not like you need to change them on a regular basis! I can just see a room full of little white knickers at places like Blythe Plus who sell all their dolls nakie. Not really much point in keeping them in my opinion, and as far as I know they don't seem to sell them seperately either, so why don't they just leave them on the dolls?

Then I got to thinking about doll undies and that yes, it was kind of annoying that my factory girls didn't have any so I had a look on Etsy and couldn't find any that I really liked. I just wanted plain ones, no lace, no frilly bits and there were none available.

So, here is the result of an afternoon playing with dolly pants. May I say, that these are bloody fiddly to make! These are my second pair, and I can still see some room for improvement (scuse the untidy thread ends - didn't notice them when I took the photo!), but they aren't too bad considering the tiny-ness of them. I think they are a smidgeon big, but it's a start! I'm thinking of adding knickers to the shop, once I'm completely happy with them. I wonder if anyone will buy them?

A mini shop update

I say mini, because it's erm...one dress. Can you tell that I went back to work last week? hehe

I didn't even get to do a lot of sewing over the long weekend because I've been busy doing something infinitely less pleasant - painting. It is taking a ridiculously long time because the room has a long hall leading into the main part of it, so there's miles extra cutting in (don't I sound all painterly!). Mr P and I have basically spent 2 full days in there and all we have done is the undercoat. We would have been at it today as well if he hadn't gone and injured his knee in the lamest manner possible. Other people hurt themselves playing sport or having spectacular accidents. Well not my husband - he's mananged to injure himself during the extremely risky process of sitting down! How crazy is that?! Ironically he'd been on our very high and scarily sloped roof moments before clearing leaves out of the gutter without incident while I fretted anxiously at the bottom of the ladder. The injury occurred when he went to plonk himself down in a chair on the verandah to have a beer when he was finished!

Anyway, to that end here is the one and only dress that I managed to make this week. Miss B is campaigning very hard to keep this one, and I will admit that it's one of my favourites too. I love the itsy bitsy collar and the ruffled underskirt and the black and white colourway stops it from being too overly cutesy. I have plenty of the spotty fabric though, so I can always run up another one for her.

Do you notice my model? I did hesitate to put in on Jonesy as she isn't a pure-blood Blythe and collectors might be less likely to buy the dress, but in my defense, she does have a Blythe body, and I think she looks good in it with her blue hair. As you can see, I still have not worked up the courage to cut her it. I really like it just as it is...but I will cut it - I will!

A progress report...

I have so many doll things in progress at the moment I hardly know what to work on!

First up, a progress report on Jonesy as I haven't blogged about her in a little while. I'm still working on her reroot. I think I've broken it's back as I'm just about to start on the final skein and only have about 3 rows left to do - woo hoo! I am ridiculously pleased about the prospect of finishing it. I've bought some rubbing alchohol and plan to attempt to do her lips again...and possibly her freckles too. I'm not really happy with how either of those came out. I just hope that the do over looks better, not worse!

I still need to sew the rain coat and the blue jacket (I admit to procrastinating about the blue jacket - it's fiddly, requires pattern drafting and I think the fabric I'm using (a navy micro-suede) might be too bulky. I'm waiting for her tights and pink sneakers to arrive in the mail, I still need to order her jeans. I have found the perfect pair, but they were a little pricey so I'm still tossing up which ones to get these ones by Pistachio Libby



Or these ones by Blythe Station.



I did have some rainboots ordered but there was a miscommunication about the colour and I need to reorder them later when the seller is free to do custom work again, which is a bit of a shame. I am kind of wanting to get this girl over and done with now... because a new bait Blythe is on the way! She's one of the factory girls, with a red curly Saffy-like scalp that I've never seen before. She seems to have Guava's faceplates and an unusual eyemech - she has purple or red chips. I can't wait to get her and start! Originally I wanted a scalpless girl to do a mohair reroot for my next custom project, but I saw this girl and loved her straight away and the price was too good to resist. I have heard that some of the factory girls do have issues with their hair though, so I guess whether I keep it or not will depend on what I find when I open her up.






Once again I've managed to take a couple of fail photos - when will I learn that once the light is gone, there's nothing to do but wait until the next day. I wish I was more patient. These are of the new dress I've been working on for Nos Pop. I wanted a regency style gown for her and have been drafting a pattern. This is a very rough mock up just to see how the pieces went together(please ignore the untrimmed threads, visible marks, lack of hem etc) . Being all white with no trim on it, it kind of looks like a nightie! I've since made the skirt slimmer, and am thinking of changing the sleeves. I still want the slightly puffy look, but I don't think I like the cuffs on the them as it looks a little chunky. Back to the drawing board, I think...

That's more like it!

Version 2 of the tiny blouse came out much better - stress free and with no unpicking or cursing involved! I followed my "plan" as outlined in my last post and that, coupled with my new gaget, the Clover mini-iron, made all the difference. I'm still not entirely sure that my method of doing the collar is the same as the one that the Dolly Dolly people used, but it looks nice and neat and lays flat, so I'm not complaining!



I finished the lightbox tonight and took a trial photograph using it and was so disappointed in the result. Believe it or not the background is white, and this was the best shot that I took! Obviously I am doing something terribly wrong, I just don't know what it is. I wonder if it's just not possible for me to take a good photo at night with the camera that I have... I think I need to study the manual and learn how to to this as I am not happy with any of the shots I have taken so far.

The outfit I made actually looks much better in person and it's so annoying to have such a crappy photograph of it.

On the upside, I had a lot of fun dressing Holly up for her photoshoot. Miss B joined in the fun as well. I plan to make something cute for her Simply Lilac in the near future. She is much harder to dress as so many colours clash horribly with her hair. She only looks good in pastels, black or white.

A magnificent failure!

I had orginally intended this post to be a bit of a show and tell about an outfit from Dolly Dolly mag that I've made. However, I have declared my first version of this blouse to be a magnificent failure - magnificent in that I have learned so much from sewing this itsy bitsy item, regardless of the less than perfect result. For the purposes of blogging, I popped it on for a photo. Note that the odd fit around the torso is due to the fact that I haven't put any press studs on. This one is bound for the bin, so I didn't bother finishing it off!

I've made quite a few Blythe outfits before, and all of them have come together quite nicely and without much fuss, so I was feeling a bit cocky when I started making this outfit. The apron is adorable and the skirt is very simple, however I was intimidated by this blouse from the beginning. Collars and inset sleeves are tricky even on people sized garments, and when you are dealing with a sleeve that's only an inch long, any tiny blunder becomes very very noticable. Sewing on such a small scale is a real challenge - having to try and muddle through with Japanese instructions does not help matters!

Lessons learned:

1. Fray Stoppa (the Aussie version of Fray Check) will make your garment very stiff. Regardless of how neat and lovely it makes your seams look, they will be bulky and make your garment appear to be lined with cardboard.

Next time, I shall be using the pinking shears and only use FS on the sleeve/shoulder seam.

2. The collar is bloody tiny. Sew the side and bottom seams before cutting it out next time. You will save yourself much cursing.

3. The incomprehensible photo tutorial in the front of the instructions is in actual fact the instructions for making a facing. You will need to do this to attach the collar to the blouse. If you look very closely at the drawings, you will see the facing on the inside of the garment. Note to self - look more closely at the illustrations next time - you will save yourself much cursing.

4. Despite a recommendation that I read in someones blog a while ago, the soft tulle that I bought for this purpose did not make a good facing in this instance. At all. Tiny blouse version II will have a facing made of fabric. The results could hardly be worse!

5. The cuffs need to be edge stitched BEFORE the side and under sleeve seams are sewn. Because even though they did sit nicely with the cardboard-like Fray Stoppa, without being stitched down Blythe's thumbs will get stuck in them when you attempt to put the garment on. Particularly since the FS has bulked up the seam, making the cuff opening super-tight. And stiff.

6. The sleeves seem to go in more easily if you sew them in two stages - starting from the centre to the outer edge. Surprisingly they were the least of my problems. Next time I might even try skipping the machine gathering and see how that goes.

Also, a good rule of thumb to follow when sewing tiny Blythe clothes from Japanese instructions is to avoid having a glass or two of champagne beforehand. Even if it is Saturday night. It does not help. At all.