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Yesterday was dyeing day and that usually means several hours straight in the basement but the plan for this week was shibori. Shibori takes a lot more elapsed time (about 8 hours) but there are some breaks while the fabric is on the dye bath. I probably should dye shibori more often but, frankly, it's just too fatiguing. Once every couple of months is a good pace for me. I do love seeing the color combos develop.  In between sessions I'm working on Summer Sunset. The 5th set of star points are almost done.  And here's the surprise pink RSC project that I did this week! My SIL's granddaughter, Ella, is 7 and she's delightful. She is also obsessed with American Girl dolls. Personally, I've always hated dolls. They creep me out no end. But I have always liked doll clothes. I tried making Barbie clothes for another little girl once but Barbie clothes are way too tiny and really hard to make. After spending some time with Ella I thought I might try to make some clothes for her collection of TEN American Girl dolls that includes her mother's AG dolls. I ordered a pattern off Etsy and this is the first piece. The fabric is a cute vintage feedsack fabric and the pattern is a nightgown and sleep mask. As I was sewing it I found some unforgivable flaws in the old fabric that I patched as best I could so I consider this one a prototype and will send it to Ella just to see if this pattern fits. Has anyone made anything from 18" doll patterns? Do they generally fit OK?  I even added some vintage buttons as decoration. I learned a lot making this little dress so I'm better prepared for the next outfit.  Back to dyeing, I found this photo that I forgot to share last week. When I was doing the impromptu sewing room cleanup last week I found a box of linens that a friend had given me. She used to haunt thrift stores and find all kinds of cheap linens. I've decided that I need to just start dyeing them. I dyed these in the bin with the Coleus Gradient and they turned out really nice. I have a friend who is now big into carving stamps and printing on fabric. I'll give these linen cocktail napkins to her for to add the final decoration.
Tomorrow I finally get to share the project that I did for Paula Nadelstern last year!
Kristin F
1/14/2021 10:58:58 am
Beautiful dyed linens!
Mrs. Plum
1/14/2021 12:42:09 pm
About 22 years ago, I made some American Girl Doll clothes. At one point, American Girl actually published patterns for clothes for the dolls. I found those fit better than the generic patterns put out by the major pattern companies. That being said, the generic patterns were fine, if just a little large. I would think the nightgown would be fine. It’s very cute, and the sleep mask is adorable.
Gene Black
1/14/2021 04:49:48 pm
Thanks to a tea towel that I won in one of your giveaways, I have become a hand-dyed kitchen linen junkie. I have dyed, several of the hand towels and tea towels in my kitchen linen drawer. They are my favorites to use.
patty
1/14/2021 07:44:48 pm
I agree shibori is hard work! I haven't done any in years. I do have a bunch of hand dyed fabric that has fade marks at the folds so one of these days I will overdye it using a shibori method.
Tina in NJ
1/14/2021 08:51:54 pm
After making my daughter, now 18, a couple of Easter dresses, I used the leftovers to make her doll matching dresses. Both girl and doll dresses were simple and worked well. She didn’t play with the doll very long, mostly when she played with her cousins. Everything is put away now in case she ever has a daughter of her own.
Anne
1/15/2021 05:37:04 am
The doll clothes are adorbs!! She is going to be so excited!!! Both of my daughters had American Girl Dolls and I made a lot of clothes for them and their dolls. I found the patterns I used fit the dolls nicely. Your little nightgown and eye cover are adorable! I love your dyed napkins and would love to see a photo after your friend adds the final touch to them.
Cindy Pilkington
1/15/2021 10:47:42 am
Love, love the look of the dyed linens. They bring back memories of my grandmother making them from linen. She had amazing skills with all her handwork.
Vicki in MN
1/15/2021 05:17:12 pm
Yes I make 18" doll clothes. The patterns I like best are from Simplicity, McCalls and Butterick. Most fit fine, but not all dolls are created equal! Pixie Fare has really cute ones, but they are pretty time consuming with all the details. Your little dress is pretty cute too!! I used to make gobs and gobs of outfits for dolls like Barbie and Ken.
Mary Anne
1/16/2021 10:42:53 am
I've never made any AG doll clothes so can't speak to the fit, but I know there are tons of free patterns on the internet. Your little dress turned out so cute but I do hope you know you could have created a monster and will now how to make a new wardrobe for ALL her dolls.
Sue
1/25/2021 04:37:07 pm
I'm late to this thread but... regarding doll clothes for AG dolls. The only area that seems to matter with the clothes for the AG dolls and wannabe AG dolls is the waist. Comments are closed.
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I'm Vicki Welsh and I've been making things as long as I can remember. I used to be a garment maker but transitioned to quilts about 20 years ago. Currently I'm into fabric dyeing, quilting, Zentangle, fabric postcards, fused glass and mosaic. I document my adventures here. Categories
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