Dolls! Vintage 1980's Drink Wet Doll

 

When I saw this lovely doll looking a bit worse for wear in a suburban op shop last year, I could not resist her.  She was very grubby but otherwise in good nick.

 

 

Her lashes have been trimmed a little and her left pigtail has had a bit of a trim too.  As she has a lot of soft hair, you can't really notice it too much.  Her hair is quite good quality and is lovely and soft.

 

 

She has sleep eyes.

 

I made her a little bloomers and top outfit using one of my old patterns, and modified it to fit her.  She is 15 inches high and I thought I could use the pattern for that size, but I had to upgrade her to the 20 inch doll size so that everything would fit her baby's stomach.

 

 

She is a funny little doll with her abundant hair and a baby's body, but I love her anyway.

 

 

Alas, I have too many dolls, so she is up for sale on etsy and ebay.

 

I am making a hoodie at the moment using a KwikSew pattern and using a sweatshirt fabric with large cat's heads printed on a grey background. Sounds weird but I like it.  I needed some hoodies to wear to the pool and just lounging about or down at the shops, and thought I would have a go at making some.  Spotlight had a lot of this kind of fabric on sale recently, so I bought various prints to make 4 hoodies!  I will do a show and tell soon.  I wanted to make something in a stretch fabric as I have lost 3.1 kilos since the beginning of the year and don't want to make anything too fitted as I lose more weight.  I have a fair bit more to lose but I already feel a lot better.  We have had a hot and humid summer here in Australia and I have felt pretty uncomfortable so that was the final push I needed to have another go at losing some weight.

 

Hope you are all well and happy stitching and doing dolly things.

 

 

 

 

Dolls! Gypsy Outfit for the 18 Inch Gals

 

I started this little outfit sometime in the second half of last year, and got hopelessly distracted by life!  Anyway, now it is all finished and I am sure the 18 inch girls are fighting to see who is the first to wear it.  So far the American Girl and the Alexander Girl (Favorite Friends) have been the first to try it on. Both outfits are in my Etsy and Ebay stores.

 

 

 

It consists of a 100 percent pure wool felt vest decorated with braid, fringing and a facet cut plastic bead.  Underneath is a snowy white peasant vest and a little sash to hold it in place.  The outfit wouldn't be finished without a head scarf and this one has some sequins to really set the gypsy mood.

 

Who is that scary gypsy lady in the background?

 

 

 

I thought I had cleaned up a very adorable 1980's plastic baby doll recently, but when she was all dry and had finished at the hairdressers, I noticed her skin was very dirty.  I read on the internet about baking soda being able to shift the more stubborn in-ground dirt on plastic dolls, and so I mixed some with some vinegar and scrubbed at it with a soft scourer sponge.  It worked a treat and she looks healthy and pink now instead of a dull colour.  I am cutting out the fabric to make her an A-line dress and co-ordinating bloomers.  She is such a funny doll because she is obviously a baby but has the hair of a 3 year old!  I can't wait to show you the photos.

 

Hope you are happy doing doll things!

 

 

 

Butterick 4685 Peasant Top - An Oldie, But A Goodie

 

I have made this Butterick top 3 times and really like it as it is a cool top to sew quickly for summer.  I raised the neckline about an inch as I didn't use lace and didn't want it to be too low. The fabric is Liberty's Tana Lawn and it is divine!

Here is a close-up of the fabric.  It is like a watercolour painting.

 

I finished the neckline with an overlock stich, folded it over and sewed it down leaving enough room for the elastic.  I think it is easier and neater than turning over a small hem and then turning over enough for the elastic casing.  I also sew in a marker for the back in red thread as it is hard to tell the front from the back.

 

This is the pattern. I made the white version on the top right, minus the sleeve ruffles and the lace around the neckline.

My next project will be clothes for these kinds of dolls.  I bet you know who she is. Leave your guess in the comments section for this little Mystery Doll!

Dolls! 1972 Madame Alexander Elise Bride Doll

This spooky little bride is all hard plastic with a slightly softer plastic face. She is in reasonable condition with only a small tear at the bottom of her veil. She still has her bouquet and hang tag.

She is not exactly a glowing bride is she!  Perhaps a distant cousin of Chuky?

The hair is in really good condition and is of good quality.  You can see the Madame Alexander tag stitched into her dress:

 

Back view, in all her tulle and lace glory.

She is not one of my favourite dolls, and I have thought of selling her at times as she is huge and I don't really have the room to display her.  But every time I look at these photos I think that I will keep her a little longer.

I also have an Elise Ballerina from about 1984 and she doesn't have the spooky doll look as much as the Bride:

Elise is on the left in the pink tutu

For anyone wanting to research Madame Alexander dolls since 1965, the book by Patricia Smith called 'Madame Alexander dolls 1965 - 1990' (Collector Books 1991) is an excellent resource with good quality photos of hundreds and hundreds of dolls.

Dolls! Simplicity 2775 Bride Dress for my 1950's Virga 8 Inch Doll

Here comes the bride!  I have finally finished the bridal outfit for my 1950's 8 inch Virga doll using Simplicity pattern 2775 which is a re-issue of the original 1950's pattern.  I really dragged my feet with project for a variety of reasons; I got bored, too interested in the next project I was going to do, it was very fiddly (the bodice and skirt is lined) and I was also studying for my course.  Anyway, I am quite pleased with the finished project.

Those vintage flowers are fairly hard to come by and the ones that are in her hair to match her pretty party dress are delicate and hard to get out so I used some of the lace left over from her sleeves to make the head piece for her veil.

Her flower girl and page boy.

The bridal procession. Dad has shrunk a bit with age and is looking a little bleary eyed after a late night out with the bucks party. I hope the groom arrives!

Who will catch the bouquet?

The lined skirt.



Dolls! Small Sewing Using Simplicity 2775 Again

Sorry about the cloudy photo, but I just wanted to show you my progress so far with the Bride's dress from Simplicity pattern 2775.  This outfit is for an 8 inch/20.5 cm doll and I am trying to be patient putting it all together. One of my sewing club friends suggested sewing these small outfits by hand. I don't know how to sew up seams by hand and I am in too much of a hurry to get to my next sewing project to learn how so it has been made on the sewing machine so far.  The only thing I did do differently was to hand baste the sleeve in before sewing it in on the machine. It worked beautifully so I will try that method when attaching the skirt.

Dolls! Pretty Party Dress for my 1950's Virga Doll - Simplicity 2775

Here is my Virga doll in her pure silk tafetta party dress from pattern Simplicity 2775.  All the details about the dress are here.  I just love how you can style the tafetta so that is sticks out, exactly as it does in the drawing on the envelope cover.

I used vintage flowers from the 1950's, which gives the outfit added authenticity.

You might notice that the bodice is a bit low on her but I had so much trouble with the tulle straps. Even though I anchored the gathering threads, they still wanted to stretch out again. If I made this dress again, I would probably just use ribbon straps which would be just as nice.

I even made the bag which I think is so cute with it's ribbon handles.

Just for fun, here is an 'everyone in' photo of some of the dolls I have wearing pink, or close to it.

I like this pattern and I am thinking of making some of the other outfits from it and placing them and the doll in the box I have used as a background in these photos. I have seen some other people make these on the internet, and I think they look fantastic.

Happy sewing!

Dolls! Starting On My Virga Doll's Pretty Party Dress With Some Help From Nellie Bird.

Sewing has started on my Virga doll's pretty party dress. Nellie Bird, my latest acquisition from a doll auction I went to recently is such a fashionable little thing and has stepped in to help sew up the dress.

The box she came in is numbered 176 and has the following words printed on a silver label on the side 'Nellie Bird, Nellie Bird, Light the fires and feed the herd, Sweep the kitchen, bake the bread, You'll get through in time for bed'.  Sounds like she is a hard worker. And with that fashion sense, she should create a dream dress for the Virga doll.

Nellie is a Nancy Ann Story Book Doll and I think she was made in the 1940's. She is the frozen legs version.

Dolls! New Project : A Pretty Party Dress for my 1950's Virga Doll

I bought this darling doll from ebay several months ago, and she has only had her birthday suit to wear in all that time. So I thought I would make her an outfit and have chosen style B from Simplicity 2775 which is a reproduction of an old 1950's doll pattern. I will have to make sure it fits her as they do not list the dolls the pattern was made for.

According to the ebay seller and the photos in my Diane Zillner book 'Dolls & accessories of the 1950's' she is a Virga doll, although I can't see any markings on her. Virga dolls were make by Beehler Arts Ltd of New York City. The ebay seller said she has a mohair wig, and I really think it is as it definitely is not synthetic. I believe these dolls were made to get some of the market of the popular Vogue Ginny dolls, although Virga dolls were mostly not as well made. As I do not have a Ginny doll, I can't make a comparison for myself.

This is the pattern I am using, and I am making the yellow dress, style B. I am going to attempt to make the little bag as well.

I bought some soft shell pink taffeta from Tessuti's half price bin to make the dress and I already had the pink tulle. I will delve into my stash of vintage flowers to put on the dress.

This week I would like to thank Northstar62 and Serenata for becoming followers. Read about Peggy Sue, Owen and others on Serenata's blog which is linked to mine; How Many Dolls.

Happy Sewing Everyone!

Dolls! Madame Alexander Coquette Jacqui

Today I thought I would show you my Madame Alexander Coquette Jacqui doll. I think she was modelled on that famous first lady Jackie Kennedy. I love the sculpt of the face - I would like to know more about the talented people who sculpt these dolls for the large doll making companies. She is a little over 10 inches tall and I think that who ever sculpted her face has done an excellent job on a relatively small scale.

Photo from Wikipedia

I think there is some resemblance, don't you?

Her clothes are beautifully made; the dress is lined with a fine white cotton and has the Madame Alexander tag in it. The dress has fine pink piping in the skirt seams. The photo below shows the detail of the cardigan. The flowers she is holding didn't come with the doll but are vintage. According to the tag she was made in 2005 in a limited edition of 1000 dolls.

View of the dress

The only part that I do not think was well done are the shoes. They are chunky shaped but she does not have a chunky foot. I don't know why they made such ugly shoes.

These are the tags that she came with.

I have not worn my 'muumuu top' yet, but I left it on a hanger on the door of my wardrobe during the week and I have decided that I like it. I am just deciding which fabric I will use to make another top in the same style.

Hope you have enjoyed looking at this adorable doll and happy sewing everyone.

Dolls! My Ballerina Dolls : 1950's and Later

I didn't set out to collect ballerina dolls, but have ended up with four. Sweet Sue is dressing up as a ballerina doll as she came to me in a horrible state and so I made a few new outfits for her, the ballerina dress being the latest.

The small doll on the right is a Madame Alexander, and I think she is the Margaret face. I would say this is her original outfit as it is very fragile. The net under skirt is just crumbling away and the overskirt is drab and floppy. I kind of like a doll in an old played with state though. She is not dirty, but just looks old and faded. The face colouring is excellent with just a small scratch on one cheek. The original flowers are still in her hair and on the dress. She is from the 1950's and the Madame Alexander label is still inside her dress.

The pretty pink doll on the left is also a Madame Alexander Elise Ballerina, and as far as I can tell from my Patricia Smith book Madame Alexander Dolls 1965-1990, she was a 1984 model. She still has her swing tag and the MA label is still inside her dress. The dress is just a bit too pink for my liking, although I am sure it would appeal to little girls. I do like the way the dress has a Monet French ballerina look and the care they have taken with the hair style. Her eyes are rather spooky though.

Of course I couldn't finish this post without another look at my latest makeover dress for Sweet Sue. She appears to have borrowed my Madame Alexander Cissy fashion doll's necklace.

The second smallest doll has made a couple of appearances on this blog; it is a Peggy Nisbet Nanette. The tiny little doll who is parading in her birthday suit while she waits for me to make her an outfit was a purchase I made at the Melbourne Doll Show.