Fabric Free February - Almost...

I was in a fabric shop this week looking for wool for my Mum to knit the jacket for my 1940's bear, when I spied this wonderful knit fabric. It reminds me of stained glass windows and persian carpets and it is in my favourite colour combination too. I walked out, without buying any, thinking it was my Fabric Free February month still. When I went back to purchase the wool, I thought I would just get a bit of the fabric to make the feature scarf/collar of this Kwik Sew top 3826, and then I would still kind of, sort of and very nearly, be keeping my pledge. I didn't have the pattern with me, and had not looked at the pattern pieces for ages, so after discussions with the sales assistant, it seems that I would have to buy nearly a metre to get the length of the scarf/collar, and what can you do with the left over bit of a metre? So I ended up buying 2 so I could cut the collar/scarf out, and use the rest for another top or skirt.

When I got home and checked the pattern pieces, I was glad I bought 2 metres as the collar/scarf is huge! I am going to make the whole top out of the Persian Carpet fabric.

As I am a fairly short person, it will probably be good on me to have a vertical line breaking up all those circles, which are fairly large. Failing that, I can just make a flared skirt out of it, but I am really taken with the Kwik Sew top.

I have finished tweaking the pattern for my peasant style Liberty fabric top, so I plan to cut it out and start sewing it up this weekend. I will show you the progress on this soon.

I would like to extend a big thankyou to AudraBark1 for signing up to my blog, and leaving some comments! She has 2 fantastic doll collecting blogs; Dolly Fever and Dollies With Holes in Their Stockings. You should go visit.

Dolls! I Don't Collect Bears or Barbies, Really

Really, I don't collect bears, and the only collectible Barbies that I have are the Wizard of Oz characters Dorothy and the good witch. So when I went to an auction recently of dolls, bears and toys, what did I walk out with? Bears and Barbies!!

I also have an aversion to dressing up bears, but what happened when we got home? I tried all the doll hats and that gorgeous little crochet collar on them, and they looked pretty snappy, I must say. The little bear on the left is a very poorly 1950's Chad Valley bear. She (I have decided she is a 'she') will need to go to doll hospital to get a new eye, some more filling and the right pads sewn on her paws. Not being a bear expert, I am not sure how much repairs you should do, but I am sure the hospital will know.

The chap on the right is an Australian Emil bear from the 1940's. He has a crier which was meant to work a bit, but I have not managed to get him to growl so far. As he is so thread-bear (ha ha), Mum said that she would knit him a sweater, and I will make him some overalls. I found this pattern for a jacket in vol 19 number 2 of Australian Dolls Bears and Collectables, but I am not sure it is manly enough for him. Perhaps if Mum knits it in a darker colour, it will look fine.

Then in the op shop this morning, look at this great book I got on collecting bears. It covers bears from all over the world, including old and newer artist bears. There is also a small section on Australian vintage bears and how to store and clean your collection. What a find!

Ok, now on to the Barbies. I got 3 in the one lot, and like the bears, I bought them at a very reasonable price. I missed out on the vintage look Barbies that I really wanted, but I wanted to keep within my limits at this auction.

A 1999 Hanae Mori

A 2003 Batik Princess Barbie

And a 2001 Society Girl Barbie with a lot of French writing on the back, in fact I like the box the best for this one because of the watercolour sketches behind her and on the back of the box.

I still have not started on my next project, but I promised myself a summer top made out of some of my Liberty fabric, so I might do that next.

Dolls! A New Dress & Hat for a 1950's Fashion Doll Marked U2O

If you have been wearing the same dress for 50+ years, I think it is time for a little change. This doll is only a cheap copy of the fabulous Revlon type vinyl fashion dolls, but as she was made in the 1950's, she is still a very well made doll. An ebay seller made this lovely dress - her name is barbiegirl. The hat, which came with this outfit was made by another ebay seller. The doll is 20 inches tall, or 51 cm.

Here is the U2O doll in the bridal outfit that she came with:

Her hairpiece needs re-stringing:

I will be having a go at making an outfit for this doll, using one of my copies of 1950's patterns for these dolls. I have found this pattern on ebay:

I am also going to try and make some 1950's style doll hats, but will do a post about this and my small doll hat collection another time.

I just have a few press studs and buttons to sew on my Sweet Sue doll's new outfit, and I am mulling over what project (of many) to start on next.