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.

Dolls! Jacket for my 1950's 21 inch Sweet Sue Doll and the Pierre Cardin Connection

Here is my Sweet Sue doll in her new jacket. I have been wondering whether I will put the 3 buttons down the front, as called for in the original pattern, and  have decided I will. I searched right through my button jar but could not find the right ones, so I will have to get some this week. I won't have to rush though because she is going off to the doll hospital tomorrow to get new eyes! The 'doctor' said he has some from an old doll that should do the job.

To recap, this is a copy of the original 1950's pattern that I used. I made the dress too - you can see what it looks like here.

And here is the back view:

And finally, just to make sure you can see how wide the jacket is cut from waist to hem:

Now you are probably wondering about the 'Pierre Cardin' in this post title. Well, on Boxing Day, I dragged my poor tired self back into the city to go to the Clegs remnants sale. I had never been before, and spent a pretty penny by the time I got to the checkout. I nearly put this fabric that I used for Sweet Sue's jacket back, but decided against it at the last minute. A week later when I was undoing the remnant, I pulled out the piece of paper with the details of the fabric content and care instructions, and there in black and white was Pierre Cardin as the designer!! And just in case you missed it, it is woven (not printed) into the selvage of the fabric. An added bonus is that the fabric was made in Italy. I almost decided against using such an illustrious design house's fabric for this doll, and figured that as she is 50+ years old, she is worth it!

And for those readers that have come at the end of this dolly make-over, here are the before and after shots:

     



Now I am thinking about getting a price on a more appropriate wig for her. More on that later!

Happy Sewing!

Fabric Free February Pledge

I am pledging to not buy any fabric in February 2012 as I have soooo much of the stuff. So you might ask, why have I chosen to show you a picture of fabric in this post? Well it is still January, and I have not been to Mary's shop in ages, so I thought I had better go before February. So I did, and this pic shows the results; 2 gorgeous floral print fabrics perfect for 1950's fashion doll dresses.

One of my fabric buying buddies at work just laughed at me when I said I was going to buy less fabric this year. And one of my sewing club friends is going to buy less this year as the coat cabinet she uses to store her fabrics in has never seen a coat!

Have a look at that nifty 9mm or 3/8 inch bias binding maker I got at Mary's as well. Very useful for making the narrow bias binding called for in this 20 inch 1950's fashion doll clothing pattern.

That cute green swimsuit and cape in the top right hand corner calls for loads of bias binding.

So wish me luck in keeping to my Fabric Free February pledge. I know I can do it!