A Purse with Variations for the Girls

Posted on November 6, 2024 by Deborah Cooke

Sorry to have been quiet lately. I’ve had some projects that didn’t come out as well as I’d hoped which – like books that need a tweak – are in the midst of revisions. I’ll show you them when I’ve fixed them up the way I like. I also was finishing up a book and publishing it.

I have finished the knitting on the black KSH cardigan of doom. (Phew!) I need a sunny day to seam the sleeves and set them in. My Ravelry project page says that one’s been on the needles for eight years – I hope that isn’t true, that I created the project before I cast on, but even so. I have projects that have been on the needles longer than that. Gah. I have a belated case of finish-itis now. I’ll show you that when it’s finally done.

Today let’s talk about purses for 12″ fashion dolls. This is a silly little project that keeps going on and on. The thing with making for the girls is that I always see more variations. I could get stuck exploring the possibilities of one pattern for a very VERY long time, which is kind of what has happened here. I’ve made a lot (a LOT) of these little purses. They’re quick and easy, and they come out really well. It’s almost instant gratification, and I’ve needed a bit of that lately.

screenshot from Pinterest of doll purses

I found this image on PInterest when I was ogling gorgeous suits for Silkstone Barbies. (There is some fabulous stuff there and many very talented makers in the world.) It’s in Japanese and from a book for dolls called My Favorite Dolls. That’s pretty much all I know from that one page. You can see that there’s a purse and a pair of jackets illustrated. I’ve no idea where the jacket patterns are – maybe on the facing page? – but there’s the purse pattern right there. I grabbed a screen shot and printed it out. There’s also no scale, so I just guessed it was from a page roughly 8.5″ by 11″ and printed it to fit the page. My purse pattern came out about 4.25″ long and the scale is great for the girls.

And then the fun began.

The directions are in Japanese, but like so many Japanese patterns, it’s pretty easy to figure out what to do. Japanese patterns always include such lovely illustrations in the instructions.

Here are the first ones.

Purses for 12" fashion dolls made by Deborah Cooke

I used my go-to fake leathers first – the shiny black I use for almost everything and a matte burgundy. They’re the two in the top row. The burgundy one has a brass-like button with a butterfly on it. 🙂

For each purse, I folded the handle and glued it – nothing fancy here. I used a gluestick, then put a weight on it until it dried. I did learn over the first couple that it’s easier to do as much as you can while the purse is flat. So, I sew on the half of the snap under the flap and the decorative button over it, then put on the handle. I use a seed bead as a decorative accent on the handle, one that matches the accent button on the front. Then I fold up the purse and press the snap into the body of the purse to make an indent where the other side of the snap needs to be, and sew it on in place.

When seaming the sides, I do a few overcast stitches at the top. When turning the bag right side out, there’s a bit of stress on those two seams at the top, so a little extra reinforcement can’t hurt. When I get to the base, I just tack in the top of the flap from the base of the purse. Turn the purse, ease out the sideseams and fiddle that flap until it looks right. Presto, purse.

The next pair are made from the very cheapest fake leather. I bought a set of 12 squares of craft vinyl, each 5×5″ or so, two each of six colours, at the dollar store. Each purse takes less than half a square. These next two, in red and the caramel, are from that vinyl. The vinyl is stiff enough that the purse holds its shape well.

I even cut an extra strap for the caramel one and added a buckle to that one. The strap is the width to pass easily through the buckle. I cut it an inch too long then trimmed it once the bag was assembled. I glued it in place while working on it, but the glue didn’t hold. Good thing the snap halves are sewn through the beginning and the end of that strap, and will hold it in place forever.

The red one has a fleur-de-lis accent button and I thought it needed even more zing. I used a black Sharpie to outline the edge of the flap and I think it looks great.

Next up, some sample vinyl pieces found at the thrift store. The individual pieces in thiis bundle of different fake leathers is about 5 x 8″. Again, that’s more than enough for a purse. There’s even a piece of cork in there but it seemed too thick for this purse. (Will the girls have cork purses before I do? I’m thinking they will.) I used a dark brown from that bundle and a metallic gold, which got extra beads on the flap for embellishment. (It looks silvery here but is more golden IRL.)

The raw edge does show along the front flap, the top of the bag and at those bottom corners. If the fake leather has a light backing – the dark brown one, for example, has a white backing – I colour the edges with a Sharpie marker in a matching colour.

Then I looked at the fabric ones with the bead handles. I chose two brocades, one firmer than the other, and a bit of silk. (The silk is at the top left.) I interfaced all of them with fusible interfacing before cutting out the pattern, then finished the edges of the top and flap of the bag with a zigzag stitch in a coordinating colour of thread. I also used Fraycheck on the other edges to keep them from unravelling. I don’t love this stuff, since it’s essentially glue. It often marks the fabric and leaves it crunchy – that bit is less of an issue for a purse than for a garment, but still. It didn’t mark the white, but it did mark the other two, so I sewed that little base triangle on all three purses to keep the stain and/or edges from showing.

The silk one has a fake leather handle and a little crown button, which is adorable. Sharpies are your friend here, too – where the fabric showed through the thread on the edge of the flap, I just coloured it in with a matching marker.

It looks as though the pattern recommends the beads be on thread, but I wanted a stiffer handle than that. I fed them onto beading wire, then poked the ends of the wire through the fabric and twisted it on the inside so it won’t pull back through.

Finally, I was wishing I had some more fun colours of fake leather and wondered about felt. Why not? It doesn’t unravel. This is synthetic felt and I used three doll buttons in a contrasting colour. The “embroidery” was done with sewing thread held double – I did it after sewing on the button and snap. I think this one is really cute and I do have a lot of fun felt colours. There may be more of these.

You can see these purses are like potato chips. It’s impossible to stop with just one, or three…or ten.

Of course, I also drafted the pattern a bit bigger so I can make similar purses for the 16″ girls. Purses abound!

Next time, I’ll show you my new girl and get her to model one of the purses so you can see it in scale.

Another Doll Box

Posted on October 2, 2024 by Deborah Cooke

We’ve looked a few times at my DIY doll wardrobes – here and here – but this time, I made a carrying case for my dolls alone.

As usual, I used a trunk made by Ashland that I found at Michaels. I have four of this style, two large ones – like the one at right – which are wardrobes for Tyler and friends, then two smaller ones. To date, those had sweaters and coats for Tyler.

One of them has been liberated and become a carrying case for the Silkstone girls. I have some storage bins for the girls, but I’m an unboxer and when they’re on their backs, their hair gets messed up. I wanted them to be standing.

As usual, I removed one handle from the trunk. This time, that was easy as the handles are knotted cord. I pushed that second cord through the eyelets for the top one, to double up the handle. I also added felt feet to the bottom.

This time, I used foamboard for my siding pieces instead of the heavy bookbinder’s board I used for the first wardrobe. I cut them to fit, then papered them over. I put the “floor” in first – which covers the eyelets in the bottom from the removed handle – then the three “walls”. In each wall, I cut paired slits and pushed ribbon through them so that the dolls can be secured in place. The ribbon is taped on the back side so it won’t move.

Here’s a peek inside:

carrying case for Barbie Silkstone dolls made by Deborah Cooke

It’s kind of cozy for the girls, but that keeps them from falling over. This case holds 8 dolls – which means I have room to buy 3 more. (mwahaha) The extra ribbons are tied in place.

I feel like I should add a bar table in the middle with cocktails so they have something to do in there in the dark. Maybe a mirror ball or chandelier overhead…

I put the articulated girls on the door since they’re lighter.

Best to a Tea still needs to have her hair done. (No wonder she’s slumped against the wall. Bad hair days are depressing.) The little white wedge of foamboard needs to be covered to match the floor – I forgot that the girls needed to be elevated a bit to ensure that the door can be easily closed. I also ran out of the ribbon I used in the main case, so these girls get a coordinating one. They don’t seem to mind.

I’m kind of amazed that three of them are wearing dresses made from the same pattern – Trench Setting from Hankie Chic – which means I need to sew them some new things. At least they’ll be tidy and safe from dust while I do that.

Next up, the big girls get storage boxes…and the duplicate box of the very first carrying case I made is becoming a wardrobe, too. Instead of space for three girls on the inside of the lid/door, it’ll have lots of hooks for purses and hats. The girls will be organized!

A New Girl in Town

Posted on August 14, 2024 by Deborah Cooke

Two new dolls joined my collection last week, so we’ll meet one of them today.

Mattel Sapphire Anniversary Silkstone Barbie

She’s the Sapphire Anniversary Silkstone Barbie. She’s still available on the Mattel website for members, right here. At right is one of the official pix of her and it’s linked back to their landing page.

I had mixed feelings about this doll. I prefer the older Silkstone bodies over the articulated dolls, but was attracted to the idea of getting a new doll. (That explains my other two articulated Silkstones, too!) In the end, though, I ordered her.

The finishing of the doll itself is disappointing but that was true of the other articulated girls, too. I suspected I wouldn’t like the jacket and I didn’t. 🙂

But I love her blue hair and sparkly eye make-up. The dress is darling, although it has a crunchy lining in the skirt. I may try to copy it in another fabric. This time, they put clear plastic disks between the earrings and the doll, presumably to keep her face from being scratched. (It’s the metal pin in the head that gives dolls green ear, so it won’t prevent that.)

Her stocking-boots are interesting – there are shoes secured in the bottoms. I saw a photo of her with the 60th anniversary pink Barbie which appears to have the same stocking-boots. (That’s an Amazon link.)

She came out of the box and waited just a day before I surrendered to temptation and took her hair down. I don’t know what they use to keep the hair in place, but it leaves the hair stiff and crunchy. (Maybe it’s just glue.) We had a good wash and comb, then another couple of washes. I didn’t boil-wash because I was hoping to just tame the curl not lose it completely.

And here we are:

Sapphire anniversary Silkstone Barbie with her hair down and washed, redressed by Deborah Cooke

Her lipstick is evenly applied – it’s just the angle of the morning sunlight that makes it look otherwise. I trimmed a few scaggy ends from her hair, but otherwise, it’s how it came down. She borrowed the purse from Dusk-to-Dawn and it’s possible she won’t give it back. The dress is the one from Trench Setting. I definitely need to make her some black and blue separates.

Do you like her hair better up or down?

A Cabled Cardigan for Tyler

Posted on August 7, 2024 by Deborah Cooke

Another post about the girls this week. I’m knitting for myself, too, but it takes a lot longer to finish up a project. Right now, I’m knitting the sleeves for a cardigan in black Kidsilk Haze, using the Hebrides pattern. I’ve knit it twice before, and it’s a gem. These little jewel-necked cardis aren’t terribly exciting, but I do get a lot of wear out of them. I’ve wanted a black one for a while, though this may be the last time for black Kidsilk Haze to jump onto my needles. I have the fronts and backs done, and will pick up the buttonbands in daylight on those 2.75mm needles.

I also finished the Storm at Sea quilt, which feels like a huge accomplishment. It’s been a finished top and unfinished quilt for so long. I’m working on the hand quilting for the Pineapple Star – just two corners to go, then I can bind it. It’s time to get all these unfinished tops done.

In the meantime, I finished a little top-down cabled cardigan for the girls and that’s what we’ll look at today. Here’s Tyler modelling it, along with the top from McCalls 3701 and pants from Tyler Wentworth 3522.

Cabled cardigan knit by Deborah Cooke for Tyler Wentworth

I didn’t have a pattern for this, just cast on with sock yarn and made it up as I went. I kept notes so I can do it again. I also kept the cables simple on this one – it’s a two-stitch cable with a purl stitch in between each one – so I could keep track of the counts better. Now that I’ve figured them out, the plan is to make another with more elaborate cables. Those are working buttons with buttonholes, though the small holes are tricky to find.

My favorite detail is the pockets in the fronts. You can just see the one on the left side (the doll’s right). I put the stitches on a holder where the pocket should go, then cast on the same number in the next row. That gave me a slit. I continued to the hem and finished the body of the sweater, then went back to those held stitches. I knit down to make a square, then sewed its edges to the inside of the sweater. Pockets!

You can see the cables better on the back of the sweater, as well as the single stitch on the raglan lines. I worked purl-knit-purl on each raglan line, and increased before and after it. As soon as I had two stitches for a new cable, I started one. The cables are turned in opposite directions on the left and right, then the center back cable is four stitches on each side of the central purl stitch.

The wool is some leftover sock yarn and I worked on 2mm needles. The only change I’ll make when I knit it again is to add a few rows to the collar – it wants to curl up – and I’ll play with the cable patterns, too.

These are the patterns for the sewn garments.

Tyler Wentworth sewing pattern 3522 Weekend Wardrobe — Tyler Wentworth 3522

The pink shirt is made of French shirting cotton, which is really lovely and fine. The weft is a slightly different colour, so it changes in the light. (Yes, I made a shirt for myself of this fabric once upon a time.) It’s actually a bodysuit but made of woven instead of knit. It was a little tricky to turn those collar points but a nice little project. Those buttons don’t work – there are snaps behind them to close the fronts.

The pants from 3522 are the ones I’ve made multiple times in pleather for the girls. This pair look a bit like jeans thanks to the fabric choice, but I’ll need to add pockets to the back of the next pair to complete that illusion. They are quick basic pants to sew.

Malia Dress for 12″ Dolls

Posted on August 1, 2024 by Deborah Cooke

Malia pattern for Silkstone Barbie by Hankie Chic patterns

A day late on this post because I didn’t have pictures done. I took one inside but it was dingy – yesterday was sunny so I got a second one.

Malia is a pattern for 12″ fashion dolls from Hankie Chic. (That’s an Etsy link.) There are two skirt variations included for this dress – a fuller below-knee skirt and a straight full length skirt. The bodice has pleats over the shoulders, which form short sleeves. There’s a long-waisted bodice piece, too.

I made this from a cotton with a tiny print in navy. I ordered this fabric from Charlene Lu’s Etsy store, and she has it in several colours in 70 x 50cm squares. It’s really a very delicate print, a great scale for dolls.

This dress is lined with cotton voile and was machine sewn – except for the bodice lining, which I sewed by hand. The pleats that are formed over the shoulder open up when the dress is on the doll in a very attractive way.

Malia pattern for Silkstone Barbie by Hankie Chic patterns, sewn in printed cotton for Silkstone Barbie by Deborah Cooke

Isn’t this a pretty dress?

Here’s the dress off the doll. (I’m not sure the details are more visible, though that was the idea.) It has a couple of snaps at the back waist.

I have another one cut out in cotton, also with the full skirt. I’ll have to try one with the long straight skirt, in a shiny fabric. The one on the pattern image looks like it might be made of that Chinese brocade, which is beautiful but also quite thick. I’ll probably try a crepe back satin first, even though it’s slippery stuff.

Elenpriv Jacket & Pants for 12″ Fashion Dolls

Posted on July 17, 2024 by Deborah Cooke

Elenpriv jacket and pants for 12" fashion dolls

When things go awry in making for myself, I often make for my girls instead. This is a pattern available on Etsy from Elenpriv, who also makes and sells finished garments for fashion dolls. It’s a pdf download without instructions – which means I made a mistake or two. 🙂 I’m pleased with how it came out even so.

At right is the garment picture on the pattern download.

You can see more pictures in the Etsy listing, right here.

This is a double-breasted tailored and lined jacket, with matching slim pants. In the little video in the Etsy listing, you can see that she uses narrow Velcro closures on the jacket and pants. I don’t like getting velcro close to my girls, so I used plain old snaps.

Here’s one of my Silkstone girls, modelling her new suit. This is Best in Black Silkstone Barbie, but she has a new do – all the girls have ponytails for the summer. The colour is a bit dingy because we’re having rain like it’s time to build an ark.

Elenpriv jacket and pants for 12" fashion dolls sewn in silk for Silkstone Barbie by Deborah Cooke

I cut the suit out of a yarn-dyed stripe silk, and lined it with Bemberg rayon. I used rhinestone buttons on this one. As you can see, I ended up with a notch collar instead of a shawl collar. Evidently, I should have seamed those edges together. Maybe next time.

I also added pleats to the front of the pants and darts to the back as they had no waist shaping. I’m not sure how the pants would have fit into the waistband otherwise.

Next, I made a lined sheath dress of the same fabric – ha! I drew my own pattern for this! – so B has some options. It even has a little ribbon belt and yes, it’s lined with the Bemberg rayon.

I made the necklace from beads and a quartz crystal. The purse is from a Zuru Surprise MiniBrands ball. (It was in the second series. This is an AMZ link.)

Here’s the suit flat. It’s much more of a pale mauve-pink than it appears here.

Best in Black is an articulated Silkstone, which means she has a thinner body sculpt. This suit fits the regular Silkstone girls, as well. The pants run a little short for Jade, who is a Fashion Royalty doll and has a different body sculpt. The main difference is that Jade is taller, so when I make her pants, I’ll cut them a little longer. Sleeves are perfect for Jade just as they are, probably because they’re a teensy bit long for B.

All in all, a good pattern and one I’ll make again.

Vogue 7010 for Barbie – View C

Posted on July 3, 2024 by Deborah Cooke

Vogue Craft 7010 is another sewing pattern for dolls that is out-of-print but available as a downloadable PDF from vendors on Etsy. I’m not sure which vendor I bought this one from, but it’s one of the better downloads I’ve ever bought – there’s a measuring tape on each page of pattern pieces. It’s also kind of nice to have a pattern with cutting layouts, line drawings, grainlines and dots to match on the individual pieces. Yup, call me old-skool.

Although I bought it for view E, the first dress I made was view C. That’s the little teeny one in pink. It has a great yoke – but then a lot of the designs in this particular collection have some great seaming details.

It’s just so cute. Here are the girls in their new dresses and sunhats.

Vogue 7010 for Barbie view C (front view) sewn by Deborah Cooke

The pink one is a quilting cotton, lined with cotton voile. I made the hat with two layers (the pattern specifies one) because I wanted to finish the inner circle rather than just gluing it (as specified.) The inside layer is the same quilting fabric as the dress, while the other is a plain white linen. I put the two fabrics right side together, sewed the inside circle using the pattern piece as a template, trimmed the middle so there was a 1/8″ seam allowance, clipped the curves and turned it. I pressed it, then topstitched around the inner circle. The outer binding on the edge is a bias-cut strip of coordinating cotton voile in hot pink. I sewed it to the linen side, then turned and pressed it, hand-stitching it on the pink flamingo side.

I wasn’t crazy about the order of the seaming on the dress, so I cut another one of green quilting cotton with green cotton voile for lining. On the pink one, I followed the directions, sewing the dress and the lining fronts and backs, then the shoulder seams. I sewed them together at the neck, sleeve holes and hems, then sewed the side seams and the back seam. I ended up doing a lot of handstitching on the lining because it was very tight to manage on the machine.

For the green one, I sewed the side seams first. Fronts and backs, seamed at the shoulders, in both the lining and the dress, then sewed them together at neck and sleeve. Then I sewed the side seams, and the back. I sewed the hems, turned it through the open center-back skirt seam, then hand-stitched that closed. I’ll use this method in future.

Here are the backs and you can see the linen side of the sunhats, too.

Vogue 7010 for Barbie view C (back view) sewn by Deborah Cooke

This dress also has a placket at the back for the overlap, a very nice detail. I cut it of the lining for the green one to reduce the bulk, which worked out well for bulk – though it was tough to sew the snap to it.

The girls also have had their earrings removed. I knew the regular dolls could get green ear from the earrings – and had noticed a teensy mark on my repro ponytail girl – but saw a horrible pic of a Silkstone, never removed from box, with a bad case of green ear. It’s possible the vendor had never even opened the box. What a nasty surprise! So, all the girls had their earrings removed this past weekend. Only one pair was actually finished well enough to save – the others were already corroding and/or broke into bits while being removed. Why doesn’t Mattel include earrings in a little bag for the dolls, stapled to the inside of the box, like other vendors? Why don’t they stop making earrings of cheap metal that corrodes? These are the questions. In the meantime, take out your girls’ earrings.

Next up, the shirtdress from this pattern, while I hunt down something suitable for that leopard print evening coat. 🙂

Dolls (sigh)

Posted on June 14, 2024 by Deborah Cooke

Turns out I can’t resist dolls.

There are two new-to-me Tylers who have moved in lately.

The first one actually is Sydney Chase, and the outfit is Mosaic Modern from 2004. The collar on that coat is something, very Mad Hatter, but I like her colouring and haircut. Red boots, too.

The second is Tyler Wentworth, It’s My Party from 2005. Serious Audrey Hepburn vibes with that dress. 🙂

Tyler Wentworth It's My Party 2005 — Tyler Wentworth It’s My Party 2005

Barbie Silkstone Sapphire Anniversary BFMC 2024

And there’s a new Silkstone Barbie on pre-order this week. The Sapphire Anniversary BFMC, which has an articulated Silkstone body. Not my fave sculpt and I tried to resist temptation – but lost. 🙂

I kind of like that she has blue hair.

She’s still available to members at Mattel Creations right here. (If you’re not a member already, you can just add $10 to the cost of the doll to become one.)

I’ve seen a rumor that the next Silkstone is that blonde in pink and black in the background of this image.

She’s also front and center on the Uno card deck – you can see Ms. Sapphire on the box at the right, too.

That deck of cards is also available from Mattel Creations, right here.

(Have you ever played Uno? I’m pretty sure I haven’t…)

And finally, Grace Fitzpatrick has left the premises. I just didn’t love that RTB-101 body and having one doll with such different proportions from the other 16″ girls was making me a bit nuts. I did keep her shoes, though, just in case another RTB-101 girl catches my eye one day.

I have some sewing projects for the girls finishing up and will show you them soon.

Plus I bought another miniature kit, which is proving to be kind of an addictive little build. Even though it’s my most recent acquisition, it might be the first of these kits that I actually finish.

Finally, I’m knitting the collar band of my Quintessential Cardigan. After that, there’s just the seaming and blocking, so that lime sweater should be done soon, too. I’m proud of myself for sticking to it with this one and getting it finished at a reasonable speed. After that, I’ll pick up an abandoned project, probably my Tegna pullover in Koigu. It would be good to get that one done while I can still wear it this summer – since I missed finishing it last summer. LOL

Trench Setting for Silkstone Barbie

Posted on May 1, 2024 by Deborah Cooke

I’ve been sewing for the B girls again and trying some different pattern companies. The vintage patterns are great for vintage B, but the Silkstone girls are skinnier – and the articulated Silkstone girls are even skinnier. (I’m starting to think of them as social media girls – they photograph really well and look great in clothes but in real life, they’re really thin.) But I wanted to try some patterns drafted specifically for the thinner dolls.

Trench Setting pattern for Silkstone Barbie by Hankie Chic patterns

First up was Trench Setting from Hankie Chic patterns on Etsy. (This designer is not the same person who wrote the Hankie Couture books that I blogged about before.) This pattern for a coat and dress is designed for 11.5″ dolls. As has become my habit, I shop based on the doll used to model the garment – that’s an original Silkstone B, so I know it will fit that body. It’ll probably be a little loose on the articulated Silkstone and will be too small around (esp the dress) for vintage B. The sleeves of the coat might be too long for her, too.

For some reason, I cut two coats of an orange shot linen. I gave them different linings and buttons – plus an inside pocket—as a social media girl, Silkstone B needs somewhere to put her phone.

Trench Setting coat designed by Hankie Chic for Silkstone Barbie, sewn in orange shot linen by Deborah Cooke

The one on the left is lined with Liberty Tana Lawn, and the one on the right with a cotton check that’s been in the stash forever. It was a strange little remnant but I liked it with the orange linen, even though I had to piece the back. (See that little seam across the shoulders?)

The Tana Lawn one has bronze dome buttons while the orange plaid version has shiny gold buttons.

The straps seemed a little out of proportion to me, so I halved the width of them for the sleeves and for the half belt at the back. The coat appears to be designed to be worn open, although I put snaps on one with the check lining to close the fronts. (The problem then is that when it’s open, you can see the metal snaps. Always a conundrum for the girls!)

Here’s B in both. (The pic is a little fuzzy so it’s small here. I really need to get my lighting sorted for doll pictures. The issue here is that there’s not enough of it.)

Trench Setting coat designed by Hankie Chic for Silkstone Barbie, coat sewn in orange shot linen and dress in Liberty Tana Lawn by Deborah Cooke

I sewed the coats almost entirely by machine and added some top-stitching, because that’s just how I roll.

I think the orange linen is a bit too thick of a fabric choice, so it looks more bulky than would be ideal. The linen also gives her a bit of a rumpled Columbo look – but Silkstone B prefers to look polished and sleek. I might make her another one. We’ll see. (I have another coat pattern to try first, a more fitted one that she might prefer.)

The doll modeling the combo here is Silkstone Barbie Dusk to Dawn.

The dress is a complete gem. Here’s my first one, made in Liberty Tana Lawn to match the lining on one of the coats. (I wish I had more of that yellow check, but I had to piece it to get the coat lining.) It’s lined with white cotton voile.

Trench Setting designed by Hankie Chic for Silkstone Barbie, coat sewn in Liberty Tana Lawn by Deborah Cooke

I love this one!

Again, I sewed it almost completely by machine – I hand-stitched the center back seam in the skirt lining and that was it. I also buried the back ends of the shoulder straps. The pattern instructs you to sew them inside the finished bodice back, but I wasn’t so fussed on that plan. I remembered this trick from a vintage pattern – I left a gap in the seam of each upper back, where the fabric is sewn to the lining. I put the dress on the doll to fit, slid the strap ends into the gap and pinned them in place. Then I caught them in the seam when I top-stitched the edges.

You can see that the left one could have been tucked in a teensy bit more on the edge closest to the center back.

The belt is a piece of 1/8″ gross-grain ribbon – in the most absolutely perfect colour! – with a teeny tiny buckle included as a gift in one of my orders from I Sew for Doll. She always tucks in a teeny ziplock with a sample of something. This one had four of these buckles. It’s a brilliant marketing strategy because I now know what size of buckle is perfect for this kind of belt for B and will order more in more colours. (Mr. Math likes the teensy ziplocks the buttons come in and has suggested I pack lunches for the girls, with teeny sandwiches in the teeny ziplocks. Maybe some teeny carrot and celery sticks. The problem with jokes like this is that they make me go “hmmmm” and think about modelling clay…)

I’ve cut out two more of the dress, one in a teal crepe-backed satin, and one in a navy cotton with a teeny tiny leaf print. Quilting cotton would be too heavy for this dress design, so I’m rummaging through my various cotton lawns and silks, too. I’ll be on the hunt for more Liberty Tana Lawn prints, too.

Then – because I am that person – I decided that B needed a little clothing rack. While the girls have their cases with clothing racks, B’s are getting full. I made this rack from foamboard with a dowel for the clothing bar.

clothing rack in 1/6 scale for doll clothes, modelled by Silkstone Barbie and made by Deborah Cooke

It worked out pretty well, so I plan to make another in basa wood, maybe even with wheels…

A new Suit & Hat for Grace

Posted on April 24, 2024 by Deborah Cooke

I told you about my new addition to the collection of dolls, Amazing Grace #3. (That link takes you to the Dreamcastle Dolls site detail page for her. All of the Grace dolls are on this page of the reference site. They are 16.5″ Tonner dolls with the RTB-101 body.)

Since Grace is half an inch taller than the Tyler and Sydney dolls, she needs her own clothes. Her proportions are different, too – her feet are a lot bigger! – so the other girls will be able to wear some of Grace’s clothes but not the other way around. I finished a raincoat, for example, in black pleather and it just looks too short on Grace. (Sydney loves it, though!)

Around the same time that Grace arrived, I noticed a new doll being released by Integrity Toys. This is a 12″ Fashion Royalty doll, which I don’t want, but I love her outfit. I decided to use it as inspiration for Grace’s first clothes of her own.

This is Evelyn Weaverton Traveling in Style:

Evelyn Weaverton Traveling in Style from Integrity Toys Fashion Royalty

How great is this 1950’s ensemble?

Designs by Jude Equestrian pattern, sized for Grace

I started with the jacket and used the riding jacket from Designs by Jude’s Equestrian pattern, which is sized for Grace.

I cut this of an olive green crepe, with the pocket flaps and collar cut of black velveteen. Mine is lined in rayon Bemberg. I fiddled around with the construction to sew more of it on the machine, and also sewed down the pocket flaps invisibly to keep them in place. It’s a nice little jacket and fits Tyler, too.

Noteworthy Style by Designs by Jude, sized for Grace

I wanted a straight skirt on my first variation, so used the dress from Designs by Jude’s Noteworthy Style, again, sized for Grace.

I split the dress into two pieces at the waist, adding a seam allowance on each half. I cut the top of a silk print and the bottom of the dark green so it looked like a blouse and skirt. I also added long sleeves with a cuff, but ending up taking them off as they didn’t fit well under the jacket. Lots of ripping and handstitching on this one! The dress is lined and it has an invisible zipper at the center back.

Here’s Grace in her new suit:

Grace Fitzpatrick doll in Equestrian Jacket by Designs by Jude, sewn by Deborah Cooke

I’m not so fussed about dress, so no detail pix of it. It’s fine, but I did a lot of ripping (thanks to those sleeves) and that adversely influenced my joy in both the process and the result.

Another variable is the zipper down the center back of the dress. I couldn’t find a doll zipper long enough – the high collar makes that seam longer – so I used a 7″ invisible skirt zipper. The tab feels huge and out of scale, plus there’s a lot of bulk at the back of the neck with the zipper tab and the turndown velvet collar of the jacket. I also wish the skirt was maybe 1/4″ longer to hide her knee joints. (Sadly, I have no stockings for Grace as yet. She didn’t come with any, and I haven’t found a place to order them. They need to be longer than Tyler’s.)

The buttons are lovely little gold roses which I ordered from I Sew For Doll.

Instead of the turban in the inspiration photo, I made her a little hat.

Felt hat made for Grace Fitzpatrick by Deborah Cooke

You might remember that I bought the pattern for sunhats from DBDolls last year to go with their sundresses. For this one, I played around with making the hat from felt – the pattern uses linen. This is just polyester felt but I could do it again in wool felt. I played with the depth of the crown and of the brim, as well as cutting the top as an oval instead of a circle. My big new trick is adding that pleat at the top – I turned down 3/8″ on the top edge of the piece that goes around the doll head, then hand-stitched the oval crown to it, slightly below the stitching line. That gives a nicer definition to the top of the hat, IMO. The embroidery stitch on the outer edge of the brim was an experiment and a technique I’ll use again. The feather is from a pack of zillions of different coloured craft feathers that I got for a couple of bucks at Michaels – and there’s another rose button on the band.

The hat might be my favorite part of the outfit. 🙂

She reminds me of the ladies in Munich heading out in their loden suits. I probably shouldn’t have used that shade of green. I do have a black belt I need to finish and am still scheming for the swing coat. I’m going to tray another jacket in a small wool check, probably with a pleated skirt. I’ll show you that when it’s done, maybe with a coat, too.

Alive & Knitting

Knitting and other tangled webs we weave

Category Archives: Miniatures & Dolls