Saturday, August 4, 2012

Some New Doll Clothes

I got inspired this past week by some fabrics in my stash, namely the cutoff leftovers from a recent alterations project for a friend, and an old dress I had kept for fabric value. I have a hard time deciding which is my favorite of the two outfits.

The black and white t-shirt and capri set was inspired by the leftovers from a recent alterations project. I had turned flared (bell) sleeves into straight ones, which of course is just cutting off a triangle of fabric. So, I was left with two triangles of funky black and white knit fabric. It seemed a shame to throw them away, so I turned them into cute doll capris. I'll explain what I did, and for anyone with some sewing experience, it should be easy enough to figure out.

-I cut off the ends of the triangles (picture below), and cut a notch from the top for the crotch of the pants. I then sewed them up the side, and added those triangles I cut off back in at the back to make the pants big enough around the waist. I then finished sewing them together up the back, underneath, and up the front. They're fitted, and I wanted to keep the bulk around the waist to a minimum, so I just turned the edge under and sewed it with a decorative zig-zag stretch stitch.

The red, white, and blue nautical t-shirt and skirt set was concocted from a red and white striped knit dress I had kept and put away for it's fabric value. I added a little denim from my stash, as well as some red rick-rack from my stash to finish this cute outfit. I even had a chance to try my new Steam-A-Seam2 double sided fusible interfacing with the little denim anchor applique on the t-shirt. I drafted the skirt pattern, making it short and fitted at the waist with a full gathered tier.

For both these t-shirts, I used this free t-shirt pattern from Liberty Jane Clothing. I've often had bad experiences with free patterns, and was prepared to make modifications with this one, but was actually pleasantly surprised. I love the whole look and fit of the finished t-shirt, and it's so easy and quick to make - I can whip one out in about 20 minutes, now. Both these outfits are now for sale in the Shoppe!

Do you have any thrifty, crafty projects you've been working on this week?

1 comment:

Chris Jeffery said...

You really are a true seamstress, reusing old fabric to create new dresses for your doll. And you made some simple yet amazing outfits! I think you can make any doll in the world look gorgeous with a few pieces of fabric and some needle and thread!