This is Abigail. Abigail is the sweet, special, very first dolly created by The Plush Plum, custom dolls and animal friends for the sweet, special little ones in your life. I fortuitously came in contact with Lani, the owner, after buying some of her destash fabric (gorgeous stuff, too!) on Facebook, and we've been working out a business relationship of sorts for about a month now. All those dollies need clothes - that's where I come in!
Very exciting for me, as I've been planning and plotting (haha) a doll clothing business of sorts for some time. This is a big break for me!
Abigail needed a dress, and Lani had a special request for a denim jumper for her. Since Abigail has no shoulders, I couldn't use typical doll clothing patterns that I would use for 18 inch dolls. Her dress is more of a shift. The fabric that I was given was a bit too narrow, though, so she ended up with an open back...
abigail's doing some funky yoga here |
so of course, she needed some little bloomers to go with it! (Those are teeny tiny embroidery scissors, to show you just how small we're talking!)
I drew a little pattern using the skirt that Abigail came to me wearing, and just traced around it a shape that looked a little like a pair of boy shorts. I added on a little piece of that beautiful embroidered ribbon, to match the dress, and the green fabric pulls out the leaves and stems of the flowers on it.
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ignore those notes about the elastic. i ended up using WAY different measurements, but you gotta start somewhere! |
I attached the trim first, then sewing the pieces right sides together on the sides and middle (where those nice red lines are, thank you, Paint program! I know. I'm such a techie.)
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that close up option shows the dust on my walking foot a little too well... |
Attaching the elastic was really a labor of love. I used 1/4" elastic on the waistband, and 1/8" - sooo tiny! - on the legs. I folded the hems over once and stitched them down, then stretched and stitched the elastic right over the fold (on the inside, of course) rather than using a casing method. Why? I don't know, laziness probably. But if you can ignore the way the inside looks, I love how it looks on the outside! You get the most perfect little gathers, and such a neat looking waistband - almost like those "paper bag" pants/skirts that are so popular.
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ignore my big ol' fingertips in there ;) just gives you a scale of how TINY that elastic is, especially when stretched! |
But oh, does it look messy on the inside! When you roll a hem over like that to the inside of the bloomers, it twists and curls, which isn't a problem if you're using elastic and it's going to get all scrunched up anyway. But this method, it's a little more obvious, at least on the inside. If I were making these to sell, I'd definitely reconsider that casing method!
I think Abigail likes them anyway, though. :) They sure look cute on her, peeking out from underneath her little tunic!
wonky stitching courtesy of sewing-while-tired |
And of course we have to finish it off with my special twill label, courtesy of Inked Papers etsy shop!
Love them! They're oh-so-tiny labels, to fit perfectly on oh-so-tiny clothes!
I can't imagine the nightmare it would be to make casings for the elastic on those tiny tiny bloomer legs. I hate making baby/toddler sized bloomers, so forget about dolls! Your poor fingers. Turned out beautifully, of course. I love the green with the dark denim.
ReplyDeleteIf I thought it through fully, I'd make the casing FIRST...lol! It is a bit painful! But the result is so worth it, they're so tiny and adorable :) Thank you :)
DeleteSo cute, I love the bloomers!
ReplyDeleteThanks!! :)
DeleteHow cute! Congrats with following your dreams.
ReplyDeleteThank you! It's so fun!
DeleteTotally adorable!!! I used to make doll clothing and I feel your pain...those 6" dolls were the bane of my existence! Imagine a tiny zip up jacket to fit a doll that is only 6" tall...you rocked your doll clothes!
ReplyDeleteThank you!! Eek - 6 inches! Lol these are all anywhere between 16-19", so it's not nearly as painful as that would be. Can't imagine...
DeleteThese are darling! I love the little bloomers :) And I would have tossed those things out the window trying to do that little elastic - one more reason I'm happy to have boys!!
ReplyDeleteAmy
Oh Amy, I don't how I missed your comment! Thank you! The bloomers definitely took some time, but they're so small it wasn't too painful to go slowly. ;)
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