Wow, what a year we’ve all had!  It certainly has brought its challenges and I’d like to acknowledge those who were diverted from making doll clothes for a time so that you could sew face masks in an effort to keep family and friends safe.  It’s wonderful to know that because you share a love of sewing, you were able to contribute in such a valuable way.

Some very positive things have also come from this year.  I’ve actually had a number of people join me in learning how to sew in an effort to fill in their many hours during lock down.  Not only have they become competent sewers, they have now become addicted to sewing doll clothes – YAY!!!!

It has also brought to light some very inspiring people such as Yvonne, who brought joy to her neighbourhood with ‘The Adventures of Vacciney’ which was featured in one of my earlier blog posts.  This is a wonderful story and well worth a read.

This year saw the release of my Peasant Skirt pattern for 18 Inch and American Girl dolls and the Peasant Skirt pattern for 18 ½ Inch Cabbage Patch Kids.  These patterns have proved to be super popular and I’m not sure if it’s because it comes with a number of variations, because it’s super quick and easy to make, or because it just looks adorable.

I’ve also added some more blog posts with tips on sewing with stretch fabric, using your serger/overlocker, making tiny straps and working with fat quarters.  If you want to refer back to these blog posts, remember you will find links to these and lots of other helpful blog posts on my Free Resources page.

Our fabulous Facebook group has continued to grow and we now have over 1700 awesome members.  It’s such a lovely place to hang out as everyone is so friendly and encouraging.  And talk about inspiration!  I recently spent a good half hour just scrolling through some of the amazing photos that were posted this year.  Thank you to each and every one of you as you have become my special ‘online family’.

It’s at this time of the year that I also like to remind people how my 18 inch and American Girl Funky Fur pattern can be made into a ‘Santa Suit’.  It looks super cool and is a huge hit with the little ones.  Works just as well for the 18 ½ inch Cabbage Patch Kids Funky Fur pattern too.  If you’d like to know more about this, check out my blog post, ‘How to Make a Doll Clothes Santa Suit’.

And finally, I’d like to thank you all for your wonderful support again this year.  Without you, I wouldn’t be here!

Wishing you a fantastic Holiday season and here’s hoping 2021 will be a year full of positivity, friendships and of course lots and lots of doll related sewing.

Merry Christmas

Recently I received the following enquiry from Debra and after answering her questions, I realised there may be other people wondering the same thing so I’m sharing this information here and I’ve added some photos so that you can clearly see what I’m talking about. 

‘I’m enrolled in your Learn to Love Your Serger/Overlocker course, but have a couple questions specific to my machine.
1.  I have a White Super Lock model 534. It does not have a way to lower the cutting blade. Should I just remove the blade altogether?
2. There is no differential feed dial. Is there another way to make this adjustment?
Thanks for any help!’

So let’s start with Question one – The Cutting Blade

Lowering the cutting blade is a quick and easy way to sew around tight concave curves without the fear of cutting into the fabric with your cutting blade.  If your machine doesn’t have the ability to easily lower the cutting blade and it is easy to remove and reinstate your blade, then yes by all means do so. However, using the following techniques, may allow you to sew around curves and corners without having to remove the blades.

If you have a tiny concave curve, make some clips inside the seam allowance around the curve.  This will allow you to pull the fabric straight as you are serging and therefore avoid the butting blade. When making your clips, it is important that you do not make these clips too long as you don’t want to go beyond the stitching line.

If you are wanting to serge around an ‘inside’ corner you simply make a clip at the very corner so that you can pull the fabric out straight as you serger, avoiding the cutting blade. Again, be careful not to make this clip too long as you don’t want to go beyond the stitching line.

Let’s now look at Question two – Serging (Overlocking) Without a Differential Feed Dial

A Differential Feed Dial allows you to adjust the rate that the feed dogs move in relation to the stitches.  It is often used to prevent fabric from being ‘pulled in/gathered’ or ‘stretched’ as you serge and this can happen with certain types of fabric.

If you are wanting to prevent fabric from stretching as you serge and you don’t have a Differential Feed dial, using a water-soluble stabilizer such as ‘Solvi’ will work wonderfully.

I cut the Solvi in thin strips and lay it over the fabric as I stitch.  You then just wash the solvi away when finished.

You can see the amazing difference this makes when working with a very stretchy fabric.

The top piece has been serged without Solvi and the bottom piece was stitched with a thin strip of Solvi placed on top of the fabric as it was serged.

Do let me know if this information has been helpful and if you have any other tips that you use when you don’t have a differential feed dial, I love to hear them.

Or if you’d like to learn lots more tips that will have you using your serger (overlocker) with confidence then my Learn to Love Your Serger online course will be perfect for you.

Happy sewing

The Sew-Along theme in my Facebook group for August was based on my Wedding Dress pattern and I’m so excited to share these photos because they are absolutely gorgeous and the alterations are amazing!!!!  Warning, this is a very long blog post because I had so much trouble narrowing down the photos.

Cynthia had so many entries in the Sew-Along that I lost count – and every single one was so different.

‘This one is made from my wedding dress and veil from 1975. A lot work taking my dress apart, but I truly enjoy the outcome. I guess you can say I adore this pattern. Thank you, Rosie, for creating it. You got me hooked. But I love it.’

How special is this dress!

The second dress has been made into a cocktail dress by adding lace overlay on the bodice and the back of the skirt. The red and black is stunning.

Next, we have these dresses by Debra. In the first photo you can see that she has removed the gathers from the skirt by taking 1 ¾ inches (approx. 4.5cm) from both side seams which has given the dress a slimline look.

For the second dress, Debra added the puff sleeves from my Blouse pattern and made the cuffs much wider to create a ‘Juliet Sleeve’. Using the contrasting fabric on the skirt and the sleeve cuff has given this dress a totally different look.

You’re so clever Debra, I love them both.

These next two dresses are made using my sleeveless version of the Wedding Dress pattern.

Natalie has used a beautiful bright red satin and added an overlay on the skirt. She decided to not add the petticoat to give a simpler look but stunning look.

Irene has used a soft pink satin and an overlay of white sheer with silver dots of both the bodice and the skirt. The petticoat gives more fullness to the skirt. So pretty in pink.

Monica also had lots of entries in the Sew-Along and has swapped out the veil for some amazing fascinators, hats and headbands. By varying the fabric, the length of the dress, making it with sleeves or without sleeves and adding lace to some, she has created five very different and beautiful dresses. Monica has also resized the pattern to fit all the different dolls. Awesome job Monica!

These two bridesmaids are soooo pretty.

Jill has used a tiny floral print in soft tones. She has shortened the sleeves on her dress and added lace to the hem of the sleeves and the skirt. Jill reduced the wedding dress pattern to 96% to fit her Journey Girl doll.

Rina has opted for the sleeveless version and added a lace overlay on the bodice, although it is difficult to see in this photo. Then a simple pink ribbon bow to highlight the centre of the flowers is the perfect finishing touch.

Beautiful job Jill and Rina!

Making a ‘trial dress’ is a great idea when making a pattern for the first time and I have to say, Pat, this dress (the one on the left) has turned out perfectly.

‘This is my first try with the wedding dress pattern with a fabric I did not care much for. Now that it is made into this beautiful pattern, I think it worked out very well, and I like it.’

Pat then decided she would like to swap the circle skirt for a pleated skirt and wow, this has completely changed the dress! This looks very smart and was a very clever idea Pat.

The following dresses have been made by Tina who used to sew lots of fancy dance costumes.

For the first dress she used some left over dance fabric and then added shiny crystals to the centre of each flower and I have to say, this is one STUNNING dress! The centre photo is the wedding dress pattern with lace overlay on the bodice, sleeves and skirt – a beautiful bride! Then every bride needs a bridesmaid, so Tina made the sleeveless version in a pretty peach colour, shortened the skirt and added lace overlay on the bodice only.

Three VERY different dresses made from the same pattern. Amazing!

Originally Susan was going to make the dress as per the pattern with black lace overlay on the bodice and sleeves too, but when she was about the stitch up the side seam of the bodice, she placed it on her doll with the skirt and decided it was a little too heavy and old fashioned to be the prom dress she was hoping for. Her solution was to alter the bodice and use the lace for little cap sleeves and I have to say WOW! This has transformed this dress into a stunning Prom dress!

And finally, we have this gorgeous black satin evening gown by Wendy. She simply used the sleeveless option and added some tulle across the shoulders at the back, across the front and secured with a button in front. Such a clever idea to add some extra glam!

As you can see there were some truly amazing creations in the August Sew-Along and they were all made from my Wedding Dress pattern. I’m so proud of all the creative ladies in my Facebook group and I hope they have inspired you to get creative and mix up your patterns with different fabrics and slight modifications.

If you would like to try my Wedding Dress pattern you can find the 18” American Girl size here and the 18 ½” Cabbage Patch size pattern is here.

Happy sewing

One of the best things about sewing doll clothes is that you can make some really cute clothes with a tiny bit of fabric.  The problem arises when we are wanting a long piece to use for a skirt or the skirt of a dress and unfortunately a fat quarter or that perfect piece of fabric you have is just not long enough without joining two pieces together.

The most common thing people do in this situation is to join the fabric in the centre.  The problem is that this means we have a join at the centre front of the dress or skirt and depending on the print on the fabric, it can look quite unsightly.

‘Sew’ how do we avoid this?

Easy!  We simply make two seams instead of one and this way we end up with two side seams. Someone looking from the front, would not know you have joined your fabric.  Let me show you how it’s done.  I’ll be using my Pinafore Dress Skirt pattern.

1. If your skirt pattern piece tells you to place it on the fold, lay it on a single layer of fabric and add ½ ” (12mm) to one end.  This gives you ¼” (6mm) seam allowance for each side seam.  Cut and place to the side.  If you pattern piece is the complete length of your skirt piece, fold it in half and then add your seam allowance as above.

2. Now, fold this pattern piece in half. Double your piece of fabric if it is big enough (or do this step twice), lay the pattern on top and add ¼” (6mm) seam allowance to one end.  This will give you what you need for the side seam.

3. Sew the short pieces to both ends of the longer piece.

4. Ta da! You now have a piece long enough for your skirt without a centre front seam.

Hope you find this tip helpful and you can now use all those cute fat quarters to make some pretty little dresses for your dolls.

Happy sewing

Rosie

Happy sewing

Wow, can you believe that it’s been three months since I did a Share and Tell blog?  There’s just so much going on in my Facebook Sew and Share group  that I sometimes forget that not everyone has Facebook and that I really do need to share your wonderful creations on my blog too.  ‘Sew’ here are some of the wonderful photos that have been sent in over the last couple of months.

The first photo is from Jill, who makes these cute little Yoda Stuffy toys and made his coat using my Witches costume  as the basic pattern and making alterations.  I’m thinking that Yoda looks pretty happy wearing it Jill.  Great job!

‘Hi Rosie – I had another attempt at making a coat for my baby Yoda stuffy. I thought you would be pleased to know that the witches costume formed the basis for a much more successful Yoda coat – Cheers, Jill.’

The next cute little models are Baby Born and the 38cm Miniland dolls who are wearing PJ’s made from my Winter Pyjamas pattern with some slight modifications.

Jemma is the owner of Dingleberry Designs and sells these cute Pyjamas, along with lots of other cute goodies.

How sweet is this little ‘rainbow dress’?  I totally love the idea of blending all the colours of the rainbow together to make this cheerful dress. And oh my gosh, this bride is simply stunning and the lace skirt is gorgeous!

‘I have made quite a few things from your patterns for my Granddaughter’s Our Generation doll and she has loved them.  Her little brother, who has just turned four, wanted a doll too (fear of missing out) so I bought him one for his birthday and he wanted a rainbow dress for his doll. 

I have attached a photo to show the rainbow dress I made from the Summer Dress pattern and the Bride’s dress I made from the Wedding Dress pattern but I couldn’t use the circle skirt as it didn’t work with the lace.  I just gathered the skirt.’

This little cutie looks like a handmade ‘Cabbage Patch type’ doll and Frances has made one of the options from my Drop Waist Dress 5 Ways pattern  for her.

She looks adorable Frances, thanks for sending me the photo.

Susan has done a fantastic job of creating this amazing kimono.

‘This kimono for my 18″ Cabbage Patch doll was made from your Summer Dressing Gown pattern by adding 1.25 – 1.5″ bands to the arm openings and hem of the basic garment, then creating an obi-like wrap-a-round belt.’

Deborah has been enjoying making my Handkerchief Top and Capri Pants patterns and I can see why, they’ve turned out beautifully!

‘Hi Rosie, I’ve made two of your handkerchief top patterns so far and love it!

Thank you for such a great pattern,

Deborah’

I just love receiving emails and photos of your beautiful creations so thank you and please continue to send them in.  Hearing about your sewing journey is often the highlight of my day and I know sharing these stories and photos helps to inspire others which is a wonderful thing in these trying times.

Stay well and safe and until next time, happy sewing

Not to blow my own horn, but I often receive wonderful emails from customers who are either thrilled that they have finally learnt how to sew, excited to have rediscovered their love of sewing through making doll clothes, or just so happy that they don’t have to try and understand complicated instructions and diagrams because they can just follow along with my videos. BUT I’ve never received an email quite like this one……

Yvonne has given me permission to share this inspirational email.  Enjoy!

‘Thank you Rosie for helping me create these outfits for Vacciney…I still have a few more ideas to bring to life!!’

All I can say is WOW! What a wonderful idea Yvonne. You have found a fun way to spend the long period of isolation and brought so much joy to so many.  THANK YOU!

Does turning tiny tubes frustrate you?  Then you’ll love this method.  One of the new ladies in my Facebook Sew and Share group recently purchased my How to Make Doll Clothes Video course and was posting photos of each of her finished bonus patterns.  She was so excited to be sewing and gaining confidence with each outfit but she had to admit she found turning the strap for the Halter Top tricky as she only had a tiny safety pin.  So I suggested she try the following method next time as it’s much easier than turning tubes after stitching the seam.

1. Cut your strap piece. The one I will be demonstrating with is 1 ¼” (3cm) wide and the finished strap will be approx. 3/8” (1cm) wide.

2. Fold and press one long edge in ¼” (6mm).

3. Fold the other long edge in ¼” (6mm).

4. Fold the strap in half length-wise and press.

5. Using a straight stitch sew along the open side of the strap approximately 1/8” (2mm) in from the edge.

6. Finished Strap.

If you give this a try, please let me know how you go and if you found it easier than turning tubes to make straps.

Happy sewing

I just love the creativity of the members of my Facebook Sew and Share group and I really appreciate how willing everyone is to share their ideas.

Monica is a very active member of this group and she posted her version of my 3 Way Shoe Pattern with ‘real’ soles, not fabric soles.  I thought they were so cool I asked Monica if I could share her idea in a blog.

Monica resized these boots to 90% of the original size so that they would fit her doll but regardless of what size you are making them, the steps will be the same.  I haven’t made these myself yet so will use Monica’s photos and directions that she sent me.

So here goes…..

1. Cut out pattern pieces #1, #2 and #4 (if making boot with top trim) and make as per the original instructions until the end of step 7. Monica has used the top part of a sock for the top trim on this pair of boots – another clever idea.

2. Print out the Sole i.e. piece #3 about 10% smaller as you don’t need a seam allowance. Monica has reduced hers to 80% as she is wanting her finished shoe to be 90% of the original size.

3. You can place the doll’s foot on the sole to check for sizing – it should have at least 5mm all the way around the foot.

4. Cut away any excess. Here you can see how much Monica has cut away.

You will also notice that she has marked this sole with an ‘L’ for left. There is no need to distinguish left and right as many soles for doll shoes are made the same shape and designed to fit either foot.

5. Before cutting the sole, it is a good idea to place this pattern piece inside the upper part of the shoe just to check that it is going to fit.

Monica is showing this step using a different shoe as she didn’t take a photo of the original shoe. She is using a paper clip to help hold the sole in place as she checks the fit.

6. To make the inner sole, cut 2 pieces of thick cardboard or cork. If using thin cardboard cut 4 pieces and glue two soles together as you need a stiff sole to prevent them from bending when folding over the fabric.

7. Cut little V’s out of the seam allowance of the upper part of the boot making sure to not cut past ¼” (6mm).  Pinking shears work a treat here and it also stops the fabric from fraying.

8. Place a mark at the centre front and centre back of the sole and centre front and centre back of the upper part of the boot.

9. Place the sole inside the shoe matching the centre front and centre back marks. Fold the seam allowance over the cardboard/cork and glue in place. A hot glue gun is perfect for this as it dries really quickly.  Normal craft glue is not recommended for this as it is difficult to hold all parts of the seam allowance down while it dries.  As Monica told me, ‘that project ended up in the garbage, as there was glue all over and it didn’t want to stay where I wanted it.’

10. To make the outer sole cut two pieces of foam or cork. You can use whatever thickness you prefer, in this example Monica used a thin gym mat that she found at a $2 store. Glue these to the bottom of the boot.

11. If you wish to hide the edges of the glued soles, use a trim and glue around the shoe starting at the centre back or if you have marked and cut the soles with a left and right, start at the inside arch. Monica used the top part of a fringe trim but some other suggestions for the trim are thin strips of foam, flat shoe laces or grosgrain ribbon. The thickness of this trim will depend on how thick the sole is and the look you wish to achieve.

This method should also work just as well if making the shoes and Monica suggests using a fabric that is easy to fold over, otherwise it will be very hard to glue down.

Thanks so much Monica for sharing this awesome idea.

If you give this a try, please send me a photo and let me know how you go.

And if you have an awesome hack that you’ve used on one of my patterns and you would like me to share in a blog, please send me an email with details and photos.

Happy sewing

In my Facebook group we have a monthly Sew-Along where anyone can join in sewing an outfit or two, or three… using my patterns and we choose someone randomly to be our ‘Participation Winner’. This person gets to choose one of my patterns they would like added to their online membership for free. The theme for our January Sew-Along was ‘Alterations’ and WOW have we got some creative sewers in our group! It’s wonderful to see everyone’s confidence grow as they experiment with altering patterns to create amazing new outfits!

The first one I’m going to share was made by Tina and it was during our bushfire crisis here in Australia so she paid homage to our wonderful fire fighters by creating this wonderful outfit.

‘I’ve been sewing wildlife pouches for the past few weeks so have taken a short break to make this. This is inspired by all the firies, Australian and international, that are currently battling our devastating bushfires and the incredible job they are doing. I already had the material, so when this month’s theme was alterations, knew exactly what I was going to do.

I used the dropped waist dress pattern for the top – making the back 1 piece and cutting the front down the middle and adding extra seam allowance. I cut the collar on the fold to make it 1 piece instead of 2. I lengthened the sleeve to make long sleeves (bit too long though). For the pants, I used the overalls pattern, and cut it so it didn’t include the bib part. Hardest thing I found with this was cutting the reflective strips. They’re so thin and slippery, and my hand doesn’t work quite properly yet (surgery a while back). I think I need to get myself a rotary cutter.

At some stage I’ll probably attempt a helmet to go with it, but for now just a strip of material will suffice for the headband. In hindsight, I should have added an extra inch to the length of the jacket. Next time.. The stitching is a little rough, but I’m a little tired. It was a fun thing to do, and my first sew and share after joining in December. I look forward to many more.’

How amazing is this! And thank you for making wildlife pouches for all our injured animals Tina. xxx

The next two are by Debra. Firstly, she cut the bodice of the 50’s Vintage Dress so as to create two curved pieces and this creates a wonderful feature on the bodice. Great job Debra!  Then the second alteration she did was to shorten the Angel pattern and cut across the top off to create a bodice which she did in a contrasting fabric and lined.  Another wonderful idea.

Laurie found a picture and used it as inspiration to create this adorable 1920’s dress.

‘I chose pay homage to 1920 in the first month of 2020. I used the Drop Waist Dress pattern and altered the neck by 1/4″, made the top pieces 2″ longer, and the skirt is 1/2″ longer and only as wide as the top. No gathering! Keeping to the 20’s theme, the dress is made from an old pillow case and it’s long so she can wear it to church all year. Since it’s white (although it looks blue) it is not a dress for school or play. The inspiration drawing is from a Google search.’

I love it Laurie and it’s wonderful to see you altering a pattern to achieve the look you want.

Monica has also been busy and had many entries in the January Sew-Along. The following are a couple of my favourites.

‘Belinda is wearing an evening dress. Used the upper part of the Swim suit (resized to 110%) and changed it into a long dress.  The Summer Dressing Gown shortened to just over the hips and the Pyjama pants, as patterns for a judo outfit.’

I seriously would never have thought to use my Swim Suit as the bodice for a dress, but why not? And the judo outfit is perfect! Love your creativity Monica.

Now, how cute are these little pyjama sets that Helen has created combining two of my patterns! ‎

‘Summer shorty pyjamas…….Summer Dress made to peplum length and Winter Pyjama pants made into shorts. Rotten fish are swimming in all directions….I used new pattern pieces for the bodice of the mermaids and forgot to lower the neckline!’

I love it Helen and don’t worry about the fish, they usually swim in whatever direction they want!

And the last one I just had to include was this reversible Dress by Susan.

‘Fun dress, used a child friendly fabric (Fat Quarter) and added a band of that fabric to the skirt of the Summer Dress pattern. Dress is fully reversible, fun on one side, party dress on the other. Truth, the lace is to cover up poorly placed seams.’

Wonderful idea Susan and shhhhh, if you don’t tell anyone about the seams, they won’t notice!

Hope you found some inspiration in these creations and if you would like to join in with our monthly Sew-Along please come and join my Facebook Group. It’s a wonderfully supportive and fun group and I’m so honoured to be part of it.

Until next time, please stay safe and Happy sewing

Here in Australia and I understand in many parts of the world, many families are home schooling for the very first time and I know a lot of parents are stressing about having to become teachers. I want to help take some of this pressure off and offer my Learn How to Make Doll Clothes Online Video course at half price. That brings it down to just USD$18.50!

My goal is to help these families have some fun and learn a new skill at the same time. Mum, or Dad, if you don’t know how to sew and are worried about not being able to teach your child, don’t stress, my course has lots of information for the beginner sewer and you can both learn together. I explain different types of fabrics, how to use your sewing tools, how to sew basic stitches, sew seams, casings and much more.

The course is separated into 6 modules which have lots of short videos so as to keep your child interested. You can work at your own pace and stop whenever you like, then pick it up again when you’re ready.

Included with my course are 8 doll clothes patterns to get you started (9 if you count the tights pattern that comes with the Pumpkin costume). You can get these patterns in the 18 inch American Girl size or the 18 ½ inch Cabbage Patch size. All these patterns have step-by-step video instructions where I show you how to make the outfit.  We start with the sports shorts which allow you to practice sewing seams and hems and create a casing, then you can move onto sewing and clipping curved seams with the cute little crop top.  The halter top has you practicing making and turning tubes while the sarong is ideal for practicing curved hems.  And that’s only half the bonus patterns.  Remember, you can work at your own pace and make more than one of the same pattern if you wish to practice a technique some more.

Now if you don’t have children to homeschool but would still like to take advantage of this offer, you are most welcome to.

‘Sew’ if you’re ready to get started and have some fun time together with your children, click here to add my How to Make Doll Clothes Online Video course to your shopping cart and use coupon code HOMESCHOOL to save 50%.

Offer expires April 27, 2020.

If you’re still not sure if this is right for you, click here to find out more.

Until next time, please stay safe and Happy sewing