Underwear

The old doll has decent underwear at last.  I had to cut the original pants off her, I don't know how the manufacturer had managed to put them on her, they were so tight.  Now she's got bloomers....

The pattern I used was from the Rosemarie Ionker book 'A Closetful Of Doll Clothes'.  The bloomers fit beautifully.  The ones I'd made for my American Girl don't fit half as nicely.  The difference is that Rosemarie Ionker had made allowance in the pattern for the doll behind.

I didn't bother gathering the legs of the bloomers, I think they look ok as they are, her legs are quite chubby.

Next I made the petticoat....

The only alteration I had to make to the pattern was to add a bit more in the body width (it being a different doll to the one used in the book).  Also I used my sewing machine gathering foot.  I don't think I've ever used it before.  It didn't gather the skirt as full as the pattern called for but I don't mind this as petticoats on dolls can be a bit full in my opinion.

I usually do the gathering either by machine stitching with a long stitch, two rows parallel to each other, then pulling one end of each thread, remembering to tie off the other end so the thread doesn't come through.  Or I hand stitch a running stitch along the fabric and pull up that way.