A Winter Coat

Here's a winter coat I made for Bridgette...

It's made from fleece and faux fur.  I've never sewn fleece before, it is lovely to sew and the automatic buttonhole my sewing machine does even worked properly on it.  The pattern was from an American Girl pattern 'Addy's Pretty Clothes'.  I followed the tutorial on how to sew it together from here .  I love the coats she shows in the tutorials.  Next I want to make boots to go with the coat, the boots in this picture are some from another doll and don't fit properly.



Bamboo Furniture

I haven't finished the papier mache book project yet, just the finishing touches to add to it.  While I think about that I looked in an old Dolls House World magazine, September 2002, and saw a wonderful little scene project that I just had to try immediately!  It has a 'bamboo' cabinet and plant stand with the instructions on how to make them.  Here's my version of the cabinet...

The bottom shelf was a bit fiddly to get in place, it looks a bit out to me but not enough to make much difference.  I won't be painting it as I like it as it is.

 

I'm using my new glue and it is working much better than my usual PVA craft glue, it grabs quicker and maintains a bit of maneuverability before drying.  It is 'api's Crafter's Pick The Ultimate'.  It says it is a water based superglue and it dries clear.



Miniatures For A Change

I'm having a few months making things for miniature scenes.  It's ages since I spent time making doll house stuff and the only way I can get anything done with a craft is to spend a good amount of time on one type of craft.  If I try to do a bit here and a bit there with different crafts I never get anything worthwhile done.

So, first I had to decide what to make.  This papier mache book looked as though it would make a nice little scene container.  After decorating it and making a couple of things to put into it here's where I'm up to so far...

The chair is made from wood and bamboo kebab sticks, the table from wood and card, the shelves from card.  Now I've got to decide what else to make to dress it up.

 

 I was away in Morecambe earlier this week and found a fab toy shop that sells dolls house stuff.  I shouldn't really buy any more miniatures but who can resist treating themselves!

I already had the book I've used as the background, though I haven't made anything from it yet.  It is full a really good 'trash to treasure' ideas.  I bought the two chairs because two of my friends are making the miniature book scene as well.  They've never made miniatures before so as chairs are quite hard to make I thought bought chairs would be helpful to them to get the scene moving faster.  The little Reuter set is a treat my DH bought for me, I love their stuff.  The little bottles I found in a bargain shop called Body Care , they were in nail art packages that cost £1.49 each, if you buy this sort of mini bottle from doll house shops they are something like 50p each and I got ten bottles, so that was a bargain.



Best Friends Club & Design a Friend Dolls

Resistance is futile!!!

When I saw the Design a Friend doll in the Argos catalogue I thought that this would be another nice 18" doll to make clothes for.  I was hoping she would have the shoulder plate but she has a soft body like the AG and Gotz dolls.

She has gorgeous hair, rather a large head and overall is a good doll for the price of £19.99.  Her clothes are well made and would stand up to play well.  The only problem she has is that she doesn't stand well, she has to be propped up.  Also, when I got her her body stuffing was badly placed and I had to get a big needle and adjust it so that it was evenly distributed.

 

Then, on Sunday, I had to visit a local retail park and had a look in B&M, they really do have some bargains.  That is when I saw they had the Best Friends Club dolls at the amazing price of £14.99.  Well, who could resist that!!!

She is very poseable with joints in all the correct places and she stands up on her own very well.  I love her hair-do but the loose hair was very tangled, it will take a bit of sorting out.  Her clothes are very nice and she is wearing earrings.  Her face is lovely and is more in proportion with the rest of her.  She also comes with accessories...

 

I do think that all the dolls I have bought have too much hair, and these two in particular have tons of it...

I always end up putting hair bands on my dolls as I have here with the Design a Friend.

 

The Design a Friend is a pre-teen doll and the Best Friends Club is a teen, I prefer the pre-teen dolls, can't really see the point in dolls which are over shapely.



Shoes

Finished these shoes for Bridgette today...



Marie Gets New Sandals

Marie is a really nice doll for holding things due to the joints in her elbows.  She also has joints in her knees and I see that the latest version of the Kidz n Katz dolls also have wrist and ankle joints.  In this picture Marie is holding the baby rabbit I knitted a while ago from a pattern by this blogger.  The dress Marie is wearing is the one I made recently that Bridgette first wore (they are ok about sharing clothes).  Marie's sandals I made following the videos here though I did have to improvise with different fabric because I haven't yet found the vinyl recommended.  Here's a close up of the sandals...

 

The glue did seep through a bit but I'm quite happy with them.  I think they could have been a slightly shorter for Marie, but they do help her to stand nicely.

Ruffle Outfit

This outfit has a ruffle at the bottom of the skirt and a ruffle down the front of the top.  Lately I've been having a go at using shirring elastic in the shuttle bobbin of my sewing machine.  It worked really well on the sundress I made recently and has also worked fine as a trim on the bottom and front of this little outfit.



Summer Clothes

I made Bridgette a cap to go with one of her dresses and sandals...

I got the instructions for this from a video series.  It was much easier to make than I expected it to be and I'm really pleased with how it turned out.

I also made Bridgette a sundress...

 This was also inspired by the person who made the cap video, she has made some very nice dolls clothes and they are so beautifully finished off, her work is gorgeous. Her dolls have some lovely outfits, shoes included.



Doll Hair

I'm careful with my dolls hair, I don't want it to end up like this...

Sometimes a doll will turn up at my house looking like the above Barbie clone.  I was tempted to just cut off her hair but then I saw this and decided to see what I could come up with for this poor Barbie.

First I undid all the little plaits someone had put in, then brushed it as well as I could.  Next, I soaked her head in a fabric softener and hot water solution.  I took her out of the solution and brushed her hair several times, quite a bit of hair came out but I had nothing to lose.  She ended up looking a bit better...

At least all the matted bits were out and, after combing some conditioner through it, her hair looked shinier.  What a lot of hair she has though.  I tried to give her a more under control hairstyle and this is the best I could manage...

There was just too much hair for the style I wanted to do but at least it looks more under control.  I may resort to cutting it slightly shorter though, the ends are very fuzzy.



Another Little Doll

I was away in Ilfracombe last week and came across a little souvenir doll in a charity shop.  She only cost £1, I could have had her for 50p but I thought £1 was a fair price.  Anyway, she had glued on clothes and hat but I just didn't like the style so, when I got home I removed them and knitted her a dress.  I think it suits her...

Her legs are painted and her shoes are plastic, I was glad she still had her shoes.  She has such an old fashioned look to her.

I also bought a Barbie, she has the articulated knees and elbows.  Also a new little doll from a toy shop and a little rag doll from a gift shop.  I'll show these at a later date.



Knitting And Sewing

Here are some of the clothes I've made for three of my dolls...

Chloe in the dress I made yesterday.

A warm cardigan.

Francine wearing a dress intended for Ginny but was too long.

With cardigan.

Bridgette in a dress with matching sandals.

And finally, a warm cardigan for Bridgette.

Ginny In Lilac

I was surprised to find that the lilac dress I made Red Riding Hood wear also fitted Ginny...

I made her a little jacket to go with it.  Ginny has more clothes than all my other dolls put together!  She is so easy to make for, small enough to make thing quickly but big enough that it's not too fiddly.



Madeline Gets A New Dress

I was supposed to be making a dress for Red Riding Hood but I came across this knitting pattern for a Lati doll.  I just had to knit it even if it didn't fit anyone.  After a couple of rows I thought it might fit Madeline.  So here she is in her new dress...

The only alteration I made was to knit it longer than the pattern called for.  I think it looks just right for Madeline.

Crochet

Firstly, don't you just hate it when things are 'improved'?  Why has Google given us this 'improved' format?  Oh well, I should be grateful that it's free and not complain.

So, here's what I crocheted today...

It's not not quite the right size but I will be making another one in red as Red Riding Hood must only wear red and she isn't happy in lilac.  As I was making this dress I told my DH that if it didn't fit any of my dolls I would just have to buy one to fit - can you imagine the response, he already thinks I have too many!

I'm really in the mood for crochet at the moment.  Have you seen what Beth has been making?  I won't make the dolls but want to make the clothes, they are lovely.



Now Look What Happened!

The three little crochet dolls, who had been living in a drawer, heard what was happening on my ironing board and just had to join in.  They heard that Fern was here to look after the tiny babies and because they are tiny they have decided to leave the drawer.  From now on they will be living with Fern and the babies...



Fern

Fern is here at last, she is going to be looking after all the tiny babies that turn up at my house.  Here she is checking that Baby Bunny and Baby Dolly are ok, she hasn't even settled in yet and she is on duty.  I think she needs a bit of time to herself, I notice she hasn't put any blusher on her cheeks and both her shoe buttons are missing...

Fern is a very strict nanny, you can tell from her face that she doesn't stand any nonsense.  The first thing she said when she saw the two babies is that I must make another crib immediately!



Baby Dolly

Here's the Baby Bunny playing with Marie's Baby Dolly.  I bought this little doll a few months ago, it was only £1, and I've at last made it a little crochet dress...

She needs a new crochet hat to go with her dress and her own crib, it's not fair that baby bunny has to give up hers is it.  I'm still knitting the doll I mentioned recently but had to have a break from it and do a bit of crochet.



Sewing For Summer

Last week we had gorgeous weather.  This week it has been very cold and this morning it has been snowing.  Poor Ginny was looking forward to the nice weather and having her picture taken outside in her new summer clothes.  Well, she has just had to stay indoors for her latest picture...

This is the sarong that I saw here and thought looked really pretty.  I could do with making the next one a bit wider as there is a bit of a gap where it crosses over but it still looks very nice.  It was very very easy to make.

To go with the sarong I made a hair decoration...

For some reason I made it in blue and pink instead of blue and orange to match the sarong.  But this is the sort of thing I tend to do, I forget colours easily.  Never mind, it still looks really pretty.



No Sew Jacket

I like to watch the videos that My Froggy Stuff makes.  She has some really brilliant, easy ideas - here's one of them...

...my interpretation of the felt jacket. 

The doll I made the jacket for is a Wee 3 Friends doll, I was given these dolls by Connie, what a lucky person I am to know her, she is so generous - thanks Connie.

Here's another of the Wee 3 Friends, wearing my first attempt at making clothes for this type of doll...

I made the sleeves a bit too big so I'll be having another go at using tee-shirt fabric.  I need to find some striped stretchy fabric but haven't had any luck so far.  Also this doll's jacket isn't right either but thought I'd show it anyway.

I do find sewing for this type of doll a challenge, they are so slim.  My Barbie has some clothes that I knitted for her but I really want to sew these dolls some nice outfits.  The stretchy tee-shirt fabric is much more suitable for them I think.



A Summer Dress

I'm busy knitting a little doll but also had a summer dress for Ginny partly made.  Today I got on and finished it for her...

I was surprised at how much it suits her, and it was so quick and easy to make.  She needs some matching sandals, I'll be making those later in the week.



Knitted Baby Bunny

I couldn't resist buying this knitting pattern - here's my version of it...

Being a novice knitter I did struggle a bit, not with the pattern but with the amount of time it was taking me.  The little bunny knitted up really quickly but the basket seemed never ending.  So I cheated a bit and crochet the edgings and used a pink crochet blanket that I already had.  More experienced knitters or knitters with more patience than I have would not have this problem. 

I've sent for another pattern from this designer, this time it is for a little doll, the ones called Flora and Fern.  They will be the ones who will look after the baby bunny!!!

Doll Jewellery

Just recently I've been researching easy projects for kids, specifically for nine and ten year old girls - my friend's granddaughters.  The first thing I came up with was a pipe-cleaner dog...

I got the instructions for this dog from here and it worked great for these two girls to make.

 

Luckily, in my stash, I had pipe-cleaners.  I have a lot of things in my stash for 'just in case'.  So, I suddenly got hooked on these pipe-cleaners and wondered what else would be a good project for girls.  From here I got the inspiration to make doll jewellery, another nice easy projects for kids.  Here's Ginny modelling what I've made so far...

A hairband and a necklace.  I used chunky beads because they fit onto the pipe-cleaners easily and are not so fiddly for kids to use.  Here's how the beads fit onto the pipe-cleaners...

I trimmed the whiskery bits off the pipe-cleaner for the necklace and curled the ends so that they hook together at the back of the doll's neck - that's the one on the right of the picture.  For the hairband I just trimmed the middle part where the beads fit, then I made the curled hooks at the ends and attached a pony tail band to hold it together at the back of the doll's head.  I think they worked out nicely - a good project for girls and their dolls.

A Dolls House

I have two 1 inch scale dolls houses.  This dolls house has been waiting for about ten years for me to get on and do something with it....

Do you ever find yourself thinking that you can't get on with something because you feel you 'should' be doing something else?  That's how I feel about dolls house miniatures.  I really want to get on and make things for my houses and come up with some nice room boxes but something has been stopping me.  Well, at 65 it's about time I stopped this silliness and got on with things!!!

The bit I don't like doing is the painting and decorating so you won't see any of that going on.  I do like setting up room scenes and making furniture and stuff.  I also like buying furniture etc!

So, occasionally I will be doing a post on dolls house miniatures - it is doll related after all.



Doll Shoes

I've been having yet another go at trying to make some decent shoes for my Gotz Just Like Me doll.  This doll is about 10.5 inches tall and has really tiny feet that measure about 1.5 inches (40mm).  I can get shoes for my 18 inch tall doll but here in the UK I can't find the tiny shoes.  Here are the efforts I've come up with today...

Looks like there is a bit of tidying up needed on the soles of the sandals.  Anyway, these shoes aren't a bad as some I've made in the past.  After watching a great series of videos I had another go, this time using craft foam for the soles as you can see in the above picture.  It works out much nicer than using fabric covered cardboard, which I just could not get to grips with - glue everywhere, shoes stuck to my fingers, bits coming apart and lots of horrible frayed edges.  The white shoes are made with felt and then have a foam sole glued on.  The sandals I made by folding a strip of fabric, then smearing a layer of glue in between and ironing it so that it stuck flat and gave a bit of extra support to the fabric.  Then just sandwich the strip in between the craft foam soles, very quick and easy.  If you go and watch the recommended video you'll see the fabulous sandals she makes.  She also has videos of how to make lots of other doll things.



A Dress For Bridgette

Here is the first doll I bought, she's a Gotz Precious Day Girl Elisabeth but I renamed her Bridgette...

I bought her because I was making American Girl sized dresses for a friend and I needed a doll to try the dresses on for size.  This doll was a lot less expensive and is the same size.  I made her quite a few clothes to start with then got another couple of dolls and started making clothes for them.  So, poor Bridgette got a bit neglected and I thought it was time to make her something new.  I got the pattern for this dress off the internet but of course I can't find the link now!  I think it is a bit short and would look better with a blouse/tee shirt under it as you can see her cloth body.



Spring Outfit

Today I was surfing the web for no-sew dolls clothes when I came across two wonderful videos, episodes 2512 and 2513, that feature Joan Hinds talking about her '30 Minute Doll Clothes'.  I tried to find the CD/book of the same title but it must not be available here in the UK.  So, I made up my own patterns and used her way of sewing them together. 

Here's Ginny modelling them...

 This is the sundress

Sundress with bolero jacket

I think this is the quickest I've ever completed an outfit.

Blossom Toys Doll

This doll has been hanging around at various family members houses for years.....

It is a Blossom Toys walking doll, about 25 inches tall, from the 1970s or early 80s.  It no longer walks, needs a good wash and brush up and only had shoes on until the other day.  Her hair has been cut at the back, right down to the roots, so I think a headband is needed.  I have made her some underwear, and the skirt, so at least she is now decent.  My next job is to clean her up and finish making her some nice clothes.

Does anyone recognise this doll? 

The Skirt

Because I liked Madeline's little knitted walking suit, I've decided to make one for Chloe...

Here she is modeling the skirt.  She had to wear a summer top so that you could see the waistband.  It fits nicely and is a good length.  Now Chloe is waiting for a top to go with it.  She wants a cable pattern the same as Madeline is wearing.  Also, she wants a beret, but she wants her beret to be knitted.

Here's the pattern I came up with for the skirt...

A Doll’s Walking Outfit 

The Skirt 

4 ply yarn

2 ¾mm and 3mm needles 

The tension on mine worked out at 12 stitches to the inch. 

Measure your doll’s waist and multiply by 12, this gives you the number of stitches to cast on.  My doll has approximately a 5 inch waist so I did the following… 

Cast on 60 stitches 

Row 1-  knit (in back of stitch to give firm edge) 

Row 2 - k1 sl1 

Row 3 – sl1 k1 

Row 4 – k1 sl1 

Row 5 – k2 p2 

These four rows above will give you the waistband that you can run elastic through when you come to make up the skirt. 

Continue in the k2 p2 rib for four rows 

Then on the next row increase one stitch in each knit stripe, eg k1 inc 1 k1 p2 

(The right side will be k3 p2, the wrong side will be p3 k2) Carry on in this rib pattern 

When work measures 1 ½ inches below the waistband change to bigger needles 

Carry on in the rib pattern until your skirt is the correct length for your doll, mine measured 4 ¼ inches. 

Cast off keeping to the rib pattern. 

Insert elastic into the waistband and sew up the back of the skirt.

OR

Sew up the back of the skirt until you reach the area where you increased the stitches.  Then using a crochet hook do single crochet on one side up to the waistband, chain 6 and fasten off at the top of the waistband, this gives you a button hole.  Sew a button to the opposite side on the waistband.

Let me know if you find any mistakes in my pattern

Madeline's Knitted Suit

I have never knitted anything so cute as this little outfit!!!  Madeline is a lovely size to knit things for from the new knitting book I was talking about in my last post.  I also have another book full of patterns for this size of doll (about 7 inches).  The hat is crochet, I had to alter the pattern a bit as it looked too small in the original size and would have just perched on top of her head.



Marie Gets A Doll

This little doll is the perfect size for Marie.  It was priced at £2 from Wilkinson but then there was a 50% discount so it only cost £1 - bargain!  It says on the back 'Simba' so I know it is a French doll though it is made in China (of course).

I'm really busy knitting again.  I got some fab dolls clothes knitting books for Christmas.  I received an Amazon voucher from my DS and DIL and bought several books by this author.  They are perfect for the style of knitted clothes I want my dolls to have.  So far I've knitted a little cable jumper and matching beret for Madeline, just got the skirt to finish then I've show a picture.