A Hat for Bonnie

This beret took a few minutes to make.  I love the Froggy Stuff videos and this hat is perfect for Bonnie to wear with her new coat.  I used a six inch diameter plate but think a slightly bigger size would be better.



Bonnie's New Coat

Bonnie the BFC doll now has a winter coat.  I used the 8519 pattern from here .  It is the jacket pattern and I lengthened it a little bit on the body and left off the back collar and the belt.  The picture makes the coat look a bit big, in real life it looks fine.  I used fleece so that I didn't have to bother with hems, it looks ok with the cut edges.  I made three buttonholes, I dislike doing buttonholes, it is always a bit of a struggle for me to trust my automatic buttonholer and I have to do several practise holes before I have the confidence to go ahead on the garment.  I think she needs a little scarf to wear with this coat.  She does have a pair of boots that she came with, I should have put those on her for the photo.

 

I was looking at this blog http://madeintina.canalblog.com/ and noticed that on some of her work she has left raw edges and her clothes still look gorgeous.  So, if you get irritated (like I do) with trying to get the 'perfect' finish, just go ahead and not worry, enjoy creating, to me that's what it is about.



1950s Dress

I finished the 1950s dress for Bonnie the BFC doll...

It was a bit fiddly to do, it has proper darts just like you'd get in a human pattern and the skirt was a bit awkward as I didn't really have enough fabric so had to make up my own pattern for it.  But altogether I think it looks adorable.  I got the pattern, inspiration and the tutorial from here .  I think this dress suits this doll, I was going to dress her in quite modern style clothes, now I think she is going to look good in the 1950s style.

 

Now what shall I make next, I'll check out websites with 1950s fashions and see what I can come up with.



Underwear for BFC Doll

I got the pattern for these from here 

They are a bit more like shorts than undies but under the right style of skirt they will be ok.  These undies were really quick and easy to make so I will be able to make matching ones for each outfit the BFC doll gets.  Probably they would also fit my other 18 inch dolls.

 

I'm thinking of calling this doll Bonnie, not sure yet though.



Francine's New Clothes

Francine waited patiently for me to get round to making her something for the summer.  She decided that she looks so much like the BFC doll that an outfit similar would suit her best...

 

I also made her a hairband, her hair is very thin on top and a hairband hides it, she was pleased that I thought to do this for her.  Here she is with the BFC doll who still hasn't got a name...

Francine's outfit is made from recycled fabric.  The pants were a pillowslip and the top was the end of a sleeve from one of my pyjama tops that was too small, I only wore it once and nearly cut off the circulation in my arms, a good excuse to use it for doll clothes!



Replying to Comments

Thanks Theanne, Lizzie, Raine and Audra for all your comments, I enjoy them very much and it's nice to know you enjoy my posts.  If I forgot anyone I'm sorry.  I still haven't decided whether to get that doll I mentioned, I keep looking at it then thinking I'm being a bit silly getting another doll.  I will probably give in though - we'll see!

Top and Leggings for Chloe

Here's Chloe again, this time with a summer top and leggings.  The top is made using the same pattern as the sunsuit, I just cut off the pattern to the length that suited her.  The leggings are made from an old vest/undershirt.  The leggings aren't perfect but they look ok on Chloe...

 

I've been very tempted lately to buy another doll.  It is a Paolo Reine doll, it is slightly shorter than Chloe and very similar in body shape.  I know I shouldn't but what can you do when you see a doll that just calls to you?!?!



Sunsuit for Marie

I like this doll, she is very pretty.  She was a bit more expensive than my other dolls and I would rather have the less expensive dolls because of the guilt factor.  Her hinges are a bit weird, they keep springing out of the position I put them in and sometimes her legs go at funny angles.  I forget just now what make she is and I should have said joints not hinges.  Think my brain is malfunctioning today, it is extremely hot and humid outside due to something called the 'Spanish plume', we're getting a plume of heat up from Spain.

Anyway, I made her a sunsuit and she was very pleased with it, she is always the last one to get new clothes...

I've got to stop sewing for a few days because my craft room is a total mess, I can hardly get in there.  Things need putting away properly, not just piled up like I've been doing for ages.  When I think of a project I just have to do it NOW!  A bad habit.



Sunsuit for Chloe

After I made my decision not to worry about being 'perfect' with my sewing, things have gone really well.  Not that anything I made was perfect but you know what I mean, I hope.  Not being perfect to me means not worrying about raw edges on the inside and not worrying about sewing it all on the sewing machine as opposed to a lot of hand sewing.  This decision resulted in me being on a roll with dolls clothes.  I was going to save this post for next week but I thought this sunsuit is just too cute not to show...

 

I used this pattern.  I copied the pattern to my computer desktop then opened Word and inserted it onto the page.  It turned out 75% of the original size and I saw that it would probably fit Chloe, if not it would fit my little Gotz doll.  Anyway, I was very pleased with how it turned out.  The back closure is Velcro again, it could do with a bit of adjustment at the back as this doll is quite slim and her back sort of curves.  But it looks just right at the front.

 

The whole sunsuit is machine sewn and is very quick to make.  I can do a picture tutorial of how I made it if you would like me to.  The next one will be for my little Gotz but it will be exactly the same size as this one.



Summer Top and Pants

The last few days have been very productive.  The three dolls that had been left out for new clothes now all have something summery to wear.  I'm quite pleased with how this one turned out...

 

The top is made out of a child's sock.  It is a bit raw around the cut edges but I'm ok with this, there's only me 'playing' with my dolls.  The pants look just how I wanted them from the front.  The back is rather baggy because this doll has quite wide hips and very narrow waist.  So there is quite a bit of overlap where I've added the Velcro closure.  But, as I say, it's my doll so that's ok.

 

This doll is a Best Friends Club doll.  It was on special offer from one of those bargain shops, wish I'd bought another one now but they are sold out.  I think it was something like £14.99.



Summer Outfit for Design a Friend Doll

This doll hasn't got a name yet.  I bought her last year and have only just got round to making her anything...

 

The top turned into a jacket because I reduced the size of the pattern too much.  She is slimmer than Bridgette and really I wanted the top to look the same a Bridgette's.  Her body is cloth so she does get away with wearing the jacket, it looks like a tee shirt underneath it.

 

Not bad going for me - two outfits in two days!



Summer Outfit for Bridgette

Poor Bridgette was standing in my craft room wearing the winter coat I made for her ages ago.  She has given most of her dresses away because she didn't think they suited her.  So, she needed something cool and summery...

 

This top and skirt only took me a couple of hours to make.  I've decided that instead of worrying about the finish of my doll clothes I will get on and just make them.  Well, it worked with this outfit and it looks fine.  I used Velcro as the closure on both the skirt and top.



Miniature Hallway

A friend gave me a pack of miniatures that included a mirror, two pictures, clock, umbrella, telephone and coat stand.  I had a look through my stash and found a box with a lid that would look right with these items.  This was the result minus the pictures, they wouldn't fit into the container...

 

It still looked a bit bare so I made the two walking sticks and two books.  Now if I could work out how to make a coat that would drape nicely on the coat stand it would complete this scene.  Draping fabric in miniatures is difficult I think.