Addie's Baptism Dress! and Matching AG Doll Dress!

I haven’t fallen of the face of the earth… I came to a halt in blogging, waiting for pics from Addie’s baptism dress.  She got baptized over a year ago… She wanted something with see thru sleeves and a full skirt.  The fabric went on sale and we took her to choose her own fabric.  She chose the see thru and the plain white then started acting like a fool and chose a pretty melon for the sash and none for a peek-a-boo ruffle.  When she got home and realized that she really wanted red sash and a red peek-a-boo ruffle.  Back to the store for the red…  I made up the pattern from different pics, her ideas and different patterns.        

 

She wanted a lace up back, and I have finally gotten how to do them easily.  In the center back, cut a wedge away—wider than where the zipper goes.  Make loops out of satin cording, I ended out putting a loop in every inch.  Then you need a triangle shaped liner that I just sew snaps on the top to hold it in. 

While doing this, I had to make up a collar.  She HATES the collar, but the dress screamed out for one.  The collar gets many compliments.  She doesn’t care.  I also love the sleeves.  She got baptized in Sept and they were just perfect.  All the little girls love the ruffled petticoat.  And it helps the dress have a good twirl. 

 

I had to add this pic—Addie and her cousin, Emmy played a song for her baptism.. Addie wore her mom’s baptism dress, which by the way had see thru fabric. 

Next comes the insanity of the American Girl doll dress!  With the lace up back and collar.  That tiny collar is the most time consuming…  At least the doll seems to like the collar.  The doll has a lace up back, I promise, but I have no pic of it…

 

FYI—the lace up back looks fabulous, but is a real pain to always have to lace up to put the dress on.  Think about if you had to lace up your shoes every time you put them on… something to remember. 

Girls Maxi Dress & American Girl Doll Dress!

 Jocie can sew!! This summer I decided that it is time for the grand girls to really learn to sew.  First they all sewed jammie pants and doll jammie pants.  Using a pattern and marking the notches and all.  The doll pants are harder—the hems and all are smaller.  Then, the 11 year old decided that she wanted sew a maxi dress.  She sketched out what she wanted,   

 

 and we went to buy fabric.  At the third store, we found her fabric.  She wanted fun stripes (Chevron) and a braid for the tie.  She was so funny- I kept telling her to keep her options open, maybe she would change her mind, etc., but she would look at the fabric- “no, my mom would wear that”… “no, that looks like someone else”… Just as she was about to settle on little chevron stripes, she found it.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

We had to half way make up the pattern.  I had an old pattern that went to a size 6 and Jocie is a size 10.  So we fixed up the pattern, and pinned it on, then she cut it out.  She sewed it, serged it and learned to press  it.  She could do the casing because she learned to make one with the jammie pants. 

 

 

 

The doll dress came next, and went together much faster—we didn’t have to think how to make it.  Doll dresses take almost as much time as big clothes, just the seams are shorter. 

 

 

 

Look how cute they turned out!

 

She likes them so well, she wears it daily!

 

 And once again I can't make the pics the size I want, and there is a little phantom one behind one of them!

American Girl Doll Dresses!

Once again I find myself sewing with no pattern.  I cut out the dresses, and decided that the dolls didn’t need pockets, they can’t reach them anyway, but just put the trim on like the girls dresses.  There are ¾ sleeves for the 3 dresses and the short sleeves for the other 2.   

As I finished the dresses, I decided that I needed to try them on a doll.  I received a doll, tried on the dress, and then decided that the dolls needed an exposed zipper, also. 

 When I added them, then the dresses were big on the doll.  So I had to take in the dress.  As I was sewing, I had to wonder, who are these people who sew doll clothes for money?  And why am I sewing 5 of the dresses for free?  And why must I fit them to the doll? But, they turned out really cute.  I now know that it will take at least 2 extra days to do doll dresses for Easter.  And a lot of crazy…