November 30, 2011

Hat and Scarf (18" doll)

A few more things for the 18" doll this Christmas.  Again, from the McCall's 3469 pattern, the hat and scarf combo...


I'm loving all that soft red fluffy fabric.  Shockingly easy to work with!

I do wish the hat was tighter, but I'm not taking out the lining just to tighten the elastic.  Lesson learned for next time -> check that before finishing the hat.  Ah well.


November 27, 2011

Baby Backpack (18" doll)

Baby Doll A has a sweet new ride...

This is one of the Christmas gifts I'm making for Miss A's 18" doll this Christmas.  It's a backpack for my little lady, that also carries her baby doll.  Imagine my delight when I saw that someone on Etsy was selling the pattern for only $6! 


I mean, who wants to figure out the measurements of the backpack, really?  For $6, I figured it was worth it.  Until it DIDN'T WORK.  Man was I peeved.  All I can figure is that I printed the pattern off wrong (not that there were any instructions about that).  But between that and the fact that the bag wasn't lined (and a few other minor problems), I was pretty frustrated.  It would have been easier if I'd have figured it out myself.  To be fair, I contacted the seller and she is refunding my money.  She also said that she's had tons of other people put the pattern together with no difficulty.  I find that a little hard to believe, because really, if an engineer (who sews all the time) can't follow your pattern easily and make it work.....I'm not sure who can.  PLUS, UNLINED?  Really?  On a backpack (with interfacing!) for a kid?  Not happy about it.

Once I realized where the project was headed, I did put in a quick-fix lining myself...


And added a little pocket on the inside.  I intended to add a little handle at the top back of the bag for easy carrying, but I was so irritated by the time I sewed it all together that I completely forgot!

In the end I wish I'd have done it myself.  It would have been easier, and I would have liked the finished result better.  I'll redesign it if I ever make another one from this 'pattern'.

November 22, 2011

Fabric paper dolls

I made up a few sets of these "flats" (aka flat fabric dolls) last holiday season.  Gotta love the Moda Bake Shop for all their fun free patterns!  This is a great way to use up a bunch of scraps.


All the little changes of clothes are just velcro'd on!  Genius?  Definitely!


November 15, 2011

Doll Purse

A few weeks ago JoAnn's had their McCall's patterns on sale for $1.49 each!  I love when they do that....I go through their drawers and pick out as many as they will let me have.  Since I had Miss A with me, I let her choose a pattern for her 18 inch doll.  She chose McCall's 3469.


She really wants to sew.  Unfortunately I find that I lack the necessary patience to help my 4 year old through an entire project.  I do well in 30 minute spurts though.  So here we are, with our version of the purse, fabrics chosen by Little A and the flower made entirely by her....


We were supposed to add a snap - but really, I didn't have a snap, and isn't Velcro a lot easier for little fingers anyhow?  We went the Velcro route.

November 9, 2011

Capes, capes, and more capes

A few more capes for an upcoming birthday! 


The pink sparkley one has a surprise on the other side....

Plus, you know you can always jump better in a cape, right?


November 8, 2011

Over the Top Bag

Last Christmas I started making bags.  I thought I'd share one I made for a young cousin of mine!


The fabrics were a little funky, which I liked.  Hopefully she did too!  It was my first time installing a snap, but turns out they are SIMPLE. 

The pattern is free from allpeoplequilt.com, and is called the Over the Top Bag.  You can find it here.

If you try it, please read the instructions on the pattern pages, which tell you to set the Page Scaling preference to NONE.  I didn't, so I had to fudge some of the bag pieces when putting it together.  Woops.

November 2, 2011

Silhouettes

Want a great idea for Christmas gifts for the grandparents?  Silhouettes


As soon as I saw this idea I knew I had to try it.  Turned out to be easy and quick....and rediculously cute!  Both sets of grandparents ended up with a set last Christmas, and I made an extra set for me.



The one thing I will say is to make sure your Exacto knife is very, very sharp.  Very sharp.