The Sewing Place

More fun with 18" doll's clothes

Marniesews

More fun with 18" doll's clothes
« on: June 02, 2021, 15:11:19 PM »
I've a mountain of patterns amassed somehow (she said disingenuously) so I need to get on.

To celebrate the better bank holiday weather, we've branched out to swimwear. It's the free Liberty Jane pattern downloaded from Pixie Faire. Designed for American Girl dolls it's not a bad fit for my Our Generation doll. There's a tiny fold just above the back leg binding but I'm in two minds whether it's worth reducing the length a smidge. I suspect not, it'll likely only create another further up the body. The large plastic rings where the legs go into the body create a hurdle for the lycra to stretch over one way or another.


The original pattern uses 7/8" fold-over elastic for all the binding – I've never used it but I've heard enough things in dance wear circles to put me off buying it (some can be a bit rough or stiff, does sew particularly nicely etc) and my stingy ways reinforce that saying, "why bother when you've lots of lycra to snip off binding strips?" That's a really good argument if I forget about the extra fiddle of sewing it so I went with it - 1" lengthwise strip with a bit more limited stretch to hold it in place better.

« Last Edit: June 02, 2021, 16:12:58 PM by Marniesews »
Hopefully back more regularly! Ballroom sewing may be permanently paused but bag making is the current focus.

Ann

Re: More fun with 18" doll's clothes
« Reply #1 on: June 02, 2021, 16:11:18 PM »
@Marniesews, you did a great job on the swimsuit. Some of those wrinkles you see are caused by the legs and how they join the body. Can't wait to see what you will be making in the summer clothes department.
Stash Busting 2023
Goal: 50 metres

toileandtrouble

Re: More fun with 18" doll's clothes
« Reply #2 on: June 02, 2021, 18:34:32 PM »
@Marniesews  You have inspired me.  I have a piece of swimsuit fabric that came with a bundle of jerseys, definitely not colours I would wear but April won't mind.  I've downloaded that swimsuit pattern. I hope I can make as neat a job of the binding as you did. It's a largish piece of fabric if I mess up!
Yarn down:  1000g
Fabric down:  29m

Marniesews

Re: More fun with 18" doll's clothes
« Reply #3 on: June 04, 2021, 00:15:35 AM »
@toileandtrouble  I'm pleased you're going to give it a try too. If you go for fold-over elastic it's straight forward but if you like the lycra binding it's not as tricky as you might fear.

A 1" strip is good and wide for binding around a 1/4" seam allowance with a nice bit to trim close to the stitching afterwards. It's a double fold at the front but just sewn flat at the back for less bulk and fiddle factor. The top edges are easy because both ends are open and I stitched it all in the ditch from the front to catch the back of the binding. Only the sides with straps are more a tiny bit more fiddly.


You can't judge strap length from the fold-over elastic measurement quoted in the pattern so once I'd bound the front and back pieces I actually pinned the swimsuit onto the doll (pain-free under hypnosis naturally) to estimate the length for the straps so I could just add that to the length of the suit underarm sections. I think reduced it to 85% of the full measurement so it would keep it from stretching out too much with all the taking off and on.


The straps were very co-operative wanting to follow the same folds as the binding. My curved nail scissors worked really well in trimming the excess close to the stitching.



There was a bit of gap at the back of the strap transition but I did pop a few handstitches there afterwards.
Hopefully back more regularly! Ballroom sewing may be permanently paused but bag making is the current focus.

toileandtrouble

Re: More fun with 18" doll's clothes
« Reply #4 on: June 04, 2021, 05:19:35 AM »
Thanks for the tips  @Marniesews.  I was wondering how best to do it.  I am not used to hand sewing any more - the seven sets of press studs and buttons made my fingers really sore. Got to toughen up!  Doll sewing is a bit of light relief, isn't it?
Yarn down:  1000g
Fabric down:  29m

Marniesews

Re: More fun with 18" doll's clothes
« Reply #5 on: July 05, 2021, 21:49:46 PM »
Lots of fun and celebrations this last week with the Tour de France so, having done a swimsuit and leotard, I decided it had to be a cycling set next. It took a few alterations to get the T-shirt and leggings down to my slightly slimmer girl and then a bit more for a racing fit. So nice to be sewing with lycra again.

Too busy watching Mark Cavendish get his 31st TdF stage win to pose! More than any other sprinter in its history.
She's clearly a fan.



Then two days later he only goes and does it again for his 32nd... :faints:



« Last Edit: July 06, 2021, 00:07:11 AM by Marniesews »
Hopefully back more regularly! Ballroom sewing may be permanently paused but bag making is the current focus.

Ann

Re: More fun with 18" doll's clothes
« Reply #6 on: July 06, 2021, 10:31:00 AM »
@Marniesews, fabulous cycling set. The fit is perfect and I really like the color combination.
Stash Busting 2023
Goal: 50 metres

sewminds

Re: More fun with 18" doll's clothes
« Reply #7 on: July 26, 2021, 01:04:20 AM »
Very flash cycling set!  :thumbsup:
Sew it needs juice!