Happy New Year!

Just thought I'd put in one last blog entry before this new year (I've been having computer issues lately, so my posts have been few!). This is a dress I made to give as a Christmas gift this year. It's from a pattern called "Felicity's Pretty Clothes"; it was originally published by Pleasant Company for their 18-inch dolls, but now that it's been discontinued, it's available for free download at American Girl Playthings.



The pattern recommends taffeta, but it also worked for my dull-finish satin.



Instructions are included for making an alternate "stomacher" for the bodice, as well.



I love the pattern's dropped shoulder seams and shaped waist detail:



I even made one in pink!



The dress consists of three pieces (not including the alternate stomacher): dress, overskirt, and stomacher. The underskirt sits at the waist, and the dress fastens at the front where the stomacher piece snaps in place.



It's a neat little pattern, although the sleeve trim, skirt pleats and center back waist line can be somewhat tricky. The ribbon trim that goes around the neckline and down the front is pleated and sewn in place by hand, so it is a bit time consuming. One thing I wanted to mention, though, is that the doll for whom the dress is intended needs to be carefully measured and compared to the pattern's waist circumference. The amount of tummy fluff varies from doll to doll, and these patterns have basically no ease (even a doll needs a little wiggle room!) Overall, I really like this design. Aside from a few notions, I was able to make these dresses almost entirely out of scraps of leftover material.

Christmas Sewing. . .

One of my most recent projects has been to complete four aprons to give as Christmas gifts. Three of them were for children and the fourth was adult sized.









For the first two aprons, I used Simplicity 4286, view E. I sewed them according to the instructions, except that I added interfacing to the lengthwise half of the waistband that is closest to the outside of the garment, rather than using no interfacing at all. For the second pictured apron, I put a bow only on the pocket.





For the third apron, I use view A of Simplicity 4692, making no other changes than using three snaps in place of Velcroπ® for the closure at the back of the neck.





I made the misses' size apron using view B of Simplicity 5961, again, substituting snaps for Velcroπ®, this time on the crossover strap ends, as with the green apron.

All of the patterns were simple, but the last two could possibly be a little frustrating for a beginner because of all the curved edges and corners that must be bound. Yet, on the other hand, they are also great for practice! The key is to pre-shape the binding with steam to fit the curved edges and ease in extra length when binding an inward corner. I've learned that it seems to be best to leave several extra inches worth of binding at the ends when pinning the binding to a very curved pieced, such as the the yoke on the fourth apron, because the binding tends to shrink back while it's being stitched in place.

On another topic, the green knit top that I mentioned a few posts ago is still not finished because I was sidetracked with an unexpected and more urgent project. I had worked on it for several days and it was then that I discovered that my sewing machine must have an incredible hatred for knitted fabrics because the material is permanently stretched out of shape. It just so happens, however, that I started out with twice as much fabric as I needed for one top, so when I have worked up enough courage to try again, I'll cut out another one and give it another go =)