Crafts and Hobbies, Pincushions, Plushies/Stuffed Animals, Selling Your Crafts, Tutorials: Crafts

What should I do with all these lovely handmade Barbie-sized aprons? #DollCrafts #DollClothesPatterns

Here we see a row of hand-made doll-sized pinafore aprons, each with lace trim, and each with a lace pocket. Each has a ribbon at the waist, above the pocket, and they are made from a variety of small-print cotton fabrics. The aprons are splayed out on a wooden table top or other wooden surface, like a deck of cards, so the viewer can see all the colors and patterns of the cotton fabrics with which each pinafore apron was made.
Please visit ChellyWood.com for free printable PDF sewing patterns and tutorial videos for making doll clothes to fit dolls of many shapes and all different sizes.

Back when I purchased the little Dawn-doll-sized Remco I Dream of Jeannie doll, I was at a thrift store and discovered a clear plastic bag filled with somebody’s handmade, Barbie-sized aprons. I bought the whole bag for very little money, but when I brought them home, I didn’t know what I was going to do with them.

And then, as most of you know, I got West Nile virus. Having had a spinal tap, I was confined to an easy-chair, with my spine at a 30 degree angle for more than two weeks.

During that time, I watched a lot of YouTube videos on our television, and I started following Lisa Pay on a YouTube channel called PayItForward.

Click the links I’m providing today, to find her channel. You’ll definitely want to follow her.

Here we see three images. Left to right, the first is a felt pincushion shaped like an hourglass figure mannequin, made of mint green felt, with a bead for the knob on top. The mannequin's felt body goes all the way to the wooden surface it rests on, and the whole of the mannequin is made of felt. No part of it is wooden. The center image shows this same mannequin with digitally-created beads poking into it. The third image shows the mannequin, which is again made of mint felt, with a mint-and-cream, lace-trimmed pinafore apron over the top. A cream-colored cotton pinstriped (beige stripes) oversized pocket is at the front of the pinafore apron, with a turquoise blue-green ribbon wrapping around the waist of the mannequin, to tie in the back.
Please visit ChellyWood.com for free printable PDF sewing patterns and tutorial videos for making doll clothes to fit dolls of many shapes and all different sizes.

She has a YouTube video and free pattern for this adorable little Mannequin Pin Cushion, which I made while I was in recovery from West Nile.

Her pincushion pattern comes with a cute little apron that can be used to hold safety pins and seam rippers and such. But Lisa Pay’s apron is not the same apron pattern you see in the image above and below.

This is a close-up image of a Barbie-doll-sized green felt mannequin pincushion or pin cushion, which has a mint green pinafore apron on top of it. The mannequin's little green bead sticks out above the neck of the mannequin, which rises above the mint green apron's lace-trimmed neckline. The apron is tied in the back of the mannequin with a turquoise blue 1/8 inch ribbon that has been sewn to the front of the apron with tiny white or mint green stitches. the whole pinafore apron is trimmed in off-white or cream colored lace. There's a large cream colored pocket at the front of the mannequin pin cushion's pinafore apron, and this pocket is made of cream colored cotton fabric with vertical beige colored pin stripes. the pocket is open at the top and could easily hold items for sewing, like a seam ripper, a needle threader, buttons, etc...
Please visit ChellyWood.com for free printable PDF sewing patterns and tutorial videos for making doll clothes to fit dolls of many shapes and all different sizes.

I also discovered that the finished mannequin pin cushion designed by Lisa Pay is very close to a fashion-doll size (when printed on American printer paper), and as such, it looks great in these little aprons that I found at a thrift store.

So I’ve been thinking about making a dozen pin cushions and placing the little lunch-lady-style aprons on my mannequin pin cushions. And perhaps I can sell these in my Etsy store to help raise money to cover the costs for running this website.

But whoever made the aprons was probably more of a crafter than a sewist because I discovered that the ribbons had not been sewn to the aprons but just glued on. In fact this little bow came off of one of the aprons while it sat in a projects-on-the-backburner box:

Here we see a woman's hand poised above a mint-green Barbie-sized pinafore apron. In the woman's hand is a tiny turquoise blue ribbon, tied in a bow. It's clear this bow had once been a part of this apron because it's made with exactly the same turquoise blue ribbon that we see has been carefully stitched to the waist of the pinafore. The little pocket that's sewn to the front of the mint green cotton pinafore is made of cream-colored cotton with a beige pinstripe running vertically. This color matches the lace trim all around the edges of the mint green cotton pinafore apron.
Please visit ChellyWood.com for free printable PDF sewing patterns and tutorial videos for making doll clothes to fit dolls of many shapes and all different sizes.

The thrift store aprons’ little lace “pockets” were glued on too, which is okay in terms of appearance, but it’s not nearly as useful as the pockets on the aprons that Lisa Pay’s mannequin pincushions wear.

The ribbons that tie the aprons around the waist were only glued onto my thrift store aprons as well, and as you can see in the image below, the glue that was used was not particularly strong because the ribbons are starting to come off.

There are three close-up images of a blue cotton pinafore apron with tiny white flowers printed on the fabric of the apron. In the first image, on the left, we see that the apron has a lace pocket--or at least it looks like a pocket, and a white ribbon around the waist of the blue pinafore apron. In the second image, in the middle, we see a woman's fingers lifting up the lace "pocket" so we can see that the swatch of lace has not been hemmed, nor has it been sewn on three sides like a true pocket. Rather, it gives the impression of a pocket without allowing entry from the top, which is where the so-called "pocket" is sewn to the cotton fabric. The third and final image of the same blue pinafore apron shows an arrow pointing at the ribbon that seems to be sewn to the waist of the pinafore apron; it has not, in fact, been sewn to the pinafore apron, but as the ribbon is partly lifting away from the blue cotton, we can see more clearly in this third image that the ribbon has only been glued to the apron, and on the right side of the apron, the glue is disintegrating, leaving the ribbon to peel back away from the blue cotton fabric.
Please visit ChellyWood.com for free printable PDF sewing patterns and tutorial videos for making doll clothes to fit dolls of many shapes and all different sizes.

So I’ve done a few alterations to the original thrift store apron designs, sewing the ribbons directly on the aprons and adding a much larger, more functional pocket, as you can see here:

On a wooden surface, someone has laid a little doll-sized pinafore apron with rounded edges at the bottom, lace trim all around it, and having a front and back that match in shape. The apron has a tiny pink ribbon tied to the lace around the neckline. Someone has hand stitched the little pink ribbon at the waist onto the yellow fabric of the apron. There's a woman's hand demonstrating that the pocket at the front of the apron is open, so anyone can put items into the pocket (her index finger is partly inserted into the pocket). In this photo, you can sort of see the back side of the pinafore, are the front and back sections of the apron are slightly ajar, exposing the back of the pinafore.
Please visit ChellyWood.com for free printable PDF sewing patterns and tutorial videos for making doll clothes to fit dolls of many shapes and all different sizes.

What do you think my felt pincushions would be worth, with the little apron added to them, if I sold them on Etsy? What would YOU be willing to pay for one?

As many of you know, I’m a school librarian, so I have a couple of months off in the summer. This might be a good opportunity for me to sew some things I can later sell, and Lisa Pay’s adorable mannequin pin cushions — together with my altered versions of these little handmade fashion-doll-sized aprons — might be a good choice for a fund-raiser.

Or, I could just make the alterations to the aprons themselves and sell them as Barbie aprons. I mean, just look how cute my Barbie looks in this apron!

Here we see an image of Mattel's tall Teresa Barbie modeling a handmade blue satin shirt, handmade white jeans, and a handmade yellow apron with a large pink pocket in front. She stands in a room with a purple wall and a wooden floor. The Tall Barbie also wears white plastic flats.
Please visit ChellyWood.com for free printable PDF sewing patterns and tutorial videos for making doll clothes to fit dolls of many shapes and all different sizes.

I’m excited to have found these little aprons, but I’m still in limbo about what to do with them. Should I make them into mannequin-pin-cushions-with-aprons to sell? Or should I simply sell them as doll aprons?

And again, if I sell them as just doll aprons, what would they be worth? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments. I appreciate your help!

In this close-up photo of a Tall Barbie (Teresa) wearing a handmade apron over her blue satin shirt and white denim pants, we can see more details about this apron. It's a pinafore apron made of yellow fabric printed with a pink crisscross motif. The area around the edges of the pinafore, including the neckline, is trimmed in off-white lace. There's a giant pocket at the front of the apron, and this pocket is made of pink cotton with tiny white polka dots. The lace at the collar has a pink ribbon, tied in a bow, at the front and center. There's a matching pink ribbon that runs around the front of the waist, just above the pocket, and ties in the back.
Please visit ChellyWood.com for free printable PDF sewing patterns and tutorial videos for making doll clothes to fit dolls of many shapes and all different sizes.

Now, I’m going to plug my doll clothes pattern alteration class and my “Design Your Own Doll Pants” course, just in case some of you haven’t heard about these classes yet!

Ahem… (Chelly clears her throat.)

My “How to Alter Doll Clothes Patterns” course on the Creative Spark online learning platform will teach you how to alter a doll’s pants, skirts, dresses, and shirts too. If you haven’t looked into it yet, you can click here to learn more.

In this image, we see a woman's hands making an alteration to a pants pattern for a little 8 inch plush doll with jointed arms and legs. She works on a cutting mat with a pen, a pencil, a ruler, and two different paper patterns; one for pants and the other is a shorts pattern. The words say, "how to alter doll clothes patterns" and the URL for the class is also offered as follows: https://creativespark.ctpub.com/courses/alter-doll-clothes
Please visit ChellyWood.com for free printable PDF sewing patterns and tutorial videos for making doll clothes to fit dolls of many shapes and all different sizes.

I also have a new course on the Creative Spark Online Learning platform which teaches you how to design your own doll pants patterns from scratch, including leggings, overalls, and fly-front jeans. Click here to check out that new course, which is only $19.99!

The image shows an 18 inch doll next to an 8 inch doll, to demonstrate that Chelly's "How to Design Doll Pants Patterns" course is for dolls of any shape or size. In one photo, both dolls wear a tee shirt with leggings. In the other image, both dolls wear a T-shirt under a pair of green polka dot overalls (green with tiny white polka dots). The text says, "How to Design Your Own Doll Pants Course Only nineteen dollars and ninety-nine cents! There are two bonuses mentioned on the advertisement as well: Chelly's re-sizing formula and a complementary pattern for 18 inch doll overalls.
Please visit ChellyWood.com for free printable PDF sewing patterns and tutorial videos for making doll clothes to fit dolls of many shapes and all different sizes.

For any class on Creative Spark, you don’t have to follow a schedule. Just sign up when you’re ready.

It’s a one-time fee for the course, and there’s no specific time limit to finish your course. You can just take your time and learn at the pace that suits you. So go check out my paid courses on Creative Spark, using this link.

To read more about my free sewing patterns and tutorials, please visit the “Helpful Tips” page.

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7 thoughts on “What should I do with all these lovely handmade Barbie-sized aprons? #DollCrafts #DollClothesPatterns”

  1. There was a time when putting aprons on dish detergent bottles was a craft thing. I wonder based on your mannequin shape and the old style detergent bottles that looked like they had shoulders if you have purchased dish bottle aprons

    Reply

    1. I also remember when the “dish detergent bottles craft” was popular! Yes, actually when I first bought them, I had considered that the original crafter may have been making the aprons for dish detergent bottles.

      I’m glad you mentioned it here because that thought had also crossed my mind!

      Reply

  2. I love Lisa Pay. The pincushion idea is cool and all…but Barbies need aprons! Upgrade the aprons, sew the bows on, and sell the nicely refurbished aprons. Just my opinion…..but Barbie needs an apron!

    Reply

    1. I might do 50/50 — half pincushions and half “just an apron” for Barbie-sized dolls. They really are quite pretty, both on Lisa Pay’s lovely mannequin pincushion and on the dolls!

      Reply

  3. Yes, I like the Barbie apron idea as well and also an idea is to use then as tooth fairy holders with the little pocket. I do not know if tooth fairy’s are still around as they were in my kiddos days. Keep up the healing and lovely webs.

    Reply

    1. I love that idea, Dodi! Once I get my store up and running, I’m going to add that suggestion to the item description. It’s brilliant!

      And on another note, Dodi, I’d like to get together with you this summer to offer up a business proposal. I’ve gotten a new phone, though, and your number is no longer in my contact list! Can you give me a call? Or just text me.

      Reply

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