As I type this first sentence, the ground outside my sewing room window is wet with early morning rain. It smells lovely out there! But this means fall is underway, here in the northern hemisphere, so it might be a good time to do a blog post on cape-making. Specifically, today’s post will show you how I made a welted opening in a cape, so … Continue reading How to Sew a Welted Arm Opening in a Cape
Today’s topic is near and dear to my heart. If you’re a regular follower of my blog, you’ll know that I own quite a collection of old doll clothes sewing patterns. Many of them are featured in my Monday sewing lessons, all of which can be found on this page. Over the years, I’ve gotten better and better at preserving my vintage sewing patterns, and … Continue reading How to Store and Preserve Vintage Sewing Patterns
In addition to the View B dress from McCall’s 2970, my Snapstar doll can also wear a number of outfits I designed to fit the Bratz dolls. So if you came here looking for free doll clothes patterns for your Snapstar dolls, please click here. But today’s blog post is actually about how to expand one doll dress pattern into more than one. Read on … Continue reading How to turn one dress pattern into two dress patterns #MeMadeMonday #SewingTips
Today’s “Do a Pick” game features the following: Best Buy 3343/8620 (the midi skirt with straps) Best Buy 3206 (the long skirt with bonnet) Best Buy 3208 (the business suit) You’ll notice the thumbnail for today’s video and the first bullet above seems to imply that there’s not a hard-and-fast rule about which Best Buy number matches the midi length skirt that has a ruffle … Continue reading Let’s Do a Pick — What will Barbie wear to the farmers’ market? #DoApick #vintageToys
Shirt collars can be especially tricky when you’re making dolls’ clothes. Are there any tips for making a collar lay nicely on a doll’s shirt? Yes, there are, and that’s the topic of today’s blog post. I know I’ve written about this topic before, but it gets brought up pretty regularly. Please forgive me if this is a repeat for you. Before I go on, … Continue reading How to Sew Dolls’ Shirt Collars so They Look Natural #Sewingtips #CreatableWorld
Today’s “Do a Pick” game features the following: Sweater Girl #976 Registered Nurse #991 Open Road #985 What’s the story behind this game? When I was a kid, whenever it was playtime with dolls, we would lay out all our dolls and their clothing items. Then we would “do a pick.” That’s where you take turns picking which doll or dolls you’ll play with and … Continue reading Let’s Do a Pick — Taking Barbie to pick up a new Siamese kitty! #DoApick #vintageToys
As you can see in the image above, the McCall’s 2970 miniature fashion doll wardrobe pattern was designed to fit a number of different six to seven inch fashion dolls. But this pattern came out in the early 1970’s. A lot of dolls have been made since then that may very well fit the clothes in this pattern. Today’s blog post addresses how well the … Continue reading Can Strawberry Shortcake dolls and Lottie dolls fit in McCall’s 2970 sewing patterns? #MeMadeMonday #VintageToys
When people talk about the 1970’s, they usually reference a time when everyone dressed like hippies, went to Woodstock, and lived at ashrams. I was a little girl in the 1970’s, yet I don’t remember any of that hippie-dippie stuff. Not really. I mean, my cousins grew their hair out long and played guitar, but that was about it. What I remember is this: every … Continue reading Little House on the Prairie and Holly Hobbie – are they related? #HistoricalFiction #LittleHouse
Before I write a blog post like this one, I usually go to the internet to see if other people have already written on this topic. I do this to make sure I know my facts, and frankly, it’s a good idea to do a little pre-research on what has already been said so that my content adds to the conversation. It surprised me to … Continue reading Why do so many doll clothes patterns include a cape? Here’s why… #barbiestyle #barbiecollector
The state of Idaho, where I live, is in the northern hemisphere. That means it’s summertime here, so it makes sense to do a blog post on swimsuits! Sorry for the terrible condition of my pattern in today’s blog post. Not only is the envelope in bad physical condition, but when I purchased it, this pattern was also missing quite a few pieces. But it … Continue reading How to make Barbie a swimsuit / bathing suit with McCall’s “Teen Fashion Doll” sewing pattern 3429 #SewingHacks #SummerSewing
Today’s blog post is a collection of lessons I’ve learned while sewing McCall’s 4716 doll clothes patterns. As with other blog posts on my Vintage Pattern page, I’ll be adding to this list of lessons as I create different outfits using this pattern. The one feature of this pattern that surprises people most, is the fact that it fits both little dolls (Sunshine Family 8 and … Continue reading Is there a sewing pattern that fits 8 inch, 9 inch, 10 inch, 11 inch and 12 inch dolls? #DollClothes #SewingHacks
On Friday I received a message from someone who was looking for patterns to fit the little tiny 6 inch Phicen dolls/action figures. McCall’s 2970 is one such pattern. In the image at the top of this post, I’ve included a list of dolls that the pattern envelope suggests. But I also think many dollhouse-sized dolls and possibly even the Phicen 6 inch action figures … Continue reading Is there a good sewing pattern for Miniature dollhouse-sized dolls and six-inch action figures? #MeMadeMonday #ActionFigures
I don’t know about you, but when I come across a doll head without a body, or a doll body without a head, I feel an uncontrollable urge to connect some doll heads to those doll bodies! No doll body should have to go around headless, and no doll head should have to go around bodiless! How do you feel about putting vintage doll heads on … Continue reading Connecting doll heads to doll bodies… Are there rules? #DollCollector #DollCollection
Have you ever wondered why floral and polka dot fabrics are so popular? One of the reasons why people love polka dots and florals is because they’re usually non-directional fabrics. But what does that mean? Well, that’s what I’ll address today, and I’ll let you know how I made alterations to a Marie Osmond doll dress when I didn’t have enough of a directional fabric. … Continue reading What does “directional fabric” mean? #BeginnerSewing #SewingHack
When you own a doll with a big bust or a curvier figure than the average modern day Barbie, it can be challenging to find sewing patterns to fit her. People reach out to me now and then asking for patterns to fit dolls with curvier figures, from a variety of different doll making companies. So today’s blog post will show you an evening gown … Continue reading Are there any sewing patterns that will fit big bust dolls? #MeMadeMonday #CustomDolls
