Cart Before Horse

I already bought my new doll. Now I’m itching to get her into my hands so that I can measure her for her wardrobe. The dolls I’m selling are being offered by: Valerie Fogel’s Beautiful Bebes Attic Finds 425.765.4010 http://[email protected] Several people asked for this info, so please buy my dolls so that I can pay myself back for the new one. I was also asked by a few people … Continue reading

Au Revoir Huret

The last time I wrote a blog, 1 1/2 years ago, I wrote about Changing Direction. Last spring when I considered not renewing my WordPress account, I decided to give it another year before I made that decision. Part of my reasoning was that when I chose to sell some of my dolls, the blog photos and descriptions would be very useful. Now I have decided to sell a few dolls. … Continue reading

Sleeves!

This post is part tutorial and part cautionary tale. I am not a hand-sewing or doll-costuming expert. I merely share with you the hard-won lessons I have learned by making a multitude of mistakes, perhaps helping you to have a smoother sewing journey. There are easy ways to set in sleeves on tiny doll costumes. This is not one of them. Several months ago, I challenged myself to make a … Continue reading

Show and Tell

I live in the Washington, DC area and my doll club meets on the other side of the Potomac River. Last Thursday evening I made a rare journey to my doll club meeting. It only took 1 1/2 hours to get there, during rush hour traffic, around the DC beltway. Coming home, later that evening, took me just under 30 minutes. There have been times I’ve tried to go to a meeting … Continue reading

Retail Therapy – A New Mignonette

I don’t get philosophical about the concept of retail therapy. I just know it works! So, here’s my latest doll fix: Her face is sweet and her blue eyes are captivating. The color on her nose is rubbed off giving her a bit of a pug-nose look. Since I live with the exquisite Lily the pug, I am charmed. I bought her on eBay from a French dealer from whom I have … Continue reading

Neckline Trick and a Thread Loop

I know it’s been a while… I haven’t had a lot of time to do creative stuff lately, and I needed to be quiet for a while. But I did finish my S&H 890’s slip/dress and I have a couple of things to share. First, I promised a trick for finishing the neckline with all it’s tucks. If I turned everything to the inside, it would leave a lot of … Continue reading

Tiny Tuck Tutorial

I’ve talked about tucks. And shown you tucks. So I thought that I should show you how to make them by hand. For the record, pleats are folds that are normally sewn only at the top and/or bottom, and tucks are sewn along the length of the fold.   Inspired by this slip/dress from La Poupee Modele for my S&H 890, I’ll show you how to make released tucks. In … Continue reading

One-Hour Doll Dress

Naked dolls haunt all doll collectors. Every doll should have something to cover their birthday suits, even if it is something simple and quick. This 3 1/4″ (8.5 cm) German all-bisque flapper doll was a gift from a dear friend over a year ago and she was still naked until today. To make a simple dress for her, I chose 1 1/4″ silk ribbon and some tiny antique trim. By using … Continue reading

and then her head fell off…

Yesterday, I decided to clean up my new S&H 890 so that I could pick a color of fabric that would work with her clean face. I cleaned her with Formula 409 and q-tips like I always do. The 409 didn’t help with the dirt ring around her neck from the kid lining, so I decided to trim it instead of replacing it. I needed something sharp and pointy, so … Continue reading