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
Category Archives: Flipping Dolls
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
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I am finally getting around to dressing my doll who lost her head a few months ago. She’s a Simon & Halbig 890, size 3, and she’s 7 inches tall. Her coat dress, inspired by this 1885-1890 child’s coat from The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s website will be made in the periwinkle blue wool gabardine seen above with the doll. It is a very light-weight, fine “designer” wool. Her undies and dress/chemise … Continue reading
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When I sold my last 2 flip dolls, I bought my Ugly New Lamp and had a little money left over. So I bought a new doll, too. She did cost more than the left-over money. But she’s cute. She is a Simon & Halbig 890, size 3 and she stands 7″ tall. I bought her on eBay from a dealer in France that I had dealt with before. As always, the … Continue reading
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I like to purchase dolls that need a makeover, make them over and resell them. A friend called this “flipping” dolls, and the name stuck. I will be listing two flip dolls on ebay today. They were part of my “triple flip”, but I haven’t decided yet whether or not to sell the third doll. She talks to me. So only two of the dolls are for sale now. When … Continue reading
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When decorating hats for dolls, I prefer not to over adorn. I don’t believe my dolls’ hats should weigh them down, but should complement the doll and the costume. No Carmen Miranda conglomerations for me. For the second doll, I reshaped a cheap, craft store straw hat. I used a simple straw hat, but changed its shape. Since these inexpensive craft store hats are sewn together, not glued, they can be … Continue reading
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Two of my flip dolls now have new straw hats. I’ll show you how I “made” one of the hats today and the other one tomorrow. This one gave me a bit of trouble. For the first doll, I used a flat brimmed “boater” style hat. I always buy tiny straw hats when I find them at the craft store. There’s so much I can do to manipulate and adorn them … Continue reading
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I don’t usually title my blog with what many people consider to be a dirty word, but I find my creative process is enhanced by a bit of procrastination. I just realized that I first wrote about my “triple flip” dolls on May 20, 2014, almost 5 months ago. WOW! I really do procrastinate. They all now have underwear, new dresses and wigs, a process that could have taken a … Continue reading
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The triple flip girls didn’t want to be bald, so I made them wigs. The wigs are three different colors and three variations of the same wig-making method. When I make new wigs for old dolls, my goal is to make them from appropriate material in an appropriate color and style. I do not attempt to fool anyone into thinking that the wig is original, that would be cheating. For such … Continue reading
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Dress 3 is done. I’m not sure about the ribbon belt, though. I’ll decide later. In this tutorial, I will show you one way to add a skirt to the basic dress and how to sew lace to lace. To make it, I started with the bodice and finished it like the basic pattern, except for the bottom edge, which I left unfinished. There are several different options to finish … Continue reading
