Doll Dressmaking Series: Snaps and Velcro

I have heard from lots of you about your adventures in doll dressmaking. I am so amazed at the dresses people have made, thank you for sharing.

One question I am frequently asked is what type of fastening do I recommend for the backs of the dresses. My answer is multi-faceted. Both closures have pros and cons.

For Regular Phoebe and ExtraSmall Phoebe I use snaps. I love the aesthetics of snaps, but also velcro will grab and damage yarn and Phoebe has yarn hair. 

For My First Phoebe, which is a linen doll, with linen hair, I use velcro. Velcro won't damage linen hair and it is easier for little hands to manipulate. I also don't like to use little things like buttons or snaps on a doll designed for a toddler.

Snaps take more time to sew on. Here's how I do it. 

The snap has two parts, so first make sure the smaller side, the male side has the prong facing up. It usually is the top of the snap. The other side, which is larger, is the female side and has the hole facing up. The smaller prong should always be the exposed side and so should the larger hole. This way they can snap together. If you have it the other way around, they won't snap.

I use perle cotton thread size 8 to sew my snaps on. I find that it is neater, stronger and looks a bit prettier. It might be easier too. Tie a knot and do not double the thread.

I then do two or three loops through each of the four holes of the snap. Knot your thread on the last loop.

At first snaps take patience, but after you've done a few they should take a lot less time.

Velcro does not take patience. It is quick. I usually cut strips of velcro in half, so that the velcro strips are only 1/2 inch wide. Velcro has a lot of stick so you do not necessarily need wide swaths of velcro.

Velcro is best if you sew it on by making a rectangle, sewing around all four of the edges of velcro. This gives a sturdy attachment that can withstand lots of pulling.

A number of people have asked how do you handle velcro or snaps on the reversible dress. Just attach as you normally would and flip the dress inside out. You'll see your snaps and velcro still work even when it is flipped.

Hope this has helped!

Sarah and Phoebe

Above is a gang of Phoebe and Ging dolls taking the train into Boston with my husband. They were on their way to the Shriners (Burns) Hospital for Children. Shriners is the world’s preeminent hospitals in the treatment of children with severe burn injuries.

The dolls went to Shriners about three weeks ago. Since then the dolls have met some amazing children. One of them is Sarah.

Here is Phoebe with Sarah Bosch. The Bosch family adopted Sarah knowing that she would need extensive treatment for her burns when she arrived in the United States. They started the process of piecing together Sarah's medical plan soon after their referral and before traveling to China to bring her home. Their research led them to The Shriners Hospital for Children at Mass General.  

Sarah and Phoebe

Sarah flying with her Dad

Since arriving in the United States, Sarah has had several lengthy visits to the Boston Shriners Hospital (her family is from Washington DC) and has endured multiple surgeries and complex recoveries. But Sarah is doing well. She has an amazing family, medical care and an amazing attitude as you can see from her photos.

Phoebe feels very privileged to have found Sarah and is hoping they will both soon be home. You can read more about Sarah's journey here.

You can follow Sarah's journey on FB here.

Looks like Phoebe has good medical care too!

A lot can happen in a month

January is drawing to a close and after a rough few months and a lot of changes in my life, I am finally ready to reemerge. Although I have been busy with my Mom, an adult disabled brother, and my youngest who just went off to a high school for the arts, I also have been spending a lot of time working and thinking about my business. 

A lot of good happened this January. A range of dolls donated, new visions for my business (when my shop reopens you will see) and two visitors to my studio.

A few weeks ago, two ExtraSmall Phoebe owners came to spend the afternoon in my studio. You may remember Maggie, the talented young seamstress who stitched up dozens of gorgeous dresses for the dolls I donate? Well, Maggie and her friend Elena who's ExtraSmall Phoebe has her own IG account came to visit.

First I put them to work. They helped prepare and organize the dolls, wardrobe carry bags and dolls that were to be donated to The Shriners Hospital for Children—a hospital that treats children who are burn victims. Each girl doll had several of the gorgeous dresses and a sweater made by Maggie. All of the dolls (boys and girls) had a little hospital gown too. You can see the boy in front is wearing his.

Prepping doll donations

Next before the sun set, I showed them a few of my favorite photography tips. Their ExtraSmalls (Madeline and Scout) posed for a photo together. After this photo, Scout got a quick hair touch up. Incidentally Scout was the first ExtraSmall, so she's a bit historic.

Matching dresses by Maggie

Next Maggie learned a few new sewing tricks: sewing jersey and snaps, while Elena looked through my craft books (Elena is more of a crafter than a sewist)

Maggie and my 28 year old Bernina getting acquainted.

In the end, we had a day of sewing and creating (and cupcakes, it was Maggie's birthday) and hopefully the first of a few of these visits. These girls were just a joy. A big thank you to Maggie and Elena and to their Mom's who traveled here to bring them!

Photographs courtesy of my daughter Annabelle (who is pretty much their age) but rather photograph than sew. And the white doll hanger in the top photo was made by Elena on her 3-D printer.

Maggie's Doll Clothes Sewing Tips

At age 16 Maggie Hamel's sewing is impeccable. I asked her for a few tips to help others sew doll clothes. Here they are:

When you are just starting out sewing doll clothes, I would start with a project such as an elastic waist skirt or a drawstring dress. These projects use only straight seams, so you can avoid sewing tiny curves. Additionally, the proportions and measurements of the doll are less crucial in achieving a nice fit. 

After a few simply projects, I think it is a good idea to go through Lisa's Doll Dressmaking Series, starting at the beginning. The tutorials are fantastic, and guide you from simple to more complex dresses. Once you get the hang of the basic reversible sundress, you can add a collar and sleeves, or try a bodice and skirt dress.

When first starting out, I would sew for a doll that isn’t too small, such as regular sized Phoebe or an 18-inch doll. It is fun to sew for a small doll, like ExtraSmall Phoebe, but it can be tricky to maneuver around tiny curves. 

There are also a few tools that making sewing doll clothes much easier;

• Using pinking shears to clip the seam allowances around curves help a bodice lay flat when it is turned right side out, and they are much faster than clipping individual “v”s with scissors.
• A not-too-sharp knitting needle is helpful for poking out the corners of bodices.
• I also use my iron all the time when sewing doll clothes; take time to press seam allowances open and iron hems for a crisp-looking dress. 

The Most Amazing Package...Ever!

A few weeks ago, I came home to the most amazing package. The package was from my youngest recipient of the Purl Soho packages to sew clothes for dolls I will give to children in need. 

The package was from Maggie Hamel, a sixteen year old whose talent, creativity and generosity far exceed her young age. Just the packaging alone was incredible. Lots of beautifully wrapped bundles with ribbon and a handmade card, thanking me. In each bundle was a crisp gorgeous pile of dresses. Each dress was impeccably sewn with the most gorgeous of fabrics. And... the most precious little crocheted sweaters with darling buttons.  My assistant and I marveled at each dress..the trims, the perfectness, the thoughtfulness. It was amazing.

Thank you Maggie Hamel! You are incredible.

I am sending a batch of my linen My First Phoebe dolls (example below) to children at Shriners Burn Hospital at Mass General and each of the dolls will have such beautiful Maggie clothes. Below is an interview with Maggie. And tomorrow I will post doll clothes sewing tips from Maggie.

Who taught you to sew?  Who taught you to crochet?

Nobody else in my family sews or crafts, so I taught myself how to sew and crochet. I have always loved sewing; I started hand sewing when I was seven, and made little felt stuffed animals stuffed with tissues and clothes for my dolls. I was thrilled to get a sewing machine when I was nine, and started using patterns to sew doll clothes, stuffed animals, and Halloween costumes. I have learned many techniques from tutorials on the sewing blogs I follow. I gained quite bit of confidence sewing the doll dresses, and have started trying to sew a few clothes for myself. 

I learned to crochet from Youtube one summer when I decided that I wanted to make a crocheted doll blanket for my friend. I loved making the blanket, and used Youtube to continue to learn more stitches. I love to crochet, and have made blankets, scarves, bags, ornaments, and doll clothes. 

Where did you find those amazing fabrics?

I found many of the fabrics at a lovely fabric store, the Button Box, just as it was going out of business. It was sad to see the shop go - the only other fabric store very close to me is Joann Fabrics (where some of the fabrics I that already had and used are from). The kind saleswomen at the store also gave me most of the tiny buttons that I used on the dresses! 

I always love finding new fabric stores. I went to Gather Here in Cambridge for the first time a few weeks ago and was amazed to see fabrics from all my favorite designers and that all of the people whose blogs I follow use! I even spotted some fabric that I have seen Phoebes wearing. 

I also loved using the gorgeous fabrics from Purl Soho. I still have a few bits of fabric left that I’ll try to use creatively in future dresses!

Talk a bit about the process of making the dresses.

I came across Phoebe and Egg about a year ago when I was looking for patterns for sewing doll clothes, and used many of the Doll Dressmaking tutorials to make outfits for my own dolls. I fell in love with your blog and dolls, and was amazed when I read that you give a hand-sewn doll to a child in foster care for every doll you sell. I immediately wanted to help make dresses for those dolls, and was so excited when I got the opportunity to do so. 

I knew that I wanted to make enough clothes so that each doll could have a complete wardrobe with different styles of dresses. I spent the entire summer and fall making doll clothes, and had such a fun time designing and sewing them. 

Did you design the little sweater pattern (I am completely smitten with it)?

I didn’t design it, but the tutorial that I used is by Bob Wilson 123 on Youtube. The pattern is designed for babies and children, but I used the preemie size with light weight yarn and a four mm hook, and eliminated many rows in the yoke and body of the sweater. I hope that it fits the dolls! 

Another Way to Sew for Good

As many of you know, for every Phoebe doll, I also donate a handmade doll to a child in need. Many dolls have gone to children in Foster care and children in Family Promise.

Next week, I will be sending dolls to a softie drive organized by Spoonflower, called Softies for Mirabel. "Softies for Mirabel’ is an annual handmade toy drive for the Mirabel children. Every year the toy drive is open to all crafty participants who wish to knit, crochet or sew a Softie or two. Participants are encouraged to be as creative as they like as each Softie will be matched to the age, likes and needs of a Mirabel child"

Mirabel is an Australian organization that provides support for children of addicts. However, you don't need to send your softies and dolls to Austrailia, Spoonflower will do that, you just need to send the to Spoonflower:

Durham, North Carolina Office
Spoonflower, Inc.
Attn : Softies for Mirabel
2810 Meridian Parkway, Suite 132
Durham, NC 27713, USA

Spoonflower not only creates custom printed fabrics, but you can buy fabrics designed by all sorts of artists, including many pre-printed dolls and softies. The dolls I am sending are from a fabric designed by Stacy Iest Hsu. One yard of fabric will get you four dolls. The pre-printed dolls are a nice way to start a child sewing (and giving) too.

Spoonflower is accepting donations until January 20, 2017.

Doll Dressmaking Series: Sewing for Smaller Dolls

Sewing for small dolls is a bit more difficult than sewing for regular sized dolls. 

What is considered a small doll? Height is not the primary consideration.  Leg and head height can make the size of a doll deceiving. Your doll's width (waist, chest, neck and hips) is the determining factor. Thinner dolls and dolls with smaller torsos can be small even if they have long limbs or large heads. 

ExtraSmall Phoebe is small. Wellie Wishers by American Girl are small. Blythe is very small.

Sewing doll clothes for smaller dolls uses many of the same techniques as sewing for larger dolls. But you also need to know a few extra tricks. It's harder to get fussy. It's harder to pin things since pins are made for a human scale, I use wonder clips, often just one. Small quilters pins are good too.

In this tutorial, for a basic Wellie Wisher dress I cover a few of those tricks. The Wellie Wishers Dressmaking Pattern set is now available in my shop.

Well Wishers patterns are available in my shop.

Cut out dress pieces including lining, basic sleeve and Peter Pan collar.

1. Clip two identical pieces of Peter Pan collar together.
2. Sew Peter Pan collar pieces together. Seams are just slightly under 1/4 inch. Do not sew top closed, because you will be turning this inside out.
3. Turn Collar inside out, I use a point turner to push the curves smooth.
4. Press.

View fullsize

Sew shoulder seams for the dress. Do the same for the lining. Press

Shoulder seams.

Next sew the collar to the dress.

1. Because the collar is one piece, you will not need to fuss with the placement and pinning of two little pieces. I use one wonder clip to center the collar on the dress. match center to center.
2. Carefully stitch, making sure your needle is going through all four layers, two layers of collar and two layers of dress.
3. Sew over the space in the middle.
4. Continue until the other edge of the collar.

Next sew the lining to the dress.

1. Place right sides together.
2. Clip together up the center back edges and around neckline.
3. Sew up center backs, around neck edge, making sure to sew below the line of stitches for tacking the collar in place, and then sew down the center back on the pther side.
4. Carefully clip away excess fabric along the neck line, where there are 4 layers and this can create bulk.

Pin dress fabric and lining fabric together along the armhole edges and sew together. This will keep the fabrics together when you attach the sleeve.

Hem the bottoms of each sleeve.

Hem sleeves

Puff sleeve which require gathering and elastic are harder at this scale, so I recommend starting with a basic set in sleeve. 

1. clip sleeve into armhole space.
2. Sew, taking clips out as you go.
3. I take a tuck at the top of the sleeve. Helps it fit better.
4. Repeat.

Sew side seams. Hem and add back closures. I use snaps. The Wellie Wishers Doll dressmaking pattern is available here.

More of the Historic Collection

A while back I introduced the first decade of the Historic Doll Clothes Collection: "Phoebe Goes to the 1940s". I wrote a bit of girls' clothing in the 1940s, the influences and the looks.

Now I'd like you to see more of the collection. There are clothing sets for both regular sized Phoebe and ExtraSmall Phoebe. This post features the retro clothing sets for regular sized Phoebe. Click on any of the images to see more of that set.

Fabrics of the 1940s included plaids, corduroys, stripes, seersucker, gingham, florals and feedsacks. Shapes included dresses with less full skirts, pleats and circle skirts instead of big puffy gathers. Girls clothing became less fancy and more utilitarian. Ankle socks became a thing.

A Stewart Plaid set

Cherries, Vintage Trim and Pleats

I've tried to reflect all of this in the collection. A number of the sets are in my Etsy shop. The sets include white cotton bloomers trimmed in rick rack, white lace trimmed ankle socks and Mary Janes with retro buttons that are slightly larger so they can fit over the socks.

Tweed, Peter Pan Collar and a Circle Skirt

Ankle socks and Mary Janes

Corduroy, Dots and Harlequin fabric

White retro trim and florals

Gretchen's Purl Soho Dresses

I am long overdue on this post. Gretchen dropped off her Purl Soho dresses a month ago, but I have been focussing on my Mom and let a lot of other things wait. Thank you for all of the prayers and thoughts for my Mom. She is doing a bit better and I'm hoping this is a trend.

Gretchen will always be in our family history books for the third grade teacher who initiated a wonderful discussion about lying after my son told the class he missed school because he won a snowboarding championship. He had missed school to snowboard, but we had merely watched the tryouts while we were on the mountain that day. This lie was quickly uncovered when other parents started congratulating me.

Gretchen's other talents include sewing. She did a beautiful job on the Purl Soho dresses and made shades of brown look gorgeous.

How cute are the trim and pockets?

From Gretchen on the experience (I love how she learned to sew):

"I really enjoyed making the doll dresses. Your patterns & directions were clear & easy to follow. I was a little challenged by the fabrics - browns & tans didn't immediately make me think of little girls but it was fun to try & make them work. I loved imagining the children who might dress their dolls in the dressessome day. I was inspired by the mission of this project & helping those less fortunate.

"I learned to sew when I was 10. My mother paid $1 to an elderly lady for my private sewing lessons. I remember my first project was making an apron. Over the years I sewed clothes & craft projects. My parents gave me my own sewing machine for a graduation gift. I sewed matching dresses & nightgowns for my daughter and her dolls- but that was a long time ago.

"Most recently I've been teaching my "little sister" from the Big Brother Big Sister program how to sew."

Gretchen also made a beautiful doll quilt (photo below) to go with the dresses. These will all go to a 4 year old girl in the Natick Family Promise.

Thank you Gretchen and thank you Purl Soho!

Priorities

For those of you who follow my blog, you may have noticed that I have not posted since August 7, well over a month. August 13 was my oldest daughter's wedding and that was wonderful.

But three days after, my Mom became ill. Quite ill. And one month later we are struggling for a diagnosis.

I'm from a small family of five, my sister, a brother with disabilities who lives in a group home, and my parents. We are close and the past few weeks (and sorry for the cliches) it has been all hands on deck for what appears to be in a medical sense, the perfect storm, ie the convergence of several medical factors.

I try to be hopeful, but it isn't always easy. Today was better than yesterday. Yesterday was worse than Sunday, Sunday was worse than Saturday, and Saturday was better than Friday. We are still waiting for a pattern. A pattern would help us diagnose.

In the meantime, I have been working on orders. But I haven't been blogging. Or on Facebook. 

I love my business, but I have the most wonderful Mom and that is what I'm mostly thinking about these days.