The Diary of a Doll

When Eva received Anne Frank, she was wearing her only set of clothes, a 1940s style jumper, a blouse with a Peter Pan collar, and a cardigan made from very classic British wool. I had a feeling Anne would be changing out of this soon.

While Eva waited for Anne, she started sewing for her. She used the tutorials and the patterns from my Doll Dressmaking Series and really went to work.  The clothes are lovely, clever and Eva's skills by the end are quite impressive. below you will find some of Eva's tips (which I LOVE).

Anne getting dressed.

Anne, looking so beautiful

Anne looking very classic.

Eva's sewing tips:

*Read all the pattern instructions before starting

*Put the iron on lower than you think is needed ( I've burned quite a few dresses myself)

*I would start with the peasant dress or the reversible dress from the doll dressmaking series

*It's a good idea to have the doll before you get started, so that if you need to take something up or down you know how much to do so.

*Keep trying, my first dresses had lots of problems, don't let it get to you.

So elegant. 

More classic.

Anne's wardrobe

Thank you Eva, this is so inspiring! The original story of Eva and Anne can be found here.

The Diary of Two Girls: Anne Frank, The Girl and The Doll

A few years ago, I received an email from Eva Bloom, a ten-year-old girl, telling me she loved my dolls and was hoping to get one for Christmas. I was melted by the email and wanted very much for her to get one for Xmas too.  However, when I scanned the purchases of the three months leading up to the holiday, I was fairly certain her parents were not on there.

Three years later, I received an email from the now 13-year-old Eva, asking if I could make a custom doll, an Anne Frank doll, and how much would it cost. Eva wanted to start saving. 

Eva did not need to save. I wanted nothing more than to make an Anne Frank doll. My oldest daughter had also been obsessed with Anne Frank's story and other similar stories. She had devoured so many young adult books on the Holocaust, that we went to the Holocaust Museum bookstore in Washington DC to find more books. 

Eva explained her fascination with Anne, "I found interest in Anne Frank while I was reading her book.  With a diary like hers, I could really see what it was like during the Holocaust for a girl in hiding.  It stuck with me because I felt she was similar to me, when reading her book I felt transported into her everyday life.  I read the book one year ago and the play two months ago.  I also read two unabridged versions and watched the movie.  I would strongly recommend her diary."

Diary of a young girl and a custom doll

Anne's clothes fit perfectly within the 1940s clothing set I was designing last November. Read more about the collection here and here.  

And what could be more sentimental than designing an Anne Frank doll? She was a beautiful girl with an amazing spirit.

Anne Frank, the doll

As I was designing and making Anne, nearly two thousands miles away in a small town in North Dakota, Eva, was working on her sewing skills and Anne Frank's wardrobe. Eva used the patterns and tutorials from my website to create Anne's wardrobe.

"I learned how to stitch when I was three years old, but I think I was seven before I started sewing things together. My mom, grandmas from both sides of the family, and our good friend Sara Malles were the ones who taught me.

"However, Lisa Is the one who got me to sew more than ever before.  Her patterns really got me going.  I have been sewing for Anne Frank about 4 months now.  I have so many dresses I'm not sure what to do with them all!" In my next post I will have some of Eva's tips for sewing doll clothes and lots of pictures of her amazing clothes.

Anne Frank arrived in time for Christmas. And Eva's father captured the moment(s) beautifully.

Next post, Anne's beautiful clothes and doll clothes sewing tips from Eva.

The gift and the card

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.

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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