Many Thoughts on Sewing Doll Clothes

Yesterday was warm and sunny and it is suppose to be like that today. We have had fog roll in which will burn off when it gets warmer. 

Lifestyle

With yesterday being sunny and warm, we are heading out to work on Son's and Daughter-in-law's front flower bed. I thought if we got 2/3's of it done, we would have done a great job. We actually got the job completed. No pictures as I left my phone at home. But, we all liked it. Next job is to do around the flowering apple tree and to thin out another flowering bush. Then our work at the front is done. We have a flower bed to weed and then we can finish up our yard. And we have plans for it. 

Sewing

I swept up the sewing room but have done nothing else in the room. I need to do some more tidying up and get my thoughts about what I want to do into a working plan. I think I need to sit down there and think. A rainy day project. 

Doll Sewing

I have one item left to sew to finish the Spring Sewing with a Plan for the dolls. I started out happily and ended up not so happy. I like all the pieces I made and how they work together. I did a lot of beta sewing to see how they fit the dolls. Some patterns I did like and am happy I sewed them. Some need some tweaking to be great. Others no so much. A lot of beta sewing with lots learned. 

What I liked:

• Kate and Anna's capris and short tops. 

I will make the elastic casing higher up on Anna's top. Kate's is perfect the way it is. I love the capris on both the dolls and they are perfect for quite a few ideas. 

• Anna's dress. 

Though it is like the top, it is a very nice as a dress and I do like the length. I would use a heavier cotton, make sure the button stands out more, and, maybe, add a bit of trim to it. 

• The leggings are a great fit on both dolls. The patterns are keepers. I can use a lot of colors and designs when making them. 

• The t-shirt patterns are also keepers. I used too light a fabric on them and had issues. I want to make the sleeves come down to the wrists and make the neckline higher (more beta sewing coming up). The other thing I will also do is make the back an extra 1/4" wider so I turn under 1/2" rather than 1/4". 

Some items to improve:

Jeans and pants. 

• The jeans and pants fit the dolls well. I need to figure out finishing some of the seams (front and back crotch) so they look more professional. These are great additions to outfits. 
• The t-shirt patterns are great. I have mentioned how to do them better. 

What I didn't like:

• Kate's dress. Though cute, finishing the seams is a pain. I also had fitting issues as it was too big on Anna. I wonder if it will fit an AG doll better. This is a Dolly Duds pattern and they get excellent reviews. I will try again and serge the edges before sewing it up. I will also do more fitting on the AG doll to see if it fits her better. 
• I haven't photographed the lace shorts. They looked easy to make but were a bit of a pain. I would do a short skirt with rows of lace on it. I loved the idea of 1" elastic for the waistband. 

Down the Road

I am doing several drafts on ideas to work on. It came after I found Sewing for 18" Dolls - How Hard Can it Be? I keep asking myself that question all the time. From reading her blog I came away with some thoughts.

• I am not going to cut out 100 outfits like she did. I admire her for doing that but it isn't me. 
• I love her inspirations for making outfits/ensembles. My brain doesn't roll like that; it makes up story lines such as a trip to the sea shore or Bay of Fundy. I come up with outfits/ensembles through that. What I need to do is research more on the outfits after I get the storyline done. 
•  One thing we do have in common is ideas/inspirations from Pinterest. It is amazing the story lines I come up with looking at Pinterest.
• I will be doing more beta sewing of patterns so I can make better fitting outfits. 
• I have a lead on an American Girl doll that I want to pick up this week. She will be my 2nd model and will join Kate in modeling my 18" AG clothes. 
• I will continue to sew for the Gotz dolls. I will have to slowly increase my patterns for these dolls as I have more knitting patterns than sewing ones. Anna and Laura will be my models. 

So where will I start? I will be pulling out the black leggings and working from there. My idea is to do a Day Exploring the Bay of Fundy. I have an idea for both the Gotz and the AG doll. 

Today

 I am not sure what we are doing. We could go over to do around a tree or we could stay home and do housework. We will see what happens. 
Until the next time..............................