Counting sheep....and more

Hello....I'm doing the last minute rush to get everything finished for Amy's Jasmine. Her birthday is next week. It seems to have come around very fast!! Poor little Amy is very unwell...has been for a few weeks now and the Dr can't work out what's going on :(  We're hoping she's feeling better for her birthday or it's going to be a bit of a fizzer for her. Anyhow, I made Jasmine a pair of flannel PJs like the ones I made for Emily. I love this pattern, it looks just like people PJs.

I had this cute flannelette in my stash and thought it would be perfect for Jasmine. They should keep her snuggly and warm on cold winter nights :)  The little knitted boot slippers were really quick and easy to make. I made a pair for Emily in purple to go with her PJs too. The eyelash yarn is just enough to give them the cute factor.

Next up is the tunic, leggings and knitted boots.....

The tunic and headband are made from printed panne velvet that I bought on sale at Spotlight a while back. I made a pair of brown ponte de roma leggings and knitted the boots from the same pattern as the slippers, using contrasting colours and making them longer in the leg. The belt is a piece of grosgrain ribbon with a Tim Holtz buckle.

Next up is a shirt I made to go with the blue jeans from one of my early posts....

I used a Kwik Sew pattern for the shirt and some fabric from my never-ending stash :)  It was a bonus that I didn't really have to alter this pattern for our Aus Girls...most of the 18" doll clothes patterns need a fair bit of adjusting to fit properly.

Here's another pair of jeans......

These ones are made from stretch cotton, using the Liberty Jane skinny jeans pattern (altered to fit our girls). I made a simple black t-shirt to go with them.

And last to show today is a knitted shrug/vest. I made one each of these for the girls but haven't given Kate Emily's yet. This is such an easy pattern.....basically knit a rectangle, sew two small seams leaving an opening for the arms and it's done. I chose to leave off the closure so it sits open.

Hasn't Sage done a wonderful job with the modelling today :)  She is so patient with all the fitting, dressing and undressing.

Hopefully I'll be back soon with some happy photos of Amy's birthday! Enjoy the rest of your weekend.

Lynne xx

Hippie Chick

Hello...I'm back to post some more sewing for the girls. It's been sooo busy here, I'm way behind. AND it's only 17 days until Amy's birthday!!! Better get a move on and do some more sewing.

This little outfit is one of my favourites so far. I'm really pleased with how it turned out. The tunic is modelled on a Kwik Sew pattern I made a few years back. It's hard to see the detailing because the fabric is so dark but the front pockets are shaped, sewn into the side seams and have a space for the belt to pass through. It's made from charcoal ponte de roma that has a gaberdine-type look to it. The leggings, tie belt and t-shirt are made from an upcycled t-shirt I bought on my op-shopping spree. The boots are made from leather look fabric....not that happy with them, I need lots of shoe-making practice!! And for that I need a LOT more free time!

I found this little necklace in the Reject Shop for $3. It is a BF two piece heart and tag set. I shortened the chains and will be giving these to Kate & Amy in their Christmas pressies for their dolls....I thought they were very cute :)

Then I decided to make a bracelet from an earring hoop...and added a little heart charm. I've made one each, with different hearts, so there's no fighting over who belongs to which one!

Enjoy the rest of your weekend

Lynne xx

Spring clothes

Hello....I'm so far behind with posting :(  I have a couple more outfits to show you today. These went into Kate's birthday box of clothes for Emily....

The first one is a little pinnie with matching leggings and skivie. The pinnie was made from McCalls 6137....altered to fit our Aus Girls. It's made from pinwale cord that's been in my stash for aaaages! I might only be making little dents in the stash but it's better than nothing :)  The leggings and skivie are a lovely, silky, fine knit.

The top on this outfit is made from an upcycled knit top I never wore (very naughty!). I loved the colours (well, it is green & purple!) but just never liked it on me...I shouldn't have bought it to start with! Oh well, it's made a lovely dolly top. (There's enough to make a number of dolly tops, but we won't think about that!) The fabric is lovely, and easy to sew.  The pattern I used for this is the basic t-shirt pattern I adjusted to fit our girls....in a v-neck version. For a bit of interest, I've added a small piece of elastic inside the centre front to gather it. The top closes with velcro at the back.

Here's a close up of the front detail....and that gorgeous little face

The pants are also upcycled fabric from a pair of pants I had...didn't like the fit. Why do things always look okay when you try them in the shop and then look different when you get them home??!!  I think those clothing stores have magic mirrors to fool us! Maybe I need to go and buy one :) Anyhow, the little pants are sewn from Kwik Sew pattern 2878. I love Kwik Sew patterns, they are always what they say they are size-wise. I didn't have to adjust these too much to fit our girls. Hard to see in the photo because they're dark but they have feature pockets at the front with topstitching. They're very cute.

Sage is enjoying her modelling career :) She's a beautiful doll and very cooperative...no whining or complaining, even if I occasionally stab her with a pin...unlike most of the other mannequins I've had to deal with over the years!!

Hopefully I'll be back soon with some more pretties to show you :)

Lynne xx

Winter Warmers

Hello, hello....I'm back with some more photos. Some not so good news first.....Kate broke a bone in her right elbow the other day :(  Of course, it had to be her dominant hand didn't it!! It's in a half plaster cast and sling, so she has weekly visits with the orthopaedic guy for the next few weeks to make sure it stays aligned correctly. Apparently it's the hardest bone to break and because of her age they can't pin it or the growth plate thingy won't keep growing....sheesh....only one of my lot could do this!! We never seem to do things by halves! Anyhow, Amy thinks it's not too bad as she's getting to change Emily for Kate until she can use her arm again :) Emily has been a big hit with both the girls.

This is a little sherpa jacket I made as a test run...along with little ugg boots.

Hmmmm not sure what happened with this photo, it's a bit grainy :(

Matilda is the gorgeous model today. I've made the jacket and ugg boots from suede sherpa fabric found at Spotlight. I haven't put the studs on the jacket yet as I've had a hard time finding some small enough. I love the little ugg boots, they are so cute IRL :) I bought the sherpa fabric in light blue & light pink to make the girls' dolls a matching jacket and boots each. They also have a pair of the brown uggs. I haven't made the blue & pink yet, so they will maybe go in their Christmas present package...or maybe I'll leave them until their next birthdays. No hope of getting the hood over Matilda's mop but it will be fine for the other Girls :)

This is a tracksuit that went in Emily's tub of clothes for Kate's birthday. I really wanted to put a logo or something on the front but didn't get around to it. Might add that along the way. I have some laser transfer paper and also some heat transfer vinyl to do some designs for the doll's clothes....just need more hours in the day!!  The tracky is made in fleece from my stash, with striped ribbon for the trims on the sleeves and pants. Neck & cuffs are ribbing.

I have lots more to blog so I'll be back soon with more photos :)

Lynne xx

Kate's Birthday ☺

Kate's birthday has finally arrived...YAY  We went to DDs for the birthday lunch and to give Kate her Emily doll. It was so funny when Kate opened our present...she was speechless for a few minutes!!  I think she was a bit overwhelmed :)  I wanted to post a video but it's going to take a small learning curve for me to work out how to edit the darn thing in the right format to post here, so photos are going to have to suffice for now.

We gave her the doll to open first :)

Then Poppy brought in the tub of clothes and accessories....

Kate was very taken with Emily's little crop-top lol

I bought a little "mobile phone" for the dolls from the Australian Girl Doll shop...they are so cute :)  DD informed Kate that she would be responsible for Emily's phone bills, so she better not let her talk for too long on it....bwahahahahahahahaha

Emily was promptly stripped off and re-dressed....ummmm, not in a combo I would have chosen lol but Kate thought this was pretty hip :)  The headband wasn't actually designed to go on like a sweatband but oh well.  A couple of combos were tried before Kate settled on this one.  I don't think she knew which outfit to try on first :)

Emily modelling Kate's idea of fashion!

And one of Kate, Emily & me.....

I took this photo of the packed tub of clothes, etc before we left for lunch. I bought a tub that is designed to roll under the bed for storage. The house DD & family are living in is lovely, but quite small, so there's not any spare storage room. This way all the doll things will be easily accessible but protected and out of the way. Emily will go back into her box at night and sleep under the bed also, until we can organise something better for her. Amy & Kate share a (small) bedroom, so no room to leave things out.

Amy was very good. We've been telling her constantly that her birthday isn't far away and today is Kate's special day....and that Kate won't get presents on her birthday, so she wouldn't get presents on Kate's birthday. I told her I'd bought two dolls for myself and that if she was very good she could play with one when they came to visit....she wanted to come today of course :)  Kate was lovely and shared Emily with Amy for a while, so I think we'll manage to get through the next 7 weeks without too many hissy fits from Amy :) I think she may be on her best behaviour, just to make sure she gets a doll too!

Anyhow, back to the sewing. I have to get the same number of things made for Amy that I made for Kate...I'm sure there will be counting going on once they both have a doll!!!!  Sometimes having them only 13 months apart is a pain....Amy thinks she should have exactly the same as Kate, even though she's a year younger.....a bit like having twins really!

Be back soon to post the sewing and knitting I haven't managed to blog yet!

Lynne xx

Underwear

Hello....I'm back with some more sewing for "The Girls" :)  I'm SO excited....only 2 more sleeps until Kate's birthday....woo hoo...then I won't have to hide the doll things every time they come to visit lol I've asked my DD if it's okay to post a video here of Kate opening her present, so once I sort that bit out (I've never posted a video on Blogger before!) you'll be able to see her reaction :)

Diane Morello on YouTube has some wonderful instructional videos on how to make doll's clothes, shoes and accessories. I subscribed to her channel and get alerts when she posts new videos. Diane is a lovely lady who happily shares her knowledge for free with anyone who's interested....well worth checking out her channel :)

Recently Diane posted a video on how to make a bra for your doll. I'd been thinking about making a crop-top for the girls' dolls as that's what they wear. We've never been big on singlets in our house....my fault I think as I never really liked them! I always thought they were 'men's' clothing when I was growing up. Probably thanks to "Chesty Bonds" advertisements!! Anyhow, I obviously passed this aversion on to my daughter as she's not big on them either. The girls either use a t-shirt as an undergarment, or these days, a crop-top, so I thought I'd make their dolls something similar :)

I made a matching set.....crop-top and knickers.....

Sage is the gorgeous model today :)  I've made the underwear from cotton lycra that's been in my stash for a long time. I made all my grandbabies nighties from this stuff before they were born....the eldest is nearly 14!!  It's the BEST fabric for babies as it's very soft, sturdy and stretchy....in a word COMFY! I'm sure "The Girls" will enjoy wearing it too :)

The edges have been finished with fold-over elastic from my Etsy buy. This stuff is brilliant!! I had to fiddle with the knicker pattern a bit to get them to fit how I liked, but got there in the end. There are a couple of pairs of trial runs that will be okay to use too. I made a pair with lingerie elastic, with a little picot edge, and that works great also, so I might also make a crop-top with that trim when I get around to it.

I haven't photo'd the back view but I've closed the top with velcro. I couldn't find any closures that I liked, that were small enough and the GDs real life crop-tops don't have any closures, they are pull-on....not practical for the dolls....so velcro it is!

I've been doing a bit more knitting...vests, slippers, etc but I'm a bit behind on the photos. I'll be back to post them when I get organised :)

Lynne xx

Casual wear

Hello, I'm back with photos of the little jeans and denim jacket I've made. I'm having a blast sewing all these miniature clothes :) The Aus Girls are great to sew for....the clothes aren't small and fiddly, so I can make replica people fashions without too much trouble!

Here's the first pair of jeans....

I used the Liberty Jane Bootleg Jeans pattern for these and adjusted it to fit. I'm not keen on the waistband so with the next pair, I made a different waistband and made the fly open instead of just being for show. It's such a cute pattern :)  It has proper pockets and all the stitching you see on regular people jeans....cute!

This is the revised version, with opening fly and shaped waistband....made in a lighter weight denim. The jacket is from a pattern that comes with the book called Complete Wardrobe for 18" Dolls. It's going to need a lot of adjusting before I make the next one! As you'll see in the next photo, I had to 'tuck' the back to bring it in quite a lot. The pocket flaps need to be smaller also....and the sleeve head is a little too big for the armhole opening. So....when I make the next one, I'll correct all these issues!

The front has been closed with large press-studs, then buttons sewn on for show. 

I've chosen a new name for this doll....formerly known as Amy, she is now Sage :)  I couldn't have one doll named after a granddaughter and not the other. I decided on an "S" name so it still fits in with the JEMS....so now we have....Jasmine, Emily, Matilda, Sage :)  Kate & Amy had a little friend called Sage who moved interstate. They missed her a lot so I thought it would be nice to have a name-sake to come and visit. They can bring Emily & Jasmine (once Amy has her birthday) for playdates with Matilda & Sage :)

It's now 1 week today until Kate's birthday!! I'm so excited. I hope Kate is as excited as I think she'll be, at getting her Emily doll!! I have a few more things I want to get made, so this week every spare minute will be used for making doll clothes. Last night I knitted a little pair of purple slippers with fluffy trim, to go with the dressing gown and PJs....they are so cute. I'll post them once I get the pink ones done for Amy's doll. They were really quick & easy to make :)

Lynne xx

Bathers

Hello...today I'm posting the bathers I've made for The Girls. Not that it's beach weather here at present!!  We've had sooooo much rain in the last few weeks I feel like we're going to float away any minute!

This is Jasmine modelling the first pair of bathers I made. These are for Emily and I made another pair in a pink version of the same lycra for Jasmine. They are a little short in the body for my liking....I didn't alter the pattern for these, so I decided to do some alterations and make some more. The little sandals are a pair that I made after watching Diane Morello's YouTube videos on how to make doll shoes.....she does awesome tutorials!

Here's the revised version.....

Matilda is modelling the new version of the bathers pattern. I made the body longer and scooped the front neck a little. They fit much better now :)  When I made the first pair I only had lingerie elastic in my stash to use on the openings. For these I used fold-over elastic that I bought from an Etsy shop. I couldn't source coloured fold-over in Aus, which was frustrating, so had some shipped to me. Now I have to make lots of things with fold-over elastic as I bought a nice collection of colours...should keep me going for quite some time!

I also made a little wrap skirt, for a little modesty as Matilda goes walking around after her swim lol The "towel" is a microfibre cloth from a pack of 6 I bought at the Reject Shop. They are the perfect size for doll towels :)  The little thongs are the ones that came with Matilda. All the Australian Girl dolls come with a pair.....aren't they the cutest things!  I've also made a pair of bathers with hot pink edging, just haven't photo'd them.

I'll be back soon with the next instalment :)

Lynne xx

Australian Girl Doll Nightwear

Here are the photos of the PJs and dressing gowns I've made so far for Emily & Jasmine....Jasmine is the model today :)  She has been packed back into her box as I now have Matilda as my mannequin/model.

Polar fleece dressing gown.......

This is one of the patterns I made from scratch as I couldn't find one that I liked and fitted properly. I've made one each for the dolls in this fabric as I couldn't find any polar fleece at the time that I liked....I had this one in my stash. I have since found some cute fairy design polar fleece so will likely make another dressing gown for each of the girls next year :)

Summer PJs......

The purple set is for Kate's doll, Emily, and is made form upcycled fabric from my buy at the Op Shop....a couple of knit tops I found.....and trimmed with some lace. The pink set is for Amy's doll and is knit fabric from my stash. I've made these from free patterns I found on the web, which I adjusted to fit the Australian Girls :)

And lastly.....Matilda modelling a pair of flannel PJs made from a free pattern in Molly's Pretty Clothes (available as a free download from HERE).......

I love this pattern. It's just like "real" PJs....cuffs on the legs and a sleeve cuff/band....too cute :)  I hadn't sewn the velcro on the front opening when I took this photo, so it's still pinned. The top now has its closure and little buttons just for show.  Isn't Miss Matilda a gorgeous model!!

I had a lovely little buy-up of patterns in Spotlight the other day. They had Simplicity patterns on sale so I bought a few of the patterns for 18" doll's clothes. I've sat and cut all the bits out and am now itching to make something from them.....probably have to alter most of the patterns but it's still faster than building a pattern from scratch!!

I'll be back with some more things soon

Lynne xx

Australian Girl Doll Knitting

I'm back with some photos of the knitting I've done so far for "The Girls" :)  As much as I love to knit, I'm not very fast, so these days I stick to quick, easy things that grow fast....scarves, baby things or doll's clothes.  I know I have some hope of getting these size projects finished the same year I start them lol

This outfit is knitted in Bendigo Classic 8 ply pure wool. I had this left over from a project I did last year. I love this colour, so decided to make something for one of the dolls. Not sure which one is going to get this yet....no point keeping it for Matilda as the hat doesn't fit over her wild hair very well!! The pattern comes from Jac Knits shop on Etsy. Jacqueline has some lovely doll's clothes patterns....well worth checking out her shop. The flower trim is from my stash. I whipped up about 6 pairs of pants & leggings the other night...these black ones are from that sewing session :)

The next outfit is knitted in Vera Moda acrylic 8ply yarn and specialty yarn from Spotlight. I've done a purple set for Kate's doll and the pink set for Amy's doll...their favourite colours. The little panne velvet leggings were one of the first things I made after getting the dolls. It is upcycled from a skirt bought at the local Op Shop (I think that's the same as a thrift shop in the US??) I have to admit I'm not that into Op Shopping (dragged around to too many by my mother when I was growing up!) but thought it would be a good way to get some novelty fabrics at small prices for doll's clothes. I had a win the day I went as they had a 50% off sale...bonus!  The pattern I used for this came from Craftsy and is called Purple Rain Corded Jacket. It's knitted from the top down so there's very little sewing up when finished. How cute are those furry bits :)

.......a close-up of the very cute hat...and that gorgeous little face lol

Modelling these outfits is the other doll in the Australian Girl range, Amy. She's a little darker skinned than her sisters, with long, dark, curly hair....gorgeous!  I caved and bought her too so I could fit back-closure clothes with less hassle (Matilda's hair gets in the way lol). Matilda was very happy to welcome a sister into the house to keep her company :)

I'm going to have to rename this Girl as one of my GDs is called Amy. Can't have a doll named after one and not the other....Kate would be a bit put-out I think!! And I'm not renaming Matilda to Kate!

Anyhow, that's it for this post.....I'll be back soon with some more sewing photos.

Lynne xx