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Pink Regency Dress

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A couple extant dresses have caught my eye recently that I wanted to translate into doll clothes, one is done, and I am partially done with the second. This pink dress is inspired by the following picture of an extant dress and spencer. The white spencer is going to be a future project as well.  I made a couple slight changes, like making a bib front opening, and adding a slight train. Probably not the most practical for daywear, but I also don't think my doll plans much walking ;) I used a pattern from the book Regency Women's dress, and adapted it to fit a short squat doll body. Scraps, first pattern draft Leftover fabric, cut dress pieces, finished pattern Little bodice pieces ready to iron Whipping the back seams Inside shoulder and back seams, both turned and whipped Right side view of back seam Front before adding the lining pieces that cross in the front Whipping down the shoulder hem She borrowed Felici...

New acessories for Felicity

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I have a laptop now! Hopefully this means more frequent posts, but I won't set my hopes too high. I've been on Pinterest a lot lately pinning stuff to my Felicity board, and I also added a Marie Antoinette board full of fluffy, over-the-top delights of ribbons, silks, lace, feathers, all those ethereal things that the ridiculous Rococo period brings to mind.    I ordered some glass pearls from Amazon , and then had a dickens of a time stringing a few on a narrow blue ribbon to make a simple necklace. If anyone wants one, they're a million dollars, ;)

First American Girl!

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My first American Girl doll arrived in the mail today! She's a 1993 Pleasant Company Felicity doll (three years older than me!) in perfect condition with her original meet clothes, and a meet accessory set. It's so strange to have a doll I've wanted for so long in my hands!  Pretty mobcap and coral necklace Cotton shift, perfect condition! I love her beautiful, beautiful hair. So nice to have a doll with quality hair. Gorgeous eyes, Felicity has unique green eyes to all other AG dolls.  Garters and stockings and shoes, oh my! I love the weight of these stockings. Nice heavy cotton. I think these are later meet accessories after looking in the packaging. 2007, I'm pretty sure.  Beautiful Felicity! I can't wait to get started on some historical clothing for her, but right now she's going to stand on my dresser with my other dolls so I can admire her for a while first.

1840s Ensemble

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Caddie gets a new full outfit at last. I tried to stick to a 1840s theme, but I have so much more research to do and new patterns to make. This isn't close enough to call accurate, but I'm content that each new dress will be closer to accuracy.  Her dress is cut from a blue flat sheet using my perfect bodice pattern as a base, and widening the sleeves to gather. The bodice trim is ruched cotton strips over narrow lace, and matching cotton trims the sleeves above the elbows. I cut her skirt in a rectangle so that when tightly gathered it would form the popular bell shape of the era. It's similarly trimmed with more of the patterned cotton covering the hem. I'm pleased with the silhouette and shape, but the bodice needs more work and pattern customization. I am IN LOVE with this bonnet. It took me two days to finish, 100% handsewn. I used leftover twill from my Regency stays for the middle lining, and silky polyester from old pajamas for the outer layer and...

Meet Avril

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I wasn't allowed to play with Barbies growing up, but thankfully the fashionista line was out by the time I bought one! This tall and elegant doll is perfect for modeling wedding dresses, though I can't find those pictures at the moment. Even casual geeky clothes look good on her! (Her t-shirt image is of Kaylee Frye's parasol from the short running TV show Firefly of which I am a fan) I found a lovely tutorial on YouTube for making Barbie masks, and although mine doesn't look as good as it could, I'm content with it considering my limited supplies.

Meet Caddie

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I've had Caddie for about two years, and she fulfilled my dreams of one day owning an American girl doll (a dream since I was 7) paying $27 for this beautiful girl at Walmart thankfully kept me from dropping over $100 on an ag doll! (I still want one, of course, but I'm keeping my eye out for tlc dolls on eBay ;) )   She looks amazing in red and country clothing. I'm probably going to expand on that a lot and create a more western and red-centric wardrobe for her.