I am a designer at heart. Of course, so far I have four patrons who require my constant services: three little Poodles and a fifty-five year-old doll, Cinderella. This post covers designs for my beloved 'Rella'.
Sometime last year, I started creating a capsule wardrobe, a group of interchangeable pieces. Quite a few months later--I skipped a few working on this--I'm finished!
Starting out, I was was aiming for a resort type wardrobe. I ran out of steam before I got a swim suit and a coverup done (next year maybe?). This turned into an early spring to late summer wardrobe for a doll who doesn't like to swim.
She is a doll of the early 60's and I wanted this grouping to play that up. I recycled old clothes from my closet to create her wardrobe. They mainly were:
- an denim Woolrich jumper
- a Eddie Bauer chambray dress with faggoting trim
- and old white blouse I made for my daughter but it was just HUGE and even though it was authentic YSL fabric she never wore it.
The main problem sewing for this doll is that I don't really have patterns to fit her (she's 29" and pretty slim). Thank goodness for Photoshop because I am able to resize any doll pattern that I have. Still, I usually have to make a few changes.
It's time to get started..........
The first thing I made was a lined hooded swing jacket with cuffed clam digger pants. Accessories for this look are black leather ballet flats with bows, a navy leather bag and a simple beaded necklace and bracelet set. I made all the accessories, shoes and bags because you just aren't going to find things for a doll of this size. Ebay has nice selections of leather scraps and they suit my purpose just fine.
Earrings are the exception because I can find them in small sizes. Pearl earrings are the easiest, I just use two of my pearl ended straight pins.
The triangles at the bottom of the side seams are there for a reason. My jumper wasn't wide enough for the pattern, so there was a last minute design change.
Next, I took the jacket off and added a hat. 'Rella's knitted shell is something that I did as an example for a color theory class I teach for fiber enthusiasts. I hand painted the yarn for this top in a Rectangle Tetrad * of red violet, orange, yellow green and blue green. Each of these colors have been tempered with their respective complementary colors. If there are any fiber folks reading this, I use acid dyes by Lanaset. I find that Lanaset dyes are the most permanent to washing and light that I know.
I kept the pants but changed the knit top for a short sleeve cuffed blouse with a tie belt out of the YSL fabric. I like the hidden button detail. Who can't use a tote bag for shopping?
I pulled out one of my vintage Poodle scarfs so she could look mid-century trendy. American Girl sunglasses are a tad small but still work.
Finally switching out the pants, she is now wearing a skirt and I've added a turban. The turban fabric is some really awful stuff that I got from Walmart for testing out knit patterns (I threw out what fabric was left after that project). Other things I added were a studded clutch and cork platforms. The shoes are always the hardest part of these projects. I use the web site Fashion Doll Shoes for ideas on techniques.
Heading into warmer weather I added shorts and a repurposed straw hat that was given to me years ago by our FCCLA teacher. All I had to do was to add a band, I believe made from the front band of an old dress.
For even warmer weather I added a sleeveless top and some simple slides for her third pair of shoes.
Just in case 'Rella has to go out to a nice dinner, she has a lounging pant skirt from an experimental pattern based on a skirt I made for myself. In case the evening gets a little chilly, I knitted her one of my "Rows Of Many Colors" shawls. Each row is a different yarn. This technique creates quite a nice textured surface.
With that, I'm done because I didn't make any more.
I found a photo of the Christmas morning when Cinderella came into my life. I was pretty proud.
Sadly, her original dress has long since disintegrated.
At this point, you may think I'm a tad crazy. Further, this is not the first time Cinderella has been on this blog. Her first outfit feature is HERE and I talk a little more about getting her.
*What is a rectangular Tetrad you ask? It is four colors on the color wheel that form a rectangle as shown by this color wheel.
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That is enough for today, so I will bid adieu until next week. In the meantime, Happy Styling and sewing (if you partake)!
Photography credit goes today to me and my Dad on Christmas all those years ago.
I am trying a few new linkup parties with this post because it is a little different for me. This was a labor of love and I do want to share it. There are only a few linkups that I found for this kind of post. It could be that I just don't know where to look, but I found:
Wednesday
A Little Bird Told Me
Monday
Inspire Me Monday
Monday Funday
Tuesday
Show and Tell
