Christmas Eve Around Our House

 I want to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!  This year has certainly been trying times for everyone, this blog has kept me sane.  May we all have health and happiness in 2021!

Ken and Allen went overboard with the ugly Christmas sweaters!

Looks like Skipper and Skooter got everything they wanted for Christmas!

My 5 Holiday dolls, so pretty and festive!

As always, thank you so much for stopping by, I enjoy being able to share my collection with everyone.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Chris 

Happy Holidays

 

Happy Holidays from Steve, Lydia, Trish and Daryl

Only Trish's polka dot dress is new this year. Running out of time to make more.

Friday Fashion - Matching Sisters

 Barbie and Skipper think these matching dresses may be perfect for Thanksgiving dinner.

Barbie's dress is made from vintage Butterick 9993.  I've made it a few times, it sews up easy and fits nicely.  A black belt may look nice, break up the busy pattern a bit.

Skipper's dress is made from vintage McCall's 7480.  It's one of my favorites for her.  

Thanks for stopping by.........

Falling for Fall Outfit

 I love how this outfit turned out!  I used a vintage Advance pattern from 1961, there is no number on it just a 'Group B' designation.  It is described as a 2pc shirtwaist dress, so I may make a top from the skirt fabric to give it a one piece dress look too.  I may also make a yellow top to stretch Barbie's options for this skirt.  I love the fabric which is a 1930's reproduction quilting cotton.

Barbie thinks this outfit will be perfect for strolls through the antique malls and a trip to the farmer's market.

Thanks for stopping by .......................

Wittling Down the UFO List

 I managed to finish 2 dresses for the Model Muses off the UFO list.

Teyana and Roxanne model the newly completed halter dresses.

I made a mistake cutting this pink skirt, it's not as full as the other.  

It's been sitting cut out for a few years so maybe I didn't have enough fabric to make it fuller.

It still looks nice on Teyana though.

Roxanne was born to wear red.  She looks great in this one.

I've made some progress in getting the UFO list down.  The original list was 23 items, it is now down to 12.  7 items have been completed and 3 have been tossed because of sewing errors or bad fitting.

Thanks for stopping by.......

Silkstone Sewing

Awhile back I mentioned wanting to make a new outfit for this doll because I didn't like the all pink outfit.

Never having tried to sew for a Silkstone before I assumed the doll was similar in body size to my vintage dolls....wrong!  They appear to be more like the Model Muse articulated bodies. 

Before cutting anything out I tried on a few dresses I made for the vintage dolls and they were way too big. So I looked through my pattern stash and found this book:

I decided that since the full skirted dresses on the cover were on Silkstones it would be a good fit.

It's not a bad fit but not as great a fit as the author has on her dolls.  Even though I carefully traced the pattern from the book, my neckline came out more vee necked rather than the more scoop neck of the model dolls dress.  My bodice also doesn't fit as well in the bust area as the model dolls either, although you can't tell in the picture.

I am a little disappointed and frustrated.  I am not skilled enough to make tailoring adjustments to the doll patterns and was hoping this one would fit better since the author used a Silkstone.  Unless the non-articulated Silkies are more like the vintage Barbies than the articulated ones?  Has anyone used commercial patterns to make clothing for the articulated Silkstones?  I have a few current patterns made for the new Barbies so I may have to try one of those.

Anyway at least this doll has a new dress and she does look kinda cute!

Thanks for stopping by.......

Family Springtime Outfits

Back in the late 50's/early 60's matching family outfits was very popular.

Why you might ask?  Who knows but it can be kinda cute especially for special occasions.

Hmmmmm!  Watch that right hand, buddy!

Here is my take on matching outfits for Barbie, Ken and twin Skippers.

I think they are all ready for a Memorial Day picnic!

In their own backyard, of course!

Thanks for stopping by.

Stay At Home Sewing for SunGold Malibu Barbie and the Gang

Like most of the world we are under a 'stay at home order' except for essentials, so I have a lot of time on my hands.  I have been making dust bags for the dolls and slowly cataloging the collection. And I've done some sewing for the dolls in between making face masks.

Since I had all the SunGold Malibu dolls out for pictures and cataloging I decided they all needed a new outfit.

I used the following patterns:

The Ken pants and one shirt were from the pattern top left.  The Ladies outfits were from the bottom pattern.  And obviously Skipper's outfit is from the Skipper pattern.

The pattern for the Ladies is full of simple outfits, lots of tops and bottoms that you can mix and match in different fabrics and colors.  It can be used to build a nice wardrobe.  This pattern is from 2002 but fit these 1983 bodies perfectly.  My favorite is the skirt pattern, it's simple and can be made in any length, they give 2, but you can make any.

The Ken button front shirt I made here is actually made from a 1960's vintage pattern, that is my tried and true for Ken.  I don't recall the number offhand.  I did make the tee shirt style on this pattern and the shorts.  I kind of like the tee shirt pattern, you can use woven fabric as I did here.  The shorts/pants pattern is not my favorite as it has an elastic waist and snap front, I prefer just the snap but it was easy to make up.  This pattern is from 1986 and fit the boys well.

The Skipper pattern is from 1991 and poor SunGold Malibu Skipper is swimming in them!  I have a couple Skippers from the 90's and will have to pull one out and try these duds on her to see if they fit.  Since there aren't a lot of Skipper patterns I guess I will have to try my vintage 60's patterns on her and see if they fit better or adjust this pattern to her.

I must confess I am very slow at putting on fasteners.  It doesn't matter on things that close in the back but a little obvious on Ken's shirts......no buttons! Love this simple skirt.

This Ken shirt was actually the first one I made about 6 years ago, so it has buttons!

I do like this tee shirt pattern, very easy to make up so will make more for sure.

Poor Skipper.....Hammer pants and a baggy shirt!  PJ has my favorite top pattern of the group. A great casual top for shorts, pants of skirts!

Thanks for stopping by.........

Happy St. Patty's Day

Trish and Daryl would like to wish everyone

a 

HAPPY ST. PATTY'S DAY

Hope everyone is staying safe today!

Advance Vintage Pattern 3377 - Amazing Wiggle Dress

I have been looking for a really nice 50's style wiggle dress pattern, one that Joan Holloway would rock the halls of Sterling Cooper in, and came across Advance 3377.  This copy of the vintage pattern has been with me for years but I never made anything from it.   Why, I'm not sure, maybe because I have so many other patterns to tempt me. 

The last dress initial caught my eye but the sundress like bodice is a little to casual for an office type atmosphere.  But I pulled the instructions and pattern pieces out to see if I could kluge together bodice 4 and skirt 6.  Well, lo and behold, view 5 is NOT a 3pc suit as I had thought (maybe one should read the pattern envelope descriptions, it might be a time saver) but an amazing wiggle dress with a jacket AND.........all the bodices in this pattern have facings!!!!!  I love facings, makes it a little bit easier to do those necklines and itty bitty armholes.  Usually I draft my own (if I'm not feeling too lazy) but here they have done it for me! 

So I worked up 2 versions.

Evelyn (L) and Veronica (R) were kind enough to be my guinea pigs models.  Veronica's dress is made per the instructions with gathers on the side of the skirt.

Evelyn's was made with inverted pleats at the side of the skirt.

It's not a big difference but I do think the inverted pleat makes a cleaner line.  If I was really industrious I would put darts in at the side, but that involves extra sewing and the invert pleat is soooo easy.  

The Ladies really like this dress, it fits them very well.  They would like to have more of them,,,,,many more, maybe even that little jacket too!  They are so demanding.

Watch out Joan Holloway!

Thanks for stopping by........

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas! May all your Barbie dreams and
wishes come true!

Christmas Outfits Part 3

Well, I did say I started sewing for the
holidays before Thanksgiving, so I
got quite a few items completed.

Here we have 2 simple gowns, both
have metallic accents on the fabric.

These ladies are 'Spots and Dots Teresa'
and 'Bead Blast Barbie'.  I chose simple,
unfussy lines for these dresses to show
off the fabric.  They are both 100% cotton
but work nicely here.

Well, I think that's all of them...9 total
outfits.  I had one more Skipper dress
cut out but just got tired of sewing
Christmas outfits!

Thanks for stopping by......

Christmas Outfits Part 2

As promised, here are 2 more Christmas dresses.
These are made from the book 'Vintage Clothing
for the Fashion Doll' 

This pattern is based on the original
Barbie dress from 1967 'Best Bow'.  It
has a definite MOD vibe to the styling
so two of my Standard Barbies are
modeling them.  As you can see, mine
are not sporting any bows.....I seem to
be bow-challenged and every attempt
I made looked well, amateurish, so they
are sans bows for now.

They actually look better than this
picture shows.  I can see making quite
a few more of these.

Thanks for stopping by......

Christmas Outfits 2019 Part 1

I try to make a few Christmas outfits for the
ladies and gents every year.  I started early
this year, before Thanksgiving so I would be
sure to get something finished.

Barbie (left) is my original doll.  She is wearing
a 2pc skirt and top.  I love the candy cane stripe
fabric.  Midge is ringing in the holiday with the
cutest candy cane print top and bright red stovepipe
pants.  Barbie (right) is wearing a dress I made a
few years ago but love the retro vibe of the skirt
print.

Francie is my original doll.  She looks adorable
in this bell sleeved top, red pants and bright green
booties.  Since there are few patterns for Francie
I made the top pattern from a dress pattern.

The two Skippers on the left are wearing outfits
made a few years ago.  The blonde is wearing a
2pc outfit and the brunette is wearing a dress. 
Redhead Skipper is my original doll.  She is wearing
a dress with the cutest snowman fabric on the
skirt.  Skooter is looking festive in her candy
cane striped top and red pants.

Interesting note here, the 3 dress/skirt outfits are
made from the same pattern. The pattern is very
versatile and when made as 2pcs can really
stretch a girls' wardrobe when mixed and matched.

I am working on finishing up a few more......
hopefully before the holiday.

Thanks for stopping by......

Happy Halloween ---late

Trish and Daryl hope you had a Happy Halloween

Friday Fashion - Mod Sister Outfits

Mod matching sister outfits (say that
three times really fast).  Both are made
from vintage patterns.

Fall - Part 2

Continuing with the fall fashion show,
we have more conventional fall outfits
here (and a little sister wife-ish).

The floral wrap skirt and both tops are from a vintage
pattern. The striped skirt I made up.  I really like
this blouse pattern as it is very versatile.  It might
need a little tailoring in the body, could be a little
slimmer.

I always like to make extra tops to expand the
Ladies' wardrobe so sewed up these simple
camisole tops from another vintage pattern.
I added a little machine embroidery to the
muslin one for a bohemian look.  They are
simple to make and can be used under jackets
without too much bulk.  They would probably
look better tucked in the skirts.

I may sew up a few more fall outfits and then
start on some holiday ones.

Still trying to get back in the swing of things
since the move (juggling to learn a new online
job too....yikes). Hopefully will be posting more
often...........

Thanks for stopping in !

Fall - Part 1

Well summer went by in a blur, mostly I remember it being
 hot, hot and oh yeah, HOT!

We are finally getting some cooler weather so I have been
sewing some fall style clothes for the MODs (as far as we
consider fall style here in Florida).

These are transitional outfits, mostly just fall colors.

Vintage patterns were used for the 2 shift
dresses and the striped skirt.  The halter
top is taken from a vintage dress pattern.

I love choosing the fabrics for the MODs.
And the mod colors really play into the
fall theme - gold, brown, orange, avocado.

I also made the pillows on the mini pallets
in the background.

Few more to show you......stay tuned.

Feelin' Groovy

Just a couple of mod dresses made from
vintage patterns.

This one is my favorite but I need to watch
the print placement on the fabric when
cutting.  She has a daisy in an unfortunate
spot, but I still love the look.

This is cute simple A-line dress.  The belled
sleeves are angled on the ends but it's hard
to see in the pic.  The scarf is suppose to go
around her neck but I like the look better
this way.

Both are made from vintage commercial
patterns but I did alter both of them a bit.

50's June Bride

A simple 50's wedding for Midge with
her best friend in attendance as Maid of
Honor and Skipper as the Flower Girl.

Midge's tea length dress is white on white
cotton.  She added hints of her favorite
color yellow.

Her Maid of Honor and Flower girl
wear yellow/white print cotton dresses
with yellow accents.

Everything made by me, except their
shoes!