Saturday, November 20, 2010

How to make a Cabbage Patch Doll Coat

For this month's Friday Night Sew In,
 I decided to make a winter outfit
for my granddaughter's cabbage patch doll.

This simple pink sweater and hat were purchased
at the local thrift store for a total of  $2.50.
Each was infant sized clothing before alteration.
If you are interested in how to make clothing for dolls,
hopefully this post will give you some ideas.

Using a purchased pattern
(or existing piece of clothing) as a guide,
cut along side edge of garment
leaving shoulder seam intact.
Place garment back on doll to guage size.
At this point the fit looks pretty good in the shoulders
and down the front, but the length is too long.

Cut bottom of garment to desired length
 only along front edge
being careful to keep cutting line straight.

Remove garment from doll and trim edges even.
Hem bottom edge by using an overcast stitch or serger.
 To shorten sleeves,
cut off bottom portion to utilize existing hemline.
 Sew sleeves back into sweater.
Here is the completed sweater/coat.

To make the hat fit properly...

...all that was done was to turn the hat inside out,
and stitch across the original seamline to make it smaller.

I'm thinking this outfit will make one five-year-old
little girl pretty happy:)

May you always Sew in Peace!
Sandra

Wednesday, November 17, 2010

One Flower Wednesday Giveaway!

 
For this week's One Flower Wednesday,
 I've been making hexagons to restock my supply...

...and have sewn together two new flowers
for my flower garden!

In appreciation of all my hexagon friends,
I'm hosting a giveaway!

Simply leave a comment and this nifty box can be yours!
It is a perfect place to store  hexagons!

Entries will be accepted until midnight Sunday, Nov. 21st.

May you always Sew In Peace!
Sandra

Monday, November 15, 2010

Doll Underwear Tutorial

Do you have a doll that is suffering from NBS?
 (Naked Babydoll Syndrome)
An easy way to make your own doll clothes is to begin with
unwanted infant or children's clothing. 
Every dolly needs the basics...so let's start with underwear.

First, pin the underwear wrong side out onto the doll.

Remove underwear from the doll being careful not to
shift any of the pins since you will use the pins as a guide
for your stitching. 
Keep in mind that to easily take the
garment on and off the doll you may want to make the
fit slightly loose.

Using the pins as a guide, stich seams and trim away
excess fabric. Place underwear back onto the doll.
Since there is obviously too much fabric we will
want to make a few adjustments for a better fit.

Simply tuck extra fabric up under the elastic waistband.

Pin extra fabric in place under the waistband.

Using a stretch stitch, sew over the elastic to hold the
extra fabric into place. I realize this may not win
a prize for workmanship, but this technique solved the
problem and it was fast and simple.

In a matter of minutes, you will have super cute
 underpants to fit your dolly!

Please note that due to an increasing amount of spam, comments have been disallowed on this post. Thanks for all your kind comments.

May you always Sew in Peace!
Sandra

Tuesday, November 9, 2010

I Spy Swap Basics



I'm hosting an online I Spy Swap!
Here are the basic details...

You will need 3 different fabrics - 1 yard of each.
Machine wash and dry fabrics.
Press.


With fabric folded and selvage edges even,
trim off the selvage edge and cut into rows 5" each.


Measure 5" in the opposite direction and cut fabric to make a 5" square.
Be careful to maximize the design on your fabric.
Cut 40 squares of each of the three fabrics. 


This fabric features teddy bears. Notice the size of
the bears. They will still be intact after the seems of
a quilt are sewn. I also like this fabric because
it has other objects in in.


My second choice was this fabric with sewing machines.
How fun is this? There are also smaller objects like
spools of thread, scissors, and pin cushions. Fun!


My third choice has insects...and worms!



After you have cut 40 squares of each fabric
simply place them in a small plastic bag.


Inside one of the plastic bags include YOUR name and
address in case the package gets lost in shipping.
 (Let's cross our fingers on that not happening...)


Place the 3 packages of fabric into a large envelope
which includes
*an additional envelope with
with your name, address, and prepaid return postage.

Once I receive all the fabrics I will "swap" them and
return 120 different squares to you.
You should have enough squares to make several
interesting children's quilts.

If you would like to join the swap, here is the post to sign up.


Finally, be sure to grab the I Spy Swap
button on my sidebar so you can
link back to this site.

May you always Sew in Peace!
Sandra

Tuesday, November 2, 2010

Anyone interested?



Last fall I participated in an online I Spy Swap
and as a result, I received a wonderful variety
of novelty prints.  To date, I have made three I Spy quilts
for some of my favorite little ones and now my stash
 is running low. Therefore, I must confess my
motives in hosting this swap are purely selfish.


If you are unfamiliar with I Spy quilts, basically they
are created using a variety of novelty blocks.
Children can then "spy" the different objects that
are located in the fabric. I spy a green car.
Can you find it?


For this swap, we will be exchanging 5" squares only.
No sewing is involved.
 I will serve as hostess.
 Each person will send their squares to me.
As soon as I receive each package of fabric
I will post photos. Hopefully we will not duplicate patterns.
 I will organize and return the swapped fabrics
 to each participant.
Each member will receive the same assortment of fabrics.


So for those interested...
here are the "official guidelines" for this swap.
  • You must have a blog or flickr account to participate...unless I personally know you. This will enable us as a group to stay in touch. The swap is now open to non-bloggers and non-flickr account holders.
  • Purchase 3 different novelty prints - 1 yard each . Please choose only quilt shop quality fabrics! No discount store fabrics, licensed, or team prints. Try to find unusual prints and keep in mind that small patterns/objects work best. For this swap we are looking for fabrics with objects not traditional floral prints.
  • Prewash fabrics. Cut 40 - 5" squares out of each 1 yard piece being careful to maximize the designs in your fabrics.
  • Place the 120 - 5" squares in a plastic bag. Inside the plastic bag include your name and address.
  • Purchase two large envelopes. Address one envelope to me ( I will e-mail you my address when I confirm swap participation). Address the second envelope to yourself. Your swapped fabrics will be returned in the second envelope.
  • For swappers in the states: bring everything to the post office and have it weighed with the second envelope inside the first. Place identical postage on the second envelope with stamps only. Do not use metered mail.
  • For international swappers: bring everything to the post office and have it weighed with the second envelope inside the first. You will need to do some research to accurately calculate return postage from the USA. Perhaps this link will help you determine the cost.
  • Mailing deadline is  Friday, March 31st  Friday, April 15th. Within one week of receiving all the fabrics, I will get the squares sorted and dropped back in the mail to you. Please be sure you can meet the deadline before you sign up! 
  • If you would like to enter more than once, just sign your name twice, and submit six different fabrics.
  • I am looking for a  group total  of 40, so basically the first 40 with blogs or flickr accounts are in.
May you always Sew in Peace!
Sandra