Mrs. Smith and I went thrifting last week for the first time in ages. When I found an infant/toddler sized flouncy skirt, I had a sudden inspiration!
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| 18-month size skirt |
Easy flouncy skirts for the girls! I simply cut down both side seams and wrapped each piece around a doll to see where to sew the side seam for the new skirt.
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| Maria and Temerity show off their new skirts |
I had also found trousers with flouncy legs.
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| These were size 2/3 Toddler |
Lorraine had been giving me very furious looks because she was being neglected. Also, after reading Nymphaea's latest post at
The Doll Barn, I was feeling guilty about neglecting Casilda too. SoI decided to use these flounces to make skirts for Lorraine and Cassie. The trouser legs were nice and stretchy so they worked well for the bodices.
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| Lorraine is too young not to have straps on her dress |
There was even enough fabric left to make one more dress, so I chose Starla, my 16" Tonner doll. I wasn't sure how long it should be so I haven't finished it yet. I tried three lengths.
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| Short |
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| Long |
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| Longest |
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| Who wore it best? |
That's all I was going to sew yesterday but then I started looking at Belinda. She didn't
say anything but I knew she was hoping. So I took a little toddler dress with a picture of fireworks on it and began to cut it down for her. I didn't get very far but she knows she's next on the list.
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| "I was afraid I'd been forgotten." |
And just so you know that Cassie hadn't totally been neglected, a couple of months ago Mrs. Smith stopped by and took over my computer, so I was forced to sit at my sewing machine. I picked up a couple of pieces of felt and was inspired to make something for Cassie.
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| Very mod |
Now I can't wait to get back to work and look for more flouncy skirts!
Wow, these are a lot of pretty dresses! I like them all, brilliant to use the children's size clothes. It's hard to choose between the versions for Starla, they seem all right for different occasions. The fireworks dress will be very pretty too, great fabric! And Cassie will find a boyfriend for sure now :-D. Great job on all the garments! Oh, and I wanted to ask before, but forgot: what kind of doll is Lorraine again? Every time I see her on your banner, I think "what a beautiful doll!", but don't remember her brand or name.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Nymphaea. Lorraine is an Effanbee Reproduction Gloria Ann doll that came out in 2003 after Robert Tonner bought Effanbee. She is 21 inches tall although they made an 18" version for a year. I fell in love with her when I saw her picture several years ago and was lucky to find her on eBay. Now she's very hard to find.
DeleteI just realized she's not a Reproduction Gloria Ann but a Recreation Gloria Ann. You can go here http://www.effanbeedoll.com/2004amchildMY.htm for more info.
DeleteI looked her up, this is definitely a doll for my wish list! Thanks for the info Audra!
DeleteThanks, she's really special :-).
ReplyDeleteOh, you have been busy!! I am going to make some clothes for my poor beaten up Crissy doll that I got on ebay recently (I am going to try and blame that on Nymphaea because when I saw her Crissy, I had to have one. Of course I am quite capable of buying ooodles of dolls without any encouragement!) I really love the black and leopard outfits and I think Starla's looks best short. The fireworks dress will look gorgeous on Belinda, looking forward to seeing how it finished. I hadn't been op-shopping for ages too, and when I went to my local favourite store, I said to the check-out lady I was one of their big spenders for the day as I bought so much!
ReplyDeleteWe'll all be looking forward to your blog about your new Crissy doll, Lizzie! Nymphaea is inspiring to us all. I will try to finish Belinda's dress next week on my days off and I also want to make more suitable tops for Tem and Maria and maybe bolero jackets.
DeleteYour girls look wonderful. Everybody looks like they're having fun. Francie and I like the short and long lengths equally on Starla. You are so creative. =)
ReplyDeleteI think I will leave Starla's dress like it is and she can adjust it for each occasion. That's if she ever gets a boyfriend! Those Tonner boy dolls are pretty expensive too and I've never seen one at a thrift store.
DeleteI see such cute infant/toddler clothes that it's easy to get creative and try to think of ways to cut them down for dolls. I got a little sailor dress that one (or maybe two) doll(s) will get.
Hahaha, Lizzie, I bet you don't need that encouragement at all, there are so many beautiful dolls :-D. And Audra, you inspire me too, I'm definitely going to look for infant clothing now too :-).
ReplyDelete