Handkerchief Dresses

Biggie Sis sent a link to a BJD handkerchief dress tutorial by skelly jelly and since I have a lot of handkerchiefs I thought I'd give it a try.

I chose Elnora to be my model because she is so often neglected.

Elnora's original dress

I got Elnora at the Doll and Teddy Bear Show several years ago. Although her tag says $20, I think I got her for $12 or $15 because the vendors were packing up and eager to leave. She is a 12 inch hard plastic doll. She had stapled-on clothes which I removed as soon as I got her home. For a long time she wore this dress that I made for her.

Elnora's green dress

So anyway, back to the handkerchief dresses. First I spread out my hankies to see what I had.

Elnora surrounded by hankies

Then I chose one and made my cuts.

Cuttings

Then I pinned and sewed per the tute, although instead of pleating the skirt I gathered it.

Pinning

More pinning

I sewed 6 inches of ribbon to the point of the bodice but I recommend a much longer piece, unless you have very small hands or a small child available to tie it. I put a strip of velcro up the back rather than use a snap. Also, the tute doesn't say what to do with the excess waistband, so I just cut it off.

Elnora models her dress

I was so impressed with the dress that I made one for Glinda too. Glinda is an 11 inch hard plastic doll. I think I got her on eBay. Here is her original outfit.

Glinda's Glinda outfit

Apparently I named her Genevieve but I always call her Glinda and I think Glinda she will always be. I made her a hankie dress too, and a headband.

Elnora and Glinda in their hankie dresses

I tried a headband on Elnora but it didn't look right

Now I am eyeing a couple of bandannas that HLP will never miss, for the bigger girls.

A couple of hours later--I couldn't resist making a bandanna dress, this time for Caroline.

Caroline shows off her dress