Petticoat for 18-inch Doll

  {18-inch doll skirt week :: day 2}

Today it's a petticoat, slip, or skirt made out of eyelet trim.

Supplies needed:

• 12 inches of 3.5 - 5 3/8 inch wide eyelet trim at $3.79-$5.49 per yard, 12 inches will only cost $1.26-$1.83

When I got home from the store I noticed that 2 of the pieces were 12 inches and 2 of the pieces were 13 inches. With doll clothes an inch can make a big difference, so I sewed them up a bit differently...

 For the two pieces that were 12 inches, starting at 2 inches from the top I sewed a .25 inch seam down to the bottom of the skirt (backstitching at start and end). I ironed the seam open, then topstitched around the opening.

 Then I attached Velcro mini fasteners, 3/8 inch dots (self-adhesive circles), with a package of 56 costing $3.49, that's only $.06 each.

 The other 2 pieces were 13 inches long, so for these first I ironed .25 inches to the wrong side.

I then topstitched them.

 Lastly, I sewed a wide Velcro (5/8 inched wide) strip down almost all of the length of the skirt.

See you later for day 3 of 18-inch doll skirt week :)

Quick round-up of all my 18-inch doll creations:

• Popover dresses
• Reversible skirts
• Tea Party dresses
• Doll carrier
• Elastic-waist skirts
• Katie dress
• Newborn onesies to t-shirts and nightgowns
• No-sew tutu

No-Sew Tutu for 18-inch Doll

 {18-inch doll skirt week :: day 1}

Welcome to a week of 18-inch doll skirts. For day 1 I have a no-sew tutu for you.

Supplies needed:

• 12 inches of 3.5 inch wide sparkle tulle trim with satin ribbon at $4.99 per yard, 12 inches will only cost $1.66

•  Velcro mini fasteners, 3/8 inch dots (self-adhesive circles), with a package of 56 costing $3.49, that's only $.06 each

 Instructions: 

• Attach Velcro mini fasteners to the stain ribbon part of the back of the tutu

•  Optional: Apply Fray Check to the raw edges of the satin ribbon to prevent fraying

 Total cost of one tutu: $1.72

 This is what the tutu looks like individually, the first photo on the top shows 3 tutus layered one on top of the other.

See you later for day 2 of 18-inch doll skirt week :)

Quick round-up of all my 18-inch doll creations:

• Popover doll dresses
• Reversible skirts
• Tea Party doll dresses
• Doll carrier
• Elastic-waist skirts
• Katie dress
• Newborn onesies to t-shirts and nightgowns

Newborn Onesies to 18-inch Doll Clothes

 This is a super quick instant gratification project taking newborn onesies and turning them into t-shirts and nightgowns for an 18-inch doll.

 Newborn onesies are sized 5 to 8 pounds. I bought all of these at a used clothing sale, at less than $1.50 each.

 You can easily find used newborn onesies in terrific shape with no stains because as we all know babies don't stay 5 to 8 pounds for very long, they don't even have time to wear them very long.

 For the t-shirt:

• Measure from the shoulders down 6.5 inches, I used a quilting ruler and a rotary cutter and cut a straight line across.

•  For the hem, iron .5 inch from the bottom, stitch at 3/8 inch with a twin needle.

 The twin needle I used was 4.0 for stretch fabric.

 I was happy to make several t-shirts as the doll already has lots of reversible and elastic waist skirts, so now she's got tops to go with them :)

 For the nightgown:

• I used the longer onesies and to maximize fabric I used a seam ripper to remove the ribbing at the hip area, then cut straight across with a rotary cutter as shown in the photo.

•  For the hem, iron .5 inch from the bottom, stitch at 3/8 inch with a twin needle.

 Everything just slips over the head, no closures to worry about.

So for about $1.50 you can make one of these with minimal effort, if you shop for 18-inch doll clothes you already know that $1.50 is a good deal.

Here's a quick round-up of what I've made for the doll so far:

• Popover doll dresses
• Reversible skirts
• Tea Party doll dresses
• Doll carrier
• Elastic waist skirts
• Katie dress

Flashback May

 Flashback May is going on right now over at Project Run & Play. Elizabeth and LiZ asked me to come back for a day and sew a look from any theme that I wish I would have had in my season, I chose: 'Sewing through the Decades', check out the whole look here.

Happy Tuesday!

Ugly Duckling Vintage Pattern Party

 I'm joining in on the fun over at Simple Simon and Company's "Ugly Duckling" Vintage Pattern Party. I'm linking up the above Very Easy Very Vogue that I'm almost certain is from the 1980s with the super wide shoulder padded shoulders. I think it is ugly because it looks like a plastic shopping bag that literally hangs on the body, it has absolutely no shape whatsoever. But I wanted to let you know the good news, you don't need this sewing pattern to achieve the same look. All you have to do is gather a plastic shopping bag... take a scissors and cut open the bottom.

 Then slip it on. Voila!

 I have some more ugly vintage patterns to share with you... ugly wide and loud ties, that go up to 5 inches wide!

 Sometimes the ugly is more the styling... ugly sideburns and mustache.

 Shiny green quilted fabric on the far right.

 This shoulder-tied dress has a way too high kangaroo pocket.

 Am I the only one who thinks E.T. is ugly?

 This blouse looks like it has too many extra large scarves tied around the neck.

Actually, in my own personal opinion, I think the winner of the ultimate ugly pattern would be this crochet afghan poncho for a man! Too funny!

Spring Showers Jacket Pattern Tour and Discount Code

 Hello from the land of 10,000 lakes. Mr. J is sporting his newest jacket that I sewed up for him for the Spring Showers Jacket Pattern Tour. Many thanks to Heidi of Elegance & Elephants for inviting me to participate.

Guy Cotten rain coat

 I'm going to hit the rewind button for just a moment… way back in 1999-2001 while we were living in France, our oldest son got a classic yellow rain coat. The brand name is Guy Cotten and it's from Brittany, France. All 3 of my children wore this coat (2 boys and a girl). Here's a photo of my daughter wearing the coat at age 2 in 2009.

Guy Cotten coat modeled with yellow rain boots to match

 I love it that a yellow rain coat never goes out of style. My children no longer fit into that Guy Cotten coat, so I sewed up a big kid one using the newly released Spring Showers Jacket pattern. It comes in sizes 2/3 to 12 years. It's got a sewing level of 2.5 out of 4, it's not super difficult, but it is very time consuming as it's a fully lined jacket with lots of topstitching.

 My favorite things about the pattern are that it:

• is gender neutral
• has a visor on the hood
• has a lower back hemline
• has a hanging loop

Hello octopus... hello octopus

 Project details
Pattern: Spring Showers Jacket by Heidi of Elegance & Elephants
Size: 6/7 with added length (about 1.5 inches)
Fabrics:
main: yellow twill (I quite like working with twill)
lining: Free Spirit, Salt water - Octo Garden - Aqua
Notions: 20 inch separating zipper

 This was the first time I sewed an Elegance and Elephant's pattern and I found it to be of a very high quality, with many photos for the steps, the option to print out just one size, and the option to cut out a few pattern pieces with using measurements or print out pattern pieces.

All in all I had very satisfying results.

It's raining outside today... so can you guess what jacket he's wearing?

Exciting news! There is a discount for nest full of eggs readers during the tour. To receive a dollar off the price of the pattern, use discount code: TOUR. You can go here to purchase the Spring Showers Jacket Pattern.

Katie 18-inch Doll Dress

 The Katie 18-inch doll dress is a cute little sleeveless dress with a 7 inch regular zipper in the back. Most doll clothes have Velcro, but Velcro can snag onto so many things like tights and other clothing. You would think that installing a zipper in doll clothing would be difficult, but it really wasn't.

 The fabric came from the leftovers of the Laura Ashley bridesmaid dress and the dress has the same silhouette as the re-engineered dress. I had just enough leftover piping (from the original dress) for piping at the waistline for this one.

If you're looking for a free dress pattern and tutorial for an 18-inch doll, I highly recommend this one. I will definitely be sewing more of these.