Skirting the Issue or Fan-tasy

A Fan of Skirts

Sunday takes me to a little hole cleaning.  My poor little hole in the wall has been getting neglected and the sunshine calls for spring cleaning.  Still a mouse does get to sit on her tail for a short time and while I'm here, the creative process continues.

Someone recently shook their finger at me and told me that I was doing it all wrong, and alluded to my poor customer.  I was quite taken aback since no one has ever challenged my etrennes or doll accessories.  One of the distinctive traits of my work is the exacting copy of an illustration.  And rather than sewing as they taught you in Home Economics, the fashion school of Miss E. Mouse tosses out the traditional and scampers outside the box.  To some this can simply not be done, but what comes to mind is the figuring of algebra.  I recall so clearly learning the formula to reach the answer of some problem, when a tutor showed me clearly that the same solution could be reached another way.  And, I promise you, I take no short cuts.  Instead I labor from scratch to finish finding the best way to achieve my goal. 

Pleated Skirt Front

I prefer not to read manuals and guide books for they are often confusing and poorly written.  Recently a friend asked me to purchase the book The Dolls Dressmaker, A Complete Pattern Book.  The title alone should have tipped me off, but she claimed that everything I ever needed to know about sewing was between the covers.  Without giving the book an unsolicited review, I can atest  to it being a pattern book, and not a technical manual on how to piece together and sew, which was what I'd hoped for.  I will also add that most doll bodies vary greatly, so while the book claims "actual size patterns", there will still be adjusting, so I think I'll stick to my slopers and hand drafting the patterns in paper towel.

Nice Fit to the Waist

The white pleated skirt was interesting to create.  I learned something on the fly that I'd not considered before.  Since the illustration depicts a pleated, but equally full skirt, I chose to pleat the fabric, then gather it at the waist, thereby achieving the fullness required.  I thought it might ruin the looks of the pleats, but this was not the case.  A pleated and waistbanded skirt would have been too narrow and more applicable for suiting.  I'm almost positive if I shared this with another, they'd tell me I did it all wrong.  There are so very many things we have to do in this life by the book, that I enjoy the artist freedom of creating on my own.  And, one of them is hemming a pleated skirt last. 

In order to keep the pleats nice, I keep pins in the center of the skirt once I sew a stay stitch to the waistband.  To begin, the hemline was folded up a quarter inch, then an inch and a half and ironed, while a gathering stitch held it in place as I pleated the fabric.  It was no trouble at all doing a simple slip stitch to the hem when I was finished.  When it came time to removing the gather stitch, I removed the thread stitch by stitch so as not to crumple the fabric by pulling it out.  Worth every minute of my time.

One of the very nice things about gathers, is that if the sleeve or waistband is a little too large, you can put in a gentle gather to shorten it.  I don't think there is truly any way to rush through creating a garment for a doll.  I would never be so bold as to be slightest bid confident in what I'm doing.  Tiny step by tiny step is how I work and I'm not about to change.

The only thing I've come to dread in the process of garment making, is sewing on snaps and hook and eyes.  If there was an easy way to do this (we'll add buttons to this task as well), I'd be overjoyed!

My Little Lettie Lane on the 10.5" Bleuette Body

I'm already planning the next garment, but in between, I need to begin sewing for the 10 1/2" Bleuette body since I have a little blonde Lettie Lane doll now.

Love,
Miss E. Mouse

Surrey With the Fringe On Top!

An A to Z Story of a French Fashion Doll

Inspiration for the Buggy

In between the yardage and stitches, a dear friend of mine asked me to make for her, the buggy for her A is For Annabelle doll.  In truth we discussed this about a year ago when we met up at the Rose Percy charity event held by the boys from the Carmel Doll Shop.

Marie Terese is a young French Fashion doll created by Alice Leverette, and was given as a souvenir gift at a UFDC conference three years back.  She's 10.5" tall and was modeled after a Huret (if this mouse is not mistaken).  Many collectors displayed her for the young mademoiselle she is, and others, like my friend, made her into another doll. 

The story by Tasha Tudor is for young children and alphabet by item, Tasha illustrates all the glorious items Annabelle possesses.  A very charming book that inspired many a seamstress and doll accessorist to create her loot. 

Shown with a Marie Terese doll 10.5"

The basic buggy was a kit I'd found on ebay that was created for a doll club in 1979.  It was a good start for me since I'd no idea how I was going to get the parts, much less make the chasis.  Still and all the bonnet was a bugger to make.  No lie. 


All by Itself

The main problems were in the assembly and attachment, and while it is a fragile piece primarily for display, it is as well built as a mouse could make it.  The color of the posts and ornate oval came to me after I deduced that black bars would make the buggy look like a jail, and the lighter tan opens the piece up and allows the doll to shine.

In a sense it was good for me to take this departure from sewing for a bit so I could keep my skills fresh...and I do have those paddles to carve!  A box of lovely basswood arrived today.

I also wish to thank my readers for leaving such lovely comments.  I appreciate it more than you could imagine!

Love,
Miss E. Mouse

The X Factor



The X Factor

Its Monday night and I've been designing and sewing for three weeks now.  I'm tired, but I'm also feeling some progress on this boating ensemble for Lettie Lane.  Of course, Lettie is still in her grey dress, so dear Daisy must remain in her knickers and be a little mannequin.

This particular little smock has some interesting features.  For one, the length of the shoulder is longer, which required some on the spot designing.  I used the all in one pattern I'd made with the front fold, and lengthened the sleeve a bit.  Then I simply cut the sleeves off "off the shoulder", gently gathered the new sleeve edges and reattached them for the look.  It worked.



Smock Without the Belt

This top also introduced me to smocking.  I must have read three books and watched countless Youtubes only to discover that what was illustrated by Sheila was not true smocking, but a combination of smocking gathers and cross stitching.  I call this Xmocking.  In order to have done real smocking, the top would have needed 20-25 folds in a one inch section and it would not have resembled this illustration whatsoever.  Of course, when you're developing a new technique like the Xmock, you have to perfect it to make it work.  I can't tell you how many times I had to rip embroidery thread out!  What I required was three diamond patterns within five folds or pleats.  I chose to make seven folded pleats in order to have the anchor fold on each end.  Then I measured and pinned and embroidered the decoration within the boundaries of the seven pleats. 

The pockets have a little zig-zag embroidered stitch on them, and the sleeves boast the diamond pattern all the way around.

The collar is squared on the back flaps for a rather nautical look, which was by request - a good one.  One of the most difficult things to do was desiging the v that would become laced up.  I honestly had no idea what to do, but realized it had to be lined.  What I ended up doing was cutting a lining, a shorter version of the top, and once sewn on, I cut a one and half inch slit right through the lining and top.  I stitched down the sides of this cut starting at the neckline, then turned this inside out.  It worked!  I was scared to pieces doing this, but I was at my wits end not knowing how else to achieve this.  I got lucky!



Squared Collar and V to Be Laced Up

The poufy pursey pockets were yet another piece to design.  The pocket ended up being a half moon shape, lined, then gathered all the way around the edge, save for the top ends that would get gathered across left to right, and embroidered.  I stitched them on from the underside of the top, catching the pocket gather just under the pouf so the stitching wouldn't show.  There are many Lettie Lane outfits with these pockets and I intend to further develop these until I'm more comfortable with the look. (Do I dare say, "Have a better look"?)  These will work and they do look sweet, but I think perhaps only the bottom edge might have been gathered.  Next time.

I'd recently gotten an order for several Lettie Lane dresses, so I decided it would be best to make two at a time as my Lettie would wish the same ensemble.  I learned with both the indian costume and the pumpkin costume, that after I'd made one to the finish, it was a very long process to start afresh and make another one.  Also, when you're sewing two, and the pattern is for the first time, sometimes you work something out better on the second, and can go back and redo the first.



Pink Smock Times Two

I just finished the belt today and was able to use these little buttons I'd purchased just for finishing touches like this.  Coral pink hat straw is on order, as well as a golden-brown silk-satin ribbon for the band, and some peach colored mulberry flowers and leaves for the decoration.  I also have a nice piece of basswood to carve the two paddles from.  One for my doll, one for my customer's.  And, then there's the skirt, which I'll begin tomorrow.  But, we all know that I'm the Pleat Queen by now! LOL



Now to Make This Pink Straw Hat and Paddle

Do I spend too much time on these outfits?  Do I agonize over the details?  Is it worth it?  Yes.  It always will be, for what I've done with my etrennes and accessories, I find natural to do with these ensembles.  The result (I hope!) is an heirloom quality costume for our dolls.

I have come to the conclusion though this, that I love working with and around bright color.  I love designing clothing that tells a story and I hope my creations do just that.

The days have turned sunny and nature is dressed head to toe in shades of green. Spring! I do take breaks to sun my little nose and enjoy one of the prettiest times of the year.

Love,
Miss E. Mouse

All Buttoned Up



Standard Pleats and Box Pleats

Midweek and the last button has been sewn on.  Lettie has a new dress and is ready to go visiting.  Well, almost.  She still needs her hat, which I'll begin today.  Her white hair bow sets off the collar very nicely, so we'll be patient.

One of the interesting things about sewing from scratch, is that I often have to learn how to do something all over again.  There was more seam ripping in this little dress than I would have imagined there to be.  For instance, the large, loose cuffs on the sleeves.  I must have fiddled with turning them up, cinching them up and all manner of fussing, until I remembered that there needed to be a cuff band sewn on at the bottom of the sleeve, good side to back side to enable me to roll the cuff over the sleeve and tack it down.



Twenty Covered Buttons in All

I don't know if it was the nature of the Kaufman Silk Cotton, or the nature of the pattern I'd made, but it was a wonderous breeze to keep the bodice softened, the cuffs loose, and the pleats crisp.  The underskirting is the Dharma dyed cotton I spoke of, with box pleats.  These two skirts were sewn together and then attached to the bodice. 

A for the Dharma Dye experiments, I learned that you could use a 1/2 tsp of dye in a tap water bath, dip the clean wet cloth in for 30 seconds, sprinkle a tad of soda ash in the bath, swirl, and remove it quickly to attain a light shade of the color.  The first attempt following the directions gave me a deep, rich color, so the dye is excellent.  The time you leave it in the bath is the key.  I only experiemented with 1" square pieces so as not to ruin the yardage.

I think the greatest challenge was covering all those buttons and hoping they would be in scale for the dress.  The smallest Dritz covered button kit available is 7/16".  Generally, this would be too large a scale for a dress, but Lettie is an 18" antique reproduction doll.  And, when all is said and done, she is just a doll, who doesn't seem to mind a'tall!  I did experient with covering plastic shank buttons, but the fraying was atrocious and looked terribly messy.  What I may do is try to find tiny satin covered wedding buttons, and cover those.  Lettie's clothing not only has ruffles, lace, and pleats, but tons of buttons.

The Illustration Once Again

While I'm designing the hat you see in the illustration, I'll be teaching my mouse paws how to smock.  I just watched a Youtube on the process, but the lady only shared the first row.  I do have a heirloom sewing book I'll have to pull out and see if there's a description in there.  What I'm finding is that there are many different kinds of smocking, so here we go on a new technique adventure.

Now to top things off with a hat!

Love,
Miss E. Mouse



Sailing Right Along

Starboard Bow

Sailing right along, we finish Lettie Lane's For School sailor dress.  Several things took place since the last journaling.  Both the mini soutache braid arrived, and the tiny cuff buttons.  It was an interesting process machine stitching all that braid on the collar, cuffs and high neck band.  It was all eyeballing in the process for I don't see how pinning the braid would actually make it go smoother. 

Also, the shell was sewn and embroidered with a wee anchor.  I will admit that I had a ball making this one.  Not only do I love sailor dresses on dolls, but some of this is getting alot easier to do.  For instance, the front plackets and pleats.  And, with the omission of those silly, huge patterns to fuss with, designing these dresses is far more creative and up to the skills I've developed in the past.



Front and Center

The silk ribbon tie just arrived this morning, and while it appears lighter in color, its the lighting in the room that did this.  Its actually a perfect match.  So soft and drapey, too.

I have discovered one thing that I'll make certain not to repeat.  Each time I've gone to hem the dress, I find I don't have enough length to make a deep hem.  I'd have to literally cut the skirt hem to her ankles in order to have a good one inch to one and a half inch hem.  I keep creating these dresses as if sewing for a small child.



The Stern

Yesterday I was experimenting with Dharma Dyes.  The Fiber Reactive dyes are wonderful to play with.  They take to the fabric in tap water and you leave the cloth in the bath just long enough to get your desired color - even if its only a minute.  You don't need to use more than 1/2 teaspoonfuls of dye to get a good color, and a sprinkling of the soda ash swirled in the bath for a minute is all you need to chemically seal in the color.  Equally, a 4oz. jar is very reasonably priced.  After my hesitations with dying fabric, and experimenting with Dharma Dye, I think we're going to have a bit of fun now.  I'll explain and give examples of this in my next entry.  The grey/mauve dress is ready to sew.

Love,
Miss E. Mouse

 



More Stress Than Seam in Seamstress?

Sailor Dress in the Works

The Illustrated Paper Doll Dress

The Embroidered Anchor

Its been raining night and day, day and night for a week now.  Four feet of fresh powder fell in the Sierra and this little mouse has been keeping warm and dry in her mouse hole.

Since I began sewing last September, its been interesting that I've not continued to stress the theme of the Creative Process.  Oh, I talk about it, but only when the dress is finished.  That is unlike me to skip the good stuff.  And, so while I await the mini soutache braid to complete the sailor dress, it might be fun to see where we're at on this.

As I've mentioned, I've been designing my own patterns now - more out of necessity than desire.  One of the things I made in the process is a sloper pattern.  This is the basic piece from which all other designs can be made.  My sloper pattern is a simple bodice that fits.  Depending on what I want to create, I redraw the neckline, add a collar drawn from the inside dimensions of the neckline, and so on.  This little sailor school dress is one of the most unusual garments I've ever seen illustrated, so naturally I had to tackle it next.  After conferring with an expert seamstress in Philadelphia, she noted that the front piece resembled a shawl.  This made alot of sense to me and when I went to draw it out from the sloper, I named it a floating vest.  The pleated empire skirt of the dress is actually sewn directly onto the bodice and the floating vest is attached at the shoulders and armholes leave it floating over the pleats, and will be closed with a hook and eye. (You can always click on these photos to enlarge them for detail.)

A high neck shell, closing in the back will go under this dress and the sailor collar will be hand sewn on with slip stitches directly to the finished collar edge so when you flip it over, it will fold over the shoulders.  I couldn't think of any other way to do this.  I initially intended the sailor collar to be a separate piece you just slip over the doll's head (see the mock up), but then it wouldn't resemble the illustration.  And, we all know how important that is for me!

The Mock Up in "Stash Fabric"

A couple of days ago I embroidered, free-hand, the anchor on the sleeve, and a smaller one on the shell's bodice front right under where the high collar will stand.  One of the most fun things I learned to do last weekend, was how to fully line this shell.  I watched a YouTube by Magalie Dawson, titled, Magalie's Technique to Lining a Doll Dress or Coat.  Look it up!  Its amazing.  The is absolutely no way someone describe this in writing with full comprehension on the other side.

The Grey Mauve Dress and Hat

The Paper Towel Patterning

So while I'm awaiting the mini soutache braid for the cuffs, and two collars, I began the paper towelling process of making a pattern for this lovely visiting dress.  I might add that I'm also awaiting yards and yards of special lace from The Netherlands for future dresses (www.cottonlace.com), which is why I chose a dress with no lace.  This does have a little hat, and I so enjoy making little hats with buckram bases!  I also have the striped fabric for the underskirt coming and hope it compliments the Kaufman silk cotton of the mauve grey I've chosen.

So while the rain continues to fall, I'll begin a mock up of the visiting dress and tweek the pattern until it works.  You can see from the mock-up of the sailor dress that the floating vest needed work.  I simply redrew it smaller and made another.

 You might notice that Daisy is acting model while Lettie enjoys her rose dress.  Back to pins and needles!

Love,
Miss E. Moue

Stop and Smell the Roses

Spring is here in middlin' California.  The Flowering Plum trees are past peek and daffodils have bloomed evenly with narcissus.  Early?  Perhaps.  But, how lovely!  And, to celebrate, Lettie Lane received a pretty party dress for the season.



Lettie Lane Paper Doll Illustration



Lettie Lane's Party Dress



After the tears this mouse shed over the yellow coat dress, it was time to try, try again.  I'd had my eye on this particular rose print party dress illustration for some time, and had purchased a lovely Lecien fabric to make it up with.  Learning about designing patterns has been a steep curve, but I felt I could tackle just about anything after the last project.  One of the little blessings about being a doll collector and knowing many talented seamstresses is that help is typically at hand.  However, one thing I discovered on my own was that the original Bleuette patterns enlarged to 145% fit the Daisy Elmira body (which my Daisy and Lettie are on) to a T!

The cotton-silk rosette sash.

I looked on the Bleu Door Portal and found a basic sheath and once enlarged, I could alter the neckline and hem at will.  This was how the square neckline was achieved for this dress.  I had to then tackle the Bertha collar.  This collar is not separate - floating from the dress - but, sewn directly under the last edge layer of lace around the collar.  I cut the collar on the bias so that it would stretch nicely with the corners of the squared lace. 

One of the most fun and proud moments of this outfit, so similar to the Dolly Varden dress, was in making the sleeves.  I'd studied and studied the illustration until my eyes blinked, and discovered two rows of tiny ruffles on the sleeve band.  I used a wide short sleeve and lengthened it about a half inch to accommodate the cuff.     This is not a true cuff, but a band that I stitched the two rows of ruffle to, topped with the lace overlay, and then sewn to the gathered edge of the puffed sleeve.  When the first sleeve was done I photographed it just incase the second one didn't come out the same...but, it did!

The first sleeve is in and perfect!

Three small ruffles followed on the hemline topped with insertion lace.  The sash is made from this glorious Kaufman Radiance.  Its pure cotton-silk and is so wonderful and lusterous to work with.  I simply twisted the ends and rolled and tucked to make the rosette at her waist.  Lastly pink stockings and matching slippers topped with bows. 

One of the most difficult things about putting together an ensemble like this is finding good color matches to compliment all the pieces.  The leather I used for the slippers came all the way from Italy, while the stocking fabric was plucked off of ebay.  I suspect that as I continue to learn how to sew or rather learn how to design and assemble these costumes, the searches for perfect notions will take me all over the world.

Don't forget to stop and smell the roses!  Spring is in the air!

Love,

Miss E. Mouse