Here's a blog photo of my three Princesses ! Blonde Cinderella (Cindy) and redhead Ariel are wearing their original costumes, without shoes. Far as I can tell, Ariel never had shoes ! Belle, the brunette, is wearing a dress and apron I got from a toy rabbit at a yard sale for a quarter. All I had to do was add snaps to the backs of both pieces.

Cindy and Belle have lovely hair, but poor Ariel's is almost scalped, although it's hard to tell from the photo. While they clearly share the same head mold, no two dolls have the same hands and arms ! I love the rotating wrists. Coming soon - photos of their new clothes !

Belle is a bit of a tomboy...

but who can blame her for wanting to read in a tree ?

As promised - new clothes photos ! One of Belle's favorite summer spots, her beloved 'reading tree', and how better to climb it than in a pair of comfy shorts and a bright blouse ?

Both patterns are from Doll Shop Deluxe. The blouse doesn't fit quite right - the neck is a bit lower than I like for my dolls - because her arms interfere with the measurement the program wanted, Still, it's not that bad, and it's since been corrected.

I love making doll shorts and pants, 'cause they're so easy ! You've probably seen this fabric before, numerous times.

Who wouldn't appreciate finding someone so sweet

in the mail, instead of just the dreaded 'more bills' ?

This is the DSD jumper pattern I sew up for nearly all my dolls - you can see it on Dottie and Gracie and Sherry on their pages as well. Very simple, but this fabric is a real PITA to sew. It comes apart at a touch, not at all like most cottons, and is much thinner than it looks. But Cindy's a trooper, and looks very sweet, sending you greetings from Chez Insanity.

I bought the fabric last year, thinking it looked 'vintage', back when I mostly sewed for just my Barbie-sized dolls. Luckily, I only bought a half a yard...unfortunately, I bought a half yard of the same print in three colors. (sigh)

Ariel prefers the shade, her skin is very delicate

Typical, especially for a redhead mermaid !

Ariel does look quite happy in her pretty dress, doesn't she ? It's also a DSD pattern, with a zipper in back. I wanted to make her something tropical, something you'd almost expect Lilo to wear. This was a cut-off piece of fabric from a little-girl dress I adapted for the My Size Barbies, and it was just big enough for our exotic, aquatic Ariel !

Sometimes it's easier to put in sleeves than mess with narrow facings, but since it takes about the same amount of time either way, it all depends on what mood I'm in !

Summer sportswear -

or, I got a lot out of that 50c GoodWill bear !

Bet you thought I'd abandoned the Disney Princess girls ! While Elphie's been getting most of my attention, I haven't forgotten them...it's just that I've adapted more for them than I've made, and it doesn't seem fair to claim it on this page !

Cindy (Cinderella) got a lovely yellow 'starburst' skirt and matching top, altered to fit her - it used to belong to a Baby Face doll before they started creeping me out and I donated them.

Belle got a cute dress - a gingerbread print with pink piping - from a Boyds stuffed bear I got at a yard sale for a quarter. Fits fine, but the collar won't lie right. So I tucked it inside. Even claimed the bear's 'ear bow' for Belle's hair. Baby Chrissy claimed the bear.

And today, Ariel got a sporting outfit, part adapted, part sewn by me. Her shirt comes from another GoodWill bear, purchased in hopes that his shoes would fit Timey and Dottie. Had to alter 'em a bit, but they did. His shirt got split up the back, hemmed and Velcro'ed, to fit Ariel. Decided to sew her matching shorts when I culled two torn shirts from Dearest Son's closet. Here's part of one of 'em, now a pair of grey sports shorts. This is the same pattern used in Belle's first solo photo, the striped shorts. Doll Shop Deluxe, in a rare 'worked the first time' moment !

It was kind of funny - the hem on Ariel's new shirt is very badly sewn. I'd be embarassed to let that out of the house ! But it was tucked into the bear's shorts, so I guess they figured it wouldn't ever be seen. I criticize my sewing so severely, and the 'pro' stuff can often be worse. Bear (still wearing his shorts and hat, those I couldn't use) got donated this afternoon. I like to get the most out of my 50c...

About time Cindy got new clothes !

A great outfit for relaxing at home.

Here ya go ! Another bit from the worn and torn Dearest Son shirt. These are elastic-waist pants that fit quite nice. Don't they look comfy ?

Cindy's blouse was made from Simplicity 9508, an older pattern available in several sizes. This was originally made for a Baby Face doll from Galoob. This pattern, in the 12 - 13" size, fits Baby Face perfectly. It doesn't fit the Disney Princess dolls as well. Armholes are much too tight, and it blouses out a bit much, but I didn't want to get rid of it, so for now, it'll do. Cindy here is much smaller in the chest than So Happy Hannah.

She may not be a Disney Princess...

...but Mia has her own ideas about royalty, too !

Please welcome "Mia" ! She's a bit taller than the Princesses, but she can fit just about all their clothes !

Mia is a member of the Crissy Family, a friend to Crissy's sister Velvet. Her grin is contageous ! Found her at a thrift store, just the way you see her on your left. I didn't want a Mia doll, but once I saw her, I just had to bring her home.

And she can wear most of the clothes I've made - or what the Princesses came in. Crissy's happy to have a little sister, and I'm happy to have them both around !

The first thing I made, just for Mia !

I got the fabric a short while after getting her, at the same place !

This is the jumper and panty pattern from 'Doll Reader' magazine, Aug/Sept 1987. It fits a bit loosely, as there's a blouse to go under it, but I think it's fine the way it is !

Modesty prohibits her showing her matching panties, but they fit great and even have the same lace. Only problem I have with 'DR' patterns is that they never say 'cut 1' or anything. While it's obvious with most pieces, like sleeves, the skirt part was in two sections, something not readily apparent. As a result, I ran out of lace, and there's about a two-inch section in the back that features a different pattern of lace than the front !

Used recycled bra elastic on the panties, with just an inch or two cut off. So I made her a scrunchie ! Those are easy, you make a tube of fabric, open on each end. Turn right side out, and slide the elastic in, pinning the ends flush to the fabric. Make sure you have enough fabric and elastic to stretch ! Then sew it into a loop, catching the elastic ends in the back seam. Flip so the ends are in the inside, and instant scrunchie ! Great way to use up scrap fabric and elastic.

The same magazine has a blouse, socks, and shoe pattern. So you'll probably be seeing it again, real soon !

Here's a holiday photo of everybody !

Doesn't it look like a fun party ?

Here's a Halloween image of everybody ! We have, right to left, Ariel, Belle, Isabella (Interactive Belle), Mia, Crissy, and Cindy. You can see that Mia's a bit taller, but otherwise, she's the same size as the smaller girls.

Next holiday, I'll have to include the newest addition to the family, Aria ! She's Aria's big sis. I doubt, though, that Dollar Tree will have sweater-wearing bears I can buy for Christmas-themed doll clothes !

Four dresses - can you spot the differences ?

Well, I got bored and ended up sewing the same dress four times. It was great to get some practice in hemming in ! The pattern, designed as a copy for the first Velvet's issue dress, was in Roselyn Gadia-Smitley's "Dolls' Clothes Pattern Book". Bought it from a used bookshop several years ago, but never used it - it's not well-organized and the directions...well, let's just say I know easier, faster ways to sew some of this stuff.

Since Mia has the same body as Velvet, this simple dress looked like it might be fun ! Well...Belle's wearing the first version. Mia and the Disney Princess dolls have nearly the same body - the Princesses have bigger necks and arms, though. I had to modify the pattern right out of the gate - the armholes (armscryes) were too small even for Mia's arms, and because those didn't fit, the dress didn't lie properly. It also billows a bit much here - I fixed that by taking in a bit more of the back than the pattern suggests.

Mia's wearing the second version. I enlarged the armholes so that either the Princesses or Mia could wear it, and the fit for Mia was improved, too. Ariel's wearing the third, made from the green fabric. On that one, I took the neckline down a bit, but it's still standing up on one side. A few snips later, and Belle's got the final - collar mostly lies flat, it fastens well in the back, and the armholes are just right.

I also had to adjust the panties that came with the dress pattern. Too wide in the crotch for both dolls. Beloved Hubby couldn't quite get why I was messing with 3/32" measurements, but a good doll panty pattern is worth it ! Second tries for each size fit great.

While it's supposed to be a dress, I kinda think it's too short, so eventually, I'll make matching shorts or pants. In the meanwhile, I've gotten better on hems, good at adjusting patterns, and have a simple 'blank canvas' dress that I can whip together in a half-hour, ready to experiment on further !