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 Timey Tell was kind-of sort-of part of the legendary Mattel 'Chatty'
family. The same head mold was used for 'Chatty Patty' a very late entry to the Chatty group. Timey Tell also talked - set
her non-removeable watch to an hour and pull the string, and she'd offer a cheery quote about what it was time to do. The
miniature props included would help her small owners play out the activities. She had a hard plastic torso, and
soft vinyl limbs and head with rooted blonde hair.
There's several other dolls with the same head and almost the same
body mold - one is Hi Dottie. She 'talked' on included plastic telephones. Her body is a bit different than Timey's - possibly
to allow for her batteries, her chest and tummy circumference are about 3/4 of an inch larger. Unlike the soft vinyl arms
of Timey, Dottie has one hard-plastic arm that matches her torso. It has a button in the wrist that depresses, and an indentation
in the hand, so she can hold her phone. I've heard the button triggers her talking, phone or not, but mine is silent.
Neither
doll mentions the 'Chatty' connection on her packaging. And few doll collectors have ever heard of either. This may be because
they're too recent to be considered 'vintage'. As you may guess, I had Timey as a kid, and never heard of 'Chatty Cathy'.
Most dolls of this era you'll find mute, but are undeniably adorable, and fun to play with and sew for, talking or not !
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| At least the Doll Shop Deluxe skirt pattern fits.. |
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| Wish I could say the same for other DSD 'treasures'... |
Not the best photo, but more will come ! And at least now you know what Timey looks like !
My struggles with dolls not included in original Doll Shop Deluxe programming are bordering on legendary. I really need
to write up a review on it. Anyway, I've made four jumpers, a blouse, and this ensemble, and only the skirt fits. All the
rest, no matter how many times I've re-measured and resewed, don't close in the back for squat. I'll take some photos of the
near-miss jumpers when the weather clears up a bit, because they look great, as long as you can't see the barely hanging on
Velcro (tm) in the back.
The cherry print is a cute Mary Engelbreit print, a Wal-Mart remnant that's made several other dolls' clothes. The back
was adjusted a bit to close further down, and it looks like I've done it that way to accomodate the pull-string. It's loose
and not tucked in here.
The skirt went amazingly well. Another denim sale bit from W-M's fabric section - probably the whole outfit has about
68c worth of material in it ! I love the skirt, it has a waistband and a snap, and the hem-stitching even matches in the back.
Hooo-ahhh !
| Timey meets 'Hi Dottie' ! |
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| Isn't spring the sweetest... |
Welcome a new girl to 'Chez Insanity' - 'Hi Dottie' ! See a family resemblance ? :)
Dottie is a near-brunette with the same head mold as Timey ! Big surprise, though - not quite the same body ! Her 'gimmick'
phone arm is hard plastic, not soft vinyl like her other arm and legs. Timey's arms and legs are all soft vinyl. Seems like
they're about the same size - the white blouse fits OK, but the brown jumper is just barely fastened in the back. It's pretty
tight on Timey, too !
The new blouse on Timey also has a v-shaped waist. Not sure if I'm going to make a dress out of it or not, but it finally
fits. The odd print fabric (from a Hancock Fabrics $1. remnant grab-bag) has orange strawberries and purple apples, along
the random words 'Tian' and 'Hoochie'. So yes, you can now say I've made my first 'Hoochie' blouse ! Denim skirt is the same
one pictured above. All patterns by Doll Shop Deluxe and stubborn optimism.
| Three 'no pattern' blouses ! |
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| Or 'Three Faces of Dottie' ! |
I've been working on Dottie clothes ! Since she and Timey can wear the same blouses, I've been doing those. As it turns out,
Dottie is 3/4 of an inch bigger in the waist than Timey. so I'll have to do skirts and pants for her separately.
Borrowed "Idiot's Guide to Sewing" from the library. I'm already more advanced than most of it, but there was
a section on patternless sewing for basic garments. You may not find it a surprise that Dottie and I have the same blouse
! Even in the same fabric - the white with the green vines and blue flowers. It's a bit more difficult for dolls - their head
to neck ratio is greater, and no doll has the full flexibility of a person ! I'm working on writing up some pages on 'Pattern
- Free' doll clothes sewing. By the time I get it right, Dottie and Timey won't need any more blouses, skirts, or dresses
!
Each blouse has only taken about an hour, start to finish. So far, the best size for Dottie has been 10 inches by 11 inches...
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| Yoke dress, version 3.0 ! |
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| I got this pattern to fit everyone but My Size and Standard Barbie ! |
After I had such a good time with the adapted preemie pattern for Baby Face (see their page for the same dress in a different
size !), I enlarged it on our printer/scanner, to see if I could get it to fit. As you can see, I did !
This dress uses the same cream remnant used on the BF dress, with some fabric I bought to make Barbie clothes with. Thought
it looked 'vintage', and I'd just bought the 'Vintage Clothes' book by Marirose...
It's a bit shorter than I wanted, but typical of doll clothes of the 70s. Timey Tell's original dress is about the same
length. The 'vintage' fabric is thin and flimsy...can't believe I paid a buck for that half-yard...I have it in two other
colors, too...(sigh)
| A cute yard sale beach chair can inspire... |
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| Dottie's swimsuit and matching sarong ! |
Hmm...looks like I've been making more for Dottie than Timey. Mostly because Dottie's a bit bigger, so if it fits her, it'll
fit Timey, too. Still, it's past time for some Timey clothes !
I mostly made the suit, enlarged from another doll pattern, to go with the beach chair she's sitting on ! It came from
a yard sale Saturday, and I just love it. The swimsuit is the first one-piece I've ever tried - I got halfway through it before
I remembered that it would have to be split down the back to get on her - her head, arm, and body construction requires even
dresses to have a full length back opening. Figured out at least how to have it closed at the bottom, just far up enough to
get it on and off. Added snaps while watching Dearest Son play in the backyard.
Then I thought she might like a matching sarong - both the blue striped knit and the eyelet fabrics I used were from Hancock
$1. remnant bags, one bought last year, the other bought last month. Even used two shades of blue thread, to give the sarong
edge a varigated look. It also doubles as a cover-up cape !
Now I'm considering some matching sandals...
| If you'd like to see Timey and Dottie in these, |
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| visit my B5902 Review Page - lotsa photos ! |
Yup - I worked this whole entire pattern, even though it's for Cabbage Patch Kid dolls, not Timey and Dottie. Still, it worked
up great, and they look adorable in their new clothes.
Go see 'em in the B5902 Review page - http://dorriebelle.tripod.com/id33.html - and admire two sweet, lovely dolls.
| Hi Dottie is so cute in the summer ! |
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| Even oversize prints look cute on her ! |
I *really* need to make 'Timey Tell' something - Dottie gets all the clothes !
Thought I'd give Elphie a break and make new clothes for other dolls. It's been a while since I did anything for either
Timey or Dottie !
I think I finally figured out how to match the crotch in DSD. That program doesn't make it easy ! But if I stretch and
pull the inseam into a straight line, then sew it down, the resulting pants and shorts fit much better !
Hmm...Wonder how Timey will look in burgundy corduroy...
| She's not a bear... |
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Found this floral
brocade Asian-inspired Build-A-Bear clothing set at a thrift store in the morning. It was sealed up, darn it, but it looked
like it might fit Timey and Dottie. If not, it was cheap enough to scavenge fabric, so I got it.
That evening, the
shorts with a hole for the bear tail became a no-hole skirt. Just ripped out the inseam, cut away some of the crotch curve,
and resewed it. Then I opened up the waistband at the side seam and took about an inch of elastic out. Maybe a half-hour total.
The top was much
too big, so I took it up in the back. Basically just removed the Velcro ™ from the facings, folded the facings over
once more, and sewed the Velcro ™ back on. It’s still a bit loose, and you can see speaker holes, but I think
Timey is just adorable in her new outfit ! And it only took an hour total – and $1.
Don’t know
if it counts as sewing when I just altered what was already sewn, but I’m proud of it anyway !
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