You see it often enough when you haunt second-hand venues the way I do. While you're looking for diamonds
in the rough, you usually find scratched glass chips in suspicious soil. While most vinyl dolls survive their original owner's
childhood in decent shape, not all dolls are as lucky - especially if they're stuffed or soft. Usually they were cheap to
begin with, and did not improve with age and attention.
You feel kinda sorry for them, but your play zones are already packed with what you like, and
ya can't save 'em all. But sometimes there's something you can still use...
Like this angel, here. Found her in a 50c stuffed animal bin at the local Thrift. I didn't much want her
either - never been much of a 'stuffie' fan, even as a kid - but her dress reminded me of the current art style Disney's using
on their Princess lines. Dubbed 'Enchanted Tales', it's basically the girls in their signature gowns, but they're gold and
white versions instead of the usual pastels.
On closer examination, the doll really was cheap. Cheap nylon, cheap sewing, awful hair that could not be
brushed and was just glued on to the back of the head in clumps, and the dress was the body. I always hate those. So cheaply
made, 'Cuddle Wit' can't be bothered with sleeves and arms - so they combine 'em. Basically, this is the kind of doll you
get as a prize from a carnival or claw machine.
But I couldn't help thinking I could do something with her... her face was stained, but her dress was in
pretty good shape...
About fifteen minutes with a seam ripper was all it took to reduce the doll to component elements. I'll
use most of it, but not all on this project. For those that stay in the house, I'll reuse the stuffing, but gifts and giveaways
get the new Poly-fil.
It still counts as new if the bag's never been opened. Even if I did buy it at a yard sale. So there.
The hands and lace cuffs were sewn at the same time, so removing the hands also nearly took the lace off,
too. You'll often see several lines of stitching in the same area, especially where several elements are brought together
at the same place. If you can't tell the seam you wanna remove from a bunch of others, look on the other side of the seam.
There's usually just one row there. You may also need to gently pry the seam apart to see the stitches.
Time to focus on the dress. If I had it to do again, I'd have measured the Angel doll from sleeve/arm seam
to sleeve/arm seam across the chest, and compared it to the same area on Princess Dorrie. Too big around the waist can be
taken in. Too short/too long can be fixed. But if the bodice is five inches wide and your target doll is four, well, it's
not gonna look good. And taking in darts on a finished bodice is a real pain. So, a good rule of thumb is to measure
a bit first.
But it was already too late at this point for this doll. I plowed ahead and picked the back seam apart.
We'll need it open to get it on and off our target doll - and I wanted to lose those oversized wings. They'll find use
elsewhere on another project. Eventually, I ended up undoing the entire back seam, as the dress was just a bit too full
on my doll.
Test fit ! I was very, very lucky, as the dress fit Little Princess Dorrie quite well. Shoulders and armholes
hit about right, and even if it was a bit short, it still looked cute. I took the bodice bow off - it's in front of her feet
- as the neckline was already plenty busy.
Here's where you can get creative. I decided to remove the gold strip collar - it didn't fit right - and
just hem the exposed neckline down. The lace cuffs seemed to overwhelm her hands, so I took the lace the rest of the way off.
And I pinch-closed it in the back until it fit well, then pinned it to form a new back closure. Not bad !
The cuffs were gathered, and really needed *something* there. So I untied the bodice bow and hand-sewed
strips of it to the sleeve edge. Instant cuffs ! Much more subtle than the lace.
The angel doll's halo was like a bagel with a strip of gold braid, and it sat on PDorrie's head much the
same way. So I simply draped one of the lace cuffs on the back of her head. I think it's cute.
In the interest of using as much of the scrapped angel as possible, I took the feet off the discarded
legs and sewed the inside seams until they more or less fit PDorrie as shoes. But they look awful. It actually would have
taken less time and effort to make new shoes. But there they are. I may add a small ribbon rose to the bodice at the waist
center, or at the neckline, not sure yet.
As for the back closure, I pin-fitted it until it closed with a half-inch of overlap, and it looked good
in front, then machine sewed it halfway, leaving it open enough to slip easily on and off PDorrie. Velcro (tm) was sewn to
the back bodice sides, so it'll close and drape well. I took in about a half inch past the original seam for the best fit,
but that'll always vary.
So, well, there's an idea when you find a discarded doll. Most of the sewing I did was by hand, so you don't
even need a sewing machine to salvage a new-to-her doll dress.
Hope this gives you some ideas !
Update !
Remember that box of stuffing that came out of the angel doll ? That was
used up completely when I made my Princess Leia Hat-Wig ! My rule is that stuff given away gets brand-new stuffing, but the
junk I make for me recycles loose stuffing from things like pillows and stuffed dolls. I'll soon host a second site, Somewhere
That's Crafty !, and it'll include directions on how to make your own silly Princess Leia Hat-Wig.
For now, here's the photo I used to show off my creation on The Doll Diaries, my ongoing vanity
blog. Yeah, I own up to my vanity, there isn't much of it, so it's easy.
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