Mood:
lazyNow Playing: XM 80s - "Who Can It Be Now ?", Men at Work
Finally got off my round rump and got my 1978 Kenner Princess Leia measured in Doll Shop Deluxe. I've put it off for so long - even bought a near-vintage 1979 Butterick 224 pattern that had her on the envelope, so I wouldn't have to use DSD. Not a good sign. Guess I should confess that I haven't used B224 either, so...
I don't know why I'm so timid about making Leia clothes. I mean, she's the only doll left from my childhood. And her so-close-but-not-quite Barbie figure means she needs clothes, even more than most of my others. Sheesh, Elphie has enough of a wardrobe that the box I bought to store her stuff in is approaching max load already. Just bought that box this spring !
I learned my first sewing steps in the attempt to make Leia clothes - many of 'em the hard way. For one, it's not enough to have fabric. The sweatshirt I tried to make her a dress from (using a Barbie pattern) just did not work. Not just any fabric will work for doll clothes. In addition to paying attention to any print's scale, ya gotta keep an eye on thickness. The never-finished dress was not only huge, it made Leia look even more awkward than the pinned-up Ken clothes did.
Tube dresses, even if you gather them a bit in the front to make a neckline, don't work for some dolls. Leia's one. She just looked like she was wearing something else that didn't belong to her. That may be the problem. She's a 70s doll, and has the aesthetic from those times. Which means she looks rather silly in ballgowns and fluffy things. Simpler clothes, with straight lines - like straight skirts - look good. Non-ruffly peasant blouses look good, too. I guess I just never considered her time - while supposedly the future, was actually the 70s - when contemplating her wardrobe. Because I didn't want to make stuff she'd look bad in, I didn't make anything.
Well. I think I can fix that now ! I usually make the jumper first - what'cha think ? Photo's been posted to the 'Barbie and Sixth Scale' page, too. Think the last time that page got anything new was 2004 ! Yikes.
Anyway, had numerous problems with this one, mostly due to the fact that I must've sewn the shoulders too high. Oh, well. That jumper that small isn't very easy anyway. Tomorrow, if there's time, I'll work on a blouse or something. Maybe a skirt. All else fails, I can use B224, for kicks !
Otherwise, it was a quiet day around Chez Insanity. Pizza for dinner, wrecked house. Like most Sundays. Before I started on Leia's dress, I did some more fabric sorting, ditching a bag of stuff I know I won't use. Maybe Dearest Son's school can use 'em, I'll ask.
You'd think all this sorting and ditching would give me a ton more space. Nope. Getting it all organized and visible simply means there's less of it in the same space. I can see it all at a glance, but that means there's less in the container. But, heck, I make mostly doll clothes. Five milk crates half-full of folded stuff, two plastic bedding bags full of larger cuts, and a laundry sorter in three sections : small bits, old clothes, and nice stuff that doesn't fit in the milk crates - all that is plenty of stuff. About all the sorting and ditching does is make me feel horribly guilty for even thinking about going fabric shopping in the near future !
In other news, it's been a busy, and rather long day. Hope your weekend was happy and satisfying. Right now, my eyes are tired, and this new Blog Editor is a PITA. So I'm gonna logoff before I get snarky. OK, snarkier.
Rest well tonight.
