Now Playing: "Transformers" - DVD rental. Too bad it's waaaay too violent for Dearest Son, it really was a good movie !
Current Mood : Amazingly happy... :)
So many new, fun discoveries today !
Found out that ‘cut/Fray Check one day, sew the next' really works for me. I tend to hang up at cutting fabric. It's the worst part of sewing, even with a great rotary like the Olfa. I keep remembering this passage I read once - ‘Doll clothes sewing must be incredibly precise. Even a variance of 1/32 of an inch will show, and glaringly, in the final piece' -every time I begin to cut. Well, it's sort of true, but not really. You can get around or fix errors. I've been off more than that before, and if I were to tell you which piece was off a half-inch at one point, you could search the garment and not find it. Unless, of course, you're a better doll seamstress than me (which is not at all difficult !) or you've sewn the same pattern. Either way, it all starts with cutting, and even with the ridiculous abundance of fabric I own, I still hate the idea of wasting it or time.
Getting the ‘hard part' over with makes me very eager to tackle a new project. And even on busy days, I can cut out and Fray-Check something in less than a half-hour. So I'm hoping to do at least two new pieces a week. There's just no way I can sew something start-to-finish five days a week. Not happening. Other stuff to do.
Broke open the Bratz Boyz outfit I bought at the thrift store a few days ago. Ever since I discovered that Lila (my Lanard ‘Catwalk Kitties' doll) can swap shoes with Bratz, I've been on the lookout for more. I knew she couldn't fit the girl-doll's clothes, they're much too small, and Lila actually has a Teen Skipper-like figure. But what about the Boyz stuff ? Well, the shoes are a no-go. The pegs for Girlz are smaller than the Boyz ones. Go figure.
But the shirt and jacket fit great ! Looked great on her, too. Displayed in the package like it was merely missing the doll, the shirt was inside the jacket, and I was surprised to learn that the shirt was long-sleeved. Mattel normally cheaps out, and nearly all male doll clothes are short-sleeved, especially if there's a jacket or coat included. The Bratz shirt also had cuffs with Velcro TM, probably to aid in dressing. I have no idea if they have oversized hands as well. But it was very neatly and cleverly done.
The pants were much too small, but I loved the tailoring and the neat belt with the eagle ‘buckle'. I was again surprised to find that the belt could be removed ! I was just tryin' to figure out how to salvage that eagle. I think my Tyco Little Mermaid Ariel - much smaller than the Mattel Ariels - can wear the pants. They're well-made, with nice decorative stitching. So, about the only thing I'll end up donating out of that $2.99 buy is the shoes I bought it for !
I also stumbled onto a project idea, something I wanna write up for the main site. Involves some fake fur and about five minutes of hand-sewing. I'll keep you posted.
You may notice that I'm sort of obsessed with time. I always report about how long it takes me to finish something, etc. I'm not sure where I got this idea, but I always figured that if I spent more than two hours on any doll garment, it was a waste. An hour was optimum. Maybe, with ready-to-wear doll clothes selling for as little as a buck even for Barbie stuff, it seemed ridiculous to spend an hour or more to make the same thing. Yesterday, however, when I finished the three-hour warm-up jacket, I was so proud of it, and glad I'd taken my time, and done it right. I'll probably always have this time hang-up, but I'm slowly learning that it's better if I do more challenging things that take more than ten minutes, but yield something more than a blocky square with elastic and hems. I mean, shoot, I can do a tube dress in either knit or cotton fabric in less than a half-hour. Put a zipper up the back in another 15-20 minutes. But who in heck wants tube dresses ? Especially when you're already capable of more and better sewing.
I think sometimes that we all want challenges, but we're also afraid of screwing up. But it's the only way to learn new stuff, figure out what we're capable of, and what we still have to study and learn. It's maddening !
Also learned to be careful when tossing around words like ‘always' and ‘never'. We hit a thrift and a yard sale while running errands today, and after the first sale, I commented that I never found good doll clothes patterns used. Always had to get ‘em off eBay. I was dusting my knees off - grass stains - while I was saying it. But at the thrift...wow ! I scored a half-complete generic Barbie and Ken Butterick 3317, a missing directions but complete pattern Skipper McCalls 7480, a missing one piece that I can easily duplicate Ken Advance Group E, and a complete Cabbage Patch Butterick 332. Plus two others - robes and 70s era vests. All for the princely sum of 54c ! Since most are quite old, they're wrinkled and fragile, so I'll iron and scan ‘em this weekend. Tomorrow, the new doll sewing image goes up on the main page, and the pattern envelopes will be pictured here.
In the meanwhile, enjoy Lila in her Bratz Boyz outfit. Isn't she just so lovely ? There's also a flea market tomorrow - it's been such an incredible week, I almost don't want to go ! :)
