Now Playing: "Robotech Remastered" - 'Transformation', Macross episode 5
Current Mood : Pretty darn happy !
Busy, busy day at Chez Insanity - even though we didn't have to do a darn thing ! It snowed, just a bit, just enough to see the flakes swirling in the 15mph winds that are so common here, it's called a light breeze. A dust mote wafted down as I was watching out the window, and for just a second, I thought a snowflake had come to visit. I really am a lousy housekeeper.
Last night, I increased the pattern 130%, got a printout, and Fray-Checked the soon-to-be dress you see on Abbie - whoops ! In all the writing yesterday, I never told you the Tyco Ariel's name, much less the Mattel Ariel's names. Can't have three Ariels running around...actually, I have six Ariels of different sizes, manufacturers, and ages ! Well, starting from left to right in the current picture, Abigail (Abbie)'s first, with Arienne in the middle, with Adelaide (Addy) at the end. Abbie and Addy aren't identical twins - there are distinct differences between them, mostly around their eyes. Addy's your wilder child, Abbie is more innocent-natured. Outdoorsy Arienne just tries to keep up with her big sisters, which isn't easy !
Anyway. Abbie got the more or less straight version of the pattern, increased 130%. I could probably do this pattern with a non-stretch fabric, as it's kind of big and shapeless without the scrap-ribbon belt. I liked the way the collar angled at the shoulders in the original photo, but even gathering it a bit didn't shape it in my version. I even paid closer attention to the collar directions than I did with Arienne's first trial. Still, it looks nice, and fits just about all my dolls, so I'm happy.
You already know about Arienne's dress, so moving on - Addy's is actually two separates. Using the same pattern, I took an inch off the sleeves and an inch and a half off the hem to make a high-hip length blouse, and hemmed the top instead of applying the collar. Since I had some trouble with keeping the sleeve seam allowance constant on the other two tries, I measured and drew it on with pencil, on the wrong side. Much easier to follow pencil marks than try to figure it out while sewing. Fit's better, too.
The skirt was a test for me - could I make a simple skirt with no pattern, that didn't use elastic ? Yup ! Simply measured Addy's waist (3.5 inches), added a half inch for seam allowance, and cut a strip of the pajama top's hem 4 inches long for the waistband. It was already stitched and hemmed, so less work for me ! If I had to do it again, though, I'd have made it 4 ¼ inches long, to have more of a foldover for the back closure. The skirt fabric was a sleeve, hemmed and gathered and sewn to the waistband.
I wasn't really watching my time on the other two efforts, but Addy's blouse took about an hour, start to finish, and her skirt was about 45 minutes, mostly because I forgot to Fray-Check it until it was about 1/3 done. I've used well over half of my second bottle of F-C - my first bottle took me about five years to use ! But now that I know how useful it is, I use it on just about everything I sew. It's a pain, but I'm so fast at F-C now, I have to go do something for a few minutes so it can dry. Used to be, it took me so long, one side would be dry before I finished F-C'ing the second ! I look at some of my earliest efforts and cringe - so much of my stuff has frayed and looks bad on the inside. And I hate it when my doll's fingers catch loose threads and frays while I'm dressing them. No more of that anymore !
I'll post a photo of this to Doll Divas, so DebbieFS can lament what I've done to her pattern ! But you always see the new stuff here first, it's the way I roll. For a 50c pajama top, I sure got a lot - and most of the fabric's still waiting for more sewing ! I detached the tiny black bow on the top's front, and added it to the bag ‘o bows in the lace, ribbon, and trim tote box. Also stored some stuff I had sitting around, and consolidated the stuff that needs to go to the Center - some dolls need dressing and shoes and props before they go. Just gotta get off my rump and do it !
Hmm. Wonder if Han would like a starry blue shirt... I still have to work on his pattern, and the sewing machine's all set up for knits...
Ps to Michelle and Manda - I see I'm not the only Ariel fan ‘round here ! Hope today's picture pleased ya ! I think Abby is 1998's ‘Valentine Ariel', as one of these girls was wearin' that swimsuit (no fin, sadly) when I found her at the thrift store, I just can't remember which one. Not sure who Addy was, but some quick Google research shows she looks most like ‘Seaside Holiday', from 2000. Since I got them both around 2001-02, that'd be about when they might hit a thrift store.
