Now Playing: "All That She Wants", Ace of Base, MP3
Current Mood : Happy !
Wheee ! I got to end January with a BANG ! It's like the fireworks of success ! I managed a lace overlay, not once but twice ! What'cha think ?
Lilly (Rose Barbie, 2001) is wearing the bodice I sewed from Denise Devoto's "To Have and To Hold" pattern, featured in Autumn ‘07's Barbie Collector. It's the only issue I ever bought of that magazine, mostly because the lace overlay intrigued me. The small inset image is part of the pattern, to show you what it's supposed to look like. It went together well, all three layers. I thought it even looked pretty good for a first effort ! Only problem was, there was no way it'd close in the back. It was about a half-inch shy of doing so. The rounded bottom edge even fit over the hips, beautifully...it just didn't overlap.
Well, shoot. Looked at the directions, this time reading the "Materials" box. Since I wasn't planning on sewing the skirt, and I was using leftover cotton in a much loved design - only scraps remained, so I had to get creative in cutting the pieces out ! - and lace from a girls' thrift store dress, along with worn-thin pillow ticking for lining, I kinda skipped over the ‘1/3 yd silk' part. I shoulda read it more carefully. The pattern is designed for the 2002 TNT body and SilkStones, not the 1966 body I was trying to squeeze into it. And I had not one 2002 body. The ‘belly button' body was too big in the hips to fit it, and the smaller-body dolls like teen-Skipper body Velma swam in the thing.
Darn. I thought I'd done a decent job on it, and wanted to save it. So I used hooks and eyes as closures, recycled from a yard-sale bra. That gave it just enough to fit snugly, and would be hidden in the back. I plan on extending the back of the original pattern to fit the classic 1966 body, probably this weekend. I really liked the pattern and the results, and want to use it again !
With that done, it needed a skirt or something. So I pulled up a straight skirt pattern from Doll Shop Deluxe and tried the same technique on that. Hooo-ah ! Again, I had to get creative on the cutting part, and forgot the lace had a definite nap (it only goes one way - you could tell if it was cut upside down) and cut it sideways. Oh, well. The point of this whole exercise was to learn the technique, so having a useable garment was a bonus.
And my first denim-and-brown-lace attempt some years back wasn't far off. I just didn't baste the lace to the fabric before sewing it ! That's really about all there is to it. Cut out yer pattern piece in fabric and again in lace (plus lining if ya want it). Ironing the lace and material together helps bond it a bit, then ya baste the lace and fabric together, within the seam allowance, both with the right sides facing up - like you'd want to see it on the finished item. From there, the lace and fabric are one piece, and you sew the garment normally. Wow. About all I did wrong back in the day was trying to hold the lace and denim together without basting. And, predictably, it shifted and screwed up. This one went beautifully.
Decided to leave the skirt's waistband plain, so it'd be a natural contrast at the waist. Personally, I think it came out all right - sort of like a bridesmaid's dress for summer, that actually *could* be worn again ! I'm lookin' around, trying to find suitable overlays to try. No one says it always has to be lace ! I'm examining tulle, netting, sheers...all sorts of new possibilities just opened up ! And I don't need to restrict myself to just that one bodice either - I can do this to any pattern !
So I'm proud and happy. Not much else has changed - oh, I had a tiff with a hospital bill collector, who didn't know I'd already straightened most of this mess out already - but I hope I have.
Oh, and I forgot to tell ya'll - I got fasteners sewn on just about everything ! Did it last week. And I think all that repetitive snap-fastener sewing has given me the tools I needed to make that bit of hand-sewing less visible. That's the one part of my sewing that hasn't improved much over the years, my fasteners/closures always look bad. Chief reason I don't sell my stuff. But just maybe I've figured that out. Time will tell ! Ya can hardly see the snaps' sewing on this one, but that's mostly due to the lace camouflage !
And just think - if I hadn't been so lazy and put that off, and did them all along like I'm supposed to, they'd still look awful. Had to learn by doing it over and over and over and over. Sometimes, there's something to be said for lazy procrastination !
