Dollar Doll Clothes--One More Time!

Two more dolly projects from undies--my favorites so far!

There was juuuust enough fabric in the pink print pair from my K-Mart find to squeeze out a PJ t-top as well as the pants.  I used my 'Leggings' pattern here.  So comfy!

And camo pants!  Care found a three-pack of boys briefs on clearance for source fabric, and this particular print proved too large to use for the smaller dolls. Perfect for 

Felicity, though!

Love this t-shirt pattern, which closes in the back with Velcro.  Read about it here. 

My Dollar Doll Clothes inspiration seems fulfilled for now, and this little wardrobe is off to the church service auction tonight to find a happy new home for Christmas.

Still have a bit of source fabric for next time, though...

More Dollar Doll Clothes!

Playing with my Dollar Doll Clothes patterns inspired me, so last week I went on a quest for new dollar undies to work with.  At K-mart I hit the jackpot--2 packages of 6 briefs each, some in cute prints (AND x-large size) on clearance for $4.99 each!  That's $.83 a pair.

I am delighted to think that I can make two or even three items from each pair!  And I paid for the whole project with my (about to expire) $10.00 in-store points, making my dolly wardrobe virtually free. You can check this post for general instructions for the project..

 Felicity's long striped skirt above is cut from the center of the undies' back panel.  I used the 'leggings' pattern for the waist size, and cut the center back seam to flare as wide as the fabric allowed.  My finished length is 9.5", so I cut the skirt 10" long to allow for a 1/2" hem.  I hemmed the piece, then stitched the back seam last.

I used the 'leggings' pattern to make the cute black ones above, and used the 'socks' pattern with leftover bits from the black fabric's waistline to keep her feet warm.

Let me tell you about the two t-shirts--I used my favorite 'Trendy T-shirt' pattern, downloaded from Liberty Jane, and fabric from the undies.The pattern is fun and simple to make. I got my copy from their free Friday downloads.  Check them out!

A tip--these particular briefs have attractive covered elastic bands:  cute on the doll clothes, but a little less stretchy than the classic elastic finish.  I compensated by cutting the pattern pieces slightly narrower at the waist.

Dollar Doll Clothes Patterns

Miniatures Monday--Dollhouse Furniture, Part 6--the Bench

The tiny girls are proud to show off the results of their up-cycling efforts.  One last post post about my dollar store dollhouse furniture bash, and it's time to move on--now for The Bench.
 

My Dollar Tree dollhouse bed is pretty cute, I must admit--it's just too short for the dolls to rest comfortably. Time to bash!

I pulled off the bedspread, then popped off the head board and foot board, and cut the bed lengthwise into two pieces with my Xacto blade and a metal ruler--one piece (the new seat) is about 1-7/8" wide, the other (the new backrest) about 1-1/4" wide.

The foot board is cut into two equal pieces to make the sides and arms of the bench.  Save the headboard for another project!

Glue the seat and back together at an angle--hot glue works great for this.  Glue on the sides/arms.  With a little paint you're set!  Hmmm--looks like maybe a bit of sanding with an emery board could be a good plan!

It's been a long project, but the girls are almost ready to move into their new home at last.  

Dollar Store Dollhouse Furniture 5--The Dresser

The Dollar Store's little dollhouse dresser (or chest of drawers?--what do you say?)  is pretty cute as it is, but I'm unable to resist an update.  Plus, I still have that mirror, left over from my sofa table transformation . . . two pieces from one!

My little miter saw did a quick job of removing the dresser's bottom drawer, and a piece of molding left over from another dresser project finishes the raw lower edge.

A bit of wood from my craft scrapwood pile and some glue make a lid for the new low chest.

My leftover mirror is the perfect width for the top of the dresser--it's glued to a bit of the footboard of a bed!  (More on that later.)  A treatment with spray paint, and they're ready for my dollhouse shelf!

Dollar Store Dolllhouse Furniture 4--Dressing Table

 

The little Dollar Store dressing table is just too short to be in proportion--the chair just won't slide under.  (While the dolls may not care, it bothers me, so it must be fixed!)

 

Quick fix-- I popped off the skirt with my little pliers, and glued a bead to each of the legs to give them height (and style!).

Some paint, and it's all finished!

Miniatures Monday--Painting Project

Just a couple of pointers learned while painting my Dollar Store dollhouse furniture--it was a bit less straightforward than I had anticipated!

Spray paint seems to be the obvious solution for a quick paint job, so I got out the remnants of a can that was on hand:  less successful than I had hoped.  Since the furniture comes dyed and not painted, the grain of the wood hasn't been sealed, and the dye seeps through the paint:

Kind of pretty really, but not quite what I'm after.  Since I needed to replace my spray paint anyway, I picked up a can labelled 'Paint with Sealer'--and still had about the same results.

What to do?  Being reluctant to go out again,  I rifled through my disused nail polish and came up with a couple of mostly empty bottles of clear top coat. An hour outside in the shade coating the pink areas took care of the color bleeding, and another coat of spray paint did the job.  Here's the final version of two of the  narrow tables:

The little handles on this furniture are actually pegged into holes--easily pulled out and replaced with beads or jewels.  

(You can stick a piece of a Post-It note, cut to size, to the mirror before painting to keep it clean.) 

Next:  the dressing table.

Dollar Store Dollhouse Furniture 3--Sofa Table

Dollar Tree has a cute little dressing table--sadly, it is just too short to be in proportion. 
Two ideas to improve it:  first, a table to go behind the dolls' tiny sofa.

The apron and mirror sections popped off easily with my needlenose pliers--don't worry, they will be seen again!  (There was a little damage to the top surface of the veneer, but the remainder of that layer was easily popped off with my tiny screwdriver--nice and smooth and ready to paint.)

The legs are shortened just a bit to fit next to my little sofa.  Ready to paint!

 

Dollar Store Dollhouse Furniture 2--Narrow Table

Hmmm. . .it seems I was looking so hard at the dollar store for a nicely finished narrow table that I missed something!

There's only one problem with (most of)  these cute narrow tables from Dollar Tree--they are just a bit too tall for 1"/12" scale.  Easily fixed if your table has all four legs--I used the wire-cutter part of my needlenose pliers to snip the legs to the proper length (tables are 2 1/8" high in 1/12 scale).  I'll be leaving that particular table red for the dollhouse shelf--it's a great little table for a desk, buffet, or work table--mine is for the tiny sewing machine.

This one, though needs a little work!

 I scrounged up two more dollhouse bannisters from my craftwood pile and adjusted them to length at the top and bottom with my little miter saw, and glued them in place with craft glue. 

This little table will be painted white to match the rest of the fixed up furniture for the dollhouse shelf.  More about painting later--it turns out to be a little tricky!

Miniatures Monday--Dollhouse Furniture, Part One

I've been hampered  by an ongoing disagreement between Computer and the wireless network--fortunately they have worked out their differences.  Now to bash my dollar store furniture!  For this project I used:

Small hobby miter box and saw
X-acto knife
Wood scraps
Craft glue
Hot glue

Part One--Tables

Dollar Tree has a very cute scallop-trimmed dollhouse dining table right now--sadly, the legs are just too short.  For 1"/12"  scale, table height is 2 1/8"--so, how to  make it higher?  Two ideas! 

I popped off the short legs with my needlenose pliers--I have a plan for them! They popped out nicely, but a little scraping with the X-acto will help if needed.

  Scrounging in my craft scrapwood box, I came up with a square stick just the width of the old table legs, and cut four to length with my trusty little miter box.  I also found four lonely dollhouse bannisters, which just happen to be the same width at the top as the previous legs--so I had to buy another table to try them out.  Their length is adjusted at the top with the miter saw

A little craft glue, and they're sturdy little tables.  I'm painting them white for my dollhouse shelf--more about that later. 

The straight-leg table seemed a bit awkward as it was, so I have since angled the bottoms of the legs to match the original legs above.  The X-acto did a great job, but it would have been simpler before they were glued on!  Photo later!

Dollar Store Dollhouse Furniture Bash

   Found this inexpensive wooden dollhouse furniture at the Dollar Tree recently, and it seemed like just the thing to add to the dollhouse shelf. . .almost.

I brought home one of each item:  bed, chest of drawers, dressing table, dining table, and narrow console table.  All are made of wood, and all are dyed red!  And all might be fun for the dollhouse shelf. . .except that none are quite the right size or proportion for my 1/12 scale plan.

So, I'm unable to resist coming up with simple fixes to make them fit in.  Here goes!

Dollhouse Shelf--A Bed Project

 Little Ellery found an old crib at a yard sale, and is using its parts to make two beds for 

the dollhouse shelf.  I'm sorry to say she was so excited to get started, she forgot to take a 'before' picture!

We bashed the crib apart--the foot boards are the sawed-off lower sections from the headboards.  The sides of the crib are hot-glued between the head and foot, to support the box springs which Ellery is I am planning to make from scraps of dollar store foam core. 

 The beds were a just little too short for the girls to lie down, so I glued in two pieces of scrap wood to lengthen them.  Mattresses will be sponges from the dollar store!

The little crib was $1.00 at the thrift store, and  another dollar bought enough soft dollar-store  foam sponges to provide for a lot more tiny upholstery. 

And while at the dollar store, we made another great find for the dollhouse. . .

Thrift Store Thursday--Tiny Furniture Restyle

The tiny girls new apartment is slowly coming together!

Little Antonia is putting the finishing touches on the yard-sale hutch and chair--all their used furniture will be painted white, to tie everything together.  They're thinking pink, green, and yellow for the color scheme. . .

(I found this little unfinished hutch at the thrift store some time ago for $.25 and couldn't resist--I made the chair for my dollhouse back in the day.  I'm using acrylic gloss paint.)

Miniatures Monday--A Tiny Yard Sale

It's been a busy spring and summer on the grandma front, and many miles have been logged!  Between grandma gigs:  a new project!

My tiny Littlest Pet Shop Blythe dolls seem to be clamoring for a place of their own, so I've carved out a small apartment for them on one of my sewing room shelves.  In the tradition of first-time renters everywhere, the girls have checked their grandmas' attics and headed out to yard sales--in search of furnishings with potential!

I'll be following their progress!

Thrift Thursday--Dollar Store Valentine Project

I've been looking forward to a little Valentine's Day project for the grandkids--ever since Christmas.


I picked up these little plastic boxes of Holiday Gum at the dollar store in December--they hold tape-style rolls of pink chewing gum--then got to thinking the shape of the boxes looked familiar. Sure enough, they were (almost) hearts!


Since then, I've been on the lookout for just the right heart-shaped stickers, and found these foam stickers last week for 50% off at the craft store--$1.50 for a big package.

I had hoped the Christmas stickers would peel off the boxes willingly, but it took some soaking and scraping, and then a dab of Goo-Gone to wipe off the residue. Sticking on the hearts was the fun part! Now to get them in the mail.


Just for fun, I figured out the cost per item--$.25 each for a total of 18. Hmmm.

Quilt for Baby K, Next Phase--Ideas, Anyone?

Progress has been made on Baby K's quilt, according to kind suggestions received here!
(My apologies for the lame photo--the quilt top is actually quite square in real life!)

I think the two new borders set it off well--the new white border brings out the blocks, and the scrap border seems to frame the whole thing. I've also chosen the fabric for the back--think it ties the top together very nicely.

Now for the next phase--with the addition of the borders, the quilt will be 36" by36"--a little on the small side still. Another border? Two? Pieced? Single fabric? White? Print? Would another border or borders add or detract? I'll let the ideas incubate.

Any input?

Scraping Wallpaper..and Scraping...and Scraping...

I'm facing the consequences of past deeds--I need to replace the carpet in the bedroom, but before I can do that I have to paint. Sadly enough, before I can paint I have to deal with that dated 80's wallpaper. I've put it off too long.

I really don't get to complain at all. I chose the paper and I pasted it up, and now I must take it down. I can say, though, that I wish I hadn't done such a thorough job--the paper was pre-pasted, but I used a good-quality paste as well, just to make it last. And it did--not a single lifted seam or dangling spot. Both of which I could use at this point!

I can no longer lie in the bed each morning, staring with dread at the wall. I've made a goal to remove a few square feet a day. Each morning, I will take my old towel and red plastic Betty Crocker dough scraper ($1.00 at Dollar Tree), and soak and scrape away for an hour.

It's a contemplative job--plenty of time to think and plan the new decor!

At the Knittin' Kitten in Portland. . .

. . .wonderful vintage sewing (and knitting) finds!

In Portland, Oregon recently, we visited the wonderful Knittin' Kitten craft store, and it was a delight. What a great concept-- a sewing and knitting thrift store!

I was thinking small, and found these great small scale vintage fabrics, plus the lovely bamboo double-point knitting needles, size O and 1. And the graphics on the 'Starsnap' snaps are fabulous! Vintage trims are often so much nicer in quality than the current selection--witness the tiny rickrack and crochet trim. And I must confess that I bought the vintage Barbie outfit just for the boots--they are classic!

I can't wait to make small things--how I wish the Knittin' Kitten was in MY neighborhood!

Renaissance Head Gear--for Pennies!

Renaissance headgear is needed for the annual conference of our church women's group, and I've been having big fun coming up with easy and inexpensive ideas--from the dollar store and thrift store, of course!

Now, I'm not claiming that any of these ideas are particularly authentic, though I did do my research--but what can you expect for 25 to 50 cents each? And after the big day they can all go straight into the costume box.

The first hat above is a ring, cut and stapled into a circle, from a roll of wired velvet ribbon I found at the thrift store for a dollar. The veil is made from a golden thrift store sheet--the sheet cost $2.00 and made a pile of veils when cut into squares. It was polyester, so I was able to avoid hemming the edges by fusing them--just pass the cut edge near a candle flame. Keep it moving to avoid potential problems! I gathered one edge of the veil and stitched it to the ribbon, but it could be stapled on just as well, and the veil could be attached at the back.

Hat #2 above is a scrap project--the brim is a scrap left over from a project involving a different gold thrift store sheet. I folded a long strip of fabric lengthwise, and stitched along the raw edges, making a 2-3/4" casing, then threaded through a piece of 2-1/2" elastic, 22" long. I sewed this strip into a circle, then cut a big circle (about 24" in diameter) from some scrap velour left over from a robe project. The circle is gathered around the edges, then seamed to the brim section right sides together. Voila!

Hat #3 was inspired by the glittery party hats shown above. I used the party hat cardboard to make a pattern and cut a base from poster board. The poster board base is covered with some brocade I had in my stash, front and back, and stapled to the metal band from the party hat. This veil is one of a pile I cut from a thrift store curtain panel, price $1.00. The edges of these veils are fused in the same manner as above.

Hat #4 is easiest of all, and pretty much a freebie. Plastic swamp cooler tubing is cut to length and joined into a circle--I used short pieces of sucker sticks, inserted in both ends, to join the tubes--somehow the sucker sticks were just the right diameter. The circle is covered with scrap ribbon, wound around and hot-glued on, and lengths of ribbon from my stash trail from the back. Curly ribbon would work just as well here.

Now for a step back in time. . .

Draft a Twirly Skirt Pattern--It's Easy!

Joy-Joy has been telling me how she admires her sister W-R's fabulous velvety dress--it seems it has the ultimate twirly skirt. So, by special request, I have set out to duplicate the dress in J-J's size. This necessitates creating a pattern for that ultimate twirlyness, so we will draft a simple pattern that creates plenty of fullness and eliminates the bulk of gathers at the top.

First, the fabric--my favorite option being the thrift store, I was lucky enough to find just the item to transform, first try--and only$2.00!

I found a nice-quality velour girls' dress in a larger size, wide enough and long enough to fit my pattern pieces, and I picked apart the seams--only $2.00!

Now for the pattern--this is an easily adapted style, so I have used a basic pattern from my t-shirt pattern collection. ( I keep every size up to size 12 together in a zip-loc bag, size chart included--pajama pants handy in another bag. Let me just say that I found many of these at the thrift store!)

I folded up the lower edge of the bodice pattern to the desired length, plus seam allowance.

Now to draft the twirly skirt--the fullness is all in the flare of the pattern:

l. Make a simple rectangle (above) representing the width of the bodice pattern piece by the desired length of the skirt. Add a seam allowance for the top seam (I'm using 3/8") and the desired hem depth (3/4" here).


2. Slash the skirt pattern lengthwise every inch or so, leaving a tiny 'hinge' at the top edge of each slash--don't worry too much about making even slashes!


3. Spread the slashes apart at the hem edge to create the flare. For my pattern, the original center front edge remains on the fold, and the flare spreads out from there. (If you were to treat the center front as a seam, you could spread out the flare in both directions and really get some twirl-- you would then have four skirt panels.)

Note how the profile of the upper seamline changes as the width of the hemline increases. Spread the slashes evenly to your desired hemline width--you could trace this on another piece of paper for a finished pattern piece if you wish. In this case, front and back will be the same. Pattern complete!


4. The bodice is assembled just like a t-shirt, except that I bound the neckline and made a faced slit at the center back, with a hook and eye closure. To assemble the skirt, stitch the side seams and match the lower bodice seam to the upper skirt seam and stitch--they should be just the same size. I used a straight-stitch, visible hem.

5. Hemming a flared skirt: this can be a little tricky, since the cut edge is significantly wider than the line where it will be stitched. Two thoughts:

--the hem of W-R's dress was finished with a satin stitch, eliminating the problem. It would be easy to give the hem a lettuce edge by stretching slightly as you overcast--best to practice on a scrap first!

--the narrower the hem the better, since a wider hem creates a bigger problem--3/4" deep would be plenty.

--For a stitched hem, pin it up carefully, about every 3". Stitch with the hem edge up and the right side against the feed dogs, easing the hem to the dress by putting a little drag on the bottom layer with your finger as you stitch--this helps the extra fullness work itself in. A little practice helps!

Happy dancing and twirling, girls!