Sewing for dolls

I have been busy sewing but not all of it is for my girls. I have ventured into the world of American Girl doll clothes. I have to say that it is very different than sewing for a large child. The seams are so much smaller! I thought I would show everyone what I have been sewing.

My niece has an American Girl doll so I decided to sew 12 outfits for her for Christmas. I wanted to do one per month.
The first one is for the month of January. Since it is typically cold I decided to sew a coat and a hat. I used a fleece vest I had that had a stain. The butterfly applique was cut off of an old dress of Kaylee's that she had outgrown.

Here is the pattern I used.

For February I made a pair of pants with a black top.

Here is the pattern I used for the shirt. (The first picture)

Here is the pattern I used for the pants.

For March I made a dress. In this picture the dress was a little long. I did try to hem it up a bit.

Here is the pattern I used. This pattern was slightly disappointing and didn't fit very well.

For April I made this dress. You may remember the fabric from the girl's birthday skirts.

Here is the pattern I used. I tried making the hat but that was a complete bust! It ended up in the trash!

Here is May's dress. The fabric was left over from the girl's Disney shirts. The black shirt is the same one I made for February's outfit.

 Here is the pattern I used. I used the blue dress. This was my favorite pattern.

Here is June's dress. I used the fabric from the girl's Disney shirts.

 Here is the pattern I used.

Here is July's outfit. You may recognize the material. I used it for the girl's 4th of July outfits. I loved how this turned out.

Here is the pattern I used.

Here is August's outfit. Since it is baseball season I wanted to make an outfit that would work for a Cardinal game. The fabric came from a baseball dress I made the girls.

Here is the pattern.

Here is September's outfit. 

Here is the pattern I used. I used the dress in the top left corner. I also used this for the red turtleneck.

Here is October's outfit. I used some material that came from the girls Halloween dresses.

Here is the pattern I used. I wasn't a fan of this pattern and struggled with both the top and the pants.

Here is the outfit for November. The fabric is from the girl's Thanksgiving dresses.

Here is the pattern. I used the dress in the top left corner.

Here is December's outfit. I used material from the girl's Christmas skirts. The shirt is the same as above. It is a pleated skirt.

Here is the pattern. I used the yellow and blue outfit.

So there you have a breakdown of all the outfits I made. I hate throwing away fabric and have been keeping most of my larger left over pieces for just this. Now I can start working my way through my stash. I have to say the whole time I was sewing these outfits, the girls were super excited. I told them after Christmas I would sew them outfits too.

New Sewing Machine

So it has been a while since my last post on this blog. As all of you know, we moved to Georgia in September. This meant that my sewing machine was packed up as well as all my fabric. Then when we got here I had the chore of unpacking and getting settled. Needless to say I haven't had much time for sewing. I really began to miss it. I do have several projects that I have finished and will post those soon. I did want to share my new Christmas present. I got a new sewing machine. Yes I know I already have a sewing machine, but with all that I have learned I wanted to learn some new techniques. My old machine was bought by my husband at Wal-mart as a birthday present. I didn't have much experience so I really just wanted a basic machine. Now I feel as if I have outgrown it.
Here are some of pics of my new baby.

If you can see all the new stitches I will have to learn to use you can tell it is much more than I had on my old machine.

Also my old machine was broken. The backstitch lever came off and you use that each time you sew so it was really annoying. I had to use a pair of pliers just to sew.

My new machine has a button to backstitch so it can't come off!

There are several things I am excited to try. This new machine has a knit stitch so I can try sewing with some new material. I usually only sew with cotton as there is no stretch to it and it is easy to sew. My new machine also has a twin needle. I want to learn how to hem a t-shirt. This machine also has several decorative stitches that would look cool on the girl's dresses. My new machine is also computerized so picking the correct stitch and length is much easier.  My new machine also has a see-through bobbin case. Now I can check my bobbin without taking it out of the machine. Maybe now I won't run out right in the middle of a seam!
Overall I am very happy with the new machine. And to top it off this machine was pretty close to the same price as my old one. Hopefully I be brave and step into the world of knits!

Outfits for Disney World

The first outfit is Little Mermaid. I have to say this is my favorite. I saw a similar top on Etsy and knew I wanted to use the style. I cut out shells and appliqued them on a piece of fabric. Then I ribbon for the straps.

For the back I sewed loops and then ran the ribbon through the loops to make a criss-cross effect. Kaylee's was a little big so the ribbon didn't look right. For the shorts I copied a pair they already had and added a panel with ruffles sewn across. I love the mermaid tail effect it made.

Here is the outfit they wore to Disney's Wild Kingdom. This is actually a short and top combo.

For the shorts I just took a pair of shorts I already had and copied them.

For the top I just made a rectangle with thin straps. The bottom is just strips of different fabric sewn together and gathered to fit the rectangle. Very easy!

Here is the bow I made to match the outfit. I just made a bow and put the animal print strips under. I also covered a button to put in the middle.

Thought I would show the back which was not finished. I was going to put a button to close the back up but ran out of time. It still fit and the girls didn't have an issue with the straps falling off. It was one of those things I knew I could skip if I ran out of time.

This was their "Tangled" outfit. This was based off the new Disney movie. This also is unfinished. I wanted to put lace around the bottom and top of the top but once again I ran out of time. For the shorts I once again used a pair of shorts I already had as a pattern.

The back is once again just loops sewn onto the fabric and I just threaded ribbon through to give it the criss-cross  look. Very easy!

Also wanted to show their hair-do for this outfit. I did the criss-cross effect in their hair as well.

Here is a close up of the front of the shirt. I just took ribbon and made a criss cross pattern on the pink fabric. Then I sewed the purple fabric on.

Here are the dresses the girls wore to meet the princesses. I wanted something that looked different than the store-bought dresses that every other girl had on. These dresses were also all thrifted fabric.

Kaylee's blue top was made from a skirt. Her yellow underskirt is a sheet. I didn't have to hem the yellow because I cut it out using the hem on the sheet. The white is a pillowcase. I also appliqued an apple on the apron. For the sleeves I just sewed on red ribbon.

Abby's dress was another story! Like Kaylee, her bottom is a thrifted yellow sheet and the apron is a pillowcase. Her blue top is from one of John's button up dress shirt that John no longer wears. I actually cut out her top from the same blue skirt as Kaylee's but I cut it wrong. I only had two days to finish this dress and I didn't have time to go buy fabric. I think it worked out beautifully.

Here is the back of the dress.

Here are the bows. This is the best picture I could get but I used red felt and made a bow just like Snow White. The girls loved them and so did Snow White!

Simplicity 3856

This is the second time I have used this pattern. If you remember I used it to make the Valentine's Day skirt.

Here is Abby in her dress and cover. I love how the dress fits but not really sure about the cover.

Here is Kaylee in her dress and cover. I think the outfit looks better on Kaylee because of her coloring.

Here are the dresses without the cover. Don't like how it washes out the girls.

Here is Kaylee "modeling" the outfit. She is a little ham. I have to say the skirt was much cuter than the dress!