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Rantings and Grumblings
In which: I rant about whatever suits my fancy.
on sewing
Or, more accurately: On the most ludicrous things I have put my time into making!! biggrin

I started sewing doll clothes in high school. I'm utterly embarrassed by my earliest attempts! I found some '90s American Girl clothing patterns and they came out all wonky because I barely knew how patterns worked, how my machine worked, how to sew a straight seam...

It's pretty funny now, really.

I mostly sew separates, and most of the time those separates are me rebelling against the pink frou frou doll clothes you can get in the store. I once had juuuuuust enough material to sew the most darling little boy's suit--think Colin from Secret Garden. It was after I got better at sewing, although I did leave the collar off the vest and the tie came out a bit "meh". Still. It looked pretty darn good! I've also made a number of shirts, trousers, some culottes that took about half an hour from pattern printing to finished product and still look OK, etcetera.

Then there are the projects I spend days on.

DAYS!

Sometimes weeks!

These are usually the girliest things I've made and so far have included a multi-layered tudor gown that laces up the back (something went wrong with cutting or seam allowances, but it looks good so...happy mistake) and a multi-layered victorian bustle dress. The bustle dress is probably the girlier of the two, since tudor clothing looks (to my eye) pretty much the same for both genders, women just have a skirt and don't need to worry about stockings. Frankly, it's an era in which I would prefer to wear women's clothing. You mean, we have decently supportive undergarments and relatively straightforward clothing? Except for the part where we must show off as much fabric as possible with lots and lots of jewels.... unless you're middle class and sumptary laws prevent it. Then you just wear crazy hats. Win/win.

The bustle dress is a mauve-pink-lavender contraption (it's some kind of satin with a dark blush undertone and also blues somehow? Got it cheap off Etsy, so no idea what its deal is) with lots of lace and frills and tailored bits. I handstitched one out of cheap brocade during some snow days in high school that came out well, but I had a doll with no "signature" look so I made it specially for her. It's stunning; she has very pink lips and very dark hair and eyes and eyebrows that remind me a bit of Snow White. The overall effect is charming, but very feminine.

It may pale in comparison to the PINK! satin monstrosity I'm sewing now! It's for a bjd that should be coming this week. Her measurements mooooostly fit the pattern, and I plan to cover up any discrepancies with COPIOUS amounts of lace. Or possibly a ruffle made out of the same PINK! satin. (Well, maybe I'm not being fair--it's technically a dark dusky sort of rose. But it's basically the most girly thing I've ever made! It'll be glorious.)





 
 
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