You saw the new Swing Dress that I made for Tuna last week.
It still needed a pair of shoes and possibly some leggings or tights to go with it.
I wanted to make a pair of t-strap style shoes, a bit on the dressy side, since her dress is a bit fancy.
These are what I ended up with. I’m not sure I’m too thrilled with them. It turns out that having black shoes on a leg that is grey doesn’t really provide enough contrast.
Since it’s the start of the school year, I thought I would make Tuna a new dress to celebrate! It’s not that she’s going anywhere, but any excuse is good for a new dress, right?
This is the “Swing Dress” from this set of patterns. In keeping with Tuna’s color theme of pink and green, I decided to use this very special fabric for the skirt.
The fabric features little figures of Red Riding Hood and the Wolf in black, green, pink, and purple. It is at least 65 years old, and possibly even older. It came from my mother’s stash and I remember it from when I was very, very young. I was fascinated with it because I recognized the storybook figures, yet they were the “wrong color” in my mind.
I’m pleased to introduce Ashley, a Tilda Friends cat doll.
I’ve known about Tilda patterns for several years, but since I wasn’t sewing, I hadn’t given them a try. I was surfing the web the other day, and came across a series of FREE patterns for several animals and one human doll, in the Tilda Friends series!
There are eight in all: Cat, Fox, Dog, Giraffe, Elephant, Hare and Cow, along with the Fia Doll.
If you recall, in yesterday’s post, I mentioned that Tuna needed a pair of green shoes to go with her polka-dot jeans and butterfly top.
I was so excited to make these!
I found a piece of green kettle cloth that I’ve probably had for 45 years. There isn’t much left of the piece, but it was one of my favorite fabrics. I wish they still made kettle cloth/weaver’s cloth in colors!
The next pattern in the instruction booklet for this cat is for a pair of jeans.
I chose to make them from some fun and funky fabrics that fit in with my color scheme, rather than traditionally colored denim.
The pink polkadot fabric is actually very special. I’ve had scraps of this ever since my oldest granddaughter, who is now 18, was a very little girl. When she was young, I made her a dress that was very brightly colored, and had the front of a VW Bus appliqued and embroidered in the front! She had asked me for a “Hippy Dress”. This pink fabric was part of the dress.
I made the pair of shoes that you saw in yesterday's tutorial so that I could figure out a better method for sewing these shoes together.
Now that I have that, putting together this pink pair was a breeze, and really didn’t take very long at all!
Now, her butterfly outfit is complete… Unless I think of something else to add to it.
You never know what might be brewing.
I wanted to create a pair of Mary Jane shoes to go with Tuna’s new outfit. The Tuna patterns do not include this style of shoe. However, the Scout & Ria pattern does. Actually, there are several different cute shoes in this pattern!
This style of shoe presents some particular complications for construction. It’s more than just a tube, sewn shut at one end. Between the size, the U-shape of the front piece and the limitations presented by your sewing machine, it can get very tricky.
Here is Tuna’s floral tunic! I chose the butterfly fabrics because of the pattern’s butterfly sleeves! I love the way it came out.
I deliberately fussy cut the pocket fronts so that there was a large butterfly on one and the smaller butterfly on the other. They really add to the design.
Next: A pair of shoes!
#artdoll #catdoll #dressupdoll #sewing #koalaandmilapatterns
I’ve started in on the second ensemble that is in the pattern instructions. This is for a Flowered Tunic and Shorts.
I finished the shorts yesterday. The fabric is so pretty with it’s tiny, white butterflies flitting about that I chose to use them as the theme for this outfit!
More tomorrow!
#artdoll #catdoll #dressupdoll #sewing #koalaandmilapatterns
Personally, I only wear a few pairs of shoes. I’m not into having a different pair for every outfit. My shoes are functional, not decorative.
For my dolls, however, I have an entirely different philosophy. There is no such thing as “too many shoes”. They simply MUST have a different pair for every change of clothing!
This doll has what I refer to as “ballet feet”. Basically, she looks like she is standing on pointe. Actually, her feet are non-existant. One of the reasons I’ve chosen to make her is to tackle the challenge of making shoes… when there are no feet shapes.
While I was locked away from everyone because of the construction, I managed to make this dress for Tuna.
I used the Striped Dress pattern from the pattern set. Instead of piecing together strips of fabric, I found a fabric that was already striped.
I also started a pair of shoes, but didn’t finish them in time to take a picture, so you’ll have to wait until next week to see them!
Note: Today’s post was originally written and published in November of 2012, on another website I own. I’m sharing it here as a “Throwback Thursday” so that you know my “sudden” interest in dolls is not new and not just a Covid obsession! This post is image heavy. In addition, there are a couple of pictures of an almost anatomically correct, nude doll below!
I thought I would show you a doll I made that was delivered to her owner last week! (Yes, sometimes I do things besides cook! LOL!)
Indeed, she does!
These are from the bloomers/shorts pattern. One niggling problem that I have is that I feel like the waist should be higher up on these. I may adjust the pattern, in the future, for a better fit.
Other than that, I think they’re cute!
#artdoll #catdoll #dressupdoll #sewing #koalaandmilapatterns
How could you resist a kitty like this? From her tiny ear stud to her name tag, she’s a bundle of fun!
I got all of her parts sewn together and stuffed, today.
Tomorrow I will sew on her arms and legs. They are just pinned for the picture. And hopefully, make her some bloomers.
Having fun, staying safe!
#artdoll #catdoll #dressupdoll #sewing #koalaandmilapatterns
Yesterday you saw the back of Tuna-the-Cat. Today, I finished all the applique and button sewing.
I made the name tag out of a piece of muslin. I stamped the name using Archival ink, and then went over it with a Pitt Pen. My signature is on the other half. This will get sewn into the seam when the body is assembled.
I’m very impressed with this new sewing machine. It did a great job of sewing around the applique pieces!