January 16, 2025
Dear Friends,
Can you believe it is January, and I am already behind! Found myself a bit over committed with
projects. I thought I would be done early December, then mid-December, then by
New Years, you see how this is going.
And it appears I could be this irregular on posting this year, but I am
trying not to be. May I say I am
grateful I do not do New Year’s resolutions!
My beginning would not bode well.
What I do for myself, and friends is, however, not brain
surgery, so some time in getting things right is not a bad thing. I have been working diligently on an outfit
for Tiny Kitty. (Robert Tonner, 10” reduction of Kitty Collier.) She is my wonderful break from antique
reproduction things. And let me tell you
it is hard to take those breaks as I love my little dolls so much. Sometimes it is interesting to exercise contemporary
sewing skills and to keep my hand in. I
have almost forgotten how to use a sewing machine. (Not hardly likely!)
(Much of my delay is due to a lack of a sewing room, and
organized sewing space. We still do not, after three months, have a roof fixed
up there. Helene did a job in the
south, and we are in the que for things but not our turn yet. We are much
better off than most as we have a home and live in the spaces downstairs. It
seems ungrateful to complain. I try not
to get impatient, but truthfully, I want to get to the top of the list)
I did spend a couple of weeks on crutches as I sprained
my big toe, so walking was out of the question.
I am now all better and out and about and with new walking shoes. They feel great.
Anyway, back to Tiny Kitty. I found an outfit on Pinterest and am not
sure why, but it took all my attention.
This would be my first pattern draft for Tiny Kitty. The first thing I learned, and should have
known, is mind your measurements. For
some reason the gown was too large. So,
here we go with Papa and Mama bear routine.
Yes, it was too large. (I had
mistakenly added the seams twice.)
The original Pattern was a Simplicity 7858, 1960s
Next it was too tight. No one likes that. But the problem to solve here was where were
the closures to go? The center back seam of this doll would have taken up the
entire back panel. So, I attempted to
place the closure in the side seam, but that would stop me from slipping it
either up her legs, a step in dress, or I would need an additional snap or hook
at the shoulder. That wasn’t working for
me either.
Finally, I decided to make the back side seam open, and
added a hook and thread loop to hold the back seam closed. I will be honest I am not great at getting
those perfectly placed. It really did
not look well when put on a doll.
Then, I remembered a skirt pattern I did that wanted to
come open just a tad when the skirt was closed.
I decided I would put in what I call a “swing snap” and that would make
the closure. I think it was “Just
Right.”
The last task was to make the cape I continued to make
quite a few mistakes there, too. Of
course, I did. I sewed the sleeves
backwards, twice. Then I sewed the front
side to the back. Naturally. So, I put it down for a couple of days. Then laid everything out as it should have
gone and voila, I had a correctly made and fitting cape. It’s line in China silk, too!
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| The backside of the cape made of a cotton twill |
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| The inside of the cape with silk lining |
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| Finished Cape |
I hope you all are looking forward to a wonderful year of dollmaking and dressing. I am hoping as I catch up with things here, I will have made all my errors in January and the year will look great! Wouldn’t that be wonderful? And please don't forget, Have Fun! Kathi
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