When In Doubt Get The Glitter Glue Out.........

As requested, I made two more pairs of "Crocs" for my GD's American Doll. I made another pair awhile ago and two days after there was a mishap. The strap on one shoe came off. No worries. It was easily fixed with Aleene's Original Tacky Glue. BUT.

I wasn't too happy at the time with the idea of using eyelets to attached the straps to the shoe. True enough it looked great sorta but it was really only cosmetic. 

The mishap could have happened because the type of eyelet I was using wasn't correct but as far as I know they were the only type sold over the counter in my area. 

See here is where the strap gave way. The eyelet pulled out because a) it might not be the correct type or b) the foam is too soft and stretchy to hold. Don't know but there were tears...GD's and mine :)

This little eyelet has to go through two layers of the craft foam and hold it together? May be if the shoe is sitting in a drawer and not played with.

I really didn't want to have to repair the new shoes later on so I put the eyelets through just the straps like this and then glued the straps to the shoes.

 Voila!

Looks the same to a 10 year old who really doesn't care about the finer points of shoe making. I did get a wee bit carried away with the glue gun on one of the straps. It left an ugly glob of glue and it bothered me. So annoying.

To hide it I covered the blue shoe with a thin layer of blue glitter glue. Sorry you can't see the glitter clearly in the pic but it turned out really pretty. 

So, the point of all this is that if you are planning to make crocs like these beware the eyelet and maybe buy some glitter glue. 

Take care and keep safe :) 

Little Shoes...........

I made some shoes for the GD's Wellie Wisher doll called Willa. The Wellie Wisher is another product from American Doll and in my humble opinion a much much cuter doll.

This is Willa......

And, here are the shoes I made. They are about 2 inches in length. They are fairly easy to make. I used a pattern from Pixie Faire called "Plain Jane Shoes" by Love U Bunches.

Take care and be safe :)

 

A Bit More Sewing........

A few more little outfits.

I had to shorten some track pants for a family member and used the bits I cut off to make a drop waist dress with pockets.

 

Then I made a skirt from a small piece of baby wale corduroy that I had completely forgotten about. My GD found it in my scrap drawer. It was a remnant I paid 10 cents for and I have lots left to make something else. It's so soft and a very bright pink :) This skirt is a free pattern that you can find here.

Last of all from another scrap she found I made some shorts.

Now I have a request for more shoes and a skort.  It's a good thing I'm retired.

Take care and keep safe:)

Not much happening........

Except a lot of rain. What a wet summer we are having. Even tornado warnings. At the age of 16 our poor cat has developed a fear of storms. We know when a storm is about to happen as she hides under the bed. We were a bit worried about her as she stopped eating after a particularly bad few days. But, she seems to be back to her old self today. Her noisy demands for food are nice to hear :)

On the sewing front. My granddaughter has decided to play with her American Girl doll again so I have been asked to make more clothes and shoes.

This is an outfit from a PDF pattern she picked out on Etsy. It is a design called a culotte jumpsuit designed by Liberty Jane at Pixie Faire Patterns.

It's okay but I'm not in love with where the straps are placed. I think they should be a bit more to the middle of the shoulders rather than on the edge. They are placed where the princess seam is on the bodice.  Very awkward to fit right on the doll.  A re-design I think if I make this outfit again.

I made two of the three versions...the short and the long. The fabric was chosen by the granddaughter from my stash :)

I had to borrow her doll for a day as trying to guess the correct length of the long pants and how long the straps should be would be impossible without one.


Take care and keep safe :) 

Making stuff.......

When you cannot go out the day seems very long so the best thing to do is to keep busy.

I made a pair of very tiny yellow running shoes from Kona cotton. The pattern is called "Michele Designs Pixie Sweet Slip-ons". Now I've made one pair I know what I would do different next time. They are a bit skew-if so that it's hard to tell the right from the left. Ideally I would have had the doll here to use her foot as a last. Much easier to measure the sides for gluing with the foot in the shoe.

Coincidentally I come from a long line of Irish shoe and boot makers. Even my dad used to re-heel his leather brogues. He had the wooden lasts belonging to his dad. Sadly the lasts have disappeared.

And, I made some Irish soda bread. I haven't made this recipe in ages but it looks like it should.

Take care :)

Waste Not........

My DIL asked me to shorten and hem some track pants. I had to take quite a bit off the bottom and I figured I could use it for something. So I made some leggings for my granddaughter's American Girl doll.

The original track pants had a double white stripe down the side of one leg. I had to improvise and turn the stripe and put it across the leg instead. It looks okay to me....LOL  However, I await the verdict from the doll owner :)

No worries there was social distancing involved. DIL put the bag with the pants on the ground and stood back and my husband picked them up. They were returned the same way.

It is one strange world we are living in at the moment.

Take care and keep safe :)

One more little dress......

This one is a bit different.

It's an a-line shape in front

 At the back it's gathered.

 Take care :)

Here is another t-shirt made from a onesie.

I really hate working with cotton knit. Really, really dislike it a lot but what can you do when you are stuck at home. You have to use what you have.

Where did I get the onesies you ask? The husband and my oldest son were at Walmart last week and bought three for me as I figured they wouldn't cost much and were the right fabric weight for a doll. They couldn't find any plain ones but I managed to get the picture in the right place.

I have some fabric left so maybe I'll consult the granddaughter for some ideas.

Take care and keep safe....and sane :)

Keeping busy........

Hello out there!!!!

I hope everyone is keeping safe and healthy. I know some of us might be going a bit stir crazy. I've become addicted to online jigsaw puzzles. I read that they were good to ward off Alzheimer's. Even if they aren't they still keep me amused.

I also made a t-shirt for my granddaughter's American Girl doll from a free pattern I found online.

https://www.pixiefaire.com/…/p…/free-t-shirt-18-doll-clothes

It's made from a recycled 6th month size onesie. I deconstructed it and then cut the pattern out. It had a knit fabric binding on it's neck and leg edges so I reused that for the neck. This type of knit is very stretchy and tends to warp out of shape when you sew it. Very annoying. But I persevered as I had nothing else that suit the pattern.

I understand from my husband that there was a wee bit of swearing involved. Specially when my bobbin ran out as I was sewing some Velcro to the back closure.

Ah well.

Take care and keep safe :)

Self-isolate, self-quarantine, social-distance........

Amazing how these buzz phrases take hold.   

My husband and I did go grocery shopping yesterday. I'm a senior citizen and I should be staying at home but you do need to eat. I was surprised at how many people were out. There were a lot of empty shelves though. No toilet paper of course. One good thing is that grocery and drug stores here have just started special shopping times for seniors.

To keep occupied I've been sorting my craft stuff and I did make a new dress for my granddaughter's American doll. She chose the fabric from my fat quarters. This pattern didn't have facings for the neck and arms which I wasn't too happy about. I didn't fancy trying to make a neat edge on such a tiny dress. I don't have the patience. I ended up lining the bodice.

The pattern is called "123 Mulberry Street Summer Twirl Dress".

I also made a pair of jeans. Not such a great success as the fabric was a bit heavy but they fit and look okay. I think a stretch denim might work better. They are supposed to be distressed (torn) at the knees and the pant hem but I ignored that :)

The pattern is called "Liberty Jane Jeans".

Take care :)

American Girl.....

My granddaughter was given an American Doll for Christmas. Of course, grandma has been requested to make stuff.....lots of stuff :)

The first make is a pair of "crocs" in pink. I bought the pattern on Etsy from Pixie Faire. I've bought patterns from them before and I'm always pleased with the results. Very professional quality designs.

So armed with pink foam from Michael's, a glue gun, Aleen's tacky glue, paper hole punch, eyelets, cardboard and a granddaughter breathing down my neck a pair was made.

I can see where I made a mistake but then nine year old doll owners don't care much about perfection. I'm not sure how long they will last but that's okay as I can make more.

Take care:)