Dress Makover

I have been working on this dress to give it this great new look.

I was never really happy with the dress I made as a sample in my Snugfit Carol pattern. At the time I couldn't work out what to do to make it work. It fit perfectly but it just didn't look right.

While I was updating my Anatomy of a Gathered Skirt file I suddenly realized that it was the length of the skirt that was the problem. (I don't think she thinks much of her little homemade felt shoes either.)

 

I have now concluded that 6" is not a good length for any skirts or dresses. They need to be 5 1/2" or 7" to 7 1/2" but not in between. This one is now 5 1/2" long or just at the middle of the knee cap. The old one is 6" long. I think it makes a big difference.

I have been making lots of cute self fabric belts lately and thought one would be just right for this outfit.

To make a belt for 3/8" slide buckle cut a 15" strip 1 1/2" wide and fold it to make single fold binding so it is 3/8" wide. Fold in one end then stitch all around. Loop the raw edge end over the buckle bar, check the fit on the doll, then stitch across. Trim the raw edge with pinking shears.

Download "Anatomy of a Gathered Skirt" for all the basics on making gathered skirts for 18" dolls.

Happy Sewing,

Val

A New Snugfit Pattern - A Cute Dress

I am so excited about this pattern. Not just because it is such a cute dress pattern but also because this file has all new formatting perfect for iPads and tablets and also Acrobat Reader.

I love lots of structure and lots of space on pages so this file has chapters and sections.
I won't bore you with how I made it but will say that I have enjoyed making good use of my computer skills.
If you open the PDF in Acrobat Reader you will see there is a book marks tab. You can use this to jump to the different sections in the contents.
Mine opens with the thumbnail and book marks icons on the left. Click the little blue book mark icon...

then you get the book mark list to click on. However, I want to see one page at a time.

So I changed the view. In the top menu I went to View - Page Display - Single Page View ...

and ended up with one page showing at a time.

I also like to use the thumbnail list once I am more familiar with the file. Click the 'two little pages' icon above the book marks icon to get a thumbnail overview.

I don't know much about tablets because I am an Apple fan. It is easy to navigate a PDF in iBooks on the iPad. Great for using in the sewing room. The following are all screen shots of my iPad.

I did have to reduce the file size but you can still pinch out on the pages to double the size of the photos without losing much quality.

There are lots of diagrams and lots of photos.

See those little horizontal lines in the top left of the menu bar in the image below? Touch that icon to get a thumbnail view. This makes it easy to jump to different sections. The menu bar shows up when you touch the page in the middle.

Swipe up and down to see the thumbnails. Touch the page you want or touch 'Resume' to go back to full page.

The next pattern file will be a lot easier to make and hopefully quicker as well. A month is a long time for you to wait for a new pattern. The next pattern is what I call 'The Versatile Vest'. There are lots of cute things you can make with it.
Go to Craftsy to see my patterns.

Visit valspierssews's Craftsy Pattern Store »

Cheers,
Val

Reaching for Perfection

1404 Snugfit Carol Dress - View 4 Peplum top
Look out for it soon.

I am a perfectionist. This doesn't mean that everything I do is perfect but it does mean that I can't let something alone until it meets my standards. This is how I feel about the doll clothes patterns I am making to sell.
When I decided to create them to sell, my aim was to make something that I wanted and couldn't find in the market place.
With a few patterns under my belt I realise that there are a few improvements I can make to make them more user friendly i.e. easier for me to use. My aim is to create something that if I was buying it I would say "Wow! This is great value for money, so nice to look at and easy to use and the garment I made fits perfectly. I will be making this again. I'll be happy to buy more patterns from this person."

So far I have only been able to say that about the doll knitting patterns I have bought and the applique quilt patterns I have bought.

What improvements am I making?

For starters I have come to realise that even though I don't particularly like photos in the instructions - I prefer diagrams - people younger than me who have grown up with photo and video tutorials seem to like photos better. Rather than make it all photos or all diagrams I have decided to make an extra gallery of photos that cover every step and include them in an iBooks book along with my regular instructions. iBooks can only be read in an iPad but that's OK with me. I love the iPad and wouldn't use any other tablet.

Since playing with iBooks Author I can see that all my pattern instruction pages need to be landscape so they look great on the iPad or any tablet.

My Ipad stand works best when the iPad is sideways. So now I am making my next pattern as a landscape PDF. It will still have all the great features that I do in portrait such as the pattern pieces and the envelope and the divider page for your file folder. Just the instruction pages are landscape.

There is not too much colour. Just enough to define the chapters and sections so it still looks great printed out.

Each page is identified so if you find a stray one on your cutting table you will know where it goes.

I can't do much about my photography until I can get out the good camera and tripod (after I move house) but I am going to enrol in a Craftsy online class on photography to help me improve my photos. I have put a link to the class in my sidebar. I haven't bought it yet but I will let you know what it is like soon.

Because I need to update my earlier patterns to the new format and tweek the instructions a bit I have decided to update them all around the end of November. If you have already bought one you automatically get the update to download in your Craftsy pattern library. If there are more improvements I will update again 3 months later. 

Have a look in my Craftsy shop. The Witch and Princess outfits pattern is only $1.00 USD for the month of October, then it goes up to $1.50.

Visit valspierssews's Craftsy Pattern Store »

If you like the iPad stand. See my blog post and a link to the tutorial.

Cheers,

Val