Outfits with the new trousers and shorts

My latest pattern is flat front pull-on trousers and shorts - Snugfit Martha.
There are so many cute outfits you can make with them. These first three are made with 1412 Snugfit Martha and 1406 Snugfit Elaine.

The top blouse here is 1402 Snugfit Anna. The Short sleeve blouse is 1406 Snugfit Elaine

The western blouse is 1402 Snugfit Anna again and the crop top is 1501 Knitfit Lucy

This blouse is 1406 Snugfit Elaine again and a skivvy from 1501 Knitfit Lucy. The tote bags are part of 1401 Doll Tote

Five of these outfits are made with the same two patterns. I hope you can start to see what my vision is for my pattern business. I want my patterns to be used as templates for unlimited numbers of outfits. 1412 Snugfit Martha Flat Front Pull-ons provides you with lots of different lengths so you don't have to experiment for the look you want. You also get lots of design ideas to start you off.
I know they don't have working front pockets and they are not skinny but they are easy to make and easy to put on the doll. I am working on designs with the front pockets and different leg styles but I wanted to publish a good basic design first.

If you are wondering how they look on the doll...

You can find 1412 Snugfit Martha and 1406 Snugfit Elaine on Craftsy and Etsy.

Happy Sewing,
Val

Valentine's Elbow Patches

I was taken by the fashion pin I found of a jumper with hearts for elbow patches and really wanted to do that for my doll. As with so many things these days someone had already done it but it is still a good idea, so I included the little heart shape and placement in my Knitfit Lucy Classic Skivvy pattern.

I used some regular woven fabric in pink for my hearts. Trace two hearts onto fusible applique paper and cut out a rectangle around them. Iron this onto the back of the pink fabric then cut out around the hearts.
Let it cool then carefully peel off the hearts. To position them I held the fabric and pattern piece up to the window and put the fabric heart over the outline that I could see through the sleeve fabric. Iron the hearts in place.

Have you used your edge stitch foot lately?
My overlocker is threaded with black and I just didn't feel like swapping to the cream so I tried out my edge stitch foot on my sewing machine and it worked a treat. The little finger that the zig zag stitch goes over, stops the edge of the fabric being pulled in by the stitches. I used my regular tension with a 5mm zig zag and my regular 2.5mm stitch length.

After stitching the shoulder seams put on the neck band. I used the singlet neck band for this jumper. I forgot that the t-shirt back and front I used has a higher neck line than the singlet and I should have cut 1/2" off the neck band length to make the neck fit a bit snugger.

I cut my sleeves an extra 1/8" longer, left off the cuff and turned up 3/8" hem. I zig zag my hems 1/4" from the fold.
When you put in the sleeves make sure you get them right and left so the hearts go in the right place. The heart is placed closer to the back of the sleeve.

After trying it on the doll a few times I decided to make it a bit shorter and put on some lace edging.
This knit fabric did not hem too well. It stretched a bit and looks a bit loose around the hem. I will have to work on a design that is tight fitting. I have a plan for a fashion skivvy with a few different variations. A tight fitting option will be one of them.

I have plenty of time to play around with my computer as well as sewing. I imported the final photos into Fireworks and erased the background. (I hope to have a studio set up for green screen photos soon). Jessica is now at Binna Burra for a short break :)

Happy Sewing,
Val

Classic Skivvy Pattern

I so love working with knits. Doll clothes look so good made in knit fabrics because they drape so nicely.

My latest pattern is for light weight knits and is the beginning of my Knitfit Collection for light weight knits. I have decided to give each of my collections a different number.
1400's is the Snugfit Collection
1500's is the Knitfit Collection for light weight knits

I have the Loosefit Collection coming out soon as well as a Knitfit Collection for bulky knits and I have two new underwear patterns ready to go as part of my new Doll Design Mini Collection. I have called it mini because the instructions are 99% text with one or two photos for the really tricky bits and I have not included lots of variations as I do with my regular patterns.

Here is my latest design. The Classic Skivvy. Almost a collection all by itself with skivvy, t-shirt, crop top and singlet.

Here are screen shots of the some of the pages

Visit valspierssews's Craftsy Pattern Store »

Happy Sewing,
Val

Don't be scared of knits

There are some gorgeous knit fabrics to buy these days and they are such a modern fabric. I am still trying to come to terms with what is fashionable for 18" dolls. I did a search for t-shirts and none of them had ribbing for the short sleeve bands or even the neck bands but I really like ribbing on a t-shirt. I guess it reminds me of the good old days when the t-shirts I bought for myself were made of knit fabric that wasn't so thin you could see through it and the bands were done with ribbing instead of the cheap fabric the shirt was made of.
No matter how hard I try, the clothes I design for my doll look like clothes I would wear. However, I am still working through my classic designs so the patterns can be made to suit the style you like. Cap sleeves look very modern and you can always just hem the sleeves instead of using rib or put a narrow single fold strip on the neck. It also seems that the modern t-shirt is white or at a pinch pink or red. I think the patterned knits I use might be a bit grown up looking for a child which is who the doll is meant to represent.

I have been working on the final stages of my Classic Skivvy. I had all the samples done for the different views, I just needed to make up a skivvy from my finished pattern pieces and take photos for the instructions as I put it together.

Oddly enough I have found that the best way to sew the knit fabric is to use a narrow zig zag on the sewing machine. I set it to 2mm. The only part I overlock is the edge of the back facing.

Because the knits I have been using are two way stretch I had to change the differential dial to stop it stretching out the edge. My normal differential setting is 1.5. I did a couple of test goes on my fabric and found that 1.75 gave the best result. The edge puckered up a bit but I left the thread tails long and gently eased the wrinkles out buy stretching the edge. This makes the thread tails pull up shorter. You don't want the overlocking to come undone while you flatten out the edge so leave the tails long. After the edge is nice and square trim the thread ends.

I probably should have changed my needle to a ball point for knits but I stuck with my universal needle. I found that it tended to cause a jam if I tried to back stitch at the beginning and end of seams. Since most of the seams end up sewn into other seams I just stopped back stitching. I had a little bit of trouble getting past the parts made thicker by seams or hem turn ups but I think this also would have been fixed with a ball point needle. You can always anticipate a problem and go slow or turn the wheel by hand to get past the tricky bits.

So,
Use 2mm narrow zig zag for seams

Don't back stitch at the ends of seams and go slow over the thicker parts.

To neaten up the wrist a bit I stitched across the seam allowance making it stay open and flat.

Have fun with knits. They don't fray so hems don't need overlocking or double folds and seam allowances don't need any finishing. Because the the necks and wrists are so small the fitting of bands is easy. No fiddly measuring quarters. Just find the centres and ends and stretch the bits in between.

Look out for my Knit fit Lucy  - Classic Skivvy for Lightweight Knits. A pattern including different sleeve and neck styles. Other patterns on the go are the Loosefit Jacket and the Snugfit circular skirt and the bulky knit vest with drop shoulders. All of these designs will come with multiple views.

And finally, be on the lookout for my new collection called Doll Design Minis. I have noticed a definite lack of underwear patterns and apron patterns for 18" dolls so I will be designing patterns for lots of different styles. They will have one view and minimal instructions. But if you have my regular patterns you will always be able to find helpful instructions for many techniques.

Visit my Craftsy Shop.

Happy Sewing,
Val