Sewing: Waldorf Doll Wardobes (Part II)

In addition to some cotton Summer Sets, every girl, or doll, needs some comfy clothes to wear so I sewed these little Waldorf dolls some knits! I started with a version of my Bateau Neck Top pattern, with a boatneck and boxy cut, which makes it possible to pull on a soft bodied doll without any closures.

I have to admit I love the possibility of matching outfits for my girls and their dolls! I used scraps from clothing I've sewn for Audrey, Scarlett and Tess, just in case they want to match.

I thought some wide-legged knit pants would be fun with these tops. These pants would work well with a woven fabric too so I plan to try that soon.

Then I made a knit set with skinny pants and altered the Bateau Neck Top to create a tunic with a curved hem. A "flower" cut from bright pink knit scraps (similar to the flowers I made here) was the perfect embellishment.

Finally these dolls have something to wear with the cardigans I knit for them!

(I talk more about these cute nesting chipboard suitcases in the first Waldorf Doll Wardrobes post.)

Pajamas are my girls' favorite thing to wear so bed clothes were in order. I should make some knit skivvies for these dolls, but first I made some nightgowns to match the Baby Doll Baskets I made last year with Dana's pattern.

I made a tiny version of my Angel Sleeve Dress pattern with a snap closure in the back and added some rickrack trim to the hem. Cute! I'll need to make some more of these dresses. (You can find a free pattern for the Doll Angel Sleeve Dress here.)

While I was playing with the Angel Sleeve Dress pattern I thought it would be fun to make something even dressier for these dolls. I thought with a wrap style modification the Angel dress could become a Goddess Dress! Pretty fancy, right?

F.O.E. (fold-over elastic) is the key to these dresses, which lends itself to all sort of fun trimming possibilities. 

I love this dress for Scarlett's doll in white ruffle knit fabric and glitter gold FOE. The dress can be tied in front or in back.

I found some great pleated fabric at Jo-Ann and paired it with polka-dot FOE for Audrey's doll. This dress has a bit of an Asian feel, don't you think?

And for Tess's doll, I used the stretch crinkle panne velvet to make a dress similar to Tess' own favorite: her Out of Africa dress from the STYLO 03 shoot.

I have a whole pile of fabric pulled together to make more doll clothes because it's so much fun! I'd like to make the patterns available too. And maybe grade them for other sizes dolls. But then there's the list of things to sew for my girls. And maybe myself. So we'll see.

Sewing: Waldorf Doll Wardrobes (Part I)

One of the best things I did for this past Christmas was sew a wardrobe of clothes for each my girls' Waldorf dolls. By "best," I mean most fun and most satisfying! Thank goodness I ended up with a couple days right at the end to squeeze it in. I tried to get everything else out of the way so I could sew until the 24th and see how much I could finish.

As it turned out I finished quite a bit! Five outfits for each doll. Sewing for dolls is really quite quick, but it's multiplying by three dolls that creates the challenge. I also thought of things to try as quickly as I sewed so I've got a big mental list for more. Stay tuned!

You might remember the Waldorf dolls I sewed and gave to my girls for Christmas the year before last. Well they have had nothing to wear but the doll cardigan sweaters I had knit the year before that. The girls had teased me about this fact this past year. There were a few items of clothing from the doll I made Audrey years ago, but not enough to go around. Then Scarlett had been asking if I planned to sew for them again this Christmas so I thought doll clothes would be the perfect thing.

I started with a doll-sized version of one of my favorite girls' patterns: The Summer Set.  Each doll has a Flutter Dress (actually minus the flutter on the arm) with matching Bloomers. I love the button detail at the back and found the tiniest buttons at Hobby Lobby to coordinate.

They also received a Flutter Top and Bloomers Set. I had such fun digging through my stash of fabric and scraps to find the right patterns for each doll (daughter, really).

Some of the dolls have "flutters" on theirs, and others don't. 

I packaged everything in some chipboard nesting suitcases (affiliate links). Red suitcases for Audrey, green suitcases for Scarlett and yellow suitcases for Tess. I loved the bear wardrobe Dana sewed for Sprinkles a couple years ago. She'd found a gold toiletries case to package it. So darling! So I took inspiration from her and looked for some small suitcases. I love these nesting set of three--lots of room for clothing and accessories. And they'll look so cute stacked in their rooms.

I made digital sewing patterns for all these clothes so stay tuned as I share those, and more of the doll clothes I sewed for Christmas.

Sewing: Baby Doll Baskets for the Waldorf Dolls

Maybe the reason this year feels a bit slow to start is because I'm still consumed with what should have been December (or November!) projects! Ah, well. So it goes.

When Dana released her Baby Doll Basket pattern in time for the holidays last year I snatched it up right away because I had Waldorf dolls in the works for my girls for Christmas. I thought each of them needed a little basket to go with. I love the design. These remind me of the Moses basket I carried Audrey around in when she was a newborn--I just moved her from room to room and set her snuggled nearby me.

It's part carrier and part bed--perfect! And soft so it's easy to carry, and store. I had been thinking of little wood beds but this works better I think. And it involves the fun of fabrics!

I found some reversible, floral quilted fabrics at Joann (so 80s! so fun), which I used for two of these. A very feminine take. And Joann also carried this fun zebra print and coordinating DS Quilts orange and grey dots fabric. The latter is my less-girly take. Can you guess whose doll gets that one?

Yes. Audrey's doll gets the graphic prints.

And for Scarlett's, this aqua and red floral. Though it turns out she prefers the green one I'd intended for Tess's doll. They will work it out.

I lined all the baskets with some cut chenille fabric I'd purchased years ago for making baby blankets and burp cloths, which I didn't make. I love the cozy texture. 

I backed the blankets with the chenille too. And I decided on a few other variations from the pattern: I doubled the binding on the handles just for fun, I used cotton batting instead, which is really nice and soft but thinner so my baskets are a bit floppier than Dana designed, and I added a couple interior pockets to each basket.

My friend, Margie, had the idea for the pockets. I made them out of the lining fabric and added some seam binding at the top. Then I sewed them to the lining before assembling per the pattern directions.

Now the Doll Baskets can be beds, carriers, and wardrobes! 

As soon as these dolls get some more clothes, that is.

So happy to have these finished and ready to use. They were so much fun to make! Pretty laughable that I thought I could knock them out in a day or two before Christmas had I arrived at that point. I keep forgetting to times the effort by three. Three of everything...  

Off to the next project!

Sewing: Waldorf Dolls for the Girls

Last Christmas I had visions of making handmade (Waldorf) dolls for Scarlett and Tess (I had already made one for Audrey) and giving the three of them doll wardrobes to go with them. I knitted some little sweaters but that's as far as I got. This year I had similar, but more elaborate visions because the wardrobe ideas were growing. Again, I fell far short from the goal. But I did make two dolls! (With some very late nights and finishing them early Christmas morning!) And I dressed them in the sweaters from last year, which I'd tucked secretly away. 

For Audrey, a red sweater on the doll I made her when her younger sister was born.

And some new red hair ribbons.

For Scarlett, a fair-skinned doll with dark brown eyes (like Scarlett) and pale long hair she can play with.

Scarlett is calling her "Elsa," inspired by her favorite movie.

And for Tess, a dark skinned doll with green eyes and dark curly hair in big piggy tails. I know I shouldn't pick a favorite but I love this little one!

January should be a good month for sewing doll clothes...

For the first doll I made I purchased a Magic Cabin doll making kit, which sadly they sell no longer. I bought the supplies for these two new dolls from Joy.