Debbie Designs Her New Line

Seeing the new Tim Gunn dolls inspired me to sew a little bit.  I was excited because all of the things I dreaded doing just months ago, were no longer an issue.  Things like, changing the thread after each garment, sewing darts, sewing on snaps, etc, weren't a thorn in my side this time around.  Now, I am not even close to where I need to be, or where I used to be with my sewing, but I can see light at the end of the tunnel. 

Debbie has hired Shantavia to take pictures of some of the pieces in her new line.  None of the outfits are finished, but this will give her an idea of how the line is flowing together so far.

"Okay, I need each piece shot with the model standing and sitting.  I only have a few pieces, so I am a hoping we can be out of here within 2 hours."  (Debbie)  

"I don't think that will be an issue.  Shooting outside always helps the photoshoots go quicker."  (Shantavia)

"Great.  My assistant sent me a text to say Ms. Berry is on her way out.  So you can go ahead and set up."  (Debbie)

Halle emerges wearing the first piece.  A blue and white floral pencil skirt.  It is paired with a plain white tank, but it could also be paired with black or navy blue. 

The second piece is another pencil skirt with soft green floral designs and a light cream background.  It's paired with a light cream top, but it would also look nice with white.

The third piece is a fuller skirt.  The overskirt is a sheer fabric with shades of mauve and white, with silver accents.  The underskirt is a soft pink. (The finishing on the edges aren't great.  I was experimenting at this point.  I did finally get the right stitch numbers).

Staying very feminine, the fourth piece is a peach dress with a simple bodice and full skirt.  The simple embroidery on the top and bottom adds enough detail to keep it very soft.  (A peach ribbon will probably be added to the waistband.)  

This design will also accommodate any of the expecting mothers in Morristown.

The final piece is a little more versatile.  Here it is worn as a skirt and paired with a black top.  It would look nice paired with white or navy blue.  It's very loose and very comfortable, while at the same time very chic looking.

It was also designed to be worn as a dress.  This is a perfect day to night wear piece.  Paired with a nice black scarf or shawl, and it's a nice dress for dinner at a lovely restaurant.

 

The photoshoot is over, and they were able to meet their time deadline.

"Thank you Ms. Berry.  You did a wonderful job.  I really hope you will be available in a few weeks when I have more pieces to shoot."  (Debbie)

"Just give me a call.  I love your clothes, and I would love to see the rest of the line."  (Halle)

Debbie goes to finish up with Shantavia, and Halle goes to get dressed.

"Thank you, thank you.  When do you think the pictures will be ready?"  (Debbie)

"It won't take long.  I can have them to you by Friday."  (Shantavia)

"That's great!"  (Debbie)

Meanwhile, Halle has returned.

She is talking to Diego, who arrived about half an hour ago.  It had been awhile since he'd been to a photoshoot, and he decided to come watch a little of this one.

"Are you all set?"  (Diego)

"Just about.  I can't find my shoes.  I think they may have accidentally put them with the prop shoes.  But let me go say good bye to Debbie, then we'll find my shoes and be on our way."  (Halle)

"Thank you so much Debbie."  (Halle)

"No, thank you.  I'll be calling you soon."  (Debbie)

Dominique's New Skirt and My Favorite Tool

Dominique's wardrobe is coming along.  I made her a little leopard skirt .  

I need to iron it.  Right now it has that look a skirt gets after wearing it all day.  

Here she paired it with a brown top and the Stardoll jacket that came with the red headed Stardoll.  This jacket came with the orange dress Kara is now wearing at the wedding.

I'm not happy with the brown top, so I will look for something a little lighter to wear with this jacket. 

This is my favorite "tool"  at the moment.  It is a two-sided quilter's press.  Someone was throwing it away and I grabbed it, not knowing how much use I would eventually get out of it.  It went unused for a couple of years.  I now use it for everything.  Sewing clothes, making the furniture, making the food, as a laptop desk, as an ironing board, etc.  This surface is hard, so I can do rotary cutting on this side. The multiple rulers and the 1 in blocks, allow for quick measuring.  I will use this to design new wood patterns for upcoming wood furniture.

Flip it over and you have a soft surface, where I do my ironing (in my lap).  This tool allows me to be more efficient.  The less I have to get up and move to something like an ironing board, the quicker I can get my projects finished.

Do you have a favorite tool or doll item?

Dominique and Adele's Wardrobe is Growing

After the wedding video, I attempted to take a little break.  That was torture.  I gave it a couple of hours, then decided to get back to work.  I worked on some furniture pieces.  All of which are spoken for already. Then I worked on a few FR fashions.

I started with a skirt for Dominique.  I did not make the top, although I have plans to make her one for the final ensemble.

The fabric is actually navy and white.  Dominique will more than likely end up with a wardrobe close to what my wardrobe is/was.  Of course, I think she will wear it better than I ever could.

I made her some palozzo pants, too.  My favorite style to wear.  I still have to make her suit jacket and blouse.

I made Adele a casual outfit right after I made her green and white dress. 

I made all three pieces here.  I think this is a nice 'running errands' outfit.  It's made of jersey knit, so it's nice and comfortable.

I will swap out the shirt,  because I think it's a little too bulky for this outfit.  The shirt started as a dress, but it wasn't sexy enough for her dinner date with Michael, so I cut it off and made a shirt. 

I don't know why they aren't smiling yet.  "What?  You need designer handbags now?  Have you seen what they are charging for designer handbags these days?  We have plenty of handbags that will look just fine with your new outfits."

An Early Thank You Gift for Adele

I have been so happy with Adele's performance as wedding planner that I wanted to give her an early gift.  As you know she is a teacher and in the midst of all the wedding planning, she did land a teaching job that will start in June.  It's still up in the air which grade she will teach.  So I decided to make her a dress for her work wardrobe.  The lighting is kind of crazy, but I took these right after I shot the church photostory.  I think Jolisa wore me out, too. 

It is a pretty turquoise and white sheath type dress with some added interest on the front skirt.  She will be toting the white handbag from the Barbie Basics 3.0 accessory pack.  (If you look through the church door window, you can see Ian there.  He found his way back to his ushering post.)

Hard to see the beauty in the dress with all those blown highlights.  Maybe I will retake them and repost them later.

"Work it, Adele."

I have really had the urge to sew lately, so I imagine many of my dolls who have been waiting for their new wardrobes will be getting something in the near future.  You know diva Dominique has been hounding me.  That's why I had to put her to work at the wedding.  I needed a break from her always being in my ear.

The Kids Got New Clothes!

Friday, I felt like sewing.  I never know what is going to happen when I start.  I started by trying to sew a couple things for the ladies.  After several hours, and nothing really to show for my time, I was slightly discouraged.  I knew I needed to push through the disappointment.  So I decided to go to sleep and try again later.  Later came at about 2am Saturday morning.  I picked up where I left off, which was trying to make Julian and Zahara some pjs.  Then something happened.  I got into a groove and started sewing all kinds of cute outfits.  When I looked at what I had made, I realized that I could 'mix 'n match' outfits for a totally different look. Remember Garanimals.  I am more than excited with the progress I made.  I patted myself on the back for not letting those seemingly unproductive 4-5 hours get me down.

The purple and red outfits you have seen before, but they are important to the 'mix 'n match' theme.  The blue pjs with the red hearts was one of my disappointments when I first started.  It will be just fine for sleeping in.  I haven't put the snaps/velcro on all the outfits.  That will come soon. 

Here we are with a slightly different combo.  The first outfit on the left shows that the t-shirt can be turned around to give a totally different look.  Kara's daughter has paired her red shirt with a school themed gathered skirt.  The red t-shirt in the middle, is the jacket from the first picture, turned around.  The green pants on the right are paired with a purchased SIS top.

Another look.  Julian and the girls can share t-shirts.  I also made yellow pants, that look really good with the SIS purchased top.  There are so many combinations!  The little girl on the left shows the more casual look of the red dotted skirt that Zahara wore in picture 1.

Julian is sporting his lumber jack shirt.  This was another shirt that was in the inital disappointing sewing time frame.  I will make him another one that fits better.  I started on the toddler wardrobe.  I was pretty wiped out, and decided to work on his wardrobe another day.

Yet another outfit that was in the disappointment pile.  I made this dress for Tina, but it was a little snug.  Thank goodness for all those different body sizes I have.  This ended up fitting BB 2.5 better.  I can see this with a belt and some accessories.  I decided I would have a little line called "The Cut and Sew Line".  I literally just took a piece of material and cut out a shape and sewed this little dress.  This was the first time I did it that way. 

I know.  It's a little short, but I think she can still pull this off.  After all, with that sexy husband she has, she wants to make sure she is still turning his head. 

So all in all, I am happy with the direction my sewing is going.  I have a long way to go, but I can see a path forward.  Once I get comfortable 'cutting and sewing' outfits without patterns or with minimal pattern usage, I will start embellishing more with lace, ribbons, chiffon, buttons, beads, etc.  We are not quite there yet, but that's where we are headed.

The ISH May Hit The Fan Soon

Well this is Rod's ex-wife, Melanie.  She is on her way to pick up Nicole from the sleepover.  But first she is meeting with Rod.  She has no idea what he wants to talk about.  She imagines it is something regarding Nicole. 

Side Note:  This is a bad sistah.  If you are wondering why I ever split her and Rod up, well I have a confession.  At the time the split happened, I didn't actually have a real wife/ex-wife for Rod.  This lady was added to my collection shortly thereafter.  She seemed like the perfect mother for Nicole, so she got the job.

She is sporting a pair of pants I made last weekend that I didn't show you.  It is paired with a sock sweater I made some months ago.

A little tip for getting those sweaters on without getting them caught in those fingers is to wrap the hands with a little saran wrap.  Works like a charm.  I didn't do it that way the first two times, so I got a little snag here and there.

"Get it, girl! Go get your man!"

I am going to give her the benefit of the doubt.  She may actually be happy for Rod.

My Sewing Lesson This Weekend: Pants

So far I am keeping to my promise.  I am sewing a few new items per week.  This weekend I worked on pants.  We know I don't like patterns and instructions.  The other two things I don't like are darts and elastic. So I set out to make fitted, dartless, elastic free pants.

I have had this fabric more than 10 years. I bought it to make myself some pants.  That never happened. 

They look pretty good on Shantavia.  I can't wait until I get to suit jackets.  This is going to make a wonderful pants suit.

Jacquelyn's pants are little higher waisted.  I made these from a vinyl placemat.  Just something a little different.  I didn't mean to use contrasting thread on the bottom, but she will have to live with it.

She found a cute little jacket I bought a few months ago that hadn't been claimed.  Now all she needs is that Gucci bag that has been on my list for ages. 

I made a few more pairs of pants, but this is all I am sharing today.  I will probably make all the kids some pants before I move on to my next lesson.