I had a special order for six dresses for a My Twinn doll. In the past, I have struggled keeping the collar and neck facing flat. I never bothered with staystitching; why would I waste time sewing another row of stitches. I looked at the pattern instructions and the words staystitching jumped out at me. I thought okay, let me look up staystitching on the Internet and see why I needed it. All the sites I visited praised the value of staystitching (it reinforces the neck and keeps it from stretching). Okay, I was convinced. I took the few extra minutes to add the stitching. It works!! Beautifully! Every collar I made came out great. A lot of times the collar would slide during sewing. I would have to rip out parts, stretch it, and sew it again.
So my advice to you reader, take the time and add the staystitching (especially at the neck). It will save you time in the long run by not having to rip out the collar or facing.
Now that I am feeling better, I am looking forward to start sewing again. Please stay tuned to more tips and what I’m doing next. I’m also looking for some craft shows to do for the holidays. I will keep you posted where they will be. If you are in CT, look me up!! I would love to meet you.
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In the meantime, I have been recovering. My saving grace has been my crafts. Even though I haven’t been able to get out much, I have been able to create my teddy bears and dolls. I just finished five of what I call my “French” rag dolls. They are made with satin fabric and lots of vintage lace. I just love the embroidered faces that I use specially for them. Check them out on the Rag Doll page.
Another thing I did while recovering is making my first teddy bear out of mohair. All my other teddy bears have been made of faux fur. Mohair is much more expensive so I waited until I had more experience making bears. I actually found the mohair was easier to work with. So stay tuned to my Teddy Bear page for my first mohair teddy.
So for now, I’m enjoying making my critters. They keep calm and centered. Perfect for healing!]]>
The dolls were created by Johnny Gruelle who was a cartoonist illustrator and author. I still have one of his original books called Raggedy Ann and Andy and the Camel with the Wrinkled Knees. It was one of favorites. My mother read it to my sister and me all the time.
Most people that see my raggedy dolls fondly remember the dolls they had as children. In fact the pattern I use is very old and is a classic style. I have updated the dolls by drawing their faces and the heart on the computer and use these files on my sewing machine to embroider the faces and hearts.
Until recently, I have been sticking with the usual red hair, nose, heart, and lips. I now have stepped out making Raggedy Ann with pink dresses and pink hair. I’m planning on making another version with a purple dress and hair.
Raggedy Ann and Andy dolls are such a classic, they look great even with an update! Look for my new versions!]]>
One thing I do find that is interesting at Craft Shows is watching people. Many people were happy that I didn’t have jewelry. I have nothing against jewelry (I have a lot of it myself) but there are a lot of booths selling jewelry.
One woman came in my booth and looked over my American Girl doll clothes. She made a comment that with a coupon, she could get the clothes for practically nothing at AC Moore. That may be true but my clothes are made in the good ole USA and don’t fall apart after many washings. I really didn’t get offended because I probably make the clothes better than I should and like to finish all the seams. It’s just me… I like to make quality items with extra details. Sometimes I think we Americans have gotten used to a lot of the junk out there.
After craft show #2, I learned even more things. Mostly I need to get sides for my tent and other props for displaying my items. Wish me luck for the next one! ]]>
I packed up my car (I no longer have a SUV) to the gills on Friday. The event was to have taken place on Saturday but it rained so they moved the event to Sunday. This event is put on by my church so they had to change the Sunday service. I got there bright and early to set up because I wanted to go to church.
I set up my tables and tent in the exact spot I was suppose to within the markings. I loved the spot because I had shade from two lovely dogwood trees. I went to church. When I got back, the people on either side of me were setup with tables way out in the aisle. My little booth was set way back missing a lot of traffic. I was bummed. The tent was staked down and I couldn’t move the tables by myself. My friends had trouble finding me.
I don’t think my hidden booth was the only reason I had trouble selling things. Most people were walking around not buying anything. The strawberry shortcake was the big seller.
Well, it was a learning experience. It was a beautiful day and I had a lot of positive reactions to my creations. I guess I will try another one later this year.
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The last lesson on mastering was all about presser feet. Any machine I had came with a package of presser feet that I had no idea what they were used for. The instructor showed us how to use a ruffler, gatherer, pin tuck, narrow hem, and pearl/piping feet.
The two feet that caught my eye were the narrow hem and pearl/piping. The narrow hem is not an easy foot to learn how to use. It makes a beautiful narrow hem without all the effort of folding and sewing. It will take me some practice master it. I may have to stop by the store and get a refresher from the instructor.
The pearl and piping foot is another wonder! It has a groove on the bottom of the foot that goes over the piping or cord. If you have ever used a zipper foot to make cording, you know that you don’t get very close to the cord. You not only can make the cording, you can also use it to attach the cord to the pillow.
Next time you get a chance, take out all those strange looking presser feet that came with you sewing machine. You may find a time saving tool.
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If you need curly hair, you can purchase curly yarn or use wool yarn and wrap it around knitting needles. Wet the yarn while on the needles. Let dry and remove from the needles. It makes great curly hair.
For other types of hair, you can wrap hair into loops using cardboard or your hand. You can then hand sew or glue the hair into place.
Whatever type of hair you make be sure you mark your doll’s head with tailors chalk for hair placement before stitching or gluing. There are great videos on the Internet that give you ideas on different styles of ragdoll hair.
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I started looking around for a new machine. Boy was I in for a shock! Not only the prices but what these machines can do. They thread their own needle (a wonderful invention for my older eyes), cut the thread, reverse
without holding down a button, and probably can dance if I let it.
I decided on a Baby Lock that also does embroidery. It didn’t make sense to me to purchase a machine without the embroidery. Now I have to learn how to use the machine. Fortunately the place where I purchased the machine offers lessons. You will soon see embroidery on my doll clothes. ]]>
sewing.
Collars
Baste, using long hand stitching, down collars before pinning the facing to the neck edge. This keeps the collar from shifting during machine sewing. The collar stays where you want it. I usually use contrasting thread so I can easily see the basting stitches to remove them.
Zippers
After machine basting the center seam where you are placing the zipper, press open the seam. Next hand baste a zipper (regular zippers; not particularly invisible zippers) using the guides on the zipper and contrasting thread. Turn the garment to the right side. Sew the zipper using the basting stitches as a guide. This will make your stitches more even on either side of the center seam.
Let me know some of the other things you baste. Whether you are making doll clothes or an outfit for yourself, take the time to baste, baste, baste! ]]>