Sewing Vloggers

Saturday, December 27, 2014

McCalls 6938


The Christmas holidays have been wonderful here. The laughter of children is truly a heavenly sound. We have hiked, launched bottle rockets, knitted, played games and ate, ate and ate too much! We even sewed a bit, too. The house will be so silent when our daughter and family leave tomorrow. I hope all of you have been able to spend your holiday just the way you wanted to. We have been blessed to have done so and for that I am truly thankful.

The tiny ski suit was completed just in the nick of time. Those skis really were more of a project than I thought they would be but they look pretty good. Carly L O V E S her dolly's ski suit and it matches ner new vest. Santa left a matching hat for her as well as you can see above. DD's family opened Christmas presents Christmas morning, had breakfast and then headed out on the five hour journey to our home up North. Seems Santa did not deliver Carly's number one item on her list, but being the little trooper that she is , she was totally content with what she recieved. Halfway through the long ride she told her Momma, "maybe Santa will leave a ski suit for my dolly at Bunbun's house". He did and to say she was thrilled is an understatement. I think she thought it was a lost cause but Santa came through. Now for the reality of it all: I was finishing up ski poles at 3:15. They arrived at five! Let's do a review.

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Pattern:

This is McCalls 6938. It consists of  a tennis outfit, swimsuit/beach outfit and bag, ice skating ensemble and the ski suit and accessories. This pattern alone could keep you going for a long long time making dolly clothes. Making the full ski outfit does take time with most of it on the shoes, skis and poles. The hat, which I love, and the suit are pretty simple and fun.

Fabric:

The suit, boots and hat are made from fleece, green, blue and white. The goggles are made from white poly felt and a clear piece of plastic from a produce container, in this case salad greens. The ski boots also used findings such as large hook and eyes and clasps for closing pants to give them that more authentic look. While it wasn't a perfect reproduction, I think it is pretty stinkin' cute. The ski's are made with layers of cardboard glued together, boning like we use in formal wear for shape  and duct tape. Duct tape was pretty critical to this entire project. The ski poles are knitting needles that have been cut down with the handles and bottoms out of clear plastic and  duct tape again. The zip is a separating zipper that I cut down.

Construction:

This was involved and took more time that I thought it would but was worth it in the end. I would say the skis were the most fiddley. Honestly, with the skis and poles I went with the "idea" of the instructions, adapting to my own ideas. For the ski poles I searched "American girls ski outfit" on Pinterest and numerous DIY methods came up for the skis and poles. I think I took a bit of technique from each. The design on the skis was done with a Sharpie, much like the trim on the jacket. And the flag, after all, our girl is an Olympic skier, was made by a much appreciated blog follower, Penny H. She even sent me six different sizes to choose from. I just simply hand stitched the flag to the jacket.  I think the most fun was making the hat. It literally took me ten minutes and was so cute I made a larger version for Carly to wear  with her doll. If you attempt this project, know that you are getting into fiddly business but nothing too complicated that any beginning sewist couldn't handle. It just takes time, so don't underestimate that like I did or you may be still at it right before the gift is due!

Conclusion:

This is a great pattern with lots of cute, very detailed options. If you have shopped for anything American Girl you know that the prices are beyond the pale and to be able to make them yourself allows you to gift nearly any of the collection to your young lady. There are myriad patterns from the Big Four, great to stock up on with the 99 cent sales. And there are also free patterns on the web as well. This is fun sewing and I highly recommend it. This particular pattern was clear enough to follow with a successful result. Know that there is also much on the web about making clothing and accessories for these dolls as well. You really can craft a great gift for your favorite young lady and her American Girl doll friend.




31 comments:

  1. The outfit came out so well! I can see why Carly loved it.

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  2. Lucky girl to have such a sweet BunBun! I love it!

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  3. This is so CUTE. What a lucky granddaughter!

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  4. What a labor of love. So cute! And the matching hats are simply wonderful!

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    1. One of my office mates came up with the idea of the matching hat. Carly loves hat so that worked well.

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  5. That turned out so cute! She's a lucky little girl to have you.

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    1. Thanks! I am blessed to have two wonderful granddaughters as well.

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  6. I love it all. Reminds me of the efforts of my mother to create Barbie doll clothes and accessories to fulfil my Santa list as a child. I am guessing that American Girl clothes are slightly easier due to the scale but not by much. Thanks for reminding me of a big part of my growing up years and probably what sparked me to craft and sew today. One lucky grand daughter.

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    1. Those Barbie's were a stinker but I made more outfits for that doll! I am glad today's girls like the AG dolls, much easier to sew for.

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  7. so cute. You rocked this outfit. I belonged to an American Girl Adult sewing group. We sewed a lot of great outfits but you have surpassed all the outfits we did. Great job.

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  8. That's so sweet, Anne. Thank you so much.

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  9. What a beautiful ski outfit you made for that doll. Your love in making it is evident.

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  10. what a great presi for her and so much detail - lovely - Happy New Year

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  11. Super job and so inventive to re-create that entire outfit with ski poles and straps! Those Barbie clothes back in the 60's were a real challenge to make and such an unreal body shape to attain. It is a joy to see real girls playing with real dolls that resemble real bodies and shapes. Thank you for taking on this journey, Bunny. Happy new Year to you, stay warm!

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  12. As usual, impeccable workmanship!

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  13. A true labor of love. Very nice. Thanks for sharing
    Marcia from SG

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  14. BRAVO, Mrs. Claus....well done!! Such intricate details are what you are know for, Bunny. I love that you made Carly a matching hat, too. CUTE!!!

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  15. It's great fun just looking at the pictures, and your granddaughter's face shows such great delight. I want to sit down on the floor and just play with them both!

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  16. Just love this outfit. You put in so much work. One happy little girl.

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  17. Bunny, I love everything you do, but this is just over the top. I, too, love "every little detail" doll clothes. I dressed Elsa and Anna this year. What fun!

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  18. I love the matching hats! I have a knitting pattern for an American Girl doll sweater. I have no idea why I bought it, except for the sweet memories it evoked. Bunny, if you knit I'll send it to you. If you don't knit, maybe I'll make it one of these days and send it to you. ;)

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  19. I wouldn't do all that "fiddly" for any amount of money, but I would for the love of a granddaughter. Mine are a bit young for AG but I'm sure it's coming! I can't imagine how you could have made this project more perfect.

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  20. Adorable! I used to make clothes for Alex's American Girl doll too. Definitely finicky. They were always her favorite things because no one else had the same thing.

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  21. Oh my gosh! That is very adorable! And the flag is perfect!

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  22. I've made many Am Girl and matching outfits for my granddaughter so I appreciate your ability and attention to detail. Alas, my granddaughter has outgrown playing with these beautiful dolls so my doll sewing is now done. Enjoy it while you can, Bunny!

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  23. Great little ski outfit. Lots of fiddly bits, but you've sewn this up so beautifully! Happy skiing to all!

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