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.

McCall's 6938

I'm continuing work on my jacket but it seems to have evolved into an epic effort at this point. I've decided to add topstitching, using rayon embroidery thread and the machine. As I put the pieces together, and I knew this would happen, twigs would get cut off and mismatch so it was back to the paint pot to add some corrections. I didn't want the design to look chopped off at the seams and darts. I'm also not sure where to put additional "twigs" and won't until the entire jacket, other than side seams, is together. So a lot more painting and stitching is in my future before I can call this project done. Luckily the construction will be quite easy. I've been playing with edge treatments as well. 

In the meantime, I have (unusually) started another project, one with a Christmas deadline. On the top of my dear Carly's Christmas list was a ski outfit for her AG doll. She is a big skier, nearly every weekend and they have a second home in the mountains. Her dolly comes with her so the ski outfit is a necessity! A friend recommended McCalls 6938 and it is spot on. It even has directions for making the poles, goggles and skis! But a visit to Pinterest and a search for "American Girl doll ski outfit" brought up some really cute things. 

There were several tutes on making the skis. One used boning like we use in wedding gowns. Most used duct tape. Some further decorated the duct tape with cute designs. I think the trickiest part will be getting the skis to curve evenly at the tips. Why do I have a feeling this will be more monumental than the jacket? Do you see the hooks and eyes to close the straps on the boots? Is that not the cleverest? And where do I get that flag applique? I think a bit of fabric sharpies will come to the rescue on that one! Any way, it should be fun. Today I will hit Wally World for some cut duct tape. 

I didn't veer very far from the pattern photo for my fabrics as you can tell. The prints are being considered for the bands where  the pattern specifies a bias binding. Carly's ski jacket is very bright and floral, much like the floral so I thought that would be cute. We'll see what develops. Also on my list are shish ka bob sticks for the ski poles, oy...........

In the meantime, I'll leave you with my experiment on edge treatments and stitching for the jacket. I think it is prettier IRL. Ignore the white paint that leached through from the sample on the other side.  I have  a day to myself next Monday so a sewing day is booked and hopefully both of these projects will make some major headway. What are you stitching for Christmas? Fancy party dress? PJs? dolly clothes?................Bunny

American Girl Double Doll Carrier, McCalls 5019

 

This project was completed last night and this afternoon, quick and cute! It is a gift for my little granddaughter, Carly. Rumor has it that if she is a very good girl Santa may bring her a second American Girl doll for Christmas.  And this is a carrier for TWO American Girl dolls, perfect for girly overnights and friendly visits to Grandma's.

 

Pattern: 

This is McCall's 5019. The pattern features some cute jammies, a sleep fleece, a robe, a dolly sleeping bag, a "chair/pillow" and the double doll carrier. I don't think there is any other pattern out there like this, one that accomodates two dolls and all their paraphernalia at once. It is VERY easy and is ripe for additional embellishment. which I did. The heart design comes in the pattern. 

Fabric:

This is made from inexpensive 100% quilter's cotton from Joanns. You don't need anything fancier than that to make this wonderful, IMO. Whenever I make something for my granddaughters I try to make it in colors that will flatter them. Carly is platinum blond with turquoise eyes and a big tooth missing in front, therefore the turquoise fabrics. And because she loves animal prints I threw in a bit of zebra too. Anyone can do leopard, you know! ;)

The entire outer bag, other than the pocket is interfaced and I used Decor Bond here. The pocket is simple a large rectangle folded in half to make the top edge. I thought that edge was a bit weak so I added the black bias tape and some more calico to give it a little more heft. 

Construction:

This is easy peasy. I cut it out in short time last night. There is a big chunk of fusing to be done here and that took a bit of time. Then I basically made two tote bags, one being the lining. The lining has the pockets added to the sides to accommodate the dolls. Stitch lining to bag, turn, and done! Need a cute Christmas or Hanukkah gift? You can whip this out in no time. I did topstitch the top edge to keep it from turning out. 

Opinion: Easy, great gift, nothing complicated and fun! Highly recommend. It will make your little darling very happy!

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I want to sew. I want to blog about sewing. My attentions lately have not been on either. We have major company coming for Thanksgiving. Since we downsized to our little retirement home in the Adirondacks we have always gone to our daughters' homes for the holidays. They are much better equipped at this stage to do lots of entertaining. But this year, this year it's at our home, at their request, and we really are excited. I will have 8 adults and five children for dinner. Some will go to the lodge up the road, very nice, and others will be staying in our home. We are so looking forward to it. So the past two weeks we have been cleaning, moving furniture, finishing overdue decorating projects, etc You know how that works. I must say the house is looking pretty good. So if I am scarce for the next few weeks you will know why. We will have a repeat at Christmas! Prime rib, anyone?..................Bunny

Here's our new back foyer off the family room, all of which were ruined by last fall's flood. Finally done......