Current Mood : Still humming 'Devil With a Blue Dress', like I was while I was sewing...
I
had the most interesting reaction
today. Was mulling over some non-specific doll sites when I read several
reactions to a Barbie made from a license to current hit book/movie The Hunger Games. Admittedly, I don’t
know one bit about THG, but I was
curious, so I looked it up. The doll, named Katriss, is unusual for even
collector dolls, with minimal ‘makeup’ , a very basic hairstyle, a full quiver
of arrows and a bow, and what has to be the least glamorous clothes ever for
Barbie…but it’s a pretty and interesting doll at a reasonable price point
(about thirty bucks). I can identify the head mold, body style, etc. There’s
also an upcoming Prince William and Kate set, but I have zero interest in that,
go figure.
Since
the doll won’t be available until August, Barbiecollector.com is only taking
pre-orders. And that’s where my attitude took a sharp turn. I scoffed, ‘The
prototype looks great, but just you wait. The actual doll will be a cheaper
version with an inch-thick braid and Dollar Tree crappy clothes, and twenny
bucks says she’ll have blue eye shadow and a closet-overload of sold-separately
gowns by the time she hits retail shelves’. I actually had a physical sneer on
my face while I was thinking it.
Well.
That was odd. When did I completely separate Barbie from Mattel in my mind ? I guess
I had to, since most of my recent Monster
High experiences have been good. One of my chief whiny complaints about
Barbie has always been the outstanding difference between early photos and
actual production dolls. Yet pretty much all the MH proto-to-production
photos have been spot-on. And, as a consequence, I couldn’t get ticked at
Mattel anymore, so now I’m growly at Barbie ! I am sure that this is somehow
significant…
Anyway.
Got to sew tonight, and while drifting through my MH patterns – most of them untried designs for other dolls – my eyes
were caught by a collared dress, kind of like the loose sheath with the ruffle
for a skirt I made for Ghoulia so long ago. I really liked the ‘sailor’ look of
that collar. Too bad the pattern was in French, Spanish, and a third language,
none of which I understand well enough to read sewing directions in. But, heck,
I’ve taken the chance before, and one more total fail won’t bug me too much.
And I have *tons* of fabric and thread, and for once, the time. So I tried to
guess how big the pattern was supposed to be, printed it out, and got to it.
It
fits mostly well, but that’s with a 1/8” seam allowance. Very frustrating. And
it was a bit too short on our long-torso ghouls. But I still made it work, and
that collar was super-fun ! I think I’ll take some time tomorrow to redraft it,
make a few minor changes, and try it again, this time as a blouse with a
contrasting collar. That’ll be cool ! While the original design called for a
ruffle-skirt, again, I went with a gathered rectangle. So DLaura sort of looks
like a Girl Scout – maybe with that big star button I used, I could say she’s a
Star Scout Leader.
I
kinda think that’d be in character for her…
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