It's a wrap !

Yaaay, new doll dresses ! Maybe you know, if you sew for dolls, that feeling that you’re almost magical when a new doll outfit comes out well – you’ve mastered this new spell, and thanks to skill and effort and years of past failures, it went quite easily and finished better than hoped for. It’s like a kind of magical alchemy, not merely guiding fabric and machines to perform the way you want them to, it’s a kind of magic to make a rag or a scrap into a pretty thing. It’s a different, but no less magical, craft to bring out the beauty of something already lovely into a new form.

Elsa’s green wrap dress is yesterday’s effort, made with Phoebe & Egg’s ‘Sasha’ pattern, a bit snug on the slightly larger DP&M girls, especially in the armholes. Before I cut out the fabric, though, I extended the bodice pieces a half-inch longer, which  helped. Whenever I’m unsure about a new pattern, I print it out, mark off the seam allowances,  and hold it up to the doll, wrapping it around him or her, so I can get an idea if it’ll work or not. Sometimes, I compare it to other patterns I know work. That’s how I knew the bodice needed to be longer. While I have tons of fabric I can use carelessly, I hate wasting effort ! And, yeah, I don’t like wasting fabric, either, no matter how much I have.

I used the ‘Phoebe’ wrap dress pattern exactly as-is for Merri’s ‘space’ dress, which works pretty well. It’s a quarter-inch shorter than my adapted ‘Sasha’ version, so I’ll probably add a half-inch. The way it came, it ends right at the waist, but attaching the skirt takes it up a quarter inch. Otherwise, it fits like it was made for them. Armholes are exactly the right size, side seams hit right where they should, back isn’t tight.

(grin) If I get that other Family Dollar Elsa knockoff doll, I’ll probably re-dress her in a snowflake or holiday print wrap dress and donate her. Maybe add a few extra outfits to the bottom of the box. It’d be great if she’d make someone’s Christmas.