Cinderella Princess Dress for American Girl Doll

Well, It's been a long while since I have posted...about 9 months in fact! 
That's just crazy, but I've had a lot going on with my health and just getting priorities straight in my life!

It's good to be back though, and I hope I will be better about posting on a regular basis now.

I've gotten so behind that a lot of the projects I will be posting will be several months to a year old, but I'm hoping they will still be of interest to my readers/followers.

I love to sew and as my regular readers know I've been sewing a lot of doll dresses lately specifically American girl doll dresses! 

Here is one I made for my precious Grandgirl "B", a Cinderella Dress from Simplicity 5705 view C.

I have three granddaughters and two nieces who love dolls so I stay pretty busy cranking out those outfits! 

I suppose I would consider my sewing skills to be somewhere between beginner and intermediate. 
Even though I've been  sewing since I was a child I've had large gaps of years where I didn't sew at all. 

And for that reason I sometimes struggle with the more difficult patterns and working with fussy types of fabrics. 

I can't tell you how many times I cussed while trying to sew these princess outfits with these sheer fabrics such as tulle, satin and crêpe! 

I look back on it now though and am grateful for the experience!

 If I can get good at sewing these little tiny doll clothes with such difficult fabrics hopefully I will be able to do an even better job on regular size clothing!

When I first bought this awesome pattern, the Grandgirls and nieces were immediately smitten with all the pretty styles and each one picked out their favorite for me to make for them!

 

          I started with the Mermaid dress, which I made and blogged about here. 

Then I made the Belle dress for my Grandgirl "J" and thought I was going to end my stint making tiny princess doll dresses!

Fortunately, after a bit of time passed...I was ready to give it another try and make the Cinderella dress for Grandgirl "B"!

She had been so patient waiting for it...and I didn't want to let her down.

I was surprised to find that this one went much smoother than the first two!

 
It makes sense I suppose...after struggling with the first two and a lot of trial and error on those dresses, I was finally starting to understand all of the pattern instructions and how to work with the difficult fabrics. 

I had a little bit of trouble making the "pouf" sections around the waist of the dress, but a call to Simplicity and a google search or two helped me figure it out!

I usually post a photo showing what tools and supplies I used for a project, 

but somehow when I completed this project, I forgot to take a photo of the supplies and tools, so since it has been awhile...I won't try to gather all of those things up for a photo, but I will put this list here for reference:

Tools/Supplies Used for this Project:

(Note: I am a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for me to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.”)

Pattern, Simplicity 5705 Disney Princess Costumes for 18" Dolls

Fabric - Satin Solid w/Glitter, Sky Blue

Fabric - Cotton/Broadcloth/Poplin? (Not sure exactly as this was a scrap piece) - Used to make the lining/interfacing of the bodice.

Fabric - Cotton Woven, Light Blue (For Headband)

Tulle, Light Blue - (For Slip)

Sewing Machine - Janome New Home 49360

Thread -  Light Blue

Elastic

Scissors 

Straight Pins

Velcro

Fairfield Polyester Fiberfill (for Puffs/Poufs)

Ribbon, White Satin, w/Silver Accents, 5/8", Christmas House Brand (For Trim on Bottom of Skirt/Dress)

 

My sweet Granddaughter "B" was so happy, and that's what matters most to me!

 

Hope you enjoyed my post!

If you did, please leave a comment below, pin or share my post!

Thank-you for stopping by my blog!

Hope to see you again soon!

This project/post is linked to the following Link Parties/Pages:

Matching Aprons for a Child and Doll

One of the best gifts you can give during the Holidays is one made from your heart and hands!

I love to sew and was happy to have found this great printed fabric pattern of a child's apron with a matching doll apron for an American Girl Doll (18" Doll).

It was on clearance at Hancock's awhile back and I immediately thought how cute it would be for a gift for my Granddaughters!

Unfortunately, they only had one set left, so I made a pattern out of tissue paper of the one that I had so that I can make another one in the future and use different fabric if I so choose.

I really did like the fact that it was printed on fabric though. It takes a big step out of sewing...the cutting and pinning of the paper pattern! What a great idea!

I had seen the "panel" type patterns before for stuffed animals and such, but had never seen one for an item of clothing like this, so I was really excited when I saw it.

The printed fabric pattern and directions were easy to follow.

This made for a great gift and was quick to put together, you can probably finish it in an afternoon and you don't need to be a sewing expert!

Supplies/Tools Used for this Project:

Singer Superb 2010 Sewing Machine

Bobbin Winder

Sew So Simple Pattern, Top Drawer, Westminster Fibers Inc., Hot House Child and Doll Apron

Scissors, Fiskars, Large

Scissors, Fiskars, Small

Thread, Coats and Clark, Cotton/Poly, Dual Duty Plus, Blue 

Hook and Loop Fastener, Sew-On, 100% Nylon, 3/4", Pink

Straight Pins

Rubber Heat Resistant Fingertips

Marking Pencil

Measuring Tape

Seam Ruler

Seam Ripper

This project is part of the 99+ Handmade Gift Ideas Hop Hosted by: 365 Days of Crafts and Always Expect Moore.

Don't forget to enter the awesome giveaway for a $100.00 Amazon gift card also by completing the Rafflecopter widget below.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

If you would like some great inspiration for more handmade holiday gifts, just click on the projects below and visit each site for more details!


Thank-you for stopping by to visit!

This post/project is linked to the following blogs/link parties:

Disney Princess Belle Dress for American Girl Doll

As much as I fretted over the last princess doll dress I made (see post)...I decided to make at least two more, because I promised my Granddaughters J and B that I would!

So...here is the second one...which I made for J's Birthday!

She had specifically asked for a Princess Belle dress and I was worried because me and delicate fabrics do NOT get along well!

I wanted to make it as authentic as possible though and make sure it had that magical look of a princess!

So I did my best to work with the satin, organza and tulle and tried not to cuss too much!

It would all be worth it in the end...to see the smile on J's face!

For this dress I used the Simplicity 5705 pattern.

I made a couple of changes in the embellishments on the dress, mainly because I could not find some of the notions called for on the pattern.

 I was not able to locate the 1/4" covered buttons, that were supposed to go on each side of the 1/2" center button on the shoulder drape, so instead just used the one 1/2" button.

The pattern called for 1/2" buttons on the skirt also, but I chose to use

 small satin roses in the draping on the skirt, rather than the covered buttons. 

I just felt that the roses fit the "Belle" story and looked very "Princess" like!

Another minor change I made, was the trim on the bottom of the dress.

The pattern showed a Disney print themed ribbon for trim and years ago when this pattern first came out, a lot of fabric stores carried a whole line of this ribbon, but alas...when I went to look for it this time, it was no longer in stock anywhere, so I just purchased some coordinating solid satin ribbon.

The draped piece around the skirt was especially tedious to sew...because it is such small scale and 

is sewn using such delicate materials!

I think the draping should have laid a bit flatter and closer to the skirt, but this was as close as I could 

come to make it to look like the photo on the front of the pattern.

I used baroque satin on the dress and bodice and organza on the shoulder and skirt draping.

That may explain why the draping did not lay so flat...the organza was very stiff and had very little "give".

I took some photos of the dress on my "model" American Girl Doll before we left to visit our Grandaughter in Oklahoma.

On the way there, we stopped in Dallas to visit my Mom and Sister and we went to the American Girl Store there... 

and picked out a special Birthday present for our sweet Princess "J"!

I think she was very pleased!

She wasted no time in changing the doll's clothes into her new Princess Belle dress from Gramma!

Then she posed proudly with her Mommy and Daddy and her new doll!

There is nothing better for a Grandma than to see that kind of happiness in their Granchild's face!

Here is a collage of some of the steps involved in sewing this pattern....

Here is a photo of the tools and supplies used to complete the project:

Tools/Supplies List:

Singer Superb 2010 Sewing Machine
Pattern, Simplicity 5705
Baroque Sating Fabric (Yellow)
Mirror Organza (Yellow)
Tulle (Lt. Yellow) (for petticoat underneath skirt)
Broadcloth (Yellow)(for bodice lining)
Thread, Polyester,Yellow, Gutermann (807)
Thread, Polyester, Yellow, Coats & Clark Dual Duty (7330)
Elastic, 1/8"
Ribbon, Satin/Polyester, Yellow, 5/8", Berwick Offray
Cover Button Kit, 1/2", Dritz
Velcro, 5/8" (Cut down to size required on pattern)
Bobbin Winder, Wrights Side Winder
Straight Pins
Measuring Tape
Safety Pins
Scissors, Large, Fiskars
Scissors, Small, Fiskars
Point Turner/Seam Creaser, Dritz
Mini Satin/Polyester Roses, Yellow, Offray (8 ea.)
Marker, Air Eraseable, Violet
Dress Marking Pencil, Blue
Wooden Chopstick, Smooth, Pointed (to help turn and smooth points)
Seam Ripper
Seam Allowance Ruler
Iron, Sunbeam (Not shown in photo)
Press Cloth

So happy you stopped by for a visit!
Let me know what you think of my project by leaving me a comment below!

Thanks!

American Girl Pajama Set

I am a big fan of the American girl dolls.

My daughter Beth had several of the dolls when she was growing up.

She actually won a doll and a bunch of clothes and accessories one year when she attended an AG Tea Party with a friend!

In fact, the doll I am using as a "model" in these photos is that very same doll!

I believe this doll is from the first year that the Pleasanton Company came out with the "Just Like You" Dolls and I think it was 1995, but I could be wrong about the year, my daughter is now 26 years old and my memory is fading! LOL!

Now that I have Granddaughter's and Nieces I am renewing my love for the Dolls through them and have recently been working on some special projects for the girls.

My latest project is this adorable pajama set from the McCall's pattern M5019.

Even though I have been sewing since I was a child, I still consider myself to be at the beginner to intermediate level when it comes to this craft, because I have not done a whole lot of it until recently.

Given that...this pattern was a tad bit difficult for me in some areas, but overall it was easy to make and I was excited to make it for my Niece "K".

She handpicked this pattern/outfit from the one's I showed her and I wanted to get it right for her.

The PJ pants were very easy to make and I used a flannel print that sewed nicely.

Probably the most difficult part of this project was sewing the fleece.

I had never worked with fleece before and was not quite prepared for the challenges it brings!

Fleece can be difficult even on a full-size project, but...imagine using it in miniature!

Here are a few tips I learned during this process:

1. Be sure and use the correct needle for this fabric as it is thick and dense.
2. Go slow while sewing the fleece, it can jam in the feed dogs if you aren't careful.
3. It also helped to lengthen my stitch slightly, as it didn't jam as much and if you end up having to "rip-out" a mistake, it's less likely to damage the fleece.

The tiny fleece slippers were tedious and I think next time, I will try a lighter weight fabric for those, like maybe felt.

I made a video detailing how I made the second slipper, as I thought if someone else might be having the same issues I was, it might help them.

Here is the video if you would like to see it:

The robe was made using a cotton checked print and was easy except for the collar and lapel, which is always confusing to me when sewing any item, but the more I sew, the better I get at this.

I just need more practice!

I will be giving this American Girl outfit to my niece soon and I will take some photo's to share with you all!

It was so much fun to sew this project, even with the challenges...as I love making things for my family and I love sharing with you all!

I want to say a special "Thank-You" to my daughter Beth who photographed most of this project for me!

(You can SO tell which one's she took and which one's I did...mine are definitely not up to par compared to hers!)

She is an awesome photographer and is so creative!

If you get a chance, check out her photography site at: www.bethraper.com or her facebook page at: Beth Raper Photography.

Thanks so much for stopping by to visit!

This Post/Project is linked up to the following sites/linky parties:

http://snapcreativity.com/show-and-tell-32/

http://www.thegirlcreative.com/2013/02/24/just-something-i-whipped-up-2.html