I bought a fine gauge missy sweater at a church sale for 50 cents. I never had any intention of wearing it (it's not my style and kind of boring- yawn), but I thought it would be great for a doll's dress! This is what I came up with:
...And this is what I started with (pretty boring-right?):
It was made in a fine gauge knit. For those of you who are unfamiliar with that term, basically it means the knit stitches are very tiny and perfectly doll sized!
The width of the front cable panel was perfect for a doll dress- about 5 1/2" wide. I decided that I could also use some of the cables for a fun neck trim. Because I was making the neck trim from a "non-rib", I needed to make the neck lay right on the doll, so I treated it like a casing, and added a 1/8"wide elastic inside. I adjusted the length of the elastic once I put it on the doll and finished sewing up the casing. To keep the elastic in place, I sewed a blind stitch along the upper edge of the cable by hand. The elastic keeps the upper edge for the collar from flaring out and lays nicly on the doll, yet still has enough stretch to fit over the doll's head.
I used the original sweater neck trim for the sleeves and front pockets. I kept the rib double for both the sleeves and the pockets, as was the original neck trim. This way I eliminated a need to hem.. and I hate to hem!
I sewed the entire dress by hand, using a chain stitch and a 1/4" seam allowance. Sewing by hand gave me more control and the chain stitch has a good stretch to it. (And I could work on this while "relaxing" on my very comfy LR sofa!)
I apologize, for not making this a detailed tuto, it was a busy summer and fall and I didn't take pictures when I made this!
I like the way the texture stitch from the original neck trim peeks out at the shoulder.
I think that the pockets are what really make this style! And there is that texture stitch from the rib neck trim again on the pockets! I added mini "horn" buttons to really finish it off!
And just a sneek peek... my new pdf pattern eBook for making a School Backpack and bonus matching Lunch Bag is now available!
This is a step-by-step guide for making a School Backpack and bonus Lunch Bag, with a printable pdf pattern. It is a revised version of the Back-to-school Backpack from last years post. I have made some adjustments to the pattern so you do not need to find existing bags to cut up and sew like I did for my post (although you can still use this pattern for recycling old bags!) I have encluded a bonus pattern for making a matching Lunch Bag! I also added a couple of new optional but fun finishing touches.
This pattern, and more soon to come,are now available for purchase at my new Etsy shop:
Creatively Yours,
Donna
