Happy Halloween!

The dolls who live here all have costumes and are ready for Halloween! Some of them even decided to pose around the new doll table and show off all the party goodies . . .

Abby and I had way too much fun setting this up. I particularly love the cute food we ordered from pippaloo. We got three lollipops, three brownies, two cinnamon rolls, and some darling Halloween sugar cookies. It was my first purchase from pippaloo, and I have to say I may have a new addiction. Abby loves the mini set of Uno cards we found and loves to actually play Uno with the dolls. It takes a long time to play a round though. . .

Also, here is a snapshot of the darling witch who helped host a Witch's Tea we attended. Dolls and stuffed animals were invited of course:

So yes, we are ready for Halloween around here. We hope you and your dolls have a scary good time as well!

P.S.  There are new discounts in my shop. New discounts on the same old stuff--ha, ha!

Pattern Review: Butterick 5661 Jack O'Lantern

This year for Halloween, Abby wanted a Jack O'Lantern costume for McKenna's first Halloween at our house. I think she's going along with my own Halloween rule: which is, every baby of mine must be a Jack O'Lantern for his or her first Halloween. So McKenna gets to be a Jack O'Lantern too. (Even though she's not a baby!)

I'm lucky that I had this old pattern by Butterick. I'm pretty sure it's out of print, but if you have it or ever come across it, I think it's great for Halloween costumes:

I've made the witch's hat and the Red Riding Hood cloak--both really easy and cute. But I have to say that this Jack O'Lantern pattern is now my favorite. It all came together from start to finish in about a half-hour. The pattern includes pieces for not only the body and hat part, but also the shirt, pants, and some fun booties as well. I just made the body and hat:

To make everything faster, I serged and hemmed the neckline and armholes instead of using bias tape. I also cheated and used felt and iron-on fusing for the face. I skipped the leaves on the hat. Abby already had a black shirt, and she had picked out the tights at our favorite local doll shop (along with the little trick-or-treating bucket and glittery green mask.)

So it was a fast project. But when it comes to a costume for a doll, I think it should be quick and easy. Actually, that's been my entire sewing mood of late anyways . . .

So McKenna is ready for the dolls' Halloween party and a night of trick-or-treating. Perfect for a doll's first Halloween at our house :)

Pattern Review: Heritage Doll Fashions Wrap and Vest

I've decided to do something new on my blog: pattern reviews! There are so many patterns I want to try--especially since our modern-day dolls don't have any clothes. I've sewn a lot for our historical dolls, but poor Charlotte and McKenna have only a few t-shirts and a couple of pairs of shoes that they have to share. McKenna of course has her gymnastics outfits, but with winter coming, she'll freeze in only her leotard. And my daughter has pointed out for over a year now that Charlotte doesn't have any pajamas and that she hates using one of Josefina's camisas to sleep in . . . So, with such necessary demands being made on me, I committed to make a few things for Charlotte and McKenna. That way if they want to go shopping or to school, they don't have to wear pioneer dresses.

The first pattern I picked was Heritage Doll Fashions Wrap and Vest. I wanted something easy and simple--something that could coordinate with t-shirts and jeans (I didn't feel like making a whole outfit.) I also wanted to use knit fabric--I have a ton of it in my stash and I wanted the option of not using my serger (again, feeling lazy.) I've been drawn to the Heritage Doll Fashions designs for awhile--so I was excited to try this one. It looked easy, cute, modern, and fun.

So here is Charlotte and McKenna wearing their vest and wrap:

The pattern totally met my expectations. The vest came together in ten minutes and was so simple that I know Abby would enjoy sewing it. In fact, she likes it so much that she wants to make a couple of vests in different colors. Liberty Jane Patterns encourages young girls to sew--this would be an excellent pattern for a young doll lover to try.

The wrap was a little more time-consuming than the vest, but not much.  I also think a beginner could sew it easily. So the pattern gets an A+ from me--it's well-designed, well-drafted, came together quickly, and cute. And now we have two versatile pieces that can be mixed and matched and played with. 

I'm sure the dolls are surprised and happy that they have something to wear. It's a good start.