Halloween Is Coming

When I packed away Abby's sewing station before school started, I went a little overboard and packed away all of my sewing stuff as well. So there hasn't been a lot of sewing going on around here lately, but Halloween is coming so the dolls needed some costumes.

Here is Julie dressed as a witch. Her dress is made out of some black taffeta I used for my own witch costume a few years ago. I combined patterns from Kirsten's school dress and Josefina's holiday dress--my two favorite American Girl patterns.

She also has a black felt hat trimmed with a red bow and a spider. And she has a tulle cape trimmed with red rick-rack. I bought the tights at my favorite doll shop and should have bought some doll-sized trick-or-treat pumpkins, because Julie is not the only trick-or-treater around here . . .

Here is Ivy as a black cat. Abby insisted that Ivy insisted on being a black cat. So there was no negotiation. But that's okay, because this costume was pretty easy. It's just one of my "groovy" housecoat/go-go dresses made out of black knit and trimmed with sequins. The mask also came from the doll shop as well as the little black headband I used for gluing on the felt ears. It's not easy to see, but Ivy also has a black sequin tail. She's all ready to ride along on Julie's broom if Julie had a broom--I was going to make one, but got sidetracked with this:

I told myself I was sewing this costume for Abby, but let's be honest. This is my doll and this is my costume. I used the apron dress pattern from Kirsten's Pretty Clothes and the cape is from Butterick 5661 (which I think is out of print.) I made the bodice thing out of black felt. The hood doesn't really fit over Kirsten's hairdo, but oh well. It won't stop her from trick-or-treating through the woods to Grandmother's house.

Here is Josefina's costume. Its not new--it was Julie's costume last year. But I added the head bandana because I still had scraps of the fabric left. She makes a pretty cute pirate.

The funny thing is that I usually sew over-the-top costumes for everyone in the family, but not this year. Instead of planning elaborate costumes, Abby and I are making do with what we already have. So I guess my enthusiasm for sewing for Halloween has manifested itself in the doll costumes. At least I had all of the material and trim in my stash already--I really just used what I had. (Although having that much red cotton for Red Riding Hood's cape was a bit on the lucky side.)

So Happy Halloween! Everyone is ready for some serious trick-or-treating.

Although I hope Abby doesn't think she is really taking all of these dolls trick-or-treating with her . . .

New Summer Dress

I did another American Girl Playthings sewing swap and this is the darling dress we received in the mail yesterday. Abby loves it. Our swap partner also sent a crocheted shawl, a hair ribbon, and some pretty groovy earrings for Ivy:



Abby loves everything. It's always fun to have a new summer dress! (Even if summer is rapidly drawing to a close . . .)

Victorian Julie

I found a cameo button in my button jar and decided to make a Victorian-style dress. I used the party dress pattern from Samantha's Pretty Clothes but added the short sleeves from the birthday dress.

Good thing for us, the Samantha doll is archived and no longer available. So we are not tempted to buy her because of her pretty Victorian clothes (or is it Edwardian? Whatever.) It's also a good thing for Julie, because she certainly looks pretty in her dress circa 1904.

The Rest of Josefina's Wardrobe (for now)

Josefina now has a good-sized wardrobe. And since the box she came in is stuffed to the brim with all of her new clothes, I think it's a good time to stop. We don't want to spoil her or anything.

Here is my version of her weaving outfit. The original had more embroidery on the camisa and the sleeves and neckline were edged with wine-colored piping. But I got kind of lazy and just made the camisa plain instead.

And here is the outfit with a new rebozo. Abby really likes to play with the rebozos. In fact, last time we played dolls, her Julie hogged both of Josefina's rebozos. (Notice how I'm using the words camisa and rebozo as often as I can.)

Here is another version of the holiday dress. When I made the pretty clothes patterns for our Kirsten doll, I loved her school dress pattern. It became my favorite doll dress pattern ever. But this holiday dress pattern is now my new favorite--there are so many different things you can do with it.

Josefina's last dress is another holiday dress, but I added a ruffle to the bottom and made short sleeves instead of the long ones.

We just finished reading the part in Josefina Learns a Lesson where Josefina sews her holiday dress from a sewing diary that her aunt had given her and her sisters. It contains the latest styles from Mexico City and when Josefina is finished hemming it, she puts it on and spins around because "she had never had a dress made in this elegant, new, high-waisted style before." I asked Abby how it would be to sew her own dresses by hand. She said she probably wouldn't have that many dresses.

Not as many as our Josefina doll. She has lots of clothes to share now and when all the dolls want to pretend they live on a rancho, they have camisas and rebozos galore. Maybe we'll make a miniature sewing diary with sketches and swatches for Josefina and the other dolls. Because if they want any more dresses, they may just have to sew them themselves!