Shh Doll Works

Every year I intend to do a Halloween fashion for the end of October, but by the time I put my mind to it, it's already too late to photo, sell and mail it out. (Yes, I do procrastinate). But this year I did get to this one fashion well in advance of Halloween.
I saw a pyramid style purse recently, and once I had finished this red sequined fashion I thought that style and shape of purse would work well. Still, being my first attempt, it was a challenge.
I called this fashion "Elvira in Red". My models are my 3 most "witchy/vampiric" dolls: a Poppy Parker with a very outré 1960's hairdo, an East 59th Street doll (both dolls by Integrity Toys), and finally a Silkstone Barbie by Mattel.

I really love the various shades of chartreuse, but it's hard to find a matching shade in fabrics, pleather and vinyl for the various accessories. So after I made this dress I was at a loss as to what to make a coordinating purse from. I decided to make the purse from the same silk chartreuse that trims the dress and the hat, and I overlaid the green silk with the sinamay which I had used in the hat. It worked out much better than I was expecting. Plus it gives the purse structure and a nice summery look, IMHO. I called this set "About Town".

It's been a busy summer and I didn't manage to add many fashions to my Etsy shop. However, as my daughter will be attending the IT Convention in October, I did take some time to do these 9 sets for her to take as table gifts. I had some trouble setting up these girls without their stands. There were a couple of tumbles, but they had a soft landing on the fur "carpet".

I've returned to my sewing room after a short break, and I thought I'd settle in and start with a style I've done a number of times before. I found this atomic-style print fabric at a local fabric store. It's really not entirely mid-century: if you look closely, the print includes computers. Those didn't show up until the late 80's - if one doesn't include dedicated word processors.
This set included the dress with pink satin cummerbund and side pockets, brimmed hat trimmed in satin, pink tulle crinoline, pink vinyl purse and pink and green earrings. I called this "Touch of Pink".

Black and white is always a show stopper, and I found this Barbie print at my local fabric store some time ago and I finally got around to making it up. I called this set, “Who, me?”

A little fashion in a Barbie print.

I sometimes have difficulty coming up with a name for my fashions. I name my fashions as it's much easier to look them up on my computer later to check on exactly what I did, etc. I called this set "The Bicycle Thief". I stole the name from a local restaurant 😊, and I thought the earrings were perfect with this set and that name - one earring is in the shape of a tiny lock, the other a key.
This set included the drop-waist cotton dress in a black and white bicycle print, the hat adorned with black and white fabric flowers, the little purse and, of course, the earrings

Just to get away from dresses and gowns, I chose to do a little yoga/exercise set. I've done them before but in this version I decided to do a purple spandex body suit with black bandeau. The little jacket has a front zipper closure, and of course, the drawstring tote matches the little Japanese Kokeshi dolls on the jacket.
I tried to do the photos with a "waist-clamp" stand, but I soon gave that up and just leaned the doll against the backdrop. There were a few tumbles!

It's always easier, right after making a fashion, to make the same fashion a second time. All the little foibles of the pattern are still fresh in one's memory. Because this fabric is a very pretty pink satin, I was able to put a row of topstitching on each side of all the seams on the bustier. With the black version of this fashion (below) it really was impossible to clearly make out the seams in order to topstitch so very close to each seam. I did the top stitching on this set in pink silk thread.

I sometimes (well, more often than "sometimes") buy items that I think might work at some point in a fashion. So alas, I have drawers full of little bits and pieces of notions, embellishments, etc. Often I forget I have those embellishments once they are stored away. In any even, I made this black and white evening set and thought it needed just a little something more to give it some drama, and then I remembered the feathers!
This evening fashion, in black and white satin, was difficult to part with. It included the bustier, full-length skirt, detachable feather overskirt, glove "sleeves", purse and rhinestone earrings.

A dress I very recently did as a door prize. This is a Poppy Parker doll, dressed in a poppy print.

A coatdress, in princess seams, which I sold to a fellow collector and friend. This is made from a stunning deep purple wool blend fabric. For the purse, I did have the exact same colour of purple in Ultrasuede. Such happenstance doesn’t occur often and is always a fun and serendipitous moment.

I found this fabric at Walmart, in their "fat quarter" section. I had intended to make a pleated skirt with this cotton plaid, but finally decided on a mod-style dress with a Peter Pan collar and sleeve cuffs. I included the sinamay hat and the ultra suede purse. The two rhinestone buttons on the cuffs and the glitter fabric on the purse added a bit of brightness to this set.

A very classic pant suit in a tomato red wool blend fabric. As the set is red, and as vinyl can absorb dyes (especially dark-ish colours), I lined both the jacket and trousers in blush lining to protect the vinyl doll. After much consideration I decided on the leopard print halter top under the jacket. Really, the jacket did not actually require a blouse, but I'm a completist, so.... I almost decided on a dark navy blouse, but I liked the leopard print with this set. I called this set "Aderyn", which is a Welsh name for "Red". My husband's family is from Wales.

A classic/retro set which included the sheath with princess seams in houndstooth wool suiting with black side panels paired with a wrap coat with self-tie belt also in wool suiting. I called this set "Back to Black". I opted to do the purse also in the wool suiting. This set included the sheath dress, coat (both items lined), purse, pearl drop earrings and rhinestone broach.

I happened on this lovely herringbone wool blend and as the scale is right (very bad pun, sorry) I thought it would make up into a nice little doll suit. I opted for a Chanel cut jacket and a short, A-line skirt to go with it. I've had my pintuck foot for a long time and decided to finally put it to use. It worked well with the taffeta for the blouse. This set also included the ultrasuede purse, earrings and broach. I called this "Suited for Spring".

This little set is a birthday/Easter gift. It includes the top, slacks (with pockets -not shown), hat, Easter tote, bracelet and tassel earrings. I bought the hat fabric over a year ago. It was difficult to work with and required careful handling as the "straw" was a very loose weave and needed zigzag stitching on all raw edges, all the while trying to "shape" the straw hat. The Bunny on the tote was done with my Scan n Cut machine with the eyes and nose added with my rarely used "Bedazzler". Oh, and the Adirondack chair was included with this gift, but the chair was purchased at Michael's.

As I often do, I repeat a recent set in different fabrics. This time I did the cape set in black matte satin. The cape is lined in a mid-century print and I made the blouse in the same fabric as the cape's lining. The purse is done in black and white ultra suede fabric, which is a dream to work with - but expensive. Fortunately, purses don't use too much fabric.

I was talked into doing a fashion with a cape. And I most definitely recall in high school (years and years ago) that I did have a navy blue wool cape with matching pencil skirt which I paired with a hot pink sweater 😊. But since then I've not really liked capes. However, as it was my daughter who talked me into doing a cape outfit, I obliged, and I'm very glad I did! This set, in pink-taupe wool suiting was a lot of fun to do and difficult to part with. This set included the cape, A-line skirt, blouse, purse and a bit of jewelry.

I found this lovely little shamrock print cotton at my local fabric store. This set included the dress, crinoline, beret, glitter purse and emerald rhinestone earrings. It sold in a flash. Now to get it to the buyer before St. Patrick's Day: And that's really up to the postal service!

Another iteration of the little silk dress with cropped tulle jacket trimmed in silk this time in delicate lime green. I called this fashion "Frosted Lime"

I've done this same set a number of times (7!), each time in a different colour. So after a few years of giving this set a bit of a hiatus, I've returned to it. This time in gold dupioni silk with honeycomb tulle cropped jacket trimmed in the same silk. I love how this set works on the two different dolls with different hair colour and hair styles.

This fashion (Avalon) is similar to one I did over 6 years ago. It's a one-piece dress with a red silk bodice and attached skirt in dark navy Italian wool suiting. The cropped matching jacket has a deep "V" shaped neckline and is finished with gold seed "buttons" along the front of the jacket and also on the sleeves. The entire set is, of course, fully lined. The pillbox hat is hand sewn (and I have the scars to prove it!) and the little red envelope purse finishes this set. Lots of pics (sorry) on both Poppy Parker and the fuller figured Silkstone Barbie. I used blonde models to show off the (hand sewn) hat LOL.

This dress took me a couple of attempts. I will have to remember to write notes on how to put this dress together. It's made up of strips of frayed chiffon ribbon overlaying the dress underneath. I alternated the coloured chiffon giving the dress a bit of an ombre effect. I called this fashion "Above the Fray". My husband says the blonde doll looks like Taylor Swift!

I took a bit of a break over the holidays, but I did this dress up for a friend and fellow collector. It's a variation of a dress I did about a year ago, same fabric just a different style. This dress featured slash pockets and piping at the neck, armholes and pockets. The hat took me some bit of time to do but I did like the final result.

As very often happens, when I make a fashion I then have to make it again in a different colour and fabric. This time I redid the taffeta green Xmas gown (see the post below) in a very romantic pink bridal satin. I called this version "Plaisir d'amour" - the Pleasure of Love. This dress is modeled by 3 different dolls: Poppy Parker, Silkstone Barbie, and Binna Park-Fashion Royalty.

This is my last Christmas fashion for this year. This very full taffeta gown has 7 panels on the skirt! I find certain greens and blues, especially when the fabric has a definite shine, are very difficult to photograph and get the colour right. This was true of this gown and I had to spend some time with Photoshop to try to correct the colour. I came close but in real life the green of this taffeta is better than shown in the pictures. This set included the gown with a rhinestone snowflake shaped broach sewn at the waist, winter white fur stole, purse, petticoat and rhinestone drop earrings.

The third halter-top dress. The indigo satin is a stunning colour, and of course, I had to pair it with a silver sequined jacket. Truly a New Year's Eve party dress!

My second Christmas dress and a sister dress to the previous red satin dress. This time I did the jacket in gold sequined fabric - always a bit of a mess in the sewing room with sequins flying every which way. I had some fun with this photoshoot as well. This dress was called "The Christmas Office Party No. 2".