Dolly.

I finally made a dress for Bebe’s (as yet unnamed) doll. I had a scrap of linen that had a border embroidery pattern and it suited this perfectly. I hand stitched the hems and did a buttonhole stitched key-hole neckline. I didn’t want to mess around with a facing that small.

Dress for Bebe's doll.

I ended up taking the dress in a bit at the waist (she was swimming in it), and I made a braided belt to go with it. I also added more strands or yarn at the hairline, and stitched down the hair along the scalp a little bit, so it lays better for the braids. She’s totally adorable now.

And the dress on the (as yet unnamed) doll. I ended up taking in the sides so she wouldn't be swimming in it.

Cloth Dolly

One of my favorite things to do is to make sure that the Bebe has enough toys for our SCA events. And by that, I mean toys that can pass as period. They don’t actually have to be what kids in the 1380s would have played with, but I try to stay away from plastic as much as I can. And since my little girlie girl is going through an all-baby-all-the-time phase, I thought I’d make her a cloth dolly.

Beginnings of a medieval doll for the Bebe.

The body is made of a peach linen napkin I found at Goodwill (6 of them for $2.50: score!); the pattern was made by a friend. I machines sewed all the seams (and wasn’t that fiddly?) but sewed the stuffing holes by hand. I stuffed her with poly-fill, because I wanted the doll to be easily washable. I know how hard my kid is on her toys.

Finished face.

Turns out I embroidered the face too big. Oh, well.  Now she just needs clothes.

She looks better with hair.

New Garb for Poppet!

The answer to yesterday’s question is “nothing.” There’s nothing cuter than a baby sleeping. Unless it’s two babies sleeping. Together. In garb.

Poppet outgrew her last garb, the green with pink trim between the last event and this one. Originally, before I started taking hallucinogenic drugs, I thought maybe I could make us all new garb by Candlemas. Yeah, that was the first thing to drop off the to-do list. But Poppet really, really needed some new clothes, so I pulled out some fabric I’ve been saving up and went to town.

Bebe's new garb.

The underdress is a simple t-tunic cut all in one piece because I’m lazy and would rather deal with just one seam down the side than have to fiddle with separate sleeves and an under-arm gore on a 2T sized dress. And honestly, Her clothes take up so little fabric any way, that it’s not so much of a waste of fabric. It’s a subtle white and tan and brown stripe, all on the cool side. The fabric is rayon, I think. Maybe polyester. It’s light and breathes well, though, and aside from a pretty subtle sheen, looks like a cotton fabric. The hems and facing are sewn down in a decorative red running stitch.

Bebe IN her new garb.

The outer apron dress is a rough-weave 100% wool that I’ve had in my stash approximately forever. It’s a little (a lot) scratchy for next-to-the-skin wear, but as an outer layer, it’s perfect. Even though it’s a little heavy for Austin (certainly a medium weight), Poppet ran around in it all day with no signs of being too warm. It just goes to show that wool is magical. It’s trimmed at the top with a line of white chain stitch to hide the machine stitching. I don’t usually bother on her clothes (and didn’t along the bottom), but it was really noticeable and jarring at the top.

Candlemas 2013

The straps are some tablet-woven trim I’ve also had forever. I attached it to the back in such a way that when she outgrows the dress, I can reclaim the trim to use on something else. The whole outfit is still just a little big, but I’m hoping that means I’ll get four or five events out of it. As it gets hotter, I’ll leave off the apron dress and just let her run around in the belted tunic instead.

Candlemas 2013