DollsArtCats

  It's Amber in the new, 59cm size! The photography is exquisite! As is the outfit; sadly for me her ears are still the original cute deer ears, which I never could get a wig to stay on. I took a look to see if the pink wig was being offered for sale (Soom wigs are really nice, they are heavier than Monique's and less likely to tangle) and while this pair were not offered, I found some wigs from the back catalog that I wanted and ordered those, and some eyes, since I knew the EMS was going to cost me around 50.00 anyway. I really wasn't tempted by the fantasy body, though it's quite lovely and looks sturdy and proportionate--I have learned that one or two hoofies are fun, but after a while they start agitating for stockings and shoes, and I have to go toss around the marketplace and ebay for legs and feet. It's so nice to see the Super Gem girls again; the mid size/mini Gem dolls are cute, but aren't my favorite--the Soom princesses are my very favorite dolls, a...

I spent some time this morning sewing up the tiny corset. Here I am about to press open the first seam, with some help from a wet, shaped washcloth. I stuff the tip of the washcloth into the corset so I can shape it a little while I iron it: Then I will topstitch that seam. Because it's so tiny, I often use a pin or a seam ripper to push the fabric under the presser foot. The "toy" Brother that I bought from Amazon for around 80.00 sews very slowly, and has a big foot pedal-- which is great for this kind of fiddly sewing. It also has excellent "feed dogs" that pull in even super thin fabric without eating it. However,with the Brother, You May Not Use Pins. The reviews warned that if you run over pins, the plastic bobbin plate will either dent or crack, and the rest of the machine isn't set up to eat pins, either. So I either do without pins or if it's a tricky spot, I will hand-baste it first. I also found the first pattern mistake--I forgot to...

I've got a lot of dolls with hooves now. I thought I was being clever and solving the shoe problem (doll shoes cost as much as my shoes), but then I discovered I couldn't get pants or even stretchy American Girls underwear over the hooves. I needed something that could be put on like a diaper, with side fastenings. So last night I took some painter's blue tape and a paper napkin, and made a pattern by sticking the tape to the doll and then carefully lifting it off, and then clipping the curved parts (just the rear end) to flatten it. In the picture above, you can see the darts on the sides of the underwear. Here's the tape/paper napkin form (and the slightly cleaned up paper version--each box on the grid is 1/5 of an inch.) The edges were finished by clipping 1/4 of an inch along the curve, folding it under and topstitching it. The lace should have gone over the stitching line, but I chose lace that was too narrow. Next time I will use 1/2 inch lace, I think. I st...