Here are two of the dolls that I showed you last February. My husband has been helping me design safety helmets so that Floribunda and Twinkle can ride their scooter and tricycle.

Floribunda’s helmet is made from papier-mache formed over a paper frame. I painted it bright pink to match her shoes.  We are continuing to work on this design.

Twinkle’s hat is made from fabric straps glued over a paper frame. I love the way it matches her outfit, but we don’t feel that it was a success.

If you are interested in their accessories, the scooter came from Dollsparts. There is a link to this site on my home page. Dollsparts also has a tiny tricycle, but I did not purchase Twinkle’s trike there. I have had it for several years and can’t remember where I bought it.

my patterns, New Things sewing for small dolls

My husband and I have been experimenting with printing on fabric using our computer printer. My husband has the technical expertise and I have the sewing expertise and together we have come up with some acceptable solutions. Quilting stores sell white and off white fabric that is prepared to go through an ink jet printer. The product works well, but it is fairly expensive and I wanted a larger variety of colors and fabric types. Many stores sell t-shirt transfers, but I didn’t like the rubbery texture for the projects that I was working on.

In our first attempts we printed on a sheet of computer paper; taped a square of fabric over the image that we wanted on cloth; and then reprinted the page. We usually got an acceptable print, but occasionally the paper jammed and it only worked on small pieces of fabric.

We have gotten good results with three methods that we have tried. With each method I prepare the fabric and my husband runs it through the printer. If I want to bond the fabric to something else, I iron a paper size piece of fabric to a sheet of fusible webbing. To help it feed through the printer, I tape a wide piece of masking tape on the back (non-fabric side) of the sheet at the top of the sheet where the printer will grab it. After the sheet has been printed, I cut out the image that I am going to use, remove the backing and bond it to the fabric or other prepared material with a hot iron. The second and third methods produce fabric to use for sewing.  For the second method I use a product by Sulky called Sticky+. I back a paper size sheet of fabric with Sticky+; add masking tape to the back at the top of the sheet; and print the page.  I have also sprayed a stiff sheet of computer paper with quilt basting glue and attached the fabric sheet to it. The treated paper does not need a tape backing. Remove the treated paper or Sticky+ from the back and use it again with a new sheet of fabric.

A computer scientist that I consulted said that he wouldn’t try these projects with his printer. An engineer I know pointed out that an ink jet printer can sometimes cost less than fifty dollars.

The picture shows some samples of computer printed fabric.

New Things sewing tools

When I taught 9 and 10 year olds in elementary school, one of their favorite art projects was covering egg shells with colored tissue paper. For a month or two every spring, I poked a hole in the top and bottom of each egg that I needed for cooking. I blew the egg out of each shell and saved the shells. When I had enough empty eggs, The children painted the shells with white glue and then covered the eggs with small pieces of colored tissue paper.

I decided to substitute fabric scraps for paper. I used Mod Podge instead of white glue. I suppose that Mod Podge is a type of varnish. I find it less intimidating than varnish, because it is sold in craft stores rather than paint stores and cleans up with water before it dries. It looks like white glue, but it has a plastic smell, like fingernail polish. I like its clear finish when it dries, but white fabric glue would probably work, too.

Because it is thicker, fabric is harder to smooth out than paper. I found that small triangles of fabric are easier to smooth out than squares or irregular shapes. I used small flower prints and checks for my patchwork egg. I covered my gold egg will small triangles of gold lame’ and then added gold braid around the middle.

Next week I have a request for a blog about Toto.

New Things other sewing projects

I have seen ideas for last minute gifts since December 1. To me December 19 is a much better day for last minute ideas.

The bookmark on the right side of the picture is designed for use with puzzle books, such as sudoku or crossword puzzles. The elastic loop at the top of the bookmark should extend past the book’s spine and hold a pencil to use when working the puzzles. To make one cut a rectangle of cloth the desired length and twice the desired width of the bookmark. Add iron on interfacing to to back of the cloth rectangle. Fold the bookmark in half down the length of the rectangle, so that the bookmark is the desired size. The right side of the fabric should be on the outside. Cut a length of elastic and fold it in half. Pin the elastic at the top of the bookmark. The raw edges of the elastic should be between the two folded sides of the bookmark with the loop extending far enough out to to hold a pencil. Zigzag around the three open sides of the bookmark to finish the raw edges. Sew through the elastic as you zigzag. Use a straight stitch to topstitch ¼ inch inside the zigzag stitching. Add embellishment if you wish.

I made a small draw string bag to hold a mechanical pencil plus extra lead and erasers. It is shown on the left side of the top picture. I made a large draw sting bag from Christmas fabric to hold a hard to wrap gift. Draw string bags are easy to make. Decide the size that you want the bag and draw a rectangular pattern. Add a seam allowance to three sides of the bag pattern. Add 1/2 to 1 inch at the top of the bag pattern for a ribbon casing. Cut a bag front and a bag back from your pattern. Sew the ribbon casing at the top of the bag before sewing the sides. Remember to start sewing the bag sides together below the casing so that the ribbon will have a place to go into and out of the casing. Sew the bag’s sides. Insert the ribbon through the casing. When measuring a present before cutting the bag, remember to leave plenty of room for the depth of the object. The first gift bag I made this year was too small.

I will show you what is hiding inside the large draw string bag  after Christmas.

New Things other sewing projects

I had a friend who once told me about taking sewing in high school. (Back when we were in high school, sewing was still offered as an elective.) The course made her heart pound and her palms sweat until she could not manipulate the fabric. She ask me if I thought she should try sewing again. Sewing has always been one of my favorite ways to relax. I could not imagine doing such a pleasant activity while feeling so much stress. I told her that if sewing made her that unhappy, she probably should not try again. I may have given her the advice that she was looking for, but now I think it might not have been very good advice.

Some years ago I had the same reaction to the Internet that my friend had to sewing fabric. I approached it with sweaty palms and a pounding heart. I was certain that I was about to make some sort of terrible error that in my ignorance of technical matters, I would not even recognize. Then my husband put the family’s Amazon account in my name. After spending some quality time with all those books, I was hooked. I started checking web sites that I was interested in and learning to use Google. If I had not ignored my stress, and put some effort into learning the ways of the Internet, I would have missed out on a lot of fun. I would, however, have more time to sew.

Learning a new skill may require work and inflict stress, but many times it is worth the effort. I think sewing is a handy skill to have. Sewing for dolls is an interesting hobby and a good way to learn sewing skills. If you are already involved in dollmaking and costuming or would like to learn, drop by my web site every now and again for patterns and hints.

New Things