How to make this Layered skirt for Makie or Blythe Dolls

Cutting:

1 strip of fabric 1 1/2" by 7"

1 Strip of fabric 2" by 14"

1 piece of 1/4" elastic 3 1/2" long

Sewing:

1. Serge or zig zag one 7" edge of the shorter strip of fabric.

2. Hem on 2" x 14" long strip of fabric along 14" side by fold up 1/4" and fold up 1/4" again and sew.

3. Gather the opposite 14" length to fit the unserged edge of the 1 1/2" y 7" strip.

4. Sew the strips together adjusting gathers to make them even.

5. Serge or zig zag the edges together.

6. Top stitch on the right side as shown in the skirt photo above.

7. Turn top edge down on the 1 1/2" by 7" strip that is now sewn to the other skirt piece,  3/8" and stitch.

8. Use a safety pin or bodkin and insert the elastic and stitch on each end to hold the elastic in place.

9. Stitch the center back seam and serge or zig zag it. Turn right side out and put on your doll.

How to put a Monique wig on your BJD doll

1. Monique wigs are very stretchy. Even if the wig is a size smaller than your doll head it can be stretched to fit on your doll's head. Turn the wig inside out. Look for the circle of stitches on the top of the wig. Shown in the photo above. This goes onto the center top of the dolls head. I use Mack's silicone ear plugs on the doll's head to hold the wig on. It is sticky and will not stain the doll's head. I put a small piece and smash it on the top of the dolls head and on the back of the doll's head.

2. Place that center circle of stitching on the center top of the doll's head. You can adjust to put it where you want it. But for the most part put the center of circle stitching on center top of dolls head. Shown in the photo above. Hold the wig on that spot with your fingers and pull down really hard on the back of the wig until is stretches over the back of the head and sticks to the silicone ear plug you have on the back.

3. Wig is shown above on the doll.

April Fool's Day

Hey Hamish, lets get a new brother. I want a twin. Will you help me? said Prince Harry.
Sure! We have 1 more bed in our bunkbed he can sleep in. How will we get him ordered without mom knowing it? said Hamish
We can work together. Ok you got the cursor on the add to cart button. Now JUMP really hard on the enter key to buy it. said Harry.
Hamish jumped up as high as he could and landed right on the enter key.

Hi Amelia! What are you doing here? asked Harry.
What are you doing here? asked Amelia.
There are only 6 Prince Harrys left and I need a twin so we are ordering him. said Harry
Oh no you don't! 2 boys in this house is 2 too many. I am going to tell mom what you guys are up to if you don't order a girl instead. said Amelia
Ok said Harry.

Hamish will you help me get Tinkerbell like you put another Harry in the cart and take Harry out of the cart? asked Amelia.
Hamish is more reasonable than Harry is. Hamish goes along with her and gets back on the Enter key.

Jump Hamish as hard as you can and get her in the cart. said Amelia.
Harry do you have mom's credit card number?
No, don't you? asked Harry.

Harry hand motioned to Hamish to block Tinkerbell from getting in the cart. Hamish jumped really high and landed on the shift key and the enter key at the same.
Ok Amelia, we did it. Tinkerbell is on her way to you now. You are getting a sister. said Harry.
Amelia is so gullible and she believed Harry.

Izzy wake up! We are getting a sister! She can share my bed when she comes. said Amelia.
Hamish threw his hands over his eyes so Izzy would not see that ornery look he had on his face.

April Fools! said Harry and Hamish in unison. You are not getting a sister but surprise! You are getting a new brother.
Will the girls get Harry and Hamish back with their own April fools? Stay tuned.

Easter Doll photos

The dolls above are My Doll from Australia who is 23" tall with cloth body and vinyl arms made to look like a real child. The dolls are very similar to My Twinn dolls. The little 10" doll is Tonner's Sophie from the Ann Estelle collection. She is holding a 3" mini Cotton Hop Along Lalaloopsy doll. Beside her is a Goodreau ABC doll whose name is Dinty. I call him Davey. He is wearing a bunny suit made from a stuffed bunny. Instructions on how to do that are in a previous blog. Blythe is beside him. She is 12" Vanilla wearing a dress that I made her and I did buy the boots and hat she has on. Mini Lalaloopsy Sprout is sitting on the bunny face basket. Lalaloopsy Toffee is sitting in the chair with bunny ears on. Her mini is in the tiny chair.

Lalaloopsy Rosey is wearing a dress I made for her. She and Patch are sitting on a My Twinn Bench. It is a very nice bench if you are looking for something to store clothes in or just for the dolls to sit on. Lalaloopsy Patch is wearing an outfit I made for him and a bunny mask. Funny Patch.

4" Wilde Imagination's Amelia Thimble sitting on a chick holding a micro Lalaloopsy Spot. Micro Mittens is sitting beside the ducks. Too cute.

On the left is Little pet shop Blythe and on the right is 4" Amelia Thimble. The micro Lalaloopsy dolls got into this picture also.

This is an outside picture with our beautiful lantana in the background. Front and center is Lalaloopsy Littles Matey who is wearing the Cotton hop along outfit I made. My Doll in the blue sweater is in the back row. Blythe is on the lounge chair. Goodreau ABC doll Dinty is in the lounge chair in his bunny suit. Amelia thimble is in the swing with Creedy Lady B beside her. Elvis is holding the Easter Basket with the blues for missing Priscilla.

The Tonner tenners known as Micheal on the skateboard and Sophie beside him. Little CPK baby sprout on the tricycle. Liddle Kiddle on the rocking horse. Amelia in the swing. Lalaloopsy mini oopsie Sprout in the chair. Creedy Melody pulling the wagon and Creedy Lettie inside the wagon. I hope you have enjoyed the dolly Easter tour.

Sewing a skirt without a pattern

Did you know that skirts are simply a rectangle? I am going to show you how to make an adorable skirt for your doll. This same technique can be used to make girl and women skirts also.

1. Get a piece of fabric larger than your doll. I folded down the top of the fabric 1/2" because that is how much I will need for my elastic casing that will go around the waist.

2. Wrap the fabric around the dolls waist and hip. Leave an inch or 2 for ease and movement and another 1/2" for your seam allowance.

3. Once you have determined the width you want your skirt then cut the piece lengthwise as shown in the photo above.

 

4. Decide how long you want the skirt on your doll. Add 1/2" for the hem and cut crosswise on the fabric. You will need a ruler to measure where you cut the fabric on the one side. Then cut from the other side the same distance down from the top. Now you should have a rectangle that will fit your doll when made into a skirt.

5. In the picture above is my skirt piece. It is a rectangle. Once you have this cut out and sized to your doll then measure the width and length of this piece and write it down. Now you will forever have the skirt measurement for this doll so you won't have to repeat steps 1 through 4. Now take the fabric to your sewing machine. I changed fabrics for my skirt because I already had a shirt that matched it made up. So the rest of the directions will be with the peach fabric. 

6. You will sew the hem first on the skirt. Turn the bottom under 1/4" and then turn it again 1/4" and sew the width of the piece.

7. Once the hem is sewn then turn the fabric to the opposite side of the width. Cut a piece of 1/4" elastic the waist measurement of your doll that you are making the skirt for. Remember when we cut the skirt and turned the top down 1/2"? That was to make the casing and that is just what you are doing in this step. Turn the top of the skirt down 1/2".  After you have stitched your casing then use a bodkin or a safety pin and insert your elastic. Be sure to stitch the ends of the elastic on each side of the casing or it will pull right out. 

8. In the photo shown above I added some lace trim to the bottom of my skirt. If you want to add trims, decorative stitches or lace then do it now. 

9. Fold the skirt and with ride sides together stitch along the center back seam. Turn your skirt right side out.

Here is my skirt on my Lalaloopsy doll. You can make all kinds of skirts using this easy method for any doll or little girl. If you want the skirt fuller then make your rectangle wider. If you are wanting a t-shirt pattern then check my webstore at: http://www.dudsfordolls.com/Patterns/pattern.htm

I have lots of patterns for several kinds of dolls for sale.

Sewing a Mermaid Tail for Lalaloopsy dolls

Copyright Linda Dryer at http://www.dudsfordolls.com

Pattern is for the big 13” Lalaloopsy doll

Materials: ¼ yard fabric for tail, Thread to stitch together, 5 ½” of ¼” elastic

Instructions:

Cut 2 tails on fold of fabric.
Put fabric right sides together and stitch around the the tail leaving the top open. 1/4" seam allowance.
Hem the top edge 3/8” but leave an opening
Use safety pin or bodkin and put 5 ½” elastic inside the hemmed casing top of the mermaid tail.
Sew the 2 ends of elastic together to make circle.
Put tail on Lalaloopsy doll and enjoy.

Pattern is located on my website for you to download: http://www.dudsfordolls.com/Patterns/pattern.htm

Lalaloopsy Peppy how to make her Pom Poms or for any doll

Lalaloopsy came out with a doll named Peppy Pom poms. She is wearing a cheerleading outfit but came without her pom poms. I am going to show you how easy it is to make your own pom poms.

Materials: 2 colors of yarn, piece of cardboard and scissors
Cut the cardboard in a 2" by 2" square.

Cut a length of yarn 7" long and lay it across the cardboard cross wise like in the picture.

Hold the 2 colors of yarn together and wrap them around the cardboard as shown in the photo below.

Continue to wrap the yarns around the cardboard as large as you think you want your pom pom to be. You may have to experiment and make a few to get one the way you want it. I wrapped mine as full as the picture below.

Then take the piece of yarn that is horizontal that you layed on the cardboard and pull in and tie it into a knot. Make sure you pull it in as tight as you can. This is what holds all those yarns together.

 After the knot is tied securely then take a pair of scissors and cut the other end. This makes the pom pom. Picture below of cutting the loops. Do not cut the cardboard. Just cut the yarn.

Take the tied end and shake the pom pom out. This fluffs it up.

Notice in the picture above that the pom pom is not even on the ends. You want those ends rounded. So hold the strands of yarn in one hand and trim them with the scissors. Cut small amounts off the ends to even it up.

Once you have evened it up then lay your doll down and take the ends of the yarn that you tied the knot in and wrap it around the dolls wrist and tie a knot. Do not make it tight on her wrist like you did on the pom pom. You want the pom pom to stay on her wrist but be able to come off. 

 Your pom pom is now finished and ready for play. You can use this method for any size pom poms. Just start with a larger size cardboard or wrap it more times on the cardboard. If you would like me to make a pom pom for you then check out my duds for dolls website. Price is $3.50 for a set of 2 pom poms. Link to the Lala page is: 

 http://www.dudsfordolls.com/lalaloopsy/lala.htm