Early Christmas for Me!

A few months ago I found out that American Girl was shoving Samantha into the archives, which sent every Samantha fan on a mad chase to get whatever else they needed to complete their collections. I went and ordered some things, and one of them was Samantha's trunk. 

It was backordered. 

I was devastated. I have wanted this since I was eleven. I asked for it for Christmas quite a few years running. I never did get it, though. I went through the television, VCR, stereo, and fish aquarium (which magically kept fish alive FOREVER until I sold the whole kit at a yard sale). But no trunk. I thought I'd never get it. And as soon as I found out it was backordered, I thought I'd never get it. 

But it came today! Granted, the UPS guy left it in my recycle bin, but I knew what it was! So, after I ate dinner, I put my Samantha stuff into it. 

It's gorgeous! I love it! It's so roomy! And I didn't realize how many outfits I actually had until I had to shove them into the trunk. 

And here is my doll with it, and she's wearing one of the spring dresses. 

Samantha's Birthday Pinafore Dress

Lately I've been making a lot of doll outfits that fit the 18 inch doll. With the retirement of the Samantha doll (thanks a lot, American girl!) I've been trying to add to my collection via E-bay, especially since most of the items are sold out right now. I've been more successful on some than others. 

This is my latest acquisition: 

Mom made this dress in lilac gingham a long time ago, but I wanted the fancy taffeta dress. It came all the way from Hawaii, too! I love it. Hopefully I'll receive the trunk I have on backorder, because I'm running out of room in the one I have... 

Josefina Dress in Yellow

Another Josefina "Christmas" dress, this time in yellow. And I will be making more in pink, as well. :) 

Another Christmas Party Dress for Samantha

This time in blue, with white lace and ribbon. I like the wider satin on this one as opposed to the purple one I made earlier. The green one is still my favorite, though. 

Kirsten's Apron Dress

This outfit was made from Kirsten's Pretty Clothes patterns from Pleasant Company. The copyright date was 1990. Yeah, we've had these for a while! 

The first picture was with the apron. I modified the pattern, leaving out the rick-rack, and using an eyelet scrap that I had. It was really easy, but I decided to use a snap as the back closure because there was too much fabric in the waistband to use the button-holer on my machine. 

I like the dress just fine without the apron, too! 

Josefina's "Christmas" Dress

I know: it doesn't look like Josefina and it doesn't look very Christmas-y! The pattern is Josefina's, though, and I chose this material because I wanted the Lizzie Bennet look from Pride and Prejudice. I thought the lawn material might be too thin, but with the undergarments, it looks just right. And now that I've got my serger working, I can finish the seams much more quickly. It works well with the material that shreds easily. I like how it looks and I have cut out the pieces for a similar one in yellow! 

Now, I just have to buy white satin ribbon to finish yet another one of Samantha's Holiday Dress. :) 

Samantha's Christmas Dresses

This week I made two versions of Samantha's Christmas Dress from the patterns made specifically for the Samantha Doll. 

This is the second one: 

I used a broader ribbon around the waist, which I really liked. I also got the serger working, so  the seams were finished. 

This one is the first one I made: 

I would have liked a broader ribbon around the waist, but that was the widest white I had. I also would have liked broader lace around the shoulders, but I used what was available. 

ETA: The purple dress was given to Hannah for Christmas '08. 

Samantha's Retirement

One of the websites that I frequent is The Complete Guide to American Girl Doll Collecting.  When I went on this morning, the website showed this announcement. In it, it details Samantha's retirement, including the entire collection and the Nellie collection as well.  Samantha was one of the three original dolls, including Molly and Kirsten. 

Since Samantha was my first American Girl doll this is a blow to me. She has the most exquisite collection of them all, with beautiful clothes and accessories. Is this a move to ramp up interest in the collection and therefore increase sales in this economic downturn? With this announcement no doubt the prices on E-bay will continue to skyrocket as collectors attempt to finish their collections. 

Over the years I have been disappointed in the expansion of the collections with the Best Friend dolls. The American Girl of Today and the Just Like Me dolls are the focus of the company since Pleasant Company was sold to Mattel. 

ETA: The site I linked above by Kurt Danhauser is amazing, and nothing I've found rivals it. It's my source when I need to remember what an outfit looks like or what has been retired. 

Oh, and I'm still sad about this. Idiots. 

Samantha's Lacy Whites

I just bought the above off E-bay for an amount more than it cost before American Girl retired it. Samantha's Lacy Whites include a petticoat, stockings, and a shirtwaist with garters. The petticoat buttons to the shirtwaist. The garters somehow connect to the stockings, but I still can't figure it out. (Which is why I'm thankful for pantyhose.) 

And I'd appreciate any type of clue with the garters! 

I am currently attempting to make this with the patterns I have, but the material I chose was thicker than the fine lawn used in the original one. I'm still working on it, but at least I won't have to figure out how to do garters with that one. 

New Outfits

I've made the next two outfits in the past few weeks and have just had the time to update the blog with the pictures! 

The first is a nightgown from McCall's Crafts 3275.  The patterns are made for Gotz dolls, but they also fit American Girl dolls. I made two nightgowns out of a flannel that Mama Wiebenga gave me over the summer, and the eyelet trim was also from her as well. 

One of the nightgowns went to Hannah and one went to McKenzie. 

The second picture was made using McCall's Crafts 3627.  The outfits do fit the American Girl dolls, though are made for a doll that is a bit thicker in the body.  The material is also from Mama Wiebenga, though the hat and trim is from my own collection. The skirt lies flat because I did not make the "bum roll" that accompanies the patterns. 

This outfit went to McKenzie. 

Elizabeth's Meet Dress

I was inspired by another dress out of the American Girl catalog. Elizabeth is Felicity's best friend. The "Meet Dress" usually refers to the dress worn by the main character in her Meet book. Here is Elizabeth's. 

As you can see, mine has some differences. I used the pattern for Felicity's Christmas dress. The pink color is not the same, though I prefer my lighter pink to the rosy mauve of the Mattel dress. I also made a complete underskirt instead of just having a panel in the middle. 

Most of the material came from the stash that Mama Wiebenga sent me. The fabric, the lace, the trim on the sleeves and around the front, as well as the flowers on this stomacher were al from her. The thread and the lace on the sleeves was mine. 

I decided this time that I wasn't going to pleat ten feet of ribbon. Instead, I ungathered the trim and used it as a ribbon instead of a lace. That saved a lot of time, and I think it ended up well. 

I prefer my version over the inspiration. 

Another Doll Dress

I made the following today from McCall's Crafts 3275. The fabric I used came from Mama Wiebenga. 

The pattern was very easy, and I didn't make any adjustments to this one, like I have the others. 

While the pattern fits American Girl dolls, I think McCall's patterns fit better on dolls that represent younger girls, like 4-5 year olds. The American Girl dolls represent eight and nine year olds, so the body is slimmer than it would be on an 18 inch doll representing a younger child. As a result, the dress is baggy on this doll. 

Kirsten's School Dress

This weekend I made Kirsten's School Dress, from the Pleasant Company patterns for dolls that have since been retired. The material I used was from Mama Wiebenga, who sent me a lot of stuff over the summer. In order to use every scrap possible, the pattern is vertical on the top but horizontal on the skirt. I have no problem with it and think it adds to the charm of a pioneer dress. 

I also used the wrong side of the material because it looked more homespun and less perfect. I also liked the way it looked better than the right side, which was too "neat". 

The back and wrists are closed by Velcro, another contribution by Mama Wiebenga! 

Doll Geek Love

Anyone who knows me or has checked out this blog knows that I love dolls. My aunt started me at the age of four with porcelain dolls, but the problem with them is that you can't play with them. Then it was the Barbies, which I collected for a good while. I still have most of my collection, though most of it is hardly MC-NRFB. I liked to take my dolls out of the boxes. And then I got the American Girl dolls, first Samantha, and then Molly. Lately I've been making doll clothes during my summer vacay, using up random material in my stash. When browsing through the American Girl website, I noticed that their limited edition 2008 doll, Mia, was a figure skater and a HOCKEY PLAYER! ! !  

And then I saw Mia's 2-1 Outfit, and I had to have. Since it didn't come with the skates, I had to buy Mia's Meet Accessories as well. Conveniently, my parents gave me money for my birthday, so I went ahead and ordered the two items. 

Here's the boring part of the outfit: 

The outfit has a cute sweater with long-sleeve mittens,  skate blade covers, skate bag, and an iPod style headphone set. It even plays music. Oh, and it came with leg-warmers, too. 

But this is the cool part of the outfit: 

She has a hockey jersey! And a stick with a puck! How adorable is that outfit? And the doll (which is Molly, BTW), even comes with frizzy long hair, just like mine. 

Next up: figuring out how to make a Carolina Hurricane's jersey for the doll. 

Kirsten's Dirndl and Kerchief

Back when I first started collecting the American Girl dolls (first Samantha and then Molly), Pleasant Company sold an outfit known as Kirsten's Dirndl and Kerchief. From the little I remember from 17 years ago (when I first got my dolls), it is a traditional Swedish outfit that Kirsten wore on the long boat ride from Sweden to America. The outfit has long since been retired. Here's what the official dress looked like: 

I decided I liked it and tried to make it. Here's what I cam up with: 

I think it's pretty durn close. I used parts from three different patterns: 

• From Kirsten's Pretty Clothes, I used the pantalettes pattern and the skirt bottom from the School Dress. 
• From Molly's Pretty Clothes, I used the jumper top from her Plaid Jumper and Blouse pattern. 
• From Addy's Pretty Clothes, I used the blouse pattern from her School Outfit (which has also been retired!) 

There are a few obvious differences between the original and mine: 

• The skirt in my version is not stripes, but plaid like the jumper section. 
• The jumper section is different as well. I don't have the lacing in the front. I have a problem with making the grommets work on the material, even with using interfacing in between the layers. Maybe I don't use enough force or pressure. 

Overall, I like the way that it turned out. It may be different, but it is original! 

Addy's WInter Coat

Today I made the Winter Coat out of Pleasant Company's Addy doll patterns. I don't have an Addy doll, so Samantha is wearing the coat: 

I made few modifications to this pattern: 

• I didn't add separate fringe to the "scarf". Instead I fringed the bottom of the material to make it more like a real scarf. 
• I added three buttons instead of four because of their size. They're probably too big for the size of the outfit, but they were all that I had. 

I really like this pattern. It was not very difficult to execute. 

Kirsten's Underclothes

Last night I made Kirsten's Underclothes, one of Kirsten's patterns bought when Pleasant Company made dress patterns for the dolls. It was one of the easier patterns and I had the white flannel material to make it with, so I went for it. 

A few modifications: 

• Instead of quilting the bottom of the petticoat with white thread, I used a nice pale, variegated thread in shades of pink, blue, green, and white. I also used that thread for the top-stitching on the chemise. 
• I used a snap on the back of the chemise instead of a small button because my buttonholer and I weren't getting along. 

Doll Cape

The following project is from Vogue Patterns, Pattern V7923.  It is now out-of print, as is the pattern for the doll, V7868. I have made the pattern for the cape as seen below on my American Girl doll. 

It was my first attempt at using satin, and it made me realize what a horrible material satin is to work with. It's one letter away from "satan" for a reason. 

I know it's hard to see the detail on this, but that's okay. You don't need to see it, just like you don't need to see the spot on the front where I accidently cut a hole. I'm still trying to figure out how to fix that. It's right there, plain as day, too, which is why this picture is fine. You don't need to see it. 

The other issue I had was with the gathered trim on it. I had to gather somewhere around a mile of satin, from it into a Mobius strip  and then attach it to the outside of the cape. The end result was a disordered mess of gathering, with very little of the trim having the requisite "gather".  

Sigh. I would rather pleat nine and three-quarters feet of ribbon. 

Here's the back, hood up. I like the back. 

Felicity's Christmas Dress

It took me a week, but it's done! The satin was a bitch to sew, so I took my time so I wouldn't screw it up too bad. Overall, it was easier than the raincoat I finished last week, so that was a relief. I love the way it turned out, though I used to wide of lace for the arms. 

Like the raincoat, this was one of the American Girl patterns that was sold through Pleasant Company before being acquired by Mattel. In this case the pattern was Felicity's. 

I made a few modifications from the pattern: 

• I left off the decorative cuff. I had it made and gathered, but I didn't like how it looked sewed on to the sleeve. I replaced it with some trim that I had from another project. 
• I only made one stomacher. I didn't make the alternate with ribbon because I didn't have white ribbon, only cream. I know it's something that only I would notice, but I WOULD NOTICE. 

Oh, and pleating nine and three-quarters yard of ribbon? Painful. Literally. There must have been a hundred pins in that length of ribbon. 

Molly's Rain Gear

About a year ago, I decided to unearth my American Girl Doll patterns and make Molly's raincoat. Remember those patterns? Back before Mattel bought Pleasant Company, PC actually made patterns that you could use to make your own doll clothes, patterned after the dresses made from the books. The big problem with the patterns is that the directions are horrible. Like English translated into Romanian translated into Russian translated in Farsi and back to English again bad. 

The other reason finishing this project took so long is the stupid vinyl I used. Oh, it's horrible. Even with using tissue paper to help the feed it was horrible. And like most patterns, I made some modifications. I couldn't do all of the top-stitching on the hat because it's so small. And I didn't add the grommets because my pliers were too short. And it's vinyl. 

Otherwise, I think it came out very well. Next time I'll use some other type of material, though. 

And from the back: