Doll Dress Makeover

Sometimes I hold on to a doll dress that is not very pretty or does not fit or needs repair, knowing that eventually I might do a doll dress makeover. 

This is an example of such a dress.  This dress came on a Madame Alexander doll labeled Goldilocks.

This doll and dress were made in the 1980s, which was, generally speaking, not a very good decade for MA dolls, in my humble opinion.  I am a big fan of many Madame Alexander dolls, because they are usually high quality and have excellent design.  But dolls and clothing from that decade have not held up as well as many other MA dolls.  This dress came on a doll about 13" tall, made of vinyl in sort of a chubby toddler body, with a wide waist and very small neck. 

Anyway, I have had this dress stored away for a while.  I liked the black vest with criss-crossed laces, and I liked the overskirt.  I thought it might be used by my vintage Madame Alexander Maggie-face 14" hard plastic doll, if the dress could be refurbished.

The fabric was faded from whatever color it originally was (gray? silver? pale blue?) to a non-descript tone.  The elastic had stretched out on the sleeves.  There were stains on the dress.  And the "collar" was an ugly piece of lace.

So today was makeover day.  First, a trip to the store for the essential makeover supplies for this project.

A bottle of royal blue dye, and a spool of white trim, for a total of about $6, and I was ready to begin.

I chose a royal blue dye because the black velvet vest would not be affected by blue dye.  Besides, I love this color! 

I heated a large pot of salt water, mixed in the dye, immersed the dress, and stirred for about twenty minutes.  Then I rinsed the dress multiple times in cold water until the rinse water was clear.  I gently patted out most of the water with white paper towels.  Then the dress was hung on a plastic hanger to dry, while I ran errands.

Later in the day, once the dress was dry, I tackled the "unstitching"  part of the project.  With a seam ripper, I removed the stretched-out elastic from the sleeves, the ugly lace from the collar, and the snaps at the neck and waist of the dress.  This was a bit boring, but I have a bright adjustable worklight that eases eyestrain, and I did it in steps as needed, which broke up the tedium of taking out stitches.

I tried stitching elastic on one sleeve the same way the dress was made originally.  However, the elastic stretched out too much while sewing it on.  So, once again, a bit of unstitching.  Scratch Plan A for sleeves.

Plan B was to form a placket to hold some round elastic.  White sewing, I was careful not to catch the elastic in the needle. This worked just fine. Then the white trim was sewn onto the sleeve on the outside. To assure a proper fit, I put the sleeve on the doll's arm at the widest point and tightened the elastic to fit and tied a knot to hold it in place.  The last step on the sleeve was to restitch the underarm sleeve. 

Then the whole process was repeated for the other sleeve.  Maggie waited patiently through this whole process. One nice thing about sewing for dolls, is that they do not complain much.  (They do whine and wheedle some, though.)

For the neck, I gathered a piece of the white trim to fit the neckline, then carefully stitched it in place at the edge of the neck.

The white trim was added to the edge of both skirts.

It was time to reattach the snaps.  I had a bit of a challenge here.  The snaps were quite small and black.  Two different times I dropped a snap on the floor.  They were almost impossible to see, and I got some exercise on my hands and knees searching for them.  I did find them at last and sew them in place on the dress.

The sewing part was done and the dress needed pressing. The fabric seemed to be at least partly acrylic, which will scorch easily, so I used a low heat/high steam setting.

Finally, Maggie was dressed in the refurbished dress, with the addition of a petticoat, white stockings, and black shoes (all of which she had in her trunk).

Doll Dress Makeover -- the Reveal!

(Maggie liked the dress, by the way.)

Blue Bird Ann Estelle

Here is another 10" Robert Tonner doll, "Bluebird" Ann Estelle, with black hair and blue eyes, wearing her glasses and pretty hair bow. (Actually, I am not sure her official name is Bluebird, but that is what I call her.) She was issued in 2000.

In this photo you can see the tiny wooden birdhouse she carries for her bird.  The blue dress with red trim is a Mary Engelbreit design.  Maybe she takes the birdhouse to school for "show and tell" day.

She has navy denim high-top lace-up shoes with red-and-white striped socks.  I don't remember if the shoes and socks came with this dress -- but if not, they should have!  So cute!  You can see in this photo that this Ann Estelle has bendy knees, enabling her to sit in a chair.

Here is the display of Bluebird's trunk set.  The trunk is pink metal outside and gold/white patterned paper inside.  It is in very good condition for a vintage trunk, and it has a label, Vogue Trunk.  Vogue was a major manufacturer of dolls, perhaps most famous for the Ginny doll, which came in at least two sizes, 8" and 12", so this may have originally been a trunk set for a Ginny doll.

Isn't this straw hat cute with those tiny felt flowers?  I don't remember which outfit it came with.  It may not even have been made for Ann Estelle doll.  But it fits Ann Estelle perfectly and it looks great with this outfit. 

The romper outfit came with a porcelain doll in a trunk I wanted. (I kept the trunk, gave the doll away, reclaimed this outfit.) It probably would have been faster to make this outfit from scratch, but I liked the green corduroy and the tiny floral print fabric.  I made it fit Ann Estelle and removed the velcro fasteners and sewed on snaps.   I imagine she likes this outfit when she goes "birding" out in the country.

This pretty dress was made by a talented eBay seamstress; unfortunately I don't remember her name. I liked the use of the pink striped fabric for bodice, hem, and cuffs, and the tiny buttons are shaped like flowers. The dress came with a matching scrunchie for her hair.  All you can see in this photo is the bow on top of the scrunchie.

I made this lace-trimmed petticoat.  Many of the dresses look better with petticoats, so I made petticoats for each doll, as needed for their dresses.

BonBon designed and made this red plaid dress with a yoke and long sleeves.  It is trimmed with white collar and cuffs and a red bow. I also made white tights, a white petticoat, a hair bow, and a bead bracelet to go with this dress. Ann Estelle wears this at Christmas, but it can also be used as a schooldress.

I designed and made this nightgown, bedjacket, and slippers. The nightgown is lined and features pintucks near the hem. The fabric is a soft vintage dotted swiss cotton that I had kept for many years.  I used ribbon roses to trim the ribbon straps on the gown and the tiny slippers. 

Note:  We think of pintucks as decorative, but pintucks near the hem originally had a quite practical use.  Years ago, when clothing was expensive in both material and labor, pintucks were used so that the hem of a dress could be let down as the girl grew in height.

The bed in the photo is a black "wrought iron" doll bed.  I made the coverlet and pillows for it.

Little Red Riding Hood on her way to grandma's house!  She even has a basket of (pretend) food!  This cute outfit came in a "Princess for a Day" trunk that had a variety of costumes.  As usual, I gave away the ugly porcelain doll, used the trunk for a Sophie doll, and remade the costumes for my Ann Estelle/Sophie dolls. I liked the creative use of fabric and trim on this long dress, and the red cape is nicely made with a red lining and blue rickrack trim.

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Basic Sophie

Here is Sophie, friend to Ann Estelle.  She is another 10" doll by Robert Tonner. The Sophie dolls do not wear glasses, and their eyes are straight, not offset like the Ann Estelle dolls.  Sophie has a face mold slightly different from Ann Estelle, and she seems slightly shorter.

 This is Basic Sophie, issued 2004. Such a sweet face and pretty blondish red hair.

 Her trunk is solid blue with blue paper inside.

Sophie arrived in this playsuit, a design by Mary Engelbreit.  I added the sandals and pail.

This dress is a Robert Tonner outfit designed by Mary Englebreit.  I added the green lacy hat with flowers and the yellow shoes.

This microsuede romper is a BonBon creation.  It is trimmed in a red print with red buttons on the front. These colors look good on this Sophie doll.  She is ready to play in this outfit.

The A-line dress is made from cotton print with red posies, trimmed with tiny red picot braid and red buttons. 

The matching coat is also trimmed in beige picot braid and is lined in the cotton print fabric. 

This is Sophie's Christmas dress, made by BonBon.  The beige fabric says "Let it Snow!"  and has little trees all over.  The red fabric is dotted with snowflakes.  A matching hair bow was made from the red print. I also made beige tights and a beige lace-trimmed petticoat for the dress, as well as a bead bracelet.

Sophie is wearing pajamas made by BonBon from a tiny floral print and matching blue solid cotton.  Tiny beads down the front simulate buttons.  She carries her bunny to bed with her.

This white dress was made by BonBon from a micro pique cotton and trimmed with mini cording in pink.  The pink and green embroidery was done by hand on the fabric before the dress was cut out. There are matching pique panties with lace trim.  A purse was made to match and a basket was filled with pink flowers for her to carry.  A great dress for Easter, or a wedding, or any special occasion.

 This dress is a Robert Tonner outfit designed by Mary Engelbreit. Perfect for summer!

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More "May Day" outfits

Continuing from the previous blog, here are photos of more outfits in the trunkset  for "May Day" Ann Estelle

This colorful print fabric is designed by Mary Englebreit.  The dress and hair ornament were made by an eBay seamstress.  Cute!

BonBon made this nightgown from solid pink batiste, trimmed with embroidered ribbon.

This closeup shows the lace-trimmed pantaloons and the handmade matching slippers.

Ann Estelle is wearing her Christmas dress, with a hair ornament made of tiny ornaments and ribbon.

The layout shows an example of the white lace-trimmed petticoat and white tights BonBon made to wear with the dress.  Also there is a tiny bead bracelet. (Remember that photo of a drawer full of beading stuff?)

This is an example of a "refurbished" outfit.  I bought a trunk that had a porcelain doll, an inch or two taller than this doll, wearing a Victorian outfit.  I took apart the outfit, added a white top to the pleated skirt and made a jacket from the top.  I used the ruffle from a bonnet to make a hair ornament.  (I redressed the porcelain doll in another outfit that came with the trunk and gave the doll to a neighbor's little girl.)

The shoes that are shown with the outfits were bought on eBay from various sellers.

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Ann Estelle "May Day"

This is Ann Estelle, a 10" doll made by Robert Tonner Doll Company for ten years 1998-2008.  "May Day" is an early model from 1999. 

All Ann Estelle dolls have glasses.  The manufacturer made the Ann Estelle dolls with one eye slightly offset, to indicate a vision problem.  I don't like this offset eye; people who wear glasses do not have offset eyes.  Nonetheless, I like the Ann Estelle dolls for their cute expression and the quality of the doll and clothing.

The "May Day" outfit has a dress with a cream pleated skirt and white blouse, a yellow felt jacket trimmed in blue embroidery with a corsage, a matching yellow felt hat, gloves,a pearl bracelet, a basket of May flowers, and a toy chick. The panties, socks, and shoes may or may not be original to the outfit; over the years, things get mixed up.

Ann Estelle "May Day" has a trunk full of clothes. This trunk is covered in maroon canvas and papered with beige paper.

The trunks for the Ann Estelle/Sophie dolls were bought on eBay and come from a variety of manufacturers.  I added plastic craft boxes to the trunks to hold shoes and other small items. 

BonBon made this dress and pinafore from colorful cotton prints, trimmed with tiny picot braid.

This is a view of the same dress without the yellow pinafore.

This romper has sleeves and cuffs from the same print as the dress.  I added a little embroidery for trim on the front.

The little coat is lined in the maroon fabirc and trimmed with picot braid; it can be worn with the romper.

The remaining outfits in the May Day trunk will be shown in the next post.

BonBon Can't Play Without Making a Mess

In the previous blog, about BonBon's Blue Dollhouse, I mentioned the "redo" of removing furniture and rearranging things.  everything all looks nice and neat in those photos. 

But just as an example, here are the messes necessary just to put a few pieces of china in the china cabinet.  This illustrates a basic principle of BonBon's Toy Closet:  You Can't Play Without Making a Mess.

First, I have to find the items to put in the china cabinet.  This little chest of drawers is crammed full of dollhouse accessories.

By the way, the dollhouse materials are in yet another closet.  That makes a total of SIX closets in my house with toy/doll/dollsewing/dollhouse stuff in them.   Hmmm.  I admit that sounds a bit much.  Have I mentioned that my dear husband is a VERY SWEET and TOLERANT person?  He also does not poke around in these closets much, which may be a very good thing, now that I think about it.

One drawer in that chest had lots of itsy-bitsy china, as well as many other items.  On the left are some of the items removed from the Blue Dollhouse, by the way.

The itsy-bitsy china pieces kept falling over in the little cabinet.  What to do?  Fortunately, BonBon's crafting center has lots of blues and adhesives.  Tiny little dot adhesives would do fine.  At while I am there, I might as well repair one of the chairs removed in the "redo" of the Blue Dollhouse.

The little dots hold each piece in place nicely.  The other things (china, books, etc.) go back to storage in the drawer in the chest in that sixth closet.

I have now made messes in three different rooms.  But the cabinet looks better with items displayed.  And I will eventually wander back into those rooms and find the messes and straighten up.  It might even be the same day.

BonBon's Blue Dollhouse

There are three dollhouses at BonBon's house.  Before I focused on dolls and doll clothes, I was interested in doll houses and miniatures.  I built three houses.  Two of them are for play.  This one is for display.  The house itself is more fragile than the others and it contains more fragile items.  So it is just for looking.

This dollhouse has been mostly ignored for a long time, just part of the background. Yesterday, while dusting, I decided to freshen it up a bit.  There were too many items in the house, I decided.  I removed about ten items, repaired a couple of things, and rearranged some rooms.  So I am following up on the "redo" with this post about BonBon's Blue Dollhouse.

The front door opens, but usually we just open up the entire front of the house.  There are magnetic latches.

There are six rooms.  Originally the house had electric lighting, but at some point it quit working and I could never get it to work again.  All the electric stuff has been removed, except the light fixtures.  I think they add a nice touch, even if they no longer work.

In three of the rooms shown below, there are dogs sitting around.  Each of the figurines represents a past family pet.  The grey schnauzer in the dining room was named Tyler.  The black poodle in the living room was named Perot. The grey and white schnauzer in the bedroom was named Jackson.  Each of these figurines actually looks like the real pet (which is why I have the figurines in the first place, of course.)

The living room features an upright piano.  It has real keys, separately inserted (non-playable), elaborate carving, and a matching piano stool.  Made by Bespaq.

The dining room has table, chairs, sideboard, chest with drawers, and a mirrored high back cabinet.  It features exquisitely painted fine porcelain punch bowl and cups, soup tureen, and tiered cake platter.

The kitchen has woodgrain cabinets and appliances with white table and chairs.  The three porcelain jars in the corner came from Germany, thanks to my daughter-in-law Stacey.  The little brown teapot is a favorite of mine, bringing back childhood memories of cocoa from a similar brown pot.

The study has a roll top desk, which really opens up.  The cabinet in the back displays china pieces (see next blog for details).  There is a Tiffany style hanging light in this room.

The bath fixtures have painted designs on them.  A mirror stand and weight scale complete the decor. (The brown object at the top right is one of the magnetic latches, if you wondered.)

The bedroom has a pretty mahogany vanity with a couple of "perfume bottles" I made with beads and sequins.  It has a matching stool.

The house has lots of pretty wallpaper and floorings, and the style is mostly traditional.

The other two dollhouses will show up in later blogs.