Wednesday, August 07, 2019

Doll Dress Fun!

I recently found these 3 vintage outfits.
I believe they were hand made from flour sack fabric.

First are these two Baby Doll Dresses.
The fabrics looked like they came from the 1940s?
This first dress with a Fall color pattern 

And this blue print dress.

The dresses were hand made, but a little plain.

But, I liked the style of the dresses.
SO! I decided to see what I could do to give them
a little more charm.

Here are the results.


I added some gros-grain ribbon and some little
bumblebee buttons to the Fall colored dress.

Not a huge change, but I think very sweet!
This dress will be sent to my friend for her Puddin.
She really loves Fall so I thought of her.

The blue dress I added some vintage lace 
and some pink ribbons.

Very Sweet!
Now, this next jumper is a mystery to me.

The fabric is adorable.

But it is shapeless and ill-fitting.
It is a flat garment with no gathers.

There are also tears in both legs.

What to do?
MAKEOVER!!!

I used some linen and made a collar.
I'm hoping this will give the garment more interest.
Here are the collar pieces ready to be attached.

I had to make the neck area larger by cutting it out a bit.
I also decided to make this a short sun dress with bloomers.

You can see here these outfits were all hand-stitched!

Here is the remade sun dress.
I used the same linen to create a cuff on the pocket.

I also shortened the sleeves slightly to fit better.

Looking sweet Puddin!

17 comments:

  1. All the dresses are very pretty, but the jumper is an outstanding transformation! You must have a lot of fun with this work.

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  2. Brenda, you turned already cute dresses and jumper into so much more adorable garments! I love seeing makeovers, but I admit I'm a little jealous because I can't sew. What a blessing to have such wonderful skills and adorable little models to sew for. :o)
    Blessings!
    ~Carolyn

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  3. Dorothy In PA8:13:00 PM

    Brenda, first your "model" is adorable. I can just hear her saying "yes, Mama, you may put these pretty dresses on me." I bet you didn't even have to bribe her with cookies (laugh).

    The outfits are so cute. You added just the right touches.

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  4. Thank you lil red hen. I do love makeovers! It is my favorite thing. Taking something that is not useful, or pretty and making it so.

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  5. Thank you Carolyn, I really enjoy what I do. Making things new is my greatest pleasure. Puddin loves her new dresses and always likes to model for me. As a girl my greatest wish was to have more than one extra dress for my dolls. That wish has come true abundantly!

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  6. Thank you Sew Special, I love finding these type dresses, lovingly hand made by someone long ago. Instead of ending up in a recycling center, they are now a great addition to the doll collecting world. I like to think that this was the hope of whoever had to part with these adorable dresses. :)

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  7. Thank you Dorothy! Yes, Puddin is a very cooperative and sweet girl. She never complains at all. ;) I try to respect the era that these dresses came from and make changes that are appropriate. The jumper was sadly a loss with the torn legs, but the sundress transformation worked well I think.

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  8. Anonymous10:59:00 AM

    Very pretty Brenda. Love all of them.
    Joan

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  9. Thank you Joan, I really like getting positive feedback. I constantly second guess myself! I'm glad you like what I did.

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  10. Anonymous3:25:00 PM

    Brenda you never cease to amaze me with your talent and ingenuity. The outfits are even prettier thanks to you.
    Marilyn

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  11. Anonymous4:37:00 PM

    The dresses are so pretty. You did a wonderful job. My favorite is the blue and yellow sun dress.
    Marion

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  12. Thank you Marilyn, I enjoyed giving these dresses a little lift. I an hoping I get a picture of my friend's Puddin wearing the Fall dress!

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  13. Thank you Marion, I am very happy with how these dresses came out. I like the blue and yellow one too - so sweet!

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  14. Each dress was sweet, and your creative touches really brought out their charm. I love the blue and white one - and the transformation of the "jumper" is astonishing - great job!

    Janet

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  15. Thank you Janet! I am pleased with the jumper makeover. It turned out better than I anticipated.

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  16. Anonymous10:33:00 AM

    Can you tell me what size baby clothes you bought for puddin please? Mine will need new hair I really wore hers out I’m afraid.Penny Pfizenmaier

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  17. Hi Penny,
    Puddin wears 3-6 months size baby clothes. I find a lot of great items at thrift stores for my Puddin dolls. I got another Puddin with brown hair since this post!
    https://thesavagepea.blogspot.com/2020/06/a-new-puddin.html

    Hugs
    Brenda

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Hello all! Please sign your name when you comment as anonymous, so I know who to reply to. Otherwise you are just "Unknown"! Sigh :(