Thursday, January 1, 2015

Gossamer Gowns

As I noted in an early post entitled "Sewing for Skipper," one of the most important things I gained from playing with dolls as a child was sewing skills.  I therefore tend to look askance at "no sew" crafting projects.  Relying on the glue gun not only inhibits the development of manual dexterity, it also inhibits the development of another essential life skill -- patience.  Still I was intrigued when I first heard of Printable Doll Clothes.


Elizabeth, the creator of these enchanting designs has released four volumes of dresses with beautiful colors and textures that you can print, cut out, and then tape together, molding the pieces to fit different sized dolls.  There are numerous helpful videos on her site that give clear instructions for assembling the outfits:


I was impressed enough to purchase a multi-pack with the first three volumes from the Printable Doll Clothes Etsy Store.  Since she was just releasing volume four, Elizabeth generously sent it to me shortly after my purchase.

Christmas morning I finally got around to playing with some of the designs only I decided to print the templates onto card stock and then trace the pattern pieces onto tissue paper.  


I thought the tissue paper would drape better than copy paper and I also didn't want to deplete my expensive color ink cartridges :-)!


On New Year's Eve my ladies queened it over everyone else in their gossamer gowns.


When I get more time I will experiment with printing Elizabeth's designs onto fabric and then assembling them on my sewing machine.


For now however, my conclusion is that for children who are not old enough to handle pins, needles, and sharp scissors, playing with Printable Doll Clothes is a more engaging challenge than coloring and cutting out clothes for two-dimensional paper dolls.


Better still it just might get them interested in learning how to sew.


Best Wishes for 2015!

A bientôt!

10 comments:

  1. Those are gorgeous! And they would get novice clothing constructors to understand how 3D clothing shapes go together, with darts, and such, without the separate frustration of dealing with a sewing machine's quirks.

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  2. This is great! The clothes look good, and it might get children interested in making fashion indeed! Happy 2015 to you too :-)!

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  3. I saw these patterns on esty and wondered about them. Thank you for posting on them. You answered a question I had.

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  4. For paper those dresses don't look bad at all! You've got to start somewhere, and this could be a good way for kids to get a feel for how a dress comes together, before they start cutting your best fabric to pieces. :)

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  5. I agree with Anderson's All-Purpose that the outfits don't look bad, but I prefer - like you - cloth clothes. I sewed some doll outfits when I was young, too. And my Mom made my dolls' things on her sewing machine.

    Your wigs enhance your dolls. Gives them a chic "Limbe Dolls" look ;-)

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  6. Great job on the dresses! You chose really pretty colors. I agree with D7ana, your wigs enhance your dolls beautifully! Very nice! Thanks for sharing the info. I am going to check it out.

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  7. I discovered the printable clothing website this week as well. I love your idea of printing the fashions as patterns and using tissue paper for the actual dresses. I have made tissue paper dresses in the past and know that it does drape better.

    Your ladies look lovely.

    dbg

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  8. Wow, I think this is one of the neatest things I have ever seen. That video was fascinating. Thanks so much for sharing.

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  9. Thanks for all your comments. Hope to see some of your ladies in "gossamer gowns" soon.

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  10. I love your dresses! So pretty. Great idea using the tissue paper.

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