Piecing and quilting all in one

Lilly’s doll’s quilt

I’ve seen quilts made by others using this technique, but I hadn’t tried it for myself. One granddaughter is receiving a rag doll from us for Christmas, and I decided (of course!) the dolly needs a quilt.

I started with two pieces of white cotton with  batting pinned between. Then I got into my stash of small pieces of fabric to start placing colorful squares and rectangles.

The lavender with lady bugs is leftover from making the same granddaughter a sundress with hat and diaper cover. Other fabrics will also be familiar in the quilts I’ve made when she and her brothers were babies.

I pinned the fabric and stitched about 1/8″ from the raw edge, backstitching where I began and ended. This leaves a small amount of fabric to unravel in the wash. I left white space between, to act as sashing and to separate the fabric designs and colors. As I was placing them, I decided to concentrate on pink, yellow, green and purple.

pinned squares

I would pin several pieces, then stitch them, and repeat. With a doll-sized quilt, it was quick and easy. I enjoy looking at the quilting design on the back as I go.

quilting

When it was complete, I trimmed the edges and bound it with more sugary-pink fabric. Now I have to mail it off the the granddaughter so her baby doll won’t be cold on Christmas morning.

Merry Christmas!

Now a doll fashionista…

Oh yes, that’s me! (Can you hear me giggle?) Well, let me explain.

It started with the idea I would make doll quilts too.

Then I couldn’t resist buying an 18-inch doll. No, I didn’t go for the American Girl, but I bought a similar doll, Journey Girl. Following that were the purchases of several books of patterns for sewing doll clothes to fit her – except her waist is a bit smaller. No problem, I just went shopping for another doll, this one is a Madame Alexander, whose waist more closely resembles the American Girl.

Isn’t she sweet looking?

I’ve decided to open an Etsy store to see if the doll clothes will sell. I’ve had some sales by word-of-mouth already, and I’m looking forward to making this a cottage industry business. At least I hope it pays for the materials and postage!

Update: I no longer keep the Etsy store open. If you would like me to create something, send me a message and I can make a custom order on eBay for you.

Something vintage and fun

I was reorganizing papers in my sewing room and came across this pocket folio. This shows my old way of getting and keeping patterns! Most of what I found was in one of two women’s magazines that I read at the time.

This was in Family Circle magazine, dated 12/3/85. The pattern pieces were drawn on a grid, and it was up to the seamstress to  transfer the lines to a grid drawn according to the instructions. I used a couple of different types of papers, even a spare legal pad.

It took a bit of time, but we had no desktop computer, printer, or access to a copy machine with a zoom feature. I drew the grid lines, and added the pattern lines. It was like an old art class exercise, and having had that experience came in handy.

That year, for Christmas, I made a dolly for each of my 6 nieces. Each doll had hair similar to the recipient. Cabbage Patch Dolls had made an entrance on the toy store shelves, and this was a handmade answer to that craze. The clothing patterns were sized to fit either this doll or Cabbage Patch Dolls.

It’s funny that I’ve kept the pattern and instructions all these years. A few years ago I made a doll for myself with this pattern, to carry as a prop for a Halloween costume.