Poldark inspired wool jacket for a doll

Some words and photos about making this jacket.

Wool fabric which I used for the jacket is loosely woven, so I used very tight woven cotton for the lining. As wool jacket with all the seam allowances is quite bulky thing for a doll to wear (even for Diseny Animator doll), I decided that I won't use stays under the jacket. I mean. The doll won't wear stays. But the cotton lining luckily gives a bit 1800th century(ish) posture or profile for the jacket.

 My present assistant, Astrid, has some issues with sewing. As lovely companion and assistant she is, there is this problem that she loves wool. Like. She loves to eat it.

Yes. Nice. Not.

I cutted an other of the back pieces and an other of the front pieces again. I left an other of the back pieces as it was and hoped I can hide the hole (made by wool eating monster) into seam allowance.

I'm still learning totally basics. Like should the short and tiny skirt part of the jacket (or should I call it flounce?) be made from a curve or straigth piece? After tests (made from cheapest felt) I realised that obviously from a curve piece.

I decided to take a risk and attach the skirt-flounce-thingy to the jacket's lining straight from it's raw edge. All kind of folds would have meant too much bulkiness to the waist.

It doesn't look totally neat, but it doesn't look that bad either.

This was my first time working with wool fabric. I was first very nervous, I was sure that it will tear to pieces (well, to yarn) in my hands. But no, it worked so nicely. It was easy to mold and it was overall so very lovely to work with.

18th century short jacket (pierrot) for a doll

This is one of my favourite outfits. Maybe it is because of jacket's lovely silk ribbons (this was first time for me to use silk ribbon in my sewing) or maybe it is because of that jacket's white and fresh lining. Or maybe it is just because the jacket is cute. But. Anyway. Here is many pictures of the outfit.

I don't know the English name of that instrument, but it's a lovely tool.

I have sewed a lining to all period costume bodice parts, but in this jacket the lining is.. I don't know. It is just sweet.

I remember that I got a feeling that I need more sharp pins. I don't understand how pins always become unsharp. (Those pins in the picture are sharp ones, but the rest 200 are not. I made a sorting.)

It's quite nice. But I don't like those wrinkles near armpits. Partly the probem is with too light fabrics, and partly with stays: I have an other pair of stays, and the jacket fits better with them. And I made a dress with same bodice pattern, and there is not as visible wrinkles in that dress as there is in this jacket. But the dress is made of linen, and it's lining is heavy cotton.

I think the profile of this outfit is... perky?

She looks like she has a happy happy tail.

I have sewn doll clothes not so many years. Ok, I did try it as a kid, but I and sewing machine didn't get along. Somehow it flattened my spirit and for many years I thought that I'm rubbish with sewing and stuff like that (so I let my elder sister to do all sewing). But about... oh! already! seven! years ago I gave an other chance for sewing. I borrowed my granny's sewing machine, and it worked like a dream and I begin to feel like a champion, and here we are. I'm not a brilliant seamstress (and I can't sew anything for humans), but I may say I have learned a lot. (These days I mostly stitch by hand. It wasn't possible past days because my hands ((joints)) were almost always inflamed, but luckily I got help for them, because nowadays my brains doesn't like the noice and resonance of a sewing machine, and a sewing machine has too many moving parts, so it's a quite wearing machine. Hand stitching is so wonderfully calming and silent and slow!)

Sorry, I get lost. I meant to tell, that I have sewn doll clothes now about seven years, and after about two years I got enlightened and I understood the Importance of the Undergarments. That's why some of my doll outfits take a pit of time to put on. Here is an example:

Chemise.

Stays.

Bum roll.

Petticoat and pocket.

This time I forget an other petticoat, but here is an older picture where you can see it. At least a quarter inch of it.

Skirt, jacket, apron and fichu (I forgot her false sleeves), and job is done. It takes easily 20 - 30 minutes to put that all on. But I admit, I'm quite pedantic.

Here you can see her false sleeves.

And then just some more photos.

These last four pictures are taken with my sister's camera. Oh, I miss it so much! (I miss my sister also!)

Silk ribbons!!!

Roísin (and her new regency outfit!) visiting manor houses

Doesn´t she look like she belongs there?

This (above) is Russborough House in Ireland at autumn 2017. I took photos at this same spot at autumn 2016 also. The Roísin was wearing her pet-en-l'air. And it was windy then. Like, really windy. Roísin could stand on her feets less than 0,7 seconds at a time, so it was a really tricky photoshooting session. (In the mountains it were of course even more windy. And we heard afterwars that actually there had been a warning of a dangerous wind on that day. So, it really was a windy day, I didn´t just imagine it.) Anyway. At autumn 2016 I had a real camera with me, but it was quite impossible to take photos. At autumn 2017 I hadn´t a real camera, but the day was perfectly not-windy. But it was raining...

Luckily there were shelters from the rain. (Russborough House is very beautiful in the inside, too!)

These (under) photos are taken in Castletown House. There weren´t windy at all (but there must be very drafty at winter time), but most of my pictures were bad because there weren´t enough light for my mobile phone's camera... Fortunately some of the pictures were nice:

She looks like she is a bit lost. But I can tell you. She is not. Her character doesn't allow a concept of being lost.

The staircase and the whole entrance area in Castletown is gorgeous.

This is the Long Gallery.

The chandelier - it´s one of three in Long Gallery - is from Venice. The chandeliers are Murano glass and they are a really unique thing. They look so candy-lace-creamcake-like, that you must either admire them or hate them! I love them.

P. S. Here you can find pictures of making this outfit and Roísins undergarments.

Regency outfit for promenading in style

I visited (again) in Ireland at autumn (again). I wanted to take a new doll outfit with me so that I can take photos (again). Because Roísin had already a white regency, I thought that easiest solution would be sew just a spencer. A doll in white dress and a spencer jacket would look very classic, and it would suit well with a georgian manor house.

So, I sewed a jacket. It was very satisfying job. I love silk (who wouldn´t?) and that feeling and sound when my needle and yarn goes through it. And the colour of the silk was so yellow that it felt a bit like a sunshine in my brains.

I took the idea for this from Nancy Bradfield´s book Costume in Detail. For the construction I used ideas from Janet Arnold´s Patterns in Fashion and also Nancy Bradfield´s book.

I finished the spencer in some days. But when it was finished, it was certain that I couldn´t use Roísin´s old white gown: the neckline of the dress was wrong. And her underwear were all wrong, too. Her petticoat had a too long hem and too small neckline. And I wanted sew her a shift. So:

It´s a cotton dress. An idea for it is from Nancy Bradfield´s book.

Of course I had to sew a reticule also! Unluckily I didn´t have time to sew a hat. Of course there has been time after visiting in Ireland. But you know, because there is not a schedule anymore... Anyway, here is the reticule. Isn´t it cute!





(Pictures of this outfit visiting Ireland you´ll find here.)

Dolls can enjoy the snow, too

At least if they are dressed well!

But she actually isn´t... (Ester has such a hurry to run outside that I couldn´t stop her and ask her to wear a jumper and proper pants.)

Roísin had a bit more aristocratic approach to her winter walk.

Dolls in Irish landscapes

Howth, Dublin.

Howth.

Howth.

Lough Tay, Wicklow.

Glendalough, Wicklow.

More pictures of the dresses and sceneries here and here.