So, I liked the movie

...and no new sewing projects maybe until June.

Ax-essorize

This old thing

The doll is old and so is the dress. My mom made it.

Two Princesses

If you want to call me baby



Just go ahead now

Aubrey

This ensemble was specifically made for Aubrey. It's the second outfit I've made inspired by Audrey's gown from the movie Sabrina. The first was in 2011.

Of the dolls who have modeled my clothes this year, Aubrey is the first to model a second ensemble. (The first ensemble is here.) I really like this doll and to think she's a clone (head and body from two clone dolls). I have been playing with her since 2011. Who does that? These days, it's always about the new doll.

Let's

...get this series over and done with. This is the last piece for this series. So there.



And of course, the ritualistic group photo.



I figured, I talk too much about a dress. And who's got the patience?

Melt

I can't imagine myself mass producing any dress I have made. I don't have the patience to do the same things over and over. This is the 5th variation of the drip outfit and although I was looking forward to see how this will turn out, I was not looking forward to sewing basically the same thing. The repetition will end in my meltdown. After this collection, I will just sew any outfit I want when I want. No more themes.

Bright

There is nothing like bright colors and a bright smile to cheer someone up. I like serious looking dolls but there are days when we can use all the smiles we can get.

Teresa is wearing a purple skirt and an apricot (or is it peach) top with an asymmetrical hem with a drip detail and red yoke. And yes, the fairy boots for the quirk.

Flow

Christie's personality really shined in this photo but she kinda took the attention from the outfit. That's not how a good model does it.

Aside from the drip detail, these outfits have shift tops. I'm also experimenting on color blocking. Unlike in the first outfit, the colors used here aren't that bold. The outfit seems dull, shapeless and faded when compared to the bright background colors above but they doesn't seem so in the photo below.

The shoes came from a clone Barbie. I'm glad they fit since Christie's feet (which were originally Tiana's) are bigger than your regular Barbie.

Drip Drop

Drip drop, I do my dance like
Drip drop, drip drippity drop
Drip drop, drip drippity drop

- from Drip Drop Lyrics (Empire)

The drip detail on the shift blouse was carried over from the previous dress. I used a different yoke shape and coupled it with pants. I used fairy boots for an added quirk.We'll be seeing more variations of this in the coming entries.

D' Drip

The blouse have a drip detail on the hem. I got the idea from Phillip Lim's pre-spring/summer 2015 collection.

Hair Ado

For the Mattel face sculpts that I like, I want to have them in varied skin tones, hair color and hair styles, although I want the facial screening to be more or less the same. There isn't a lot of dolls that have updo's and most of them are over-priced. That is why I had to learn how to give some of my dolls an updo. The Midge doll (Golden Qi-pao Barbie) had her hairstyle restored since the bun has become undone. She got a some repaint to make her look less inert.

I found out that the dolls with thinly rooted hair works best for an updo, otherwise the hair would be difficult to twist and turn. And since it's quite difficult to restore when undone, I decided to sew them in place.

The girls are naked for now because I felt that they need gowns to go with those hair. I'm not very motivated when it comes to making gowns. Maybe I should review some red carpet moments to get some inspiration.

Another look

Here's another look at the outfits.



When the dolls are not interacting, I like it when they look at the camera. The two on the right have clone fashionista bodies which are difficult to pose. It's difficult to make them look at the camera.

Kayla's knees are a bit loose so it bends on it's own. She looks like she's working it, though.

Variations

I challenged myself to make outfits using a gingham fabric I bought. Personally, I think gingham is boring. It reminds me of tablecloths and waiter's uniform. I also challenged myself to use only fabrics in black and white, and without buying new ones. After a few variations, the gingham challenge became, what else, boring. Plus, I really want to work on other clothes.

This will be the last for this series.



It's my version of this:

On Taste

Bad taste creates many more millionaires than good taste.
- Charles Bukowski

I applied my personal taste on Kira's face. Now, will I be a millionaire?

Keeping Inspired

Although I wanted this outfit for my doll, I struggled to make it. This is my eleventh outfit for this year. I could use a break. One side of me wants to just sleep all day or be a couch potato. I did but I'm no Sleeping Beauty. At one point, I have to wake up. I figured I can watch the TV and sew at the same time. Nothing good is on anyways. So I created this outfit.

We all have resolutions. Mine is to cut down on buying new dolls, experiment with styling and create more doll clothes. How do keep I myself inspired and motivated?

Nyokitto

The photo of the nyokitto sprouting in front (below) taken from the book Pattern Magic 2 by Tomako Nakamichi is really interesting. It has inspired me to make my own version for dolls. 

I decided to work on a gingham fabric. I thought it would be interesting to see how the lines move on the surface of the nyokitto. I modified the pattern such that there will be no seam on the chest. This is what I came up with.

It doesn't seem to be as interesting as the photo in the book. I thought that I've made a mistake or something. I searched for others' work, for comparison and saw this: https://charlotterowanscott.wordpress.com/2013/03/08/bodice-with-curved-nyokitto/. It seems that the bodice really have a basin for a chest. I studied the photo from the book to find out the difference. A quote from the author gave me a clue. "Drape is a play on light and shadow."

The lighting really made the 1st photo more interesting. The weight of the fabric, allowing light to pass through the nyokitto is what is different. With the light passing through,it's as if the blouse is very light and almost floating.

Whatever the outcome, modeling a misshapen outfit is no challenge for my fashionista queen Kayla.

Slowing Down

It's February and for me, it is a busy month. I see myself cutting down on dress making and maybe blogging, or not. We'll see. Before that happens, lemme talk about my latest project.

When I did the clothes of the Life in the Dream House (LiDH) dolls, I had a plan. Before I made them, I bought the things I needed. I already knew how to style them even before I started cutting the fabric. That's not the case now.

I pick a doll and I create clothes for it from the stuff that I already have. Sometimes I have an idea for a doll but I don't have the right materials. I don't want to have a huge stock of fabric so I'd either edit the idea or scrap it altogether. That's going to take a lot of time.

Even when it's done, sometimes the final fitting on the doll is not as I expected. Like this one, I really wanted to make a simple cropped top and a gingham skirt for this simple doll. The mix of all the simplicity makes it a little boring even for me, especially after doing the LiDH doll clothes. This came out very secretarial. Although, I was really thinking of something she can wear at the office. That was the goal, and I guess it was met but...

It (the one on the left) still is boring to me, not to mention basic and old. So I challenged myself to make it a little bad-ass. The one on the right is what I came up with. I got the idea from the runway shows of popular brands. A lot of the dresses there have a classic timeless silhouettes and they just make it look more interesting by making them wear boots and/or hats. They added pops of color but I personally limited myself to black and white for this project. Maybe on my next projects...

All Together Now

These are my version of Life in the Dream House dolls. Let's have one more look at all of them before I move on to other stuff. Plus, I want a picture where they all seem to get along.

Ryu

I love this doll. Unlike what Ken wore in the previous entry, I can wear Ryu's outfit, that is if it came in human size.