Lace BJD Dresses

I Love Lace!

Been busy working on some new dresses. As I love working with lace I thought I would give all the girls new dresses.

They all have crocheted lacy tops made from a nice silky cotton with a picot edge. Then the skirts were made from various pieces of lace and pleated voile materials.

They were great to make separately but when I put them all together for a group photograph I was pleased with the results.

First a dress for Elin an Iplehouse BID Doll

Then a similar one for Hana my Blue Fairy Doll 

Then finally a more sophisticated version for older "Sis" Dream of Doll Leya

So no one left out no one feeling jealous......... well perhaps just one......ME!

                                                             

New BJD Dresses

New BJD Dresses

I have been busy putting together some new looks for my Dream of Doll girl Leya.

A light frothy number made of voile and with a shawl made from a piece of antique lace material and vintage lace edging.

 

A couple of quaint dresses and half bonnets made from "tea dyed" cotton with matching dyed lace.

New Blue Fairy Clothes

Romper Suits for Hana a Blue Fairy Shiny Fairy BJD Doll

Still a few more sunny days of summer to look forward to. So have made a couple of breezy little outfits for Hana my Blue Fair, Shiny Fairy.  No sure what I can call them? They have a crochet bodice which is attached to cut off pants. So "Rompers?" or could I use a good old fashions name like "Sunsuit?"

First one in blue with a blue floral to match. I love making these little hats they are bit of a fiddle but I like the way they come out. I did make them for my Iplehouse Elin so maybe these are a tad big for this doll?

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Then thought the outfit needed something to give it a bit of a lift so added a necklace made out of some small wooded beads. Seemed to do the trick.

Some More BJD Dresses

Three More BJD Dresses

Time to get the sewing machine out again I can feel my fingers itching to start new projects again. So once again Leya my Dream of Doll BJD is the lucky recipient.

I love whitework, so once again I used some of my dwindling stock of lovely white swiss cotton. (I checked the price of it from my usual stockist and got a shock at the price now!) Spent some quality time matching up lace, Broadaire Anglaise, and some lovely new silky french seam binding that I have just got.

And here are the results. The first is similar to one I made a while ago. Slightly different laces and colours but I loved the "kitten ears" last time so had some fun making them once again.

Then again I used the white cotton but this time edged and decorated with some dramatic contrasting black lace and purple ribbon.

I loved making the top hat and thought next time I could try to make a more "Gothlike" outfit. Maybe make the dress in grey and use black and purple trims again. And I think that a Top Hat would be right for a Goth outfit too.

For the next one I decided on a change and used some silk material.  I recently got some pieces of "Sari Silk" which is so soft and light its lovely but so difficult to work with. It slips about a lot and it will fray if you just look at it sideways! So I had to work carefully with it but the resulting dress I am pleased with so it was worth the effort. I again used some silky seam binding but held off using any lace, other than on the underskirt, as the material is patterned I thought it would start to look too busy. Less is more so they say.

But I could not resist a bit more decorativeness so made a mulberry flower and lead headdress.

BJD Fantasy Costume

Fancy New Costume for Leya Dream of Doll BJD

I started out with a piece of material that looked like it would make a nice puff sleeve and then everything just followed on from there.

First I made an under dress and knickers.  Which could also double up as a dress or sleepwear.  I decided to "tea dye" the fabric to give it a slightly vintage look and because I love the colour you can get from this method.

Then I started to make the jacket out of some square patterned cotton. I  even remembered to match up the pattern in the front! Then added a peplum and a bow to accentuate the back. I edged it all around with some already cream vintage lace which I used to lace the front up with some cording.

The original light red wig looked good with the little dress but the rest of the outfit needed something with a bit more funkyness so I put on her wild and woolly mohair wig just to jazz things up.

And rounded the whole outfit out with a crazy top hat and some zany purple stockings. What more could a girl/doll want?

Nuff said off for a rest.

Byyyeeee....

Two New BJD Outfits From Antique Materials

Two New MSD Sized Outfits

I have finally finished a couple of OOAK outfits that I have been doing for a number of weeks now. I find I start a things and then get to a point where I am not sure of the next direction to go in.  Should it have more embellishments, should it have less? Is it finished? So I am inclined to just leave it for a while then come back to it with a fresh mind and can seem to see it clearer again.

So the first one I have done is a white dress which I used the bottom and other parts of a christening gown. I added some new lace and used part of the old lace.

The sleeves are separate from the bodice and have elastic top and bottom.  The bodice which fastens in the back is also elasticated at the waist.

The separate underskirt is made from a lovely piece of old soft lace material with added lace.

The hat is crochet out of cotton with some felt flowers.

Each wig seems to give it a different look. The white makes it look like a historical costume were as the pink makes it look much more modern in style.

The outfit is finished off with a lace and ribbon neck ruff. And a pair of lace wrist warmers. Which caused me no end of bother to get them to fit nicely on the wrist but be able to get them over little sticking out fingers that do not move!

Second BJD Lace Costume.

The second outfit is made from an old silk dress, I am not sure if it was a baby dress or a doll dress. The silk was very delicate and quite worn in places but I think it gives the dress a nice sence of age. I made the bloomers and patched and darned some of the holes so she now looks like a grand lady who has fallen on hard times but is trying to still live life in her former splendor.

I used the original silk and the wonderful cotton lace to make a bodice, skirt and bloomers using mostly the original lace. And an underskirt out of a fairly new piece of netting and ecru lace.

The hat I have made out of a brown hat straw which I think gives it a 18th Century look. 

I only took photographs using one wig this time. I liked the colour which seemed to suit the outfit colour and tone, even though it is only a shorter bobbed type.

In the end the model seemed to enjoy this photo shoot.  No more tantrums this time.  In fact she seemed extremely relaxed over the whole thing.  Dressing up like a lady of leisure has given her the idea that she is one

Straw Hat Making for a BJD Doll

Todays Plan A Straw BJD Hat


I have made hats from hat straw using a form before but I only have one which is a small bonnet shape. It worked well but would make a hat too small for my 16ins Dream of Doll Leya who is going to be the lucky recipient (or not if it did not turn out too well).

I started out by cutting a circle from cardboard the size of the hat brim I wanted.  Then hunted around the house for a suitable lid or container to make the sides and top of the hat.  After a few rejections, too deep, too small, too curvy a settled on a jam pot lid.  Which might sound a little too shallow but I was aiming for a 18th century country/Gainsborough style of hat, which did have shallow crowns.

 I put double side sticky tape around the outside brim to hold the first row of straw. Then put little blobs of glue (I favour the putting glue in the corner of a plastic bag tying with a metal bag tie then piercing a little hole in the corner method) on each following row and pressed the straw in place trying to keep the over laps as even as possible.

 The tricky bit is trying to persuade stiff hat straw that it wants to bend as you come to the brim and crown join.

But I think it worked out OK even if a do say so myself.  I got the look I was aiming for which is always a good thing. Then the best bit of choosing the embellishments.  I tried to keep it simple as sometime less is more. And I think the hats of this period were simple that was their charm.  A few years later and all hell broke loose on the hat scene and decorations and sizes went wild.


And the lucky lady for this restrained chapeau is...........

The rest of her clothing to match is still in the making.