1843 Publishing a new doll clothes pattern

I have really enjoyed creating this pattern from such a cute design. It was a request from one of my followers and it has stretched me but also made me more aware of how much I am capable of.

I had to work out the best way to do the yoke and settled on cutting the curve in the front and back dress and stitching on the curved yoke. I was surprised at how easily the two curves fit together for sewing.

I had to reshape my existing sleeves to make the cream puff rounded shape and was thrilled that it worked first go.

I suppose the greatest challenge was drawing the flared and curved diagrams for the instructions. I had to copy from the actual fabric stages to get the perspective right. I imagine that those of you making this dress will look at your fabric item and use it to make the diagrams more clear if you need to.

My other big news is the arrival of a new doll. Well, actually she is an old doll. I bought an original Kit Kittredge so I could make sure my designs fit the older American Girl dolls as well as the modern dolls. I know Kit is circa 2000 but I am not exactly a collector and wasn't prepared to pay the high prices being asked for the pre-Mattel dolls. I will post a bit more about Kit later.

Here are some photos of the dress and how it goes together. They are the same as the ones in my Facebook album for 1843.

The pink dress has more flare than the yellow dress which makes it look longer as well. I think I like the fuller flare more than the original flare that I designed.

I also tried piping around the yoke. I think the lace ruffle or any ruffle looks better than the piping mainly because it is much easier to do than the piping. I had to use my piping foot for the first time too. I think ruffled broderie anglaise would look good too.

You can find this pattern 1843 in my Etsy Shop. I have several 50's designs.

Happy Sewing,

Val