What a cute little Easter dress this would make for the
18” dolls eh? Too cute!
Bodice
I used Dollar Doll Clothes pattern for the bodice. When I printed out the pattern, this is what
I got. I added ¼” on to the front fold
and I cut away ¼” around the armholes.
Sew ric rac down the center. With the right sides of the fabric facing
you, lay the wrong side of the fold over elastic underneath so the fabric
reaches the center fold line of the elastic. Sew the elastic to the fabric edge
using a basting zigzag stretching very little.
When you have finished, reset your machine to a shorter, narrower
zigzag. Turn the free edge of the
elastic to the front, encasing the elastic.
Stitch again, on the right side, towards the bottom edge of the elastic. Refer to AG018 for pictures on how to do this
if you do not understand.
Trim edges of the elastic.
Cut 2 pieces of fold over elastic each 8” long for the
straps. Sew as for elastic above.
Press and set aside.
Skirt
Cut top tier 2” x 18” (green) – chalk mark one long edge
in quarters.
Cut middle tier 2.25” x 22” (pink) - chalk mark both long
edges in quarters.
Cut bottom tier 3.25 x 27” (yellow) – chalk mark one long
edge in quarters and press the other long edge at ½” for the hem.
So I've pinned a few articles on Gathering with a Serger! Who
knew you could do this! These
instructions were taken from eymm.com page. They sure worked for my White Superlock 634D
serger.
STEP 1: Loosen
your pressure foot!
This allows for it to gather more. To do this simply
locates the pressure foot adjuster directly above the pressure foot on your
machine. Loosen it… remember, lefty loosy, righty tighty, about 3-5 turns, but
every machine is different.
STEP 2: Adjust
differential (if you machine has it) & Stitch Length
You want to turn it all the way up to the highest number.
It is important you do this FIRST because when you set the stitch length it
will adjust it on most machines. I set
my Superlock to .7.
Now that your differential is set you want to adjust your
stitch length to the longest possible… this is 5 on most machines. This may
change the differential, that’s okay, just leave it alone.
Step 3:
Adjusting Tension & Looper Threads…
Eymm said she turns both her looper’s up one number,
however, I did not change mine – my Upper looper was set at 2 and the Lower
looper was set at 3. Then turn your needle thread tension up to 9 or
the highest number available – I was only using one needle (right).
Step 4: SEW!
Put your fabric in the machine, put the presser foot down
and serge! DON’T pull or push the
fabric, just let the serger pull it through, just keep it lined up straight.
Remember this is trial and error, ALWAYS test it first to see how it gathers and
to figure out how much I need. If you serged it and it’s too long you can
simply gather it a little by hand or try running it through the machine a
second time. If you gathered it TOO much you can break a few strings and
carefully ungather it a bit until it fits.
If your needle thread(s) break… turn your tension down by
.5 and try again. Some machines don’t like it that high! The lower your tension
# the less gathers.
Gather one long edge of the middle tier (pink). Look how nice it gathers!
Match chalk marks to the top tier (green) and sew to
join.
Gather long edge (opposite edge from hem) of the bottom
tier (yellow) using the serger. Match
chalk marks to the middle tier (pink) and sew to join.
Gather waist on the top tier (green) using the serger and
attach to bodice.
Make sure to first put ALL your serger settings back to
where they were and serge tiers and center back seams to clean finish. Topstitch at waist towards bodice.
Sew center back seam 4” from bottom. Hem skirt.
Pin straps to fit doll and sew.
Add a ribbon belt.
Attach velcro.
Frayed
Flower
Found this idea
on maizehutton.blogspot. I started out
using green gingham but I changed it to yellow instead.
Pick a fabric
which frays really easy. For the larger flower, cut a strip of the fabric 1”
wide by 14” long. Fray one long edge.
Fold over one
short end and secure it with a stitch.
Flip it over and
start a running stitch along the bottom of the unfrayed strip of fabric.
When you've
reached the end of your strip, pull the thread so the fabric bunches up. Shape the fabric into a circle.
I cut a small
scrap and glued it to the back. Set
aside.
Cut smaller
fabric (turquoise) ¾” x 7.5” to 11”.
Fray one long edge and repeat as large flower. Attach a button to the center. Leave the needle and thread attached.
Cut a piece of
1/8” ribbon 10” long, fold in half and sew to back of small flower. Stack
the small flower (turquoise) on the large one.
Secure all the
layers by stitching through each and securing at the waist.
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