American Girl Doll One Piece Bathing suit, Beach Towel and Beach Bag Tutorials AG004

 

I had received the Ballet Basics pattern when I signed up to the Lee and Pearl site.  Since then, they have tweaked it and offered us a free pattern for a one piece swimsuit using fold over elastic.  Here is Isabelle and Kanani modeling for us!  Pretty cute eh?

 

American Girl Doll One Piece Bathing suit Tutorial

I used a 4 way knit fabric.  I did add ¼” on to the side seams – figured it is easier to take it in if it was too big.  Not too much you can do if it is too small.  Anyways, it didn’t need it.  Fit perfectly just as it was!  I had a piece of black fold over elastic with gold dots on it so I used it on the bathing suit that Kanani is wearing.

American Girl Doll Beach Towel Tutorial

I bought a towel, cut it to about 8x15” and serged the edges.

American Girl Doll Beach Bag Tutorial

This was a purchased beach bag.  I cut it down to 11” long by 6” wide.  I serged over a piece of ribbon as it is hard to sew holes.  Turned the casing down about ½”.

Boxed the corners at ¾”.

Inserted 18” of 1/8” elastic so it would fit over the dolls head and tied a knot.  This shows a cord instead of elastic.  Isabelle gets my trial runs.  The cord isn’t long enough to go over her head so I switched Olivia and Erin’s to elastic.  (Original post HERE)

 

I had received the Ballet Basics pattern when I signed up to the Lee and Pearl site.  Since then, they have tweaked it and offered us a free pattern for a one piece swimsuit using fold over elastic.  Here is Isabelle and Kanani modeling for us!  Pretty cute eh?

 

American Girl Doll One Piece Bathing suit Tutorial

I used a 4 way knit fabric.  I did add ¼” on to the side seams – figured it is easier to take it in if it was too big.  Not too much you can do if it is too small.  Anyways, it didn’t need it.  Fit perfectly just as it was!  I had a piece of black fold over elastic with gold dots on it so I used it on the bathing suit that Kanani is wearing.

American Girl Doll Beach Towel Tutorial

I bought a towel, cut it to about 8x15” and serged the edges.

American Girl Doll Beach Bag Tutorial

This was a purchased beach bag.  I cut it down to 11” long by 6” wide.  I serged over a piece of ribbon as it is hard to sew holes.  Turned the casing down about ½”.

Boxed the corners at ¾”.

Inserted 18” of 1/8” elastic so it would fit over the dolls head and tied a knot.  This shows a cord instead of elastic.  Isabelle gets my trial runs.  The cord isn’t long enough to go over her head so I switched Olivia and Erin’s to elastic.  (Original post HERE)

SU235 Special Delivery Owl Card

Another idea from Pinterest!  Inside it says “because you are one of a kind”.  The card front was stamped with SU's Woodgrain stamp.  Sponged the edges of most everything with Early Espresso or Wild Wasabi.  I cut the More Mustard 4.5” high by 3.5” wide.  The small rectangles are cut at 2” high by 1.5” wide.  I made Faux Brads using this method.

Stamps – Priority Post, Punch Bunch, Woodgrain.

Card Stock - White, Early Espresso, More Mustard, Wild Wasabi, Crumb Cake.

Ink - Early Espresso, Wild Wasabi.

Accessories - Owl Builder punch, 1/4" circle punch, Square Lattice embossing folder, unknown flower punch, sponge, mounts, rhinestones, Crystal Effects, Swiss Dots embossing folder, Modern Label punch, Bird Builder punch.

Another idea from Pinterest!  Inside it says “because you are one of a kind”.  The card front was stamped with SU's Woodgrain stamp.  Sponged the edges of most everything with Early Espresso or Wild Wasabi.  I cut the More Mustard 4.5” high by 3.5” wide.  The small rectangles are cut at 2” high by 1.5” wide.  I made Faux Brads using this method.

Stamps – Priority Post, Punch Bunch, Woodgrain.

Card Stock - White, Early Espresso, More Mustard, Wild Wasabi, Crumb Cake.

Ink - Early Espresso, Wild Wasabi.

Accessories - Owl Builder punch, 1/4" circle punch, Square Lattice embossing folder, unknown flower punch, sponge, mounts, rhinestones, Crystal Effects, Swiss Dots embossing folder, Modern Label punch, Bird Builder punch.

MDS 158 AG Doll Scrapbook Page - Our Personal Shopper

 

This is page 2 of 11 that I scrapped for Olivia’s American Girl shopping adventure.
Background - Card Stock\Textured Card Stock\Textured Card Stock - Regal Rose.
Embellishments - Staple & Stitching\Very Vanilla - Stitching Zigzag; Designer Kits\Downtown Grunge - embellishments\Downtown Grunge - frame3 and 2; Brads\Basic Black – brad.
Stamps - Vintage Overlays\Vintage Overlays - texture 12; Extreme Elements\Extreme Elements - stars, Color = BASIC BLACK; School Days II\School Days II - star 3; Jolly Bingo Bits\Jolly Bingo Bits – star; School Days II\School Days II - star 1, Color = REGAL ROSE; Seriously Awesome\Seriously Awesome - rectangle frame.
Punches - Scallop Edge Punch, Fill Color = BASIC BLACK.

 

This is page 2 of 11 that I scrapped for Olivia’s American Girl shopping adventure.
Background - Card Stock\Textured Card Stock\Textured Card Stock - Regal Rose.
Embellishments - Staple & Stitching\Very Vanilla - Stitching Zigzag; Designer Kits\Downtown Grunge - embellishments\Downtown Grunge - frame3 and 2; Brads\Basic Black – brad.
Stamps - Vintage Overlays\Vintage Overlays - texture 12; Extreme Elements\Extreme Elements - stars, Color = BASIC BLACK; School Days II\School Days II - star 3; Jolly Bingo Bits\Jolly Bingo Bits – star; School Days II\School Days II - star 1, Color = REGAL ROSE; Seriously Awesome\Seriously Awesome - rectangle frame.
Punches - Scallop Edge Punch, Fill Color = BASIC BLACK.

American Girl Doll Bikini Tutorial and Sandals Tutorial AG003

These girls want to hit the beach so let’s help them out!

 American Girl Doll Bikini Tutorial

Found this cute bikini by My AG Doll Craft so had to give it a try!  As you can see, Kanani is wearing the short top version and Isabelle’s is longer.  Both are super cute eh?  I did add about ¼” onto the side seams of both the top and bottoms of the pattern – thought it would be easier to take them in if needed.  I found it a lot easier to pull the bikini top on from her feet up rather than over her head so remember that Olivia and Erin!  (Original post HERE).

American Girl Doll Sandals Tutorial

After I had made a practice pair for Isabelle, I didn’t think I wanted to make any more but I did!  They are fiddly to make mainly because you get no cooperation from the girls!  LOL Spotted these sandals on Pinterest with no pattern so this is what I did.  Trace the dolls feet or an existing shoe on to cardboard. Make sure it’s slightly bigger than the doll’s foot. Trace two for each shoe and cut out.  I used glitter fun foam for the tops and plain white foam for the bottoms.

Insert bead through a 2.75" long hair elastic (left side of picture).  Lay 4” of ribbon on top and loop the elastic so that the ribbon is in between (right side of picture).

Pull the elastic tight.  Cut another piece of ribbon about 3” long.  Lay it through the back loop of the elastic (top picture).  Add just a touch of glue to the ribbon without getting any near the elastic (bottom picture).

Press ribbon in half.  Measure about ¾” from the fold and mark with a pin or chalk.  This will be approximately where it will join the back of the shoe.

Now put it on the doll’s foot. 

Wrap the ribbon tightly around the sole of the shoe.  Trust me; you get no cooperation from the doll’s!

I did not want the ribbons overlapping each other so I cut them back.  The less bulk, the better!

Now add a sole to cover the ribbons!

Next week, I’ll have a one piece bathing suit.  As we know, a girl just can’t have one bathing suit!  I will show you page 2 of 11 that I scrapbooked of Olivia’s visit to the American Girl (AG) Doll store this Friday so stay tuned or better yet, sign up to my Blog so you won’t miss any of my AG posts! 

These girls want to hit the beach so let’s help them out!

 American Girl Doll Bikini Tutorial

Found this cute bikini by My AG Doll Craft so had to give it a try!  As you can see, Kanani is wearing the short top version and Isabelle’s is longer.  Both are super cute eh?  I did add about ¼” onto the side seams of both the top and bottoms of the pattern – thought it would be easier to take them in if needed.  I found it a lot easier to pull the bikini top on from her feet up rather than over her head so remember that Olivia and Erin!  (Original post HERE).

American Girl Doll Sandals Tutorial

After I had made a practice pair for Isabelle, I didn’t think I wanted to make any more but I did!  They are fiddly to make mainly because you get no cooperation from the girls!  LOL Spotted these sandals on Pinterest with no pattern so this is what I did.  Trace the dolls feet or an existing shoe on to cardboard. Make sure it’s slightly bigger than the doll’s foot. Trace two for each shoe and cut out.  I used glitter fun foam for the tops and plain white foam for the bottoms.

Insert bead through a 2.75" long hair elastic (left side of picture).  Lay 4” of ribbon on top and loop the elastic so that the ribbon is in between (right side of picture).

Pull the elastic tight.  Cut another piece of ribbon about 3” long.  Lay it through the back loop of the elastic (top picture).  Add just a touch of glue to the ribbon without getting any near the elastic (bottom picture).

Press ribbon in half.  Measure about ¾” from the fold and mark with a pin or chalk.  This will be approximately where it will join the back of the shoe.

Now put it on the doll’s foot. 

Wrap the ribbon tightly around the sole of the shoe.  Trust me; you get no cooperation from the doll’s!

I did not want the ribbons overlapping each other so I cut them back.  The less bulk, the better!

Now add a sole to cover the ribbons!

Next week, I’ll have a one piece bathing suit.  As we know, a girl just can’t have one bathing suit!  I will show you page 2 of 11 that I scrapbooked of Olivia’s visit to the American Girl (AG) Doll store this Friday so stay tuned or better yet, sign up to my Blog so you won’t miss any of my AG posts! 

American Girl Doll Swimsuit Cover-up Tutorial and Headband Tutorial AG003

 

It is suppose to be summer so let’s get these girls ready for the beach beginning with beach cover-ups!

American Girl Doll Swimsuit Cover-up Tutorial

Kanani and Isabelle are showing off their new cover ups!  I used a couple different patterns for this.  I used Molly’s slip for the bottom part and the t-shirt pattern by New Green Mama for the top.  I turned it around so it opened in the front, of course.  I cut 8” of 1/8” elastic and sewed it at the dolls waist.  I cut the ties 6.5” long by about 5/8” wide, folded them in half and zig zagged before adding them to the front of the cover-up.

American Girl Doll Headband Tutorial

The headbands were pretty simple.

Cut knit fabric 1.25” wide by 10” long.  Serge.

 

 

Turn right side out.

Then thread with 12” of ½” elastic.

 

Join the ends of the elastic.

 

 

 

Move the seam into the tube of fabric so it is not seen.  Sew the ends of the fabric through the elastic.

On the next AG post, we will talk about their gorgeous sandals and their bikini’s!

 

It is suppose to be summer so let’s get these girls ready for the beach beginning with beach cover-ups!

American Girl Doll Swimsuit Cover-up Tutorial

Kanani and Isabelle are showing off their new cover ups!  I used a couple different patterns for this.  I used Molly’s slip for the bottom part and the t-shirt pattern by New Green Mama for the top.  I turned it around so it opened in the front, of course.  I cut 8” of 1/8” elastic and sewed it at the dolls waist.  I cut the ties 6.5” long by about 5/8” wide, folded them in half and zig zagged before adding them to the front of the cover-up.

American Girl Doll Headband Tutorial

The headbands were pretty simple.

Cut knit fabric 1.25” wide by 10” long.  Serge.

 

 

Turn right side out.

Then thread with 12” of ½” elastic.

 

Join the ends of the elastic.

 

 

 

Move the seam into the tube of fabric so it is not seen.  Sew the ends of the fabric through the elastic.

On the next AG post, we will talk about their gorgeous sandals and their bikini’s!

Workshop Cards – W103, W104, W105

Here are some more cards we made at Joanne’s workshop last March – yes, I’ve been a little behind in my postings of my Workshop cards.

 

Paper: Early Espresso, White, Cajun Craze, Soft Suede.

Stamps: Bronc Buster, Sincere Salutations, Hardwood.

Ink: Early Espresso, Cajun Craze.

Embellishments: Linen thread, vintage trinkets.

 

 

Paper: Crisp Cantaloupe, Pool Party, White, Sweet Sorbet DSP.

Stamps: Wild about You, Stacked Wishes.

Ink: Crisp Cantaloupe.

Embellishments: Decorative Dots EF. Crisp Cantaloupe string, Pool Party button, mount for his ear.

Punches: Scalloped Edge, Modern Label.

 

 

Paper: Midnight Muse, Chocolate Chip, Crumb Cake, White.

Stamps: Loads of Love.

Ink: Chocolate Chip, Early Espresso.

Embellishments: pencil crayons, twine, brads, vintage trinkets, pearls.

Punches: Itty Bitty.

Thank you for stopping by.  Both Joanne and I are SU! demonstrators so if at any time you would like to purchase SU! products, give her a call or from my Blog, click on the Shop Now button.  Your order will be delivered right to you (you do have to give SU! a street address, not a box #).

Here are some more cards we made at Joanne’s workshop last March – yes, I’ve been a little behind in my postings of my Workshop cards.

 

Paper: Early Espresso, White, Cajun Craze, Soft Suede.

Stamps: Bronc Buster, Sincere Salutations, Hardwood.

Ink: Early Espresso, Cajun Craze.

Embellishments: Linen thread, vintage trinkets.

 

 

Paper: Crisp Cantaloupe, Pool Party, White, Sweet Sorbet DSP.

Stamps: Wild about You, Stacked Wishes.

Ink: Crisp Cantaloupe.

Embellishments: Decorative Dots EF. Crisp Cantaloupe string, Pool Party button, mount for his ear.

Punches: Scalloped Edge, Modern Label.

 

 

Paper: Midnight Muse, Chocolate Chip, Crumb Cake, White.

Stamps: Loads of Love.

Ink: Chocolate Chip, Early Espresso.

Embellishments: pencil crayons, twine, brads, vintage trinkets, pearls.

Punches: Itty Bitty.

Thank you for stopping by.  Both Joanne and I are SU! demonstrators so if at any time you would like to purchase SU! products, give her a call or from my Blog, click on the Shop Now button.  Your order will be delivered right to you (you do have to give SU! a street address, not a box #).

American Girl Rectangle Hair Styling Cape and Circular Salon Cape AG001, AG002

Olivia and her family were home last weekend (she lives about 3.5 hours from us).  I asked her if I could borrow one of her AG dolls until they came again on the July 1st weekend.  She brought Kanani, Girl of the Year 2011 - 'a cheerful girl who helps others by sharing the aloha spirit'.  We brushed her long hair, using the cape to protect her clothing.  Worked awesome!

When Olivia was at the American Girl (AG) Doll store in Los Angeles (original post HERE), they told her that you should never brush your AG dolls hair without misting it with water first.  I had bought the brush at the time I bought Isabelle as I knew the importance of a proper brush on any dolls hair. I used a spray bottle that I use to keep my cats under control – not quite as pretty as the AG brand but it works.  Little girls love to brush dolls hair so that brought me the idea of making a Salon Cape/Hair Styling cape. 

So, Olivia, which one do you want – the square or round one?  I will put the other one away for Kari’s daughter, Erin.  Keep reading for the instructions on how I made them (below) if anyone is interested.

Olivia's Aunt put Kanani's hair in a bun using a sock.  You Tube it if you have never seen this done.  Too cool!

Rectangle Hair Styling Cape AG001

 

I had a strip of this flannel backed tablecloth so I thought I would try this Hair Styling cape by Doll Clothes Patterns. I had the 20” long but I only had 11 inches wide.

 

I followed her instructions on finding and marking the center point of the rectangle with a dot and drew a line from the center point to the hemline on one of the long sides. I drew a 2 inch circle around the center point to create an opening for your doll’s neck. Then cut along the line and around the circle to create the opening.  She used this for her center front opening – I want it to be my center back opening.

 

I used a bowl to help me make curves instead of the straight edges as she did.

 

 

I serged all the edges except the neck opening – I did not want to use trim.  I used a double fold of interfacing at each neck opening to help reinforce the velcro placement.

 

 

Sew bias tape around the neck opening, leaving a little tail at both ends.

 

 

Bury these tails under the velcro and sew velcro in place.

 

Bar tack the rectangle about 6” from the top fold between the shoulder and the hemline.

 

 

FRONT

BACK

SIDE VIEW

Circular Salon Cape AG002

 

I used to cut a lot of hair (human) in my day and I still cut hubby’s.  I took a look at my capes and came up with this.

I made a dot of this flannel backed tablecloth and drew a circle 8.5” away from it.

Until I had a large circle.

 

Fold it in half then in half again.

Draw a 1” circle at the point and cut away.

Cut to open one fold.

It should look like this.

Fold in half.  Lay a bowl on the fold you just cut open and draw a curve.

 

Cut it away.

Now your circle should look like this.

 

Repeat to finish as for the Rectangle Hair Styling Cape above except there is nothing to bar tack.

 

BACK

These can be made using raincoat fabric, a shower curtain or any water resistant fabric.

Stay tuned or better yet, sign up to my Blog so you won’t miss any of my AG posts!

Please leave a comment to let me know if you enjoyed this!

Olivia and her family were home last weekend (she lives about 3.5 hours from us).  I asked her if I could borrow one of her AG dolls until they came again on the July 1st weekend.  She brought Kanani, Girl of the Year 2011 - 'a cheerful girl who helps others by sharing the aloha spirit'.  We brushed her long hair, using the cape to protect her clothing.  Worked awesome!

When Olivia was at the American Girl (AG) Doll store in Los Angeles (original post HERE), they told her that you should never brush your AG dolls hair without misting it with water first.  I had bought the brush at the time I bought Isabelle as I knew the importance of a proper brush on any dolls hair. I used a spray bottle that I use to keep my cats under control – not quite as pretty as the AG brand but it works.  Little girls love to brush dolls hair so that brought me the idea of making a Salon Cape/Hair Styling cape. 

So, Olivia, which one do you want – the square or round one?  I will put the other one away for Kari’s daughter, Erin.  Keep reading for the instructions on how I made them (below) if anyone is interested.

Olivia's Aunt put Kanani's hair in a bun using a sock.  You Tube it if you have never seen this done.  Too cool!

Rectangle Hair Styling Cape AG001

 

I had a strip of this flannel backed tablecloth so I thought I would try this Hair Styling cape by Doll Clothes Patterns. I had the 20” long but I only had 11 inches wide.

 

I followed her instructions on finding and marking the center point of the rectangle with a dot and drew a line from the center point to the hemline on one of the long sides. I drew a 2 inch circle around the center point to create an opening for your doll’s neck. Then cut along the line and around the circle to create the opening.  She used this for her center front opening – I want it to be my center back opening.

 

I used a bowl to help me make curves instead of the straight edges as she did.

 

 

I serged all the edges except the neck opening – I did not want to use trim.  I used a double fold of interfacing at each neck opening to help reinforce the velcro placement.

 

 

Sew bias tape around the neck opening, leaving a little tail at both ends.

 

 

Bury these tails under the velcro and sew velcro in place.

 

Bar tack the rectangle about 6” from the top fold between the shoulder and the hemline.

 

 

FRONT

BACK

SIDE VIEW

Circular Salon Cape AG002

 

I used to cut a lot of hair (human) in my day and I still cut hubby’s.  I took a look at my capes and came up with this.

I made a dot of this flannel backed tablecloth and drew a circle 8.5” away from it.

Until I had a large circle.

 

Fold it in half then in half again.

Draw a 1” circle at the point and cut away.

Cut to open one fold.

It should look like this.

Fold in half.  Lay a bowl on the fold you just cut open and draw a curve.

 

Cut it away.

Now your circle should look like this.

 

Repeat to finish as for the Rectangle Hair Styling Cape above except there is nothing to bar tack.

 

BACK

These can be made using raincoat fabric, a shower curtain or any water resistant fabric.

Stay tuned or better yet, sign up to my Blog so you won’t miss any of my AG posts!

Please leave a comment to let me know if you enjoyed this!