Hurry! Finish the sewing! Santa is coming!

A doll baby for a doll baby! Taken after this post was written, this is a picture of one very happy little girl on Christmas day.

Santa is about to visit all the good little boys and girls all over the world. Can’t keep him waiting!

Mrs. Santa has doll clothes to finish! Santa is about to hitch up his reindeer! Can’t keep Santa waiting!

Mrs. Santa knows that children are delighted with whatever adults make for them. They are very accepting, totally unconcerned about how perfectly the gifts are made.

She also knows she can be really creative with scraps left from other projects, that whatever she makes will be fully appreciated and probably played with all Christmas day.

When Mrs. Santa saw this beautiful doll in the center of the Busy Bee Toys’ store’s window, she knew she had to buy it.

The Doll

The North Pole has a wonderful helper here in Chestnut Hill.  Busy Bee Toys is one of the best toy stores Mrs. Santa has ever visited. One day while doing errands in Chestnut Hill she saw a beautiful doll right in the very center of the Busy Bee Toys store window.

Laura, Laurel’s life-long friend.

She immediately thought of Laura, her wonderful, supportive, lifelong friend from grammar school. They talk almost every day. Laura has a beloved great-granddaughter who would love that doll.

The Doll Needed Clothes!

The doll had only the outfit she was wearing. She needed something else as well. Here is what and how it was made.

Sewing the Clothes

Pants

First pant patterns were needed.

1. Drafting the pant pattern.

2. The back of the pant pattern.

4. Pants were too full through the back hips.

When the pants were finished, they didn’t fit. They needed to be altered.

3. The front of the pants looks good. The fit could be better, but kids don’t care.

5. Pinning out the extra fullness, then sewing the corrected seam fixes the problem fairly well.

The top

The top pattern was drafted, then cut in a medium-weight fairly thick soft white fabric that doesn’t ravel.

3. The cut coat, checked for fit before being sewn.

1. The pattern paper was first folded in half lengthwise, then width wise, and finally cut as shown.

2. Checking the pattern.

4. Collar and hem are added.

5. Determining the best width for the trim down the front of the coat.

6. Cutting trim for the coat.

The Finished Outfit

The finished outfit. A large snap, sewn under the button, closes the collar. This outfit could be considered a pant and coat, pajamas, or a play outfit.  (The doll won’t be barefoot. Boots came with the original outfit.)

Other posts on this blog about doll clothes include:
96: Historical Doll Clothes ALSO on Display at the Philadelphia Museum of Art
46: DOLL CLOTHES
43: BARBIE’S PROM GOWN

Happy Holidays Everyone!

© Laurel Hoffmann, 2019.