Dolly's Holdall

My granddaughter's Dolly had proved useless at looking after her own clothes, they were always getting lost. So I made her a holdall to keep them in (and it would also be useful should she go on holiday).

If you'd like to know how I made it (or to make one yourself) I explain it after the jump. This is for roughly a 15-16 inch doll but can easily be adapted.

Dolly's New Body

Poor Dolly's body was looking a bit sorry. She has a solid (though quite soft) head, lower arms, and lower legs, and the rest of her is a stuffed cloth body. Originally she was wearing a nice little sleep suit. But it got taken off, and somehow had disappeared. Since Dolly had been sitting around naked for quite a while, her cloth body was getting quite grubby. The instructions said - do not wash, just sponge the surface. Well, that wouldn't have made a substantial difference appearance wise. (Why don't they make dolls and soft toys more easy to clean or wash effectively?) 

So - I made her a new body. This time, it's a removable, washable one. 

To find out more about it, carry on reading.

Layered Dresses Using Widi Creations Free Pattern and Tutorial

I found the pattern from Widi Creations for the Mela Dress while on a hunt for something else. So I must first thank Preethi for the idea and the pattern. Please note that in common with everyone who is kind enough to provide a free pattern, she would not want this to be used for commercial purposes.

Being a lazy sort, I originally thought I'd make her one tier version, but once I'd started, it seemed more fun to make the three tier versions. It helped that I had plenty of material, and toning satin bias binding for each of the fabrics, as I'd just been on a run to a new fabric store in town, buying things I liked on spec. So, three dresses made, one for each grand-daughter!


The black and white one (size 4T):

The grey and jade green one (size 3T widths but with the length cut down to 2T):

And the dark blue and dusky pink one (Size 3T):

I like these combinations, of a trim that picks out one of the colours in the fabric.

I'll tell you  more about where to find the free pattern, and how I made these dresses using it, after the jump.