{Peony Patterns) Now in Doll Size

 I'm no stranger to sewing doll clothing, but it's been a hot little minute since I've taken the time to sew some up.  When I saw Peony Patterns was expanding to doll sizes, I had to try some out!  My girls love their Peony Patterns dresses and I couldn't wait to see them sewn up in miniature.   Once I started, I couldn't stop.  In the end, I made 2 of each (but one didn't make the photoshoot since it was an earlier version).

For the doll pattern debut, Wattle, Ivy and Poppy are first patterns in the library (still hoping for Jasmine, Marigold and Daisy too!!).  These are truly miniature versions of the full size girl patterns, but they close with velcro the entire length of the back so it's easy for little hands to dress their dolls themselves.  These doll patterns come in two sizes: 18" and 15" doll.  I sewed up the 18" sizes for our 3 brands of dolls (American Girl, Our Generation and My Life).  The 15" size fits Miniland/Minikane dolls (those are super cute by the way!!)

I sewed up Wattle in some knit scraps I had from Spunkin Honeyhead.  Jojo is a super cool girl with a purple streak in her hair.  She styles it with some mini chucks.

Next up is Ivy.  Vivienne is on her way to a summer wedding so she selected the maxi length and couldn't say no to the special touch of hand embroidery on the bodice using the Briar Embroidery pattern.

Of course I had to make a regular length version of Ivy too!  Julie is ready for a warm spring day, but secretly hoping for rain so she can jump in some puddles!

And here's Poppy!!  Bianca is happy girl who is always looking for the rainbow after the storm.  She was lucky and got a custom color rainbow on her bodice with the Iris Embroidery Pattern.

Another Poppy! Grace is a rock star in the making and is sure to dress the part in hopes her dreams come true.  She's rocking in GemStones Brights fabric by Riley Blake Designs and pulls out the pink accents of the fabric by styling this with her pink star glasses and cool pink boots.

I know most people make matching dresses to their daughters, but I was having too much fun raiding my scrap pile!  Which pattern will you be sewing first?!  (Poppy is my favorite of the bunch and I really need to sew up a tiered version!!)

{Little Lizard King}: Introducing Boulder & Telluride

 Hold onto your skateboards (hehe), Little Lizard King has a fantastic double release planned tomorrow in both girls and women's sizing!!  (Hmm, does that make it a quadruple release?!) My tween has been living in this set since I sewed it up so she is either stuck (send help!) or she really loves it and this is her subtle way of asking for more.  I going with the latter!

This sporty duo consists of Telluride which is a fun top with a twist in the back and Boulder which are leggings with a cool side pockets, perfect for colorblocking. 

My tween asked for a skateboard for Christmas and was over the moon when she received it.  I set out to make a set that would be perfect for skateboarding.   I started with cool Paint Splatter cotton spandex from Spunkin Honeyhead and paired it with a magenta mystery knit from Walmart.  The mystery knit had really great drape and I knew would be perfect for the dolman style sleeves and open back.

How cool is this back?!  This shows the tied option or you undo the bottom tie and let the tails hang loose.  I really love the upper triangle cutout.  The way the pattern all comes together is really cool too! I've been dying to figure out how you would get the middle linked and hemmed and it all makes so much sense now!  I think this back would be really cool with two different colors.

This is not your ordinary pocket.  The shape is super cool, and it's self-folding which means the whole pocket piece is just one piece -- no seams to make it a pocket! 

Of course, these are just some of the options available in the patterns.  You can also opt for long sleeves and thumbhole cuffs as well as a no pocket option on the Boulders.  Instead, it's just a fun color block piece.  You can also choose 2 lengths in girls and 3 in women's sizing.

Set your alarms for tomorrow's release!!

P.S.  YES, she has protective gear to ride her skateboard -- just kind of took away from these fantastic patterns.  

------- {Testing, Testing} ------- Lahaina by Little Lizard King

I simply cannot wait for summer!

As I write this post, we had an early release due to falling snow -- apparently snow in mid-March in NC means the world may be ending.... but I am sitting here dreaming of SUMMER as I write about Little Lizard King's newest release, Lahaina, which releases tomorrow March 14th.   Lahaina is a faux wrap dress with two different ruffle options on the knit bodice (single or double ruffle) and two ruffle options on the skirt (single or double ruffle option).  The skirt can be sewn in both knit or woven.  There is also an optional sash.  This pattern covers sizes 12m-14y!

As soon as I saw the call for testers, I asked my youngest what she thought.  "I WANT IT!!"  As I picked the options, I involved her in the process.  At 7, it helps her feel in control of what she is wearing and of course, I don't end up choosing the wrong options.  She did not want ruffles or a sash on the bodice, but she did want the double ruffles on the bottom.

I shopped my stash for the fabrics and came up with these whales for the skirt, a pink and white gingham for the ruffles, pink and white stripe cotton lycra for the bodice and navy cotton lycra for the binding.

If you haven't tested a pattern before, the majority of the test is perfecting the fit.  Before we attach the skirt, we post "in progress" pictures of the bodice.  My bodice fit well across the chest, but several of us were too small in the armscyes.   Mine was definitely wearable, but not perfect.    Jane quickly got to work updating the bodice.  While I waited to decide about using my first bodice, I moved onto the skirt.  As I finished the skirt, my perfectionist ways would not, could not allow me to use the original bodice.  Luckily I had just enough stripes left to resew.  I am so glad I did!!!  The new armscye is perfect and will definitely still fit my daughter in the summer.

I was able to use my coverstitch on my arm binding which made me fall in love with it all over again.  I seriously love that machine!!!  I also highly recommend using the clear elastic along the bottom of the bodice before attaching your skirt.  I have zero waviness and my bodice will always hold its shape.  It's seriously magical.

I will be writing a tutorial in the near future about "extreme" size blending.  My daughter wears a 3 width and a 6 height.  I have fine-tuned my size blending over the last year especially and noticed some mistakes I was making before.  Let me know below if you are an "extreme" size blender!

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