Barbie's Wardrobe - Patio Party

I'm not a fashionista. I'm ... you could say... a wearer of clothing. I like my clothes to be comfortable and the right size and possibly not to have holes or spots (that part is not always easy if you have cats).
There are features I love, like pockets in dresses or 3/4 sleeves, but beyond that, I'm fairly undemanding and not adventurous.
That doesn't mean I don't like to look at clothes at all, especially those that I would never be able to wear myself, due to money, my size, lack of occasion, etc. There are still ways to bring Haute Couture into my life, though. I mean Barbie and her friends.
I have always been fascinated by miniatures and Barbie's vintage outfits with their tiny zippers and buttons and buckles and accessories are incredible. This is my "fashion life", either through my own small collection or pictures.
(And yes, I do know Barbie's body isn't natural, I knew it as a child and I never strived to look like her ... if I had, something would have gone wrong).
Let me give you a glimpse in Barbie's wardrobe every, now and then.

Today we make a little trip into the mod era. Actually, this time both our model and her outfit are from the same time period, 1967 - 1968, that is.

Are you ready for a party? This pretty (not so young) lady is.
She's a TNT Barbie with titian hair. TNT stands for "Twist'n'Turn" meaning she could not only turn her head from sideways, but also her waist (like her British friend Stacey I wrote about the other day). She also had bendable legs.
Her straight hair with the irregular cut and the bangs came in four colors - "Chocolate Bon-Bon" (dark brunette), "Sun Kissed" (pale blonde), "Go Go Co Co" (brown/brownette), and "Summer Sand" (ash blonde). The titian is not an official color and isn't seen that often. It's still discussed if there are some genuine redheads or if it's always a result of oxidization.

Barbie is showing us a fabulous mod outfit called "Patio Party".
Mod designers sure knew how to combine colors.

Barbie is wearing a nylon jumpsuit in a multicolor paisley/floral print with very wide palazzo pant legs.
The asymmetrically colored overdress is from a midnight blue and a contrasting vivid green satin.
I chose this for her to wear because I think it goes great with her titian hair.
The high heels pick up the blue from both the jumpsuit and the overdress.
This hostess ensemble is in the tradition of older ones with the difference of the wide pant legs and of course the colors.

The only accessory is a pair of funky earrings. While the outfit itself - manufactured as #1693 - is one of those 1600s fashions that is easier to find, the earrings are hard to come by and can be replaced by reproduction earrings.
I got this outfit from the original owner, though, completely with earrings. Given how small and easy to lose they are, it is amazing to me that she still had them!

If you wonder why Barbie isn't wearing them, however, let me quickly mention the bane of the green ear. That may sound like the title for one of my early silent horror movies (or a book from the series of The Three Investigators), but it's just silent horror.
The vinyl of the dolls can react with the metal of the earrings and the green can really spread. Better not take chances at all as it's well possible you can't get rid of it!
Even without the earrings, it's such a cool outfit to wear to a patio party, though.

For full disclosure, I edited the doll stand out of the picture, but didn't change anything about the outfit.

Barbie is a registered trademark of Mattel, Inc. I am not affiliated with Mattel in any way.


Sources:

1. Sibyl DeWein and Joan Ashabraner: The Collector's Encyclopedia of Barbie Dolls and Collectibles. Paducah, KY, Collector Books, 1994
2. Sarah Sink Eames: Barbie Doll Fashion, Vol. II, 1968 - 1974. Paducah, KY, Collector Books, 1997
3. Vintage Barbie Patio Party. On: Fashion Doll Guide
4. Vintage Twist'n'Turn Barbie Doll. On: Fashion Doll Guide

Barbie's Wardrobe - Midnight Blue

I'm not a fashionista. I'm ... you could say... a wearer of clothing. I like my clothes to be comfortable and the right size and possibly not to have holes or spots (that part is not always easy if you have cats).
There are features I love, like pockets in dresses or 3/4 sleeves, but beyond that, I'm fairly undemanding and not adventurous.
That doesn't mean I don't like to look at clothes at all, especially those that I would never be able to wear myself, due to money, my size, lack of occasion, etc. There are still ways to bring Haute Couture into my life, though. I mean Barbie and her friends.
I have always been fascinated by miniatures and Barbie's vintage outfits with their tiny zippers and buttons and buckles and accessories are incredible. This is my "fashion life", either through my own small collection or pictures.
(And yes, I do know Barbie's body isn't natural, I knew it as a child and I never strived to look like her ... if I had, something would have gone wrong).
Let me give you a glimpse in Barbie's wardrobe every, now and then.

1965 was an excellent year. I should know because I was born in 1965, a definite sign of quality.

1965 was also the year the first American Girl Barbie turned up, our model today is from 1966, however. I seriously wish I would have aged as well as she has.

Today she's presenting an ensemble called "Midnight Blue".

The elegant gown has a strapless silver lamé bodice and full midnight blue satin skirt.
It is worn under a wide satin cape of the same color, lined in white satin like the large fake white fur collar.

The ensemble is usually completed with long white gloves, blue open toe mules with heels, a silver dimple purse, and a white graduated pearl necklace.
Unfortunately, this presentation was so spontaneous that we couldn't find the purse and necklace. Okay, you got me. I only have the golden purse and that wouldn't have worked. I'm quite sure that I have the necklace, but another doll is wearing it.
And while I'm in confessing mode, one of the gloves is a substitution (which is too big which I only just noticed again, I really need to get her a proper one), and there's a bit of water damage to the satin in the back.
Fact is that "Midnight Blue" is a hard to find outfit and prices are accordingly high. I was lucky to find this one and it displays beautifully, don't you think? For full disclosure, I edited the doll stand out of the picture, but didn't change anything about the outfit.

 
"Midnight Blue" is one of the elusive 1600s fashions and was only manufactured in 1965 (what did I say?) as #1617.
It was not unusual to have color variations in other countries, such as Japan or Europe, but that doesn't mean those are easier to find. In this case, there's a different blue (some people say that color comes from fading in sunlight, others say it's a variation), but also a "Midnight Pink" and "Midnight Red" (as called by collectors not because the name makes sense, but identifies the design easily).
I would love to have both, but the red even more than the pink.

I always thought this would be the perfect outfit to wear for the opera - maybe "The Magic Flute", after all she looks like a "Queen of the Night" herself!

Barbie is a registered trademark of Mattel, Inc. I am not affiliated with Mattel in any way.


Sources:

1. Sibyl DeWein and Joan Ashabraner: The Collector's Encyclopedia of Barbie Dolls and Collectibles. Paducah, KY, Collector Books, 1994
2. Sarah Sink Eames: Barbie Doll Fashion, Vol. I, 1959 - 1967. Paducah, KY, Collector Books, 1994
3. Vintage Barbie Midnight Blue. On: Fashion Doll Guide
4. Vintage American Girl Barbie Dolls 1965 - 1966. On: Fashion Doll Guide

Nostalgia - Midge or The Beginning

Some years ago when I still did the "Finds of the week" posts, I had some called "I'm a collector" in which I shared vintage items. Over time my collections have mostly stopped growing due to different reasons, but they are still there and still loved. I also have vintage items, some inherited, some gifts, some from fleamarkets, some more interesting than others.So I thought it could be fun to share some of them every, now and then and tell their story.

Are you a collector and can you say exactly when and how you started your collection/s? My guess is you can.
While gaining and possessing a new piece is exciting, even more so if it is something you have been looking for for a long time, there's also the thrill of the hunt. You can be a wild hunter like my ex or you can take the more relaxed approach like I did, simply because I can't walk as fast or am not tall enough to see everything around me at a glance.
I might not have found as much as him at fleamarkets, but that made every good find even more special.

My Barbie collection started with such a good find and it was mere luck.
I had a platinum TNT Stacey when I was a child, I have told her story a long time ago. How my sisters got Mattel dolls for Christmas and five year old me nagged until I got one as well. How I played library with her and loved her so much that she has been in a pretty sad condition for a long time.
It has also been years since I told the story of the Billy Boy Barbie book my sister got and how my fascination with Barbies was rekindled in a completely new way. What can I say, I just can't resist tiny zippers and buttons. And I mentioned finding a Midge doll.

I'll never forget that moment, actually I could show you the spot at the university fleamarket (where the Steiff collection started as well, by the way, topic for another time maybe) almost exactly. Only thanks to the Billy Boy book I knew that the doll in the box (not hers, but a big one) was a "BL" (bendable leg) Midge, more rare than her straight leg (SL) predecessor. Was she in perfect condition? No. Was I excited, anyway? Oh yes, I was. Did I almost squeal when the seller replied to my question that she was 4 DM (about $2.50 at the time)? You bet!
As clear as this is in my mind, however, I'm completely lost trying to remember what she wore, but think it was probably a swimsuit, not necessarily hers, though. I guess I was so fixed on her face and hair and being able to identify her that the outfit didn't matter. That of course changed a lot during my collecting career when I learned more and more from my books.

Midge, Barbie's best friend, came out a few years after Barbie herself, in 1962, to be exact. Back then all you could move on the bodies were the arms and legs at the shoulders and hips.
In 1965 and 1966, Midge didn't just get bendable legs, but her hairstyle changed from a tight outward flip to a loose inward flip. She came in three hair colors, blond, titian, and the brownette of my doll.

My Midge has lost her hairband which would have held her full bangs together, she also has a darkened face (and the current heat wave has given her sticky arms again which need to be cleaned and powdered), but for her age - which could be the same as mine if she is the first issue - she is still looking very good, definitely better than me. Not one grey hair on her! ;-)
I didn't hesitate to put her into Dinner At Eight although it is a little older than she is (1964). Maybe she has borrowed this beautiful persimmon colored jumpsuit with the airy looking hostess coat in a burnt orange with metallic golden threads from her BFF Barbie, who knows? I just think the orange goes so beautifully with her hair - and the hair of a brunette SL Midge I have that wears the same outfit.

When I took Midge home, I didn't even realize that the first stone to my vintage Barbie collection had been laid there and then.
My next lucky find not long after made it impossible for me to stop ...

Is it the 80s? Part 2

Welcome back to Barbie's fashion show!
Yesterday I told you a little about her and her clothes, today is all about her accessories.

As usual, I started on the shoes first. I didn't know what I would be in for ...
Funtime Barbie has quite long, but very slim feet. I can relate to long feet, mine are, but I almost got jealous of them being so slim. That didn't last for very long. It seems that she has just about as many problems to find shoes that fit her as I do.

You can't see it that well here, but Barbie was made for fun times on very high heels it seems. I should probably have taken a comparison picture with one of the others, maybe I'll do that eventually. So far I had worked with only one pair of "high heel feet", the first time I beaded a doll outfit for my Flapper Barbie, and for those I got a pair of Mattel shoes from my sister which worked nicely. Only afterwards I began beading the shoes as well, simply because I couldn't find shoes for my Supersize Flapper Christie, well, actually those were wire knit and crochet with beads and she has rather flat feet compared to Funtime Barbie.
I tried one pair with heels, but my plan didn't work out by a few millimeters - I'll let you know if it ever does - and I liked the idea of slippers or sneakers better, anyway.
No kidding now, sixth time's the charm (and yes, I had hoped for third at least). I was ready to go all Grimm's "Cinderella" and cut her toes off (Rook di goo, there's blood in the shoe ... you know what I mean?)!
In the end, however, I made it. I'm not gonna let a pair of tiny shoes beat me. Ha! You may wonder what the problem was as they remind of those that Francie Dietrich is wearing which they do, they just were muuuch easier to adapt to Francie's flat feet.
If I hadn't been so worn out, I would probably have tried to give the shoes laces, but I was afraid that I would mess everything up again now that I had finally beat the enemy!
Oh, and a P.S., ignore the "pin pricks", vintage Barbies tend to have those on their legs.

Now to Barbie's hair.
I told you that Funtime Barbie came with pigtails. She had a lot of hair in some spots, and I think I washed, combed and cut her hair a whole day long, including pulling out some to make her hair lie flat. Let's put it like that, in the end her hair looked nice and not even crooked, but it refused to lie flat. The problem wasn't new, in fact I had had used wire to give her a ponytail when she still wore the wire dress.
So how about a hat? In my surprise bead mix there had been that beautiful dark red which would go well with pink.
I had two hats with a ruffled edge in the 80s. They cost 2 DM each and I loved them. Then a friend decided he had to have one of them, he looked so funny with it that I couldn't say no, and I had only one head, anyway ;-)
The difference between my hat - made of hemp, I think - and Barbie's was that I didn't have a hatband on mine and mine had a rounded crown instead of a flat one and was a lighter red.
By the way, the hair only looks crooked in the back because one strand is caught in one of the ruffles.

If you have known me for a while, you know that I don't tend to brag, but I am really, really proud of Barbie's sunglasses. They are not perfect, but I'm happy to have had the idea and making it work. I couldn't have done it all alone, when I looked for an idea what to use for the lenses, my sister had the right one - photo negatives!
I picked one from the end of a film that had almost nothing on it, cut two pieces, glued them onto the wire frame - whose arms really go around the ears to hold the glasses in place, by the way - and cut the excess off.
This is definitely something I'll have to keep experimenting with!

Barbie could also take her glasses off and put it into her purse. I am almost sure that the purse is "woven" even if I can't put my finger on what exactly makes me think that, it's probably a memory somewhere in the back of my mind.
Look, she even put her favorite charms on it.

You know that my dolls can't go without at least a little piece of jewelry, often a cuff, a choker, or a necklace. A necklace wouldn't have worked in this case because of the straps, so Barbie is only wearing a sweet little cuff. Anything else would have been too much.

I just noticed that I haven't said anything about the beading technique that I have used. This time only the shoes are a mix of Herringbone and Peyote, everything else is done in Peyote.

Well, we are coming to the end.
Thank you for sticking with me, I hope you like what you have seen and are looking forward to the next doll project. I know I am!


Barbie is a registered trademark of Mattel, Inc. I am not affiliated with Mattel in any way.

Is it the 80s? Part 1

Today's post gave me the chance to get out one of my Barbie books again. I haven't gone through them in a long time, and I'm afraid I have forgotten a lot while I used to be able to list all accessories coming without an outfit most of the time, knowing the name and sometimes even the number.
Let me tell you about today's Barbie doll first *turning the pages*
She's Funtime Barbie #7192 from 1975/76 who was only available in the European market, manufactured in Korea as her butt markings would show you had I taken a photo. Her blonde hair was in pigtails, she had a TNT waist and bendable legs.

From the book "The Collectors Encyclopedia of Barbie Dolls and Collectibles" by Sibyl DeWein and Joan Ashabraner

Here she had to undergo a wire crochet experiment many years ago, an orange mini dress with velvet underneath. Was it pretty? Not really although she never complained. It was one of my very early attempts, ready to get ripped up, so when I had a whole bunch of left over pink Delica beads, she was the first one in line for a new outfit. She deserved it for being so patient for so long ... and suffering a kind of pattern on her thighs resulting from the wire.

To hide those spots, I decided to give Barbie a narrow almost knee length pencil skirt (I was determined to use up all those leftovers!) with a walking slit in the back. Thinking about it a little, I also knew what had inspired me. In the 80s I had had - and I wasn't the only one - stretch denim shirts like that, shorter ones, but also a black one that went down to the ankles. I loved that skirt even if I could hardly walk in it *lol*
I also wore that same pink, just in a blazer, although it was never my favorite color, but the blazer had the best pockets, the best length - blazers could be huge in the 80s and I'm not just talking about the shoulder pads - and it was on sale AND my size!
Obviously Barbie's skirt doesn't stretch, poor girl, she can't even sit in it right. Problems of a fashion doll ...

Now what top to make for her?
I wanted it to be a fresh look. At first I thought about something short and figure hugging, but then my inspiration came from the airy and loose knitted or crocheted sweaters that someone I know liked to wear back then. Granted, these sleeveless summer sweaters usually had an ajour pattern, but I wasn't quite sure I could have pulled that off, so I went for a summery pink and white look instead.
It's funny how what you see in beads usually translates into the "real" thing before my inner eye. I can almost feel a summer breeze going through this sweater.
For a bit of an extra, I gave it kind of a keyhole cutout by crossing the halter straps at her neck.

So far, so good.
Next up were the accessories, and as usual I was looking particularly forward to making them. I never know beforehand what I will make exactly, and this time I really had fun trying something new!
I don't want to make this post too long, but I hope you'll be back for part 2 tomorrow with a closer look at the accessories :-)

Barbie is a registered trademark of Mattel, Inc. I am not affiliated with Mattel in any way.

A new outfit for Francie

This is the story of Francie who came over as a gift from the US months ago (warning: it's going to be a long post). I don't have that many Francie outfits that are not already worn by the other dolls, and on top of that this girl has a major problem with her knees as you can see.

This particular doll is a Bendable Leg Francie, but you won't be surprised to hear that she is not able to hold that bend anymore. It rather looks like she had had to bend her legs too often, in fact one leg also has splits in the back, and I was a little afraid it would break off while working on her.
Usually you would use a doll like her for a body part donor or try to find a donor for her, but I thought for everything she obviously had to go through - children can be so tough on their dolls, I should know looking at my own Stacey - I'd give her an outfit to hide her knees instead.
First of all I washed off the grime of years, mostly off her legs. It was a surprise that the rest of her body and the head still looked quite good in comparison, and her face was beautiful with the rooted eyelashes still being perfectly full.

I started the jumpsuit in the same way as the last dress I made, with a bodice beaded in the Herringbone technique. The original plan had been to make the bodice completely in a gunmetal color, but I wasn't sure if I had enough beads, so there's a gunmetal strip at the waist now to separate the bodice from the legs.
So the bodice is now made from size 11 seed beads in a rich dark blue mix combined with size 15s in a very light shimmering blue.
Since I didn't want this to be an evening outfit, it's neither strapless nor does it have thin straps. In fact I even contemplated a turtle neck for a bit, but it was so hot when I worked on this part that I couldn't get myself to do it! I am weird that way, I do imagine what an outfit would feel like if I wore it. Beading all the way to the top gave me one or the other problem with the armholes, also because - as mentioned before - it's not easy to work having to hold the whole doll. It's amazing how limbs tend to get in the way!

The real problem, however, would be the pant legs. I had worked it all out in my mind ... how to work down to a particular point and then increase the pattern between the legs and bead down from there on both sides. I figured it would be hard to get started, but I really underestimated the task completely. The gap between the legs simply wasn't big enough to add the row of beads from which I wanted to work down, at least not to make it look good. I tried several times, but in the end I had to give up on it.
The new plan was a mini skirt and overknee boots. For decency I did add a small strip of beads between the legs which later proved to be completely needless. At the skirt bottom I added some gunmetal beads, like a little trim. These few beads will be important later.

Then I began beading the boots. In the end I had made them three times and ripped them up in parts or completely every time because they were kind of okay, but kind of okay simply wasn't good enough. I was so glad, though, that the legs survived that ordeal because I kept taking the boots off and putting them back on in my futile attempt to fit them perfectly to the legs. In the third attempt I added the part for the feet and that's when my scissors went crazy for good. It's strange how frustrating yet relieving it can be to cut up something you are not completely happy with!
Now if Francie didn't get boots, it had to be a long skirt or pants after all. The thought of making yet another tight skirt - after all the top part was already tight and I wasn't prepared to cut that up again as well - didn't appeal to me, though, and I had already failed with the pants. What to do?
That's when I had the idea of the bead tubes for pant legs which I would attach to the skirt part. I only wished I hadn't put "the trim" on, but how about turning that into a fun detail, maybe a hint of lace?
I also ripped the first tube up twice because I had to try out if I liked bell bottoms better, but in the end I found I needed the width of the tubes at the top to be able to sew them to the trim and to fit them around Francie's thighs. Also I didn't want to take more chances with her knees in an attempt to make the tubes fit tightly around them, so they were wide all the way to the bottom (which gave this project the working title "Francie Dietrich" ;-)).

Next I sewed the two tubes together for the seam between the legs, added two more rows of Herringbone, so they would sit right, and the same trim as on the skirt. Then I pulled the tubes over Francie's legs very carefully and sewed trim to trim with some more beads for the "lace" (that's another idea I may keep in mind for future projects).

Of course my mind is already bustling with ideas to improve the pants design, like making the "skirt" part as short as possible - although it can't be too short as it's not as easy to pull up those tubes with the small gap between the legs AND maybe I'll have to use a little powder the next time because the beads tend to stick on the vinyl - or wider or try a skinny jeans fit after all, but there are other things on my list first.

The next big challenge were the shoes, they always are, not so much in this case because it is impossible to get shoes for Francie, but because it seems right to try and make beaded ones to go with the outfit.
Luckily she has flat feet which called for some kind of slippers and to my surprise it worked out at the first try - with ladder stitch and Herringbone and brick stitch.
The biggest surprise, however, was that you can actually remove the shoes and put them back on. They sit on the feet nicely and won't fall right off. I'll definitely have to keep this design in mind and maybe I'll be able to develop it into a boot design and even adapt it a little for Barbie feet which are made for high heels.

By now I was very relaxed because the most difficult things lay behind me.
All Francie needed was a bracelet because she couldn't go completely without jewelry, a purse and a hat.
The bracelet was quick and easy, just a little peyote strip from the size 15s.

The purse is done in peyote as well. It's sewn up on the sides only, so Francie can open it and put something in there, tissues, a few coins, probably a cell phone. It doesn't have a flap because I started running out of the blue beads. Inspired by genuine vintage Francie purses it has a little strap going through a loop to close it, though.

Last but not least I wanted to give Francie a hat. She has very full hair, but on one side the plugs seem to be filled a little strangely, so the strands of hair keep separating and showing the plugs, even after shampooing and brushing them thoroughly (not to mention that Gundel almost took off with her head that I had left on a shelf while the hair was drying, that would have been very awkward).
I figured a hat would take care of that, but also compliment the outfit. That too is done in peyote technique and picks up the outfit's colors.
Can you believe that I have exactly five beads left over from the blue mix now?

After putting the hat on, I had a vaguely familiar vibe coming from this outfit, and it came to me. While the style is not the same, the purse and hat and pants do remind of a vintage outfit called "Bells" (#1275 from the 1200 series fashions, 1967).

So here she is ... Francie in her brandnew outfit!

Francie, Barbie, and Stacey are registered trademarks of Mattel, Inc. I am not affiliated with Mattel in any way.

Oldies but Goodies - Downton Abbey

I don't go to the cinema a lot anymore. One reason is that I like to watch my movies in small groups or even alone, in the comfort of my home where I can put up my feet like I want to, where I don't have to deal with the tall people always sitting right in front of me, where no one shines the light from their cell phone onto the screen thinking it's funny. Okay, I am exaggerating, but even if that doesn't always happen, it does from time to time.
Of course seeing a movie at the cinema is different, there's the big screen, and depending on the audience and its reactions there can be the perfect mood.
A little over a week ago I spontaneously went to the cinema right after work. There was just one little problem. It was the early afternoon showing and I was by myself, but was told they have a two person minimum. Why didn't I wait, maybe someone else would turn up. Somehow the parent and kids groups that did turn up didn't want to see Downton Abbey. What a surprise. I finally went to the guy behind the counter, not to complain, but to ask what the difference between one and two persons was for a movie showing, and he pointed at his boss who happened to sit there. I'll cut it short, in the end I was so lucky to sit in this big room all by myself (and it had been a polite conversation, I assure you, I'm not a fan of pushy people myself), and it was a very special experience.

Today's Jewelry Artisans Community Oldies but Goodies Challenge asked for pieces that were inspired by the era of Downton Abbey.
Please keep in mind that our rules are quite stretchy. For example I don't remember having seen a Flapper dancing the Charleston at Downton Abbey, but both of them belong in the era. No one entered a diamond tiara inspired by those Maggie Smith wore (I wonder why ;-)). Nevertheless I can't imagine you won't like what you see.

1 Cat's Wire
2 CymberRain
3 The Crafty Chimp
4 Ganison Atelier
5 Jewelry Art by Dawn
6 RioRita
7 Bijou Bead Boutique

Flower power Hippie time - Part 1, The clothes

From the 20s to the 60s it's quite a time jump, I know. I can't even remember how I decided that I wanted to make a Hippie outfit, I just knew I wanted something completely different from the Flappers this time.
And different it is.

Francie, our lovely doll model this time, is from the Malibu series and was produced from 1971 to 1977. Instead of the regular Francie head she has the smiling Casey head.
This Malibu Francie had seen a very bad hairdresser, one who was even worse than me. He left her with a bunch of bristles on her head instead of a hairdo. Unfortunately that was at a time when I had given up on re-rooting after a few attempts to try other things instead, so Francie spent her life hidden on a shelf behind the door.
Then I re-found her, so-to-speak, and thought she would make a wonderful flower child with her happy smile.

Francie has yet another figure compared to the first two dolls. She is smaller than Barbie - whose cousin she is, by the way - and not as curvy, so I had to make a completely new pattern regarding the arm holes and the straps.

First I made the top. I went browsing tie-dye shirt images on the net and went for a swirly rainbow kind of design. I loomed front and back in once piece, re-wove the threads, sewed up the sides, and then I went totally overboard making a long fringe.

Next came the "leather" vest in a mix of two of my favorite brown bead colors. Other than the top the vest is removable. It has fringe around the top of the arm holes.

I took quite a long break before I tackled the skirt. All I knew was that I wanted to have some kind of denim color, that it was going to be long and wide and that I wanted to pick up the rainbow motif again.
Finally I decided to make it in four parts and sew them together. I used red thread for this to imitate decorative seams.
This was the hardest part. The all-blue parts were pretty boring to loom and instead of going faster because they were easier they almost destroyed my motivation. Joining the parts was okay, but then I had to decrease the top to make the skirt fit on Francie's waist.
At that point I knew it would have been smarter to make the skirt first. The fringe of the top kept getting in my way big time. With gritted teeth and lots of eyerolling I finally got it done.

Then I had the idea for a wide belt in brick stitch. The only problem was what to use for a buckle.
I didn't find a real buckle, but then I had another idea. Yup, sometimes they just roll in like that.
I took one of my toggle clasps and clipped off the little loop. Not bad, eh?

Now I had a complete outfit and only needed some more accessories ... and hair. That's what I am going to tell you about next time.

The Great Flapper or How Christie got a new outfit - Part 3, Jewelry and shoes

Welcome back to Christie's story!
This time I am going to tell you about her jewelry and her shoes.

Actually the jewelry was the easiest part to do in the whole project.
I knew I wanted to give her long necklaces, so I just had to look in my stash if I had beads in the right colors that I could use with the seed beads. As it so happens, I had green and yellow crystals. In fact I tried all-crystal necklaces first, but I didn't really love them and after getting a no on that from my personal advisor as well, I went for a combination of crystals and seed beads. That was much better, also because the necklaces sit better that way.

In my stash were also smaller crystals in green, so I made a little chain stitch bracelet with them, and just look at that big stone she's wearing on her finger!
Newer dolls often have a hole in their hand where the ring is missing, so I had to cover that up.

I felt that dangly earrings would not go well with the fringe on the headpiece, so even if I love them, I settled for simple golden studs instead which are headpins that I put in the ear holes.

Christie's makeover was almost finished, how exciting! Little did I know how long she still had to wait.
I have big feet, but I don't have as many problems to find shoes as this lady.
There aren't that many Supersize outfits and the shoes are even harder to find individually. When I missed out on the one pair I found for sale, I had to figure out something else.

My first thought was polymer clay. Maybe I could make the soles from clay and bead the top. I had some old clay and decided on a dry run. I put Christie's feet on some paper and drew the outlines, cut out the templates, pressed them onto the clay and started cutting around.
I believe in recycling and have paper scraps around for notes, my to do lists, and stuff like this. I have a tip for you. Don't use paper with a tax return form printed on it. The print will end up on the clay. Of course it will. Doh. After all this was only a dry run, though, so it didn't matter.
I lightly pressed the soles onto Christie's feet for the shape. That didn't look too bad for a first try. I put them into my toaster oven and waited when I suddenly heard a weird sound. I can't even describe what the soles had turned into. It was a burnt and gooey mass with bubbles. I have no idea if it had been the oven that hadn't been used in a while - although I did wipe all the dust off - or the old clay or both. Time and temperature had been right. Oh well.

I had to get some new clay and use the other oven.
I had been optimistic after making the new soles, things didn't quite work out the way I wanted them to. I had my soles which had kept the shape of the feet pretty well, I had the heels, now I just needed to come up with an idea for the top.
Poor Christie leaned against the wall for weeks. My next doll project, still without head then, kept her company while receiving one garment after the other. They were an odd pair and a little sad to look at.

Finally I knew it was now or never. I sat down with my clay, the soles and Christie and tried to mold a shoe onto her foot that I could get off afterwards. Don't forget that again I had a whole doll attached to that foot, too. As Christie's waist is a little loose, she moved and wriggled a lot during the process. The lady has no patience at all!
I tried and tried, and when one thing worked, the other went wrong. The thought of having to do the same for the other foot drove me to take drastic measures. I broke the soles in two and tossed them.
But now what?
I can't believe it took me that long to realize that I could knit the shoes from wire and beads. T-strap shoes with a wire crochet heel. See, sometimes I just need time to come up with something!

And here she is now, in our 20s inspired hallway where she took up residence (no way she would have fit into my doll cabinet). Every time I come out of my flat, she makes me smile standing there and smiling at me.

You have missed the first two posts? Find them here!
Part 1, The Dress
Part 2, The headpiece

Will you be back for my next doll project? It's very different from the first two, but was just as much fun (and there were no shoe problems at all!).

The Great Flapper or How Christie got a new outfit - Part 2, The headpiece

Let's jump right in, okay? Today is about Christie's head.
 
Vintage dolls have a neck knob which allows you to move the head sideways. There are smaller and bigger ones and cone shaped ones and whatnot.
Later dolls got neck knobs which allowed to also tilt the head, make it look up or down, this is the kind Christie has.
Out there in the net you can find much more information on the subject and also on the subject of the dreaded neck split and what's the best way to behead a doll. A little hint, it is NOT the guillotine.

Again, I am not a doll artist meaning I have the patience to do repairs of all kind, replace limbs, heads, re-paint faces or more. I try my best to avoid some procedures if possible, and one of them is taking a head off a doll if not absolutely necessary.
As a child I was cooler about that. We had outfits that were impossible to put on a doll if you didn't take her head off first. Yes, my Stacey does have a neck split, but she also has a yellow face and one finger and half a foot are missing. You can tell she was a beloved and played with toy. I'm digressing, sorry.

Have you ever seen a Barbie doll which looks like she doesn't have a neck? She probably had one of those newer neck knobs, maybe even the ones with prongs. My sister and I have seen more than one of those. If a child pulls on one of the heads on such a knob, the neck can break and the knob part comes off. If you put the head back on, it's right on the neck instead the knob. We call them "no-neck monsters" after a quote from "Cat On A Hot Tin Roof".

After all the work with the dress *looking at Ponder who is trying to clean up around his food plate* I didn't want to risk Christie to become a no-neck monster.
A hair cut was out of the question, too. I didn't have a replacement head in case anything went wrong.
And honestly, the copper streaks didn't look very 20s to me, either.
So all that I could do was to put something on her head that had the touch of the 20s, but hid all her hair.
I chose to knit a wire headpiece because knitted wire is flexible enough to shape it if needed. I used golden wire and the bright green beads to pick up the colors from the dress.
The last rows were a little difficult because I had to knit them with the headpiece already on the head, so I could decrease. Not that easy with the whole doll attached to it, I can tell you.

The wire knit "flower" with the crystal center was easier to make, but a bit fiddly to put on. I used the dark teal beads for it to have some contrast.
I had still some peacock feather leftovers. What was funny is that they arranged themselves when I pulled the flower tight. I wish all components would be that cooperative!
Last but not least I added a fringe at the bottom to match the fringe on the dress and voilà!

The last post will be about the jewelry and about big feet. Not Bigfoot, big feet! Just wait and see.

Have you missed the first post? Here it is:
Part 1, The dress

Barbie is a registered trademark of Mattel, Inc. I am not affiliated with Mattel.