Look what I sent!

Okay, so it arrived in Canada the same day my outfit arrived here, and I am a slack blogger for not putting my pictures up here yet.
My swap recipient filled out this questionnaire (I edited out personal info), and upon seeing her answers, I knew I could either challenge myself or go with the easy one. If you know me, you know I don't always take the easy way.




Which doll are you hoping to receive an outfit for? Elizabeth or Kirsten
What kind of outfit do you absolutely NOT want to receive? nothing really comes to mind
Keeping in mind that not everyone is able to sew for all time periods, which time periods would you prefer your outfit be for? either for Elizabeth (colonial) or Kirsten
What would be your dream outfit? a very nice dress/apron cap for either Kirsten or Elizabeth as these two of my dollies have no extra clothes
Do you have any fabric allergies or are you allergic to anything else that might be used in a swap? no
Is there anything else you would like me to consider when I match you up? my favorite colors are purple and blue




For those of my readers that have no idea what the dolls names are, Elizabeth is based on the Colonial era and her family are royalists. Kirsten is a Swedish immigrant during the Pioneer era.


Now, I've sewn for Kirsten many times. I think I've made everything from her Pleasant Company pattern set, including a short sleeve version of her school dress. So, this could have easily been an easy out. 


Elizabeth on the other hand would be the challenge. In all the 15 years I've been making doll clothes I've never made something from the Colonial era. So, there was a challenge that I needed to take head on.


So, out came the pattern stash. I had Felicity's Pleasant Company patterns (for the non AG folks, Felicity and Elizabeth are friends in their stories and Felicity is the main character and these patterns were released and retired way before the Elizabeth doll was released), and a few other patterns to choose from. This is what I chose:

McCall's 3627 (image borrowed from McCall's website)

I wanted the view in the lower left hand corner but to pair it with the hat and bag in the view on the lower right hand corner. 

Then it was off to the fabric stash. The fabric stash vastly out numbers my pattern stash. When the questionnaire stated her two favorite colors are purple and blue, well that was just the icing on the cake since those are my favorite colors as well. So, 17 boxes of blue fabric later I had a handle of print to choose from and a few solids. Matching the solids to the prints helped me narrow it down some more. The final elimination round came down to which fabric combinations looked more Summery since after all the Sewing Swap was Summer Fun themed.

All went well; so well in fact, that I made two tops, and if I would have had the time I would have made a second dress out of the solid blue for even more mix and match fun. So instead I sent my extra fabric along with the outfit and a card letting my recipient know which pattern I used and how much fun I had making the outfit.

Here is the link to my recipients pictures (showing th outfit on an Elizabeth doll since I do not have an Elizabeth doll yet): http://picasaweb.google.com/kizziescreations/SummerSwap2010#

And here are a few of my pictures, plus a link to some more I took before I mailed off the outfit.

The skirt

The skirt with top #1 (which has handsewn pearl ball trim on the seams on the bodice and on the sleeve cuffs)

The skirt with top #2 (which has lace all the way around the neckline and sleeve cuffs)

The bum roll! (Ties around the waist with the tie being in the front as a way to make the hips bigger so the dress with poof out more)

And here is the link to my album which has more pictures including close ups of the handsewn trim: http://picasaweb.google.com/Gomunk/AGPTSewingSwap#