More from the scrap pile.
This little “hobo bag” is a shrunk-down version of a free online pattern for an American Girl size handbag. The pattern is almost as big as my doll in this case (she’s not an AG doll, remember?), so I used my copier to shrink the pattern down to about 50%. It came out just the right dimensions,and is very easy to make.
The dress is just a rectangle that I drew a neckline and armholes in, and then used bias tape for a drawstring at the top and to bind the sleeveless armholes with. I also cut another long rectangle scrap and turned that into a little belt to give it some shape.
The shoes were fun. I just traced the shape of her foot onto cardboard to use as a pattern to cut out a couple of layers of cardboard and fabric. (The fabric you cut larger than the sole so you can tuck it underneath for a clean finish. I used WonderUnder or Steam-A-Seam on a scrap of fabric and laid that over the foot-bed cardboard piece, then cut another upper half of the foot shape for the upper part of the shoe fused/glued them down…there was a lot of gluing involved getting it all attached to the insole. After everything was all tucked in and glued in place, the other piece of cardboard gets glued on to cover up all the fabric ends tucked around the insole. The bottoms are covered with a piece of brown felt, and then I took some perle cotton and twisted it together and glued that all around the outside of the sole just to finish off the edge nicely. Someday I’ll photograph the process.
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Totally cute, and I LOVE the shoes! I showed your artistry to my daughter, who has a doll like this–not AG–and I’m sure that there will be a new project for me down the line. Thanks for the details about the shoes, too.
What a cute ensemble (would have written “on som ball” but figured other people might see this so best to spell it correctly, just not as much fun) and love the shoe detail.
Mama