I've Been Very Busy

 

 

This is the third (and last!) time that I have attempted to make this outfit.  Each time I think it has gotten better.  You can see my first time here, and my second time last year here.

 

 

This travel ensemble was inspired by the 1953 film "Gentlemen Prefer Blonds" starring Marilyn Monroe.

The first time I made this outfit, I made the dress a very simple knit sheath with a rounded neckline and a sash.

This neckline has "neck wraps", as I call them in my pattern instructions, that cross over in the front and snap in the back.  I am not sure how I figured the pattern out, I am afraid I would not be able to do it again.  I must have gotten lucky.

 

 

 

 

This is last years outfit, a commission, I made this out of a nice crepe, because the first knit that I used started staining the doll almost immediately!  The crepe was nice to work with, but I thought it didn't have the drape that I wanted.  I went back to a lightweight but different knit for this outfit.  I lined the dress in a flesh colored knit.  The knit was sometimes a pain to work with, but I like the way it drapes.

 

 

I got the neckline right on this design, but not the skirt.

 

 

 

The skirt on this dress, was impossible for me to figure out.  I have always had a hard time with drapped skirts.  Everything I tried looked bad.

 

 

I ended up just stitching a hip drape into the left side seam and gathering it up on the right hip.  It then goes around the back of the dress and hooks on the left side.  Not exactly like the original dress, but I like the results.

 

 

Here is the Franklin Mint Marilyn Monroe doll's version of the outfit.

 

 

 

Note to self, never try to restyle/cut a doll's wig again!

 

Theses outfits have been sold.

 

If you are interested in purchasing this patterns, click here.