Dior's Envol Ensemble

 

This outfit was inspired by a 1948 Dior ensemble.

 

The first time I saw this outfit was on the cover of a Tom Tierney paper doll book.

(Of course I want to make the other two outfits on the cover.)

 

I first attempted this outfit ten years ago. 

 

 

It is a little different than the new version.

 

 

 

 

I lost count of how many outfits I made this time around, but each outfit has 12 buttons, 21 snaps, 18 beads, and 2 hooks.  That is A LOT of handwork.  I retrospect, I should have charged more for them.

 

Like all my other obsessions, I had to find as many pictures of this outfit as I could.  I tried to replicate a few of them with my "Black Lipstick" Gene.

 

I even made the gaiters.  They are a little bulkier than I wanted them to be, but working with human scaled fabrics in miniature is always a challenge.

Another thing that is hard to miniaturize is the drape of a garment.

 

 

 

 

Here are some more pictures that I found.

 

 My dolls need all of these outfits.

 

 

 

To purchase this pattern, click here.



Boucle Suits

I finally finished up another batch outfits that I started back in 2014.

I had a small collection of boucle fabrics so I decided to make this sheath and jacket ensemble. 

 

 

 It has a late 50's early 60's look to it.

 

 

 Madra is modeling the black and green outfit.

 It matches her eyes perfectly.

 Oona is in black and pink.

This is my favorite version.  Violet wears it the best, the cream and pink colors wash out the other dolls.

 Gene models the mauve and pink outfit.

 The sheath is really cute.

Marsha in purple.

 And finally Zita in turquoise and white.

To purchase the pattern, click here.

My New Sewing Room and Autumn Doll Display

A lot has happened since my last post.  The number one event was we moved!  I am no longer Diane on Whidbey Island.  I now live in Vancouver Washington across the Columbia River from Portland Oregon.

Selling our house and moving all our crap was a pain in the butt and we are still getting our new house in order.  I love our new house and the best part of it is my large sewing/doll room.  It is still a work in progress, but here are a few photos.

The room is 15' x 17', it is a great size.  I can't access the room through the house, which is a bummer, but if we wanted to make a door into the house it would go into the family room right next to the fireplace that would look awkward..  I would also lose valuable wall space for all my crap. 

There are five windows.  I would rather have less windows and more wall space.  But the natural light is nice.  This also means I will need to buy 5 window blinds.  I like the vaulted ceiling, but that makes hanging track lighting out, I think.

The first thing I did was take down all the mirrors and then I painted the walls white.

It has taken me a while to get everything set up.  I spent a couple of weeks sorting and organizing my fashion doll outfits.  I really regret mixing up all my clothes, jewelry, shoes, and other accessories.  It was a lot of work reorganizing it all.  I had to guess a lot too.

As you can see, I LOVE cubes.  I have them all over my sewing room.

My sewing corner

 

 

 

One of my first purchases for my new sewing/doll room was three IKEA Besta TV cabinets.  My husband put the legs on only the bottom cabinet and we stacked the other two on top of it.  I am very happy with the results.

 

I decided to dress my dolls in Autumn colors.

 Pinks and Browns

Oranges

 



Browns

 Blues and Turquoises

 

 

My "Bellissima Italian Style" collection from Sandra Stillwell's 2015 convention.  I plan on blogging about this collection soon.

 

 

 Purples

 

 

 Animal Prints (I forgot to put the middle row up on risers).

 

 

 Golds

 

 

 Reds and Burgundy's

 

 

 

I'm already thinking about my Winter display, Christmas, New Year's, Valentine's Day.  It is a lot of work dressing all the dolls, but it should go faster now that I have organized all of their outfits.  I need to play with my collection more and not spend all my time sewing.

 

I will post more photos when I get things organized.