Dollar Store Purchase - Doll Sweater Dress from Socks

This is day two of making doll clothes from dollar store finds.  You can view the first project HERE.  

Today, I'm going to show you how to make a sweater dress from a pair of thermal socks I purchased for one dollar.  So, grab your thermal socks if you can bear parting with them this time of year and let's get started.

Supplies needed:  

• Red thread
• Dark gray thread
• velcro

STEP 1:  Cut the socks as follows:  cut both socks at 9 3/4" measuring from the top of the socks to the toes.  Cut those pieces only in half lengthwise.

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Cut the bodice cut the sock 4" high x the length of the sock. Cut the sleeves 4" long x 3 1/2" wide. 

STEP 2:  Sew sweater dress side seams using an overlocking stitch.  This will create a tube.  

Note, for all stitching on this project, use an overlocking stitch.  Also keep a lint brush handy... because you'll really need one!  

STEP 3: Finish the hem with a close zig zag stitch, stretching as you sew which gives the hem a curly look.  Sew around the hem twice.  

After finishing these two steps, your sweater dress will look like this on your doll:

STEP 4:  Right sides together, sew bodice shoulder seams.  

STEP 5:  Right sides together, sew sleeve seams.  When finished, this is how those pieces will look:

STEP 6:  Sew sleeves into armholes.

STEP 7:  Sew the hem onto the sleeves - follow step 2.

STEP 8:  Using the remaining sock, line the bottom of the sock with the bottom of the bodice.  Add 1/4"  to the top and cut the sock along that mark.  Turn right sides together and sew the top, (back neck)  seam together.  Turn this piece right side out and pin onto the bodice.  Sew bodice to back piece.

STEP 9:  Unpick the seam tape from the chair cushion.  Use some of this seam tape to finish off the right back of the bodice.  Set the seam tape aside because you'll use that in another project.

STEP 10:  Sew the finishing edge of the neckline the same way as Step 2. 

STEP 11:  Sew the bodice to the skirt, lining up the skirt seams to the middle of the armholes.

STEP 12:  Turn the dress right side out and it's ready to try onto your doll.  Determine where on the bodice you need the velcro.  Take the dress off your doll and sew the velcro in place, one piece on each side.

Your sweater dress is now finished. And for $1.00, really, how can you go wrong? It's sure to please a child's desire to dress her doll in new winter clothing.   

Don't miss these other dollar store purchases into things for your doll posts: 

Little Miss Santa Outfit go HERE 

Sweater Dress go HERE 

Leggings go HERE 

Elf Outfit go HERE 

Doll sleeping bag from a chair cushion & tea towel go HERE

Shorts from shirt sleeves go HERE 

Skirt & scarf from a scarf go HERE

Party dress using a sequin headband go HERE

Night Gown from a baby fleece blanket go HERE 

Zebra Jacket from a fleece scarf go HERE

xoxo Grandma  -  Linked to: Totally Tutorials

Turning Dollar Store Purchases Into Doll Clothes - Little Miss Santa Outfit

Dollar stores always have the best finds! Especially during the holiday season. So, for the next two weeks, I'll be featuring a daily tutorial on turning cheap finds into cherished doll clothes. 

In case you want to sew along, this is what I purchased from my local dollar store:

1. Santa Hats with fur & pom poms - purchase two
2. Men's thermal socks
3. Christmas knee high socks
4. Christmas Stockings 
5. Chair Pad
6. Red t-shirt

I'm calling today's project the "Little Miss Santa Outfit".  This outfit includes a skirt, hat and a cape.  You'll be using three total items from the dollar store: a red tee shirt (note: you'll use this same shirt for more than one of these projects so keep every scrap for now) and two Santa hats. 

Since this outfit includes the three pieces, it should take around 1 1/2 hours to complete.

Supplies for this project:

• 2 Santa hats
• red t-shirt
• red thread
• white thread
• red single fold bias tape 
• 3/8" elastic

Cutting instructions :

STEP 1:

STEP 2:   Unpick the tacking (threads) holding the white fur to the red furry hat.  

STEP 3:   From the second hat, repeat step 1, unpick the bottom fur from the red fur, unpick the sides and cut the white fur in half lengthwise and widthwise.

You may need to re-stitch the red fur at the seam before you proceed with step 4.

How to make the Skirt:

STEP 1:

STEP 2:

STEP 3:  Fold the seam tape towards the wrong side of the red fur.

  

STEP 4:  Cut elastic the width of your dolls waist plus 1".  Thread elastic through the casing.  Secure elastic with stitches.  Your skirt is now finished.

How to make the Hat:

STEP 1: This will be the fur trim for the doll hat.

STEP 2:

STEP 3:

Your doll hat is now finished. You should have enough fabric and trim left over to make one more doll hat. So, go ahead and make an extra hat... because I'll bet you know at least two children that would love a Santa hat for their dolls or save these pieces for day 4 and see what else you can make. 

How to make the Cape:

You'll need 14-16" of red ribbon, about 8" of elastic.  Optional supplies are two white 3/4" pom poms.

STEP 1:

Using the curved shape from the second stocking, place onto the red tee shirt. This will be your pattern for the lining of the cape. Cut out this exact shape as pictured below.  

Round the bottom corners.  

STEP 2:  Pin the fur cape to the tee shirt cape, wrong sides together, and sew around the cape using a 1/4" seam allowance,  Leave the top corners on both sides of the cape without stitching.

STEP 3:  Clip curves and turn right side out.

 

STEP 4:  Along the top of the cape, stitch a casing 1/2" from the edge.  Tuck 7" - 8" of ribbon into the casing and pin to hold in place.

STEP 5:  Tread 8" of 1/4" elastic through casing.  Secure with stitching making sure the sewing goes through the ribbon and the elastic.

STEP 6: Optional, attach two 3/4" white pom poms to the ribbon by sewing through the pom poms and the ribbon several times.

Your Little Miss Santa outfit is now completed. I'd say its a $2.50 well spent, wouldn't you? If you have any dollar store finds that you've refashioned into doll clothes, please leave me a comment and provide a photo to your project. I'd love to see what you came up with!  xoxo Grandma

Don't miss these other dollar store purchases into things for your doll posts:

Little Miss Santa Outfit from Santa Stockings go HERE 

Sweater Dress from Thermal socks go HERE 

Leggings from knee highs go HERE 

Elf Outfit from Christmas Stocking go HERE 

Doll sleeping bag from a chair cushion & tea towel go HERE 

Shorts from shirt sleeves go HERE 

Skirt & scarf from a scarf go HERE

Party dress using a sequin headband go HERE 

Night Gown from a baby fleece blanket go HERE 

Zebra Jacket from a fleece scarf go HERE

xoxo Grandma  

Easy Ribbon & Trim Tree Ornaments - a Tutorial

If you're one of those people who like the idea of being crafty, but aren't actually into tackling complicated, timely projects... well, I've got a great craft for you!  Here's a fun, easy-to-make ornament. I was inspired by Fire Flies and Mudpies.  After doing one as suggested on that site, I figured out an easier way to make these with a little extra finish to these so they are a quick project that's perfect to do with children or non-crafty friends. 

Step 1 - You will need the following supplies, a little wire for the top. Star brads are the easiest method to finishing off your tree but if you want to add eyelet stars to the top of your trees, you'll need a little epoxy glue too:

The first tip to this project is to use twigs or suckers that you take right off a tree. I used twigs that had buds and bud scars because they were easy to cut using my craft scissors. The buds on these twigs were very useful because they held the tied ribbon in place making this a sew-less, almost glue-less project.  See each of the illustrations for the basic steps and then the comments to learn how to easily make these trees.

I liked cutting the twigs to 5" - 5 1/2" long.  That way, I used less ribbon & trim and still got a darling looking Christmas tree.

Ribbon wider than 1/2" can be trimmed in half or even 1/3.  That's what I did with the sparkly green ribbon which originally was 1" wide.  If you are making more than one tree, cut as many trim pieces per length needed per tree.  You'll be amazed at the time this step will save you as you're tying the trim onto the branch. 

 Make sure you keep all your knots on the same side.  I only tied the trim once not making it into a square knot.

Remember, tie the trim and push it down, tie trim and push closely to the proceeding trim  until you get to about 1/4" from the top or to the top bud.

Now, that the trim is in place, you'll need to trim it at an angle.  It'll look so much better once that tree is trimmed!  Note: If the ribbon frays a lot, you can use ribbon no-fray adhesive onto the edges.

Add star brads onto the top of the tree by wrapping the metal around the branch like this:

You can also add star eyelets by pressing them into the branch.  Pull out and add a drop of epoxy glue to the back and press back into the indentation.

Here's how I made the ornament holders for these trees:

Here's a close-up of the back & front of these trees:

These ornaments look great on presents!  

I hope you have fun making your gifts look great with your easy to make ribbon & trim tree ornaments.  xoxo Grandma

Linked to 2 Crochet Hooks, Totally Tutorials

Silk Refashioned - Japanese Doll Kimono

Have you ever inherited something that you don't want? Well, I inherited this 50 plus year old silk bathrobe from my mother-in-law when she passed away.  It's been hanging in my closet for over 10 years and I've never worn it.  I just couldn't throw it away though because my father-in-law had it custom-made while on one of his business trips to Asia. This silk was beautiful, but I knew I'd never wear it since it was so dated. It reminded me more of a costume than a bathrobe.  I eventually ended up refashioning it into a Japanese kimono for the doll you see in the above photo. 

At first, I had decided to use the silk and make myself a jacket but when I started to take the bathrobe apart, I found stains and small holes in the silk.  My sister-in-law, Sue, was visiting me when I started this project and we both agreed that the silk was possibly deteriorating. We also discovered that whoever originally made this had cut out half the fabric's design running one way and half with the design running the complete opposite way.  My visions of a beautiful jacket went out the window.

Brainstorming, Sue and I decided that this fabric would make a cute doll kimono or two.  So, I gave the top half of the bathrobe to Sue for her doll and I kept the skirt for mine. 

It was tricky cutting around the deteriorated parts of the fabric but look how fun this Japanese style kimono turned out. 

I made every coordinating component from McCall's M6670:  The hair piece, cummerbund, white scarf, black velvet sandals and white socks.  Since the pattern is no longer available, I've recreated my own version of this pattern for sale HERE.

This outfit was a time consuming labor of love.  I'm planning on giving it to my daughter for her baby girl who is living in Japan for three years while her father works there.   When she comes back to the states, give it a few years and she'll be ready for a special doll and some fun doll clothes.

This was the first time I've ever sewn on silk.  With the right fine needle, it sewed up so easily.  So from one old bathrobe, we got two kimonos, plus I used part to make an infinity scarf for myself.  I'll be wearing it soon since the weather has turned a bit nippy here.

I started a tradition with my granddaughters to give them an inexpensive baby doll on their first birthday.  When they turn two, I give them doll clothes and a baby quilt for their dolls (see THIS post).  At what age do you think it's appropriate to give a child a special doll like an American Girl doll?  Would love to hear what you think!  xoxo Grandma

Pattern $3.50 instant download on ETSY

Making Snowmen from Scraps

If you're like me, you probably have tons of scrap fabrics left over from past projects that you just can't seem to throw away.  I usually make doll clothes out of them, but when I saw this pattern I thought this would a fun and different way to use up those scraps. 

This project actually started back in June. I cut out six snowmen and some clothes for them. And then it got hot and I didn't feel like sewing them, nor did I want to think about winter and snow because that would mean I'd be shoveling and freezing!  I'm really not a fan of winter, are you?

Then a few weeks ago, when the weather turned a little colder, I finally felt ready to sew these together. But, of course, I couldn't find the pattern or the instructions.  After searching and cleaning a bit, I decided that I must have thrown them away. "Oh well," I thought, "it really doesn't matter because I usually change things when I'm sewing anyway." So, below is the outcome of pattern-less snowmen. 

For these snowmen's bodies, I used left over batting and the tiniest of noses from my Easter carrots free pattern found HERE.  For this snowman's hat, I used fur which was left over from making baby booties.  

This snowmen's coat and hat were from a fleece scarf one of my children made in a sewing class.  

This snowmen is wearing a nice warm refashioned wool sweater that a daughter left at home.  I had to work around a few pin holes that the sweater had but don't you think that this little snowman looks toasty warm in his winter looking attire?   

The scarf above was refashioned from a belt that I took off a jacket.  

In several of the snowmen's hands, I found some small ornaments that I attached with a few quick stitches.  I think these scraps of fabric made some pretty adorable snowmen.  Yes, snowmen from your scraps take on lots of personalities and are a fun way to use up your leftovers. 

Now that these snowmen are completed, if my children don't claim all of them, I'll be donating a few to my favorite winter charity, Festival of Trees. Happy scrapping! 

-xoxo Grandma