Challenge 7 - The Fashion Royalty Challenge

If you have never considered the Fashion Royalty dolls, you really need to go back and have another look! I am guilty of considering them as Barbie dolls and never given them the time of day. Now however, I see them in a whole new light.
They are beautiful dolls, articulated to enable them to attain endless realistic poses, they have fabulous fashions and their accessories are absolutely second to none. The detail is outstanding!
Needless, to say, my collection is expanding!...and they are NOTHING like Barbie!!

To create a centre piece for a collection called Joie De Vivre will be difficult and need an awful lot of consideration.

My initial reaction was to create something along the lines of a 60’s Mod outfit, short, flirty and fun. To incorporate the moonlight I intended to use monochrome.
This just would not have worked with the FR dolls, it just isn’t stylish enough to suit them and would be too young looking. Besides, black and white is too harsh for moonlight.


Then I thought about doing a sophisticated, black, off the shoulder kind of cat suit with a swirling scarf working it’s way around the body. But this didn’t have much to do with moonlight and wouldn’t have worked as a centre piece. It just wasn’t glamorous enough.
Right, I needed to go away and REALLY think about this one. When you are stuck for ideas, it is usually best to stop trying so hard to think, in fact stop thinking about it all together, not an easy thing to do with a deadline hanging over you!
I find the best inspiration comes from looking at pictures, hundreds of thousands of them, usually on the internet.
I found Many beautiful images but Christian Dior’s Website is truly awesome. His 07/08 couture collection is absolutely breath taking if you have time you should sit back and watch this (http://fashion.dior.com/uk/dior_uk.html) video.
These are Alessandro Lucioni creations.

These are by Ellie Saab, very glamorous and moonlighty.

Plenty of inspiration there, but what about the moonlight?
The moonlight was going to be a centre piece, so I began looking at pictures of moonlight to get some ideas.
The two images that struck me the most were these -

This picture is lovely, it looks just like moonshine on rippled satin. Which is all very well but how do you make that work?
Then there is this picture -

The moon beams reflecting on the water look just like the back of an evening gown.
I was now struggling to get any ideas of Joie De Vivre, but decided that instead of focussing on what it LOOKED like, I would work on what it FEELS like.
So how does it feel?... excitement, joy, thrill? ...Like you are full of little bubbles that sparkle and shine?
Similar to a glass of spakling water, or a glass of champagne if you want to be posh about it!
That is where this all started and here is what I finally came up with..

This was really going to be a challenge, as I found when it came to working out and cutting the patterns. It is on such a small scale that if it was slightly out it would all look so wrong.
I discovered this the hard way when I made the underskirt first. The first version I made was far too big and sat on the dolls hips, even though I was only just out with my sewing lines.

The underskirt was remade as you can see in the picture above, see how the 1st version is hanging out at the back.
The skirts, if left to their own devises, would have stuck out far too much, the 2nd version had 2/3’s less fabric in it to keep the bulk down, but still had to be soaked and steamed to get it to fall properly.
For the hem of the voile skirt, I wanted something a bit better than just an over-locked edge. I changed all the threads in the machine to silver filament and machine embroidery threads in silver and grey blue to match the fabric, this gave a finer and better looking edge.
Accuracy was going to be absolutely vital when it came to making the dress, so the measurements were worked out to the millimetre and drawn out on freezer paper, without a seam allowance. A separate pattern piece cut for each panel. Then the freezer paper ironed onto the fabric, no pinning or cutting out necessary.

The fabric with the ironed on shapes was pinned to the lining fabric of the gown and then each piece sewn round very carefully with very small stitching, leaving a gap for turning right side out.
When this is done, it is just a case of cutting out the pieces, trimming the corners and turning it right side out. Easy! No mess no fraying, which is a godsend when working in this small scale. The beading and glittering was done before the panels were sewn together, this just makes the whole thing so much easier.

The panels were all sewn together, but just didn’t work, the seams were not matched exactly and the whole of the bodice twisted. Also I had used a black zip as the grey fabric was quite dark, when all the beads were on, the black zip just looked completely wrong. This meant taking the whole dress apart again and remaking the back two panels with a white zip.
The next time I sewed the panels together, they were done accurately and each seam measured!

It paid off and the dress looked great and fitted perfectly.

Next came the voile around the top of the dress, I wanted it to look kind of misty and cover the joints in her shoulders without being sleeves, the voile is just folded and caught to the dress with beading and sits just on the top of her shoulders. I wanted the ends to hang loose and originally intended to bead the ends, but when the glitter was applied and everything finally in place, the ends just curled of their own volition, they looked pretty good and created quite a nice bit of movement in the back of the dress, so I left well alone.

Her shoes were another story, bear in mind I can sew on beads but have never actually done any beading. After many hours of fiddling about I actually worked out how to do it! There were many trials and errors involved in the process too.
The beads I used are the smallest beads available, I wanted small as they were going on the shoes and I liked the silvered glass, but didn’t give any consideration what so ever, as to how to do it!
I tried first using Spandex thread, (now, this is great stuff, go get some!) It stretches and stretches and doesn’t break, well, I should say I couldn’t make it break. It also divides up into individual fibres, so you can get it really thin and it still won’t break! (Can you tell I had fun with this?)
You can bead with it, but believe me when I say, it is incredibly hard to double back through the same bead and have two threads running through one microscopic hole!
So by this time, I am almost blind! Vowing to buy myself one of those massive magnifying glasses - one with a light would be nice!
Well, the spandex thread was cast aside, (eventually! and reluctantly!) and I used the old invisible thread that we all know and love.
The FR dolls have separate toes so that they can wear toe strap sandals, this was just too tempting, and that was the style I chose to do.

Her handbag had to be detailed, I mean , have you seen the FR handbags??
I drew the line at putting a zip in it, Jason Wu does a remarkable job at that and I think I will just let him get on with it!
So my bag, is lined and has side panels to keep it nice and square, the front fastens with a bead and loop and the handle is attached with jewellery clasps. The handle I wanted to be really different, so with my new found beading talents, I decided to have a go at beading the chain. It worked really well so I attached this to the bag. In retrospect I should have made the handle shorter as a shoulder strap does not sit well with the neckline of the dress. The bag won't be shown on the runway but will be included with the outfit.
The jewellery is made from very small pieces of broken findings.

So, there you have it, moonbeams and bubbles of joy!! Don't forget to watch the video, the link to it is on this page under the links section. Thank you!

Challenge 6 - The Alex Challenge

Well, the Alex challenge! I have never really looked at the Alex dolls, I have no idea why? However, as the challenge began and my doll arrived just in the nick of time, (courtesy of a wonderful eBay seller, interknitter), I have to admit, I was impressed! She is a lovely doll, with a very expressive face, her eyes are lovely with the added eyelashes. Her articulation is particularly good, she even has articulated feet so that she can wear heels and flat shoes.

As for the challenge, famous woman, famous film, famous dress. Sounds easy? No way!
The ideas came but…
Moulin Rouge, Romeo and Juliet, Annie Get Your Gun, The King And I- Historical outfits but not distinctive enough, you could do a fabulous outfit but would you immediately associate it with the film, or the actress??

Austin Powers, Rocky Horror Picture Show - great fun outfits to make, but again, would you associate it with the film or the actress?
Some ideas I would have liked to have done would have been..

Bedazzled, lots of scope for sexy, red sparkly outfits.

Cleopatra, would have been good, it certainly helped with Elizabeth Taylor’s career.

Miss Potter - Imagine an outfit with a portfolio of paintings!

The Mask of Zorro - Women never really got a chance to save the day here, (well, apart from the film “The Black Whip”) a tight black trouser suit and flowing cape?

Barbarella - a real chance to do an exotic space age outfit.

My Fair Lady? The Ascot gown is very distinctive to the film and Audrey Hepburn.

Cecil Beaton did a wonderful job on the wardrobe for this film. He used colours, fabrics and textures to create a real feast for the eyes. The dress is very iconic both for the film and Audrey Hepburn.
Recreating it is not going to be easy!
Throughout the film Cecil Beaton has used colours with great effect, in the opening sequences from the film, the upper class patrons leave the opera house in Covent Garden and mingle with the poorer lower classes. To make the distinction between the characters greater than ever, Cecil used rich jewel colours in the fabrics of the upper classes and dirty looking earthy colours for the lower class folk.
Later on in the film in the Ballroom scenes, he used muted pastel colours for the ballgowns, this gave the sequence a softer dreamy look.
For the Ascot Race Day he used only black, grey and white fabrics. An incredibly unusual choice for such elaborate costumes which worked amazingly well.
Cecil obviously could not use colour to make an impact, with the black, white and grey. He did however, manage to achieve it by the creativeness of the costumes.
This does not make my job any easier!
The fun bit is doing all the research and finding the fashions of the day…

Fashions from around 1900 to 1920 changed at an incredible rate for a period of only 20 years. So I decided to use the period 1910 to 1915 as this era seemed to fit well into the My Fair Lady film.

It is obvious just from the few pictures above that the outfit would have to include a hat, gloves and a parasol. Also, that there would be a lot of work involved and attention to detail would be more important than ever.

Well, lots of ideas there. But where do you start?

Well, the hat has to be big enough to make a “Look who’s here!” kind of statement and the dress has to show off the figure. The dress has to have a touch of comedy about it and has to be completely over the top!
I wanted to use mostly white without it looking like a wedding dress, too much black would have looked like funeral attire!

I kept the entire dress white and used the most sumptuous white silk dupion, using the black in all the trimmings.
I started off with her underwear, as the dress needed a bustle, the underwear would be a necessary part of the outfit. She has white silk bloomers, trimmed with white lace around the legs.
Then the bustle, without this, the dress hangs too flat at the back but with it, you get a better hourglass shaped figure which looks more balanced. This is made in silk too and trimmed with more lace, well, why not? It has a satin belt fastening with a press stud at the front.
Then, as I wanted to be able to see her boots, she needed stockings. Having sheer stockings would not work as they were not really worn then, so I used white jersey fine knitted fabric, this is great as it stretches and fit’s the leg really well without getting too wrinkly. The stocking tops were trimmed with white elasticated lace to keep them up.

The boots were not too easy, as the Alex doll has articulated feet that just will not stay still for a fitting, so I had to use another doll as a stand in for that part!
The boots are made in the silk dupion, a little zip fastens up the back of each boot and a row of beads are sewn up the side to represent the rows of tiny buttons that were usually found on these boots.
The dress itself is a complicated affair. It is made in various panels that are fitted to the body, I wanted to keep the bodice really closely fitted and take this down to hip length. I used the front panel of the dress to emphasise the figure with the outlining of the black braid giving it an exaggerated hourglass shape. The buttons also give it a nice detailed period feel. The front panel crosses over and fastens down the side with hidden press studs.

The neckline is finished off with black lace and an overlarge bow. Leg of mutton sleeves were very typical for this period, so they were done and long cuffs covered with lace and plenty more buttons up the sides.
The skirt has a straight section at the front and a very full almost circular back section which flows to the floor over her bustle. The front draped section of the skirt is made in pure silk, which is a great fabric to work in scale outfits as you can spay it with water and pull it into the correct shape, when it dries it holds the shape and the folds and draping look more realistic.

Of course with an outfit like this she needs accessories, and lots of them! Her hat is an obvious accessory, without it there is no outfit. It has to be massive, it has to swirl, it has to be over decorated! The base of the hat was fun to do using iron on stiffener onto the silk, the crown and brim were made separately covered in silk dupion. Then they were hand sewn together. The flowers and feathers are sewn on - liberally. I wanted the “Splash of Red” to be something whimsical, after all the scene in which Eliza appears is a comedy sketch. So I found these cute little red dragonflies, in just the right shade of red, and decided to have one flying free on the hat, this would give the hat extra movement and bring a bit of life to it. The dragonfly is attached to fine wire and sewn to the hat.


Parasols were used in their day as a way to show off a garment, or person for that matter. In these outfits, you couldn't simply stand with your hands by your sides and ruin the line of the dress, neither could you stand with your hands clasped in front of you hiding your fabulous outfit and figure!! So this parasol has an extra long handle which would ensure that doll holds it away from her, with her arm out away from her body, you get to see more of the dress.
It was great fun to make, I used a wooden skewer and glued beads on both ends, then painted the whole thing white. The fabric was trimmed and sewn on and a little tassel added to the handle for a finishing touch.

A little bag was also a necessary item, nothing on the lines of the original bag in the film, which was frankly ridiculous, (but probably the comedy element!) I wanted something more fitting to the era, delicate and matching the outfit.
To finish off she has tiny white lace gloves, you simply could not be seen outdoors without the gloves!

Challenge 5 - The Susie Challenge

This challenge is not going to be an easy one (not that ANY of them are!!) Susie is such a SMALL doll, but is so deceptive, she is, in reality the same size as a Barbie doll, but with a far more realistic figure.

Where to start? Well, the internet obviously, spending hours and hours looking at sites devoted to her and pictures of her. It is always good to see as many pictures as you can, even the bad ones, then you will be able to discern what works and what doesn’t!

Trying to decide on one country or place was another headache. The Miss Universe internet site was helpful, they had the contestants dressed in National Costumes, some of which were inspirational, some of which weren’t!!

…But then you come over all patriotic and decide to do none of the countries that you had short listed...

Spain, with all that lace and Flamenco.
Ireland, all the rich greens and detailed dancing costumes.
Thailand, intricate beading and rich gold embellishments.
Egypt, truly distinctive, turquoise gold and many other sumptuous combinations.

No, I chose England, one of the few without a National Costume!
So, ok, what could be more English than London? What could be more London than Buckingham Palace?
One of the most iconic places in the capital, everyone knows it and everyone knows the poor guys who have to stand outside guarding it! If you think of an outfit for Buckingham Palace this would have to be the first thing that springs to mind.
These are the Foot Guards of the Household Cavalry. Made up of The Grenadier Guards, The Coldstream Guards, The Welsh, Irish and Scots Guards. They are posted to the Queens Guard on rotation and they wear the red jackets with their subtle differences according to the regiment.

The very distinctive red and black uniform!

So a bit more research and a few more ideas…

The next thing to do is to make this into a contemporary outfit for a young lady.
My initial thought was to make a white mini dress with red stripes down the sides somehow, representing the St George (England) Flag. The jacket I wanted cropped but when you put the two together, you get a kind of Bell Boy/ Majorette look, that completely misses the point! (See below)

However, I decided I liked the cropped jacket and thought about making a skirt underneath which continues on from the jacket to make it look like it is part of it, but is actually completely separate.
I wanted the skirt to be a bit flirty and give the outfit a less formal military look. By keeping it short and having the frilly underskirt, it made it more fun and girly.

I started with the white gypsy style blouse first, this is a bit of a nod to all those thousands of traditional National Costumes that have blouses like this, and believe me there are a lot!
Because the blouse is gathered and elasticated, it has to be in the finest cotton lawn imaginable. The top edge is trimmed with lace, the top and the sleeves are elasticated with shirring elastic.
This worked really well, I kept the seams microscopic to try to keep the bulk down, however, later on as I kept fitting the bodice of the skirt, the blouse would ride up, hang out, fall out, and actually become quite a pain! The solution? To make her a pair of knickers and sew the blouse to the knickers, making a rather fabulous body suit, dead easy to get on and off as all the top is elasticated and very full!
I was beginning to lose the St George colours at this point, so decided to add a red bow to the blouse where it would be seen, and to the knickers where it wouldn’t!

So, there go the England colours, just to satisfy my need!
Next comes the skirt. This I wanted to fit perfectly without making her look too fat when she has the jacket on. It is made in five panels, fully lined, fully fitted. The skirt was initially gathered chiffon, keeping it light and full, but it just wasn’t right. See below. You can also see here quite plainly, the problem I was having with the press studs! Imagine what it would look like if both the jacket and the skirt had press studs sticking out like this!?

The skirt had to be re-done, this time with a pleated skirt in a cotton fabric. It holds the pleats really sharp and still looks the part. I didn’t want to sew stripes down the sides of the skirt, this would have made it too stiff and formal, so the ribbon was caught into the seam and just left hanging, this gives it a more playful, carefree feel.

Now the jacket, this was a real test of patience! The pattern pieces are tiny scraps of paper (easily lost!) therefore the jacket is made up of tiny scraps of fabric! Every seam had to be pressed to within an inch of it’s life to keep everything perfectly flat and flawless, really not easy with a standard iron, but here’s a tip for you - use a rolled up towel and stuff it inside the jacket, smooth all the creases and get it as flat as you can with your fingers first, then iron out the rest, you can get a pretty good finish this way even with a great enormous iron! Oh, and use lots of steam!
I wanted gold on the jacket, just like the real ones, but too much would have swamped the doll so I made her epaulettes and collar in black and gold, then trimmed the front with tiny “brass buttons”.
The join between the jacket and the skirt had to “disappear” and the only way to do this was to emphasise it! So, she has a very wide black leather belt with a big (little) brass buckle. The hole in the belt is trimmed with a minute brass eyelet.
Now for the finishing touches, a hat!
Well, there’s a problem for a start! A bearskin? Nah, I don’t think so!! ...Who ever designed those things?
Then I thought about the Glengarry.

This would work but would make the outfit look too Scottish. The only real solution is to make a hat that is just a simple straight forward hat.
This was made by molding felt, a new and fun experience, very easy to do, just soak the felt in very hot water and mold over an object, in this case a bottle top!
The narrow gingham ribbon was stitched around the edge with a little bow in the back and a silver embellishment on the front.
The long white boots have had a red stripe painted down the sides to match the outfit and reflect the red ribbons on the skirt and blouse.

Then just for fun I put the jacket with jeans just to show that it doesn’t have to be so formal! The jeans are not included with the outfit, they are just to show how versatile this outfit could be!