Challenge 9 - The Gabby Challenge

This challenge is going to be particularly hard for me as I don’t consider myself as having any particular style, I have always dressed dolls to suit them, taking a lead from them or their personality. Or even from the customer requiring a commission.
I have never tried to inflict myself on them, if you see what I mean. So, a collection...hmmm.
Well, I will start where I usually start, ploughing through image after image and researching. But what do I research?? Me?? Well, perhaps not! I will just go with what I like and what influences me.
Here are a few images that inspired me as I scoured the internet…

There are also a few influences in my life which should really have an impact on my collection. My married life was spent moving around all over the place with the Royal Air Force so I think we will have a little military in there somewhere.

My brother is a drummer and plays for many bands, including The Sex Pistols Experience, he is very good …but I am supposed to say that!
So we shall have a little touch of the Punk too as that is supremely English!!

My Brother and his band.

I like detail, lots of detail! This comes from Jason Wu and his extraordinary Fashion Royalty.

I like my dolls to look real, like they are wearing real fashion that has shrunk.
I like everything to be in scale, from patterns, to fabric thicknesses, to buttons and zips.
I like to have fun, and I love anything that is just “different”!

I also like tartan, which, as we all know comes from that rare Scottish breed of Tartan sheep!

Tartan is not the easiest fabric to work with, it can be a right sod to sew at times, matching up lines and patterns and making sure everything meets. It is a nightmare to cut out, as you have to work out where all the patterns and lines will meet each other and then it can be equally as bad to sew, making sure you sew dead on the spot where the lines are supposed to meet!

Still, it is a challenge that I enjoy but can get very frustrated with!!
…Right where does all this leave me!
Well, it leaves me thinking, and more thinking!
The Gabby doll is very young looking, probably late teens, she likes music, and England.

Here I am again, designing for the doll, but I don’t care, she just fits perfectly into my picture!
For this challenge, I wanted every item of clothing to have something “different” about it, some little feature, no matter how small. Most of these elements will never be shown on Dollway but it will give me satisfaction to know that they are there, and to know that you are now aware of them too, having read about it here.
I started with the underwear. This is made in black chiffon to keep the bulk down. It has the seams running up the front of the legs and this is covered with red ribbon to keep everything tidy and seamless looking. The end of the ribbon has a tiny hook on the end to attach to the loop on the stocking tops. The knickers are elasticated at the waist and fasten at the back with a press stud.

The knickers and stockings are trimmed with red and black lace.
Now on to the shirt, this had to be bulk free too, as it was going under her jacket, so I trimmed it down to the bare necessities.

It is made in white silk, it is fitted without being too tight. The collar was a problem as I wanted her to have a tie but didn’t want too much bulk down the front. To solve this I made the shirt fasten down the back and lost the back of the collar all together, the collar begins to fold from the shoulders as you can see above, so that her jacket will sit properly around her neck.

The back has tiny bead buttons sewn on, as does the front and the cuffs, which have openings fastening with press studs.

Her skirt was a bit of a challenge, getting all those lines meeting properly AND getting the pattern to fit properly onto the pleats. I needed to get as much red showing as I could so that it would go with her jacket.
The braces on the skirt are fine satin ribbon, they are adjustable and attach to the skirt through tiny loops trimmed with buttons, The slide on the braces is a tiny buckle that is just perfect for the job.
I have to admit to tying myself in several knots trying to thread the ribbons though in the right sequence and end up with no twists in the ribbon. It is seriously not as easy as you would think! LOL!

Next up, is the jacket. I like to do jackets and I think they make dolls look very smart - IF you get it right! This jacket is made in silk again, it is a lovely deep black/red, which sadly is very difficult to photograph!

The fabric presses really well, there is no thickness to it and apart from the fraying, it actually behaves very well. The tartan was brought into the jacket with piped seams and epaulettes then finished off with shiny gold coloured beads. It has a tiny hook and worked eye fastening at the front so that the jacket can be worn open or closed and you won’t see any ugly fasteners.

The Tartan again was worked into her boots with piped seams. The black fabric is a lightweight upholstery fabric that looks just like distressed leather, it is great to work with and makes a great pair of boots!

Next came the hat. Now, this was inspired by a girl I had seen whilst out and about, she had pinned her rather floppy peak up with a glitzy brooch, which I thought was a cracking idea! This became incorporated into my hat, the peak was extended and squared off on one side and buttoned back onto the hatband to give it quite a quirky look.

And there you have it! My outfit, which, if I am successful, will represent my Final Collection!