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Well, I bulloxed up a baby dress I was converting into a doll dress as a tutorial for the KTD blog - ugh. Have another I'm working on, but still, it's disappointing when there's an idea, and the reality flops.
At least I was able to salvage the layered ruffled skirt of the baby dress. It made a nice doll skirt with matching ribbon folded over for the waistband. Am putting together a coordinating blouse of pink lace. That's something I love working with, re-embroidered net lace. I try to buy it in widths of 3+ inches, as trim, not the allover lace material in yardage, but as trim with one edge finished and one edge straight.
I don't work with patterns for a lot of doll clothes. For laces blouses and full skirts especially I'll skip pattern use and have the doll right there for fittings as I go. Seems to work best. Now, lets see if I can modify one of the other baby dresses I have on hand for that tutorial ...
edited to add on 7/8/07:
Well, I did it! Added sleeves even. Went from this:
to this:
another view:
The trick is finding the smallest baby sundress you can; newborn or 3 months size. And spagetti straps don't work, dresses with sleeves *might*, but depends upon the sleeve style.
Not exactly "fabric whore" related, unless you count that I look for these little dresses based on their fabric. This one in particular I enjoy because it's a lawn-weight cotton with a variety of fun prints on it for a great peasant effect. I used embroidered cotton lawn for the sleeves ... I think I may take the cuffs up a touch and add a bit of lace to them ...
Finally, links are being gathered, added, sorted, re-thought out. FabricWhore.com won't be a lame-ass site anymore! But poor neglected domain name it was ... yes, a really raunchy fun name (surprised it was available frankly), with a good idea for a site, but it sat neglected for almost a year while I pondered the implications of fabric whoredom. Do I really want to admit to pining for fabric and "selling out" for it? It that a black mark on the women's movement to fess up to sex for goodies? Oh fucking hell ... I'm married. I'd do it anyhow because I'm happily married. So I shall revel in fabric whoredom, dammit! Now, if the hub wasn't a good husband/father/provider it'd be a different story ...
Collecting dolls is almost as fun as collecting fabric (and somehow restraint is easier with the dolls) and making or sewing for dolls is a really great excuse for fabric ...
I started making elves and hand puppets because of the fabric sickness. My husband said "You buy all this fabric, WHAT are you going to with it? ARE you going to do anything with it?" (Ugh, hate it when they have a point.)
So after ... conceding, I got myself juried into a craft guild and tried to seriously make art dolls and puppets, a perfect way to use lush and wild fabrics as seen on Myrna the first of the Fairy Broadmothers in her Phyllis Diller inspired gown, and on this velvet and brocade bodied dragon puppet named Arthur ...
And Santa's elves are made for jewel-toned velvets and wools with brocade ribbon and salvaged vintage fur trim (only kind I'll use) ... this was Nick, he became victim to a disgruntled dog left at home with a sitter the day after my first craft show ended ... bad doggie ... but Mommy still loves you.
But lemme tell ya, being a stay-at-home-mom is not conducive to sculpting and painting, so tried my hand at sewing for dolls - this way the fabric supply could remain bountiful - starting with lil' 7" Riley. Here in a cutesy-wootsy calico dress with cotton lace trim ...
The progression to vinyl 16" fashion dolls was quick ... this outfit was the pinnacle so far of my "career" sewing for this scale doll as I was asked to make it for a magazine article (yay!). It's made of embroided taffeta silk and tea-stained embroidered cotton net lace - yummy!
(photo by Nora in SF)
A doll came into my collection that raised the bar on my sewing ... meet Veruca, my one and only Sybarite. Most Syb collectors have multiples of this doll, but one is plenty here! Here seen in embroidered net lace over palest pink dupioni silk. Full length of this gown seen here.
Such a gorgeous bitch of a doll; she makes everything look better and she will slap the crap out of you if you don't agree.
Alas, poor diva, she has been abandoned for the big resin BJDs (Asian ball jointed Dollfies) ...
This is Milagra, she is a BJD by ElfDoll (model name Sooah). This was from one of her first photo shoots while here ... already a fully fledged fabric whore draping herself in brocade, silk dupioni and embroidered net lace (have you noticed a preference yet?) ...
Somehow rich fabrics look better on resin (like the Sybs and BJDs) than on plastic ...
And ya know, the male BJDs look awesome in wild prints ...
So ... what's your excuse for the fabric hoarding, hmmm?
I love fabric. I sew and make things because I love fabric and need an excuse to have every imaginable kind of fabric on hand. The lusher, the more brilliantly colored, the more wildly patterned, the better.
But whore cannot live by fabric alone. We need thread, and trims and fasteners and and and ...
And when you live in the middle of the sticks where the closest GOOD fabric store is easily two hours drive away you buy online. And you get sick of that B.A.S.* real damned quick. (Big Auction Site; until their auction fees go down and their customer service goes up I won't give them the searchable reference.)
So, welcome dear fellow whores, we are far from alone. We can enable each other into more fabrics and more project needs to purchase fabrics for ... please join me with your comments and please also share your favorite links on the Fabric Whore index site ...
Yours in fiber & crafts,
Ursa
