Friday, August 6, 2010

Perfecting the doll t-shirt.

I love making my own patterns, I can (try to) make garments look exactly how I want them to.  I found years ago that I was continually disappointed with purchased patterns. Especially "Big 3" doll patterns for modern styles. They are boxy, over sized, not flattering etc.. I started working on this t-shirt pattern a couple of weeks ago. It was wearable at first, but had some definite fit issues IMO.  The biggest thing that needed work was the sleeves. If you notice in my previous entry the sleeves of the triceratops T. They curl up away from the doll's arm on top and underneath it has a long lip to it that looks off and somewhat sloppy.  Doll clothes should reflect appropriate fit and style. Today's t-shirts have cap sleeves, no length to them past the armpit.  A short sleeve shirt should end well before the elbow ;) even by 1990 standards.  So I fixed the sleeves on my pattern and now it's just right.  The hem ends right into the side seam and the curl is gone from the top.  On people sized patterns the sleeve piece has a front and a back to it. The curve changes because the fit is different, even on dolls.
This is my new and improved t-shirt. I will be putting some of these (plain) in the store in the fall.  I found the embroidery design at http://www.urbanthreads.com/  Embroidered designs will be available too.


The neckband could be a bit more narrow, but otherwise I'm very happy with the fit.  The backs of my t-shirts fasten with hand sewn metal snaps. This is very time consuming, but worth it to save the doll's hair.
The embroidery design is a very light pink that matches the contrast thread in the hem of the shirt.  I love these Urban Threads sewing crossbones, I may put this on a shirt for myself. Holly is wearing the new cords and pink hairband from the new AG True Style outfit. 

2 comments:

Colette said...

Oh dear, v-necks, I'm sold, as always.

I just poked around the Urban Threads site and I love the little narwhal appliqué- so cute!

Unknown said...

Ooh, I hope you'll make the pattern available for sale! I'd love to make up a few of these. :)

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