Sewing

[Maniah]

It has been.. 20 Years since I have sewn anything. I no longer have a sewing machine, and so will have to do it by hand. (Is a sewing machine even viable for such tiny garments?)

I was wondering.. With patterns, is it best to maybe rip apart some of the clothes that came with my doll to get the correct shapes? Or should i just cut out a rough shape, pin it to her, trim it down, do a loose stitch and adjust it till it fits, then sew it tight? Or is there a decent resource online for basic patterns that I could use to start my designs?

I'm going to do it all by hand for now. But if having a sewing machine would be better, and I like it ok, I might look into buying a very very cheap one.

I just have original characters that I have used in role playing games and stories over the years, and I would like to make their looks. Im just not sure how to start.

Thank you for any help you can give.

[Dorriebelle]

I sew all the time for my MH crew - nearly all of it on machine. It helped that I had some Barbie experience, but it wasn't strictly necessary. It's great fun, and once you get going, you'll have the best-dressed besties in town !

Check out this thread before you rip anything apart - there's tons of free patterns out there, and Bewilderness kindly arranged them for us to share here  - http://mlparena.com/mlp/index.php?topic=285217.0

There's also patterns on eBay and Etsy for MH for sale. I like NG Creations, m'self - so far, they've all fit and been pretty easy to sew. She's on eBay, look for 'Monster High Patterns', you'll see all three of her sets.

There's sewists far, far better than me out there and in here, and hopefully some will share tips and creations. If you're interested, here's my feeble efforts on Flickr - http://www.flickr.com/photos/dorriebelle/ (or for just the MH, go here - http://www.flickr.com/photos/dorriebelle/sets/72157624307110462/ . My main Flickr has sewing for all my dolls mixed in. )

And we're always here (well, I am !  ) if you have questions or run into a snag. Hope you enjoy your latest adjunct hobby !

[Maniah]

Thank you so much for those links! They are all super helpful!

I did used to sew barbie clothes, but my grandma was the one who made the patterns for them. She passed away when I was about 13, and the sewing hobby ended. It was something we had always done together.

Now to see how much I really remember!

[lovesbabysquirmy]

You can always post pics and ask questions!  I don't have a LOT of dolly sewing experience but I will happily give advice if I have any! 

[Maniah]

Well, I'm trying to feel my way through this right now. I had forgotten how tedious sewing by hand was. And my stitching is so uneven! I used to be able to make such a nice neat stitch when I was young haha!

I think my biggest issue right now is that Ive had to print the pattern out on printer paper.. And Im struggling with how to transfer the seam lines properly onto the fabric so I make sure I sew then correctly. I can't exactly trace the lines.. The fabric isn't sheer.

So it's slow going for me.

[Psivampyr]

There is a great gal on YouTube who makes things for dolls, including clothes. She does a step by step
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VbAARN2E0YY&list=UU9Q0dAjbhv0FbwvoHRSmjxA&index=27
Hopefully that helps too.

[Maniah]

Ooh! Thank you!

I'm almost done with the simple sheath dress Im making, and at least my stitches have evened out Maybe I will get lucky and find a free sewing machine on freecycle.

[Salli]

I do a bit of both hand and machine sewing on my dollie clothes. Any stitching that is seen (like on a hem or sleeve edge) gets machine sewn. I don't love my hand stitches. They actually aren't the worst but I like things to look 'scale' and hand stitching makes it look more like 'home-made doll clothes' than I like for some things. It can't be avoided in some parts of the sewing and I find it handy to be able to do both. I wish I had a good serger that did tiny rolled hems. That would rock! I think I am going to start a 'clothing self-challenge' thread on the doll house to help me sit and make clothes for my dollies. I actually enjoy doing it (most people HATE sewing tiny ) and I think a thread would help.

Dorriebelle, thanks for the review, I have looked at those patterns before and wondered if they were any good

[Dorriebelle]

I do a bit of both hand and machine sewing on my dollie clothes. Any stitching that is seen (like on a hem or sleeve edge) gets machine sewn. I don't love my hand stitches. They actually aren't the worst but I like things to look 'scale' and hand stitching makes it look more like 'home-made doll clothes' than I like for some things. It can't be avoided in some parts of the sewing and I find it handy to be able to do both. I wish I had a good serger that did tiny rolled hems. That would rock! I think I am going to start a 'clothing self-challenge' thread on the doll house to help me sit and make clothes for my dollies. I actually enjoy doing it (most people HATE sewing tiny ) and I think a thread would help.

Dorriebelle, thanks for the review, I have looked at those patterns before and wondered if they were any good

(blush) Why, thank you, Salli. If you're wondering how the NG Creations patterns look and fit stitched up, I always credit them when I post a finished item photo on Flickr. So if you do a search for 'ng creations' and an MH doll image comes up, it's probably mine and you can see them fairly close-up. Her stuff may be a bit blocky, but I've only altered her patterns to suit my own fancy, never because I had to. Can't say that for other patterns I've bought (coughKristineAnnscoughEtsykofff).

I machine-sew my hems, and while this sounds like a colossal waste of thread, it works for me. Since most doll clothes hems are a quarter-inch, I line the raw edge of the fabric up to the presser foot, and run a line of straight stitches right on that quarter-inch. Then I fold right on the line of stitches, and either pin it or iron it, and sew the hem right at the edge of the feed dog, between the edge of the presser foot and the needle path. I can then either remove the quarter-inch marking line of stitches or leave it there. Saves a lot of time measuring quarter-inch hems !

Let me know if that didn't make sense - I can take photos if it's confusing. I don't explain things well - or I over-explain ! 

Oops ! Forgot to thank Psivampyr for that excellent link ! I love My Froggy Stuff - she's awesome ! We made this one last week, from a third of a yard of sparkle tulle - then made a pony one from the leftovers ! 

[Catlein]

I do a bit of both hand and machine sewing on my dollie clothes. Any stitching that is seen (like on a hem or sleeve edge) gets machine sewn. I don't love my hand stitches. They actually aren't the worst but I like things to look 'scale' and hand stitching makes it look more like 'home-made doll clothes' than I like for some things. It can't be avoided in some parts of the sewing and I find it handy to be able to do both. I wish I had a good serger that did tiny rolled hems. That would rock! I think I am going to start a 'clothing self-challenge' thread on the doll house to help me sit and make clothes for my dollies. I actually enjoy doing it (most people HATE sewing tiny ) and I think a thread would help.

Dorriebelle, thanks for the review, I have looked at those patterns before and wondered if they were any good

(blush) Why, thank you, Salli. If you're wondering how the NG Creations patterns look and fit stitched up, I always credit them when I post a finished item photo on Flickr. So if you do a search for 'ng creations' and an MH doll image comes up, it's probably mine and you can see them fairly close-up. Her stuff may be a bit blocky, but I've only altered her patterns to suit my own fancy, never because I had to. Can't say that for other patterns I've bought (coughKristineAnnscoughEtsykofff).

I machine-sew my hems, and while this sounds like a colossal waste of thread, it works for me. Since most doll clothes hems are a quarter-inch, I line the raw edge of the fabric up to the presser foot, and run a line of straight stitches right on that quarter-inch. Then I fold right on the line of stitches, and either pin it or iron it, and sew the hem right at the edge of the feed dog, between the edge of the presser foot and the needle path. I can then either remove the quarter-inch marking line of stitches or leave it there. Saves a lot of time measuring quarter-inch hems !

Let me know if that didn't make sense - I can take photos if it's confusing. I don't explain things well - or I over-explain ! 

Oops ! Forgot to thank Psivampyr for that excellent link ! I love My Froggy Stuff - she's awesome ! We made this one last week, from a third of a yard of sparkle tulle - then made a pony one from the leftovers ! 

Care to elaborate on Kristine Ann's patterns? I want to get into sewing, and I've been eyeing her pattern sets as something to work up to. Thanks

[Dorriebelle]

Well....the main reason I bought her dresses pattern set is that I really wanted the A-line dress with the princess-seamed inset, pictured on the upper left of the cover. I had to sew it four times and alter the pattern quite a bit to get it to work. The lining didn't even match the front, and if you sewed it as it came anyway, it made the front part much too small. Then, the back pieces were about a half-inch wide after the seams and closures were sewn. No way was it gonna meet in the back.

I double-checked everything - from the seam allowances to the directions, and the pattern was a direct photocopy, without any sizing issues. So I had to completely redraft the back pieces and skip the lining - or draft my own of that, too. However, her yoke skirt fits beautifully, and it's probably my sketchy dart stitching that made the strapless bodice bag a bit...but on the whole, I was disappointed that the very first pattern I tried needed extensive rework. It's entirely possible another sewist would have no problems with her designs, and it's my lack of skills, not her patterns, that're faulty. But I've heard from at least one other person that had some problems, but she's a better person than me and wouldn't discuss it !

I'd still give her stuff a try - I'd really love to have a second opinion on them, and have someone correct my errors !

[Catlein]

Well....the main reason I bought her dresses pattern set is that I really wanted the A-line dress with the princess-seamed inset, pictured on the upper left of the cover. I had to sew it four times and alter the pattern quite a bit to get it to work. The lining didn't even match the front, and if you sewed it as it came anyway, it made the front part much too small. Then, the back pieces were about a half-inch wide after the seams and closures were sewn. No way was it gonna meet in the back.

I double-checked everything - from the seam allowances to the directions, and the pattern was a direct photocopy, without any sizing issues. So I had to completely redraft the back pieces and skip the lining - or draft my own of that, too. However, her yoke skirt fits beautifully, and it's probably my sketchy dart stitching that made the strapless bodice bag a bit...but on the whole, I was disappointed that the very first pattern I tried needed extensive rework. It's entirely possible another sewist would have no problems with her designs, and it's my lack of skills, not her patterns, that're faulty. But I've heard from at least one other person that had some problems, but she's a better person than me and wouldn't discuss it !

I'd still give her stuff a try - I'd really love to have a second opinion on them, and have someone correct my errors !

It'll be a while before I can attempt anything that complicated! So far all I've managed to do is sew a very basic skirt by pinning fabric to the doll and hoping for the best I really need to make sure I actually know the basics before I try anything harder, but there are so many pretty things out there to sew! Good to know about the patterns. Might have to be a bit more advanced than I anticipated to try them!