Sue's Tiny Costumes

Geeky Dolls

sdarby — Wed, 03 Apr 2013 04:32:05 +0000

Wishful thinking or procrastination?

sdarby — Mon, 04 Mar 2013 03:49:00 +0000

Time to sew? I wish I had time for sewing and I suppose I do I just have chosen to not sew in a while. There are a are a variety of reasons such as the garage is a mess, the floor is very cold, my suplies are a disaster zone but all of those are excuses and can easily be fixed. I’m now working on building a new routine to do writing each day with one site per day as a goal.

A secondary goal would be to get ahead writing and free up time further but first lets get daily down. I have time set aside to work on some ideas for a couple dolls and just need to sit still long enough with the right computer to do them. I also need to just go clean and complete some long term projects to fix the issues I have with not wanting to be out in the cold garage. Someone want to poke way me to get moving towards my goals?

Who are the popular dolls?

sdarby — Mon, 18 Feb 2013 22:59:38 +0000

So, curiosity gets me here… who are the popular dolls? Barbie, Bratz, Monster High, Gene, Kitty & Tiny Kitty come to mind. Tiny Betsy, Betsy and American Girls too but what about baby dolls? I have several nekkid baby dolls my now 13 yr old doesn’t want and am contemplating 2 roads… dress them and sell patterns for them or donate them locally. In particular two are Zaph Baby Borns, one a soft body and one a hard body, drink & wet doll.

I love dolls and have a hard time parting with them for any reason but I guess my teen has decided to “grow up”.

So who are your favorite dolls?

Doll Books of Many Subjects

sdarby — Wed, 13 Feb 2013 01:16:34 +0000

Pattern Drafting Crash Course – Terms of Use

sdarby — Tue, 25 Dec 2012 01:00:51 +0000

More information included in the full books! The terms of usage for my tutorial.

Please leave all copyright information in place and do not sell this Pattern Drafting Crash Course. If you want to link to it please go ahead but also let me know so I may link back. Any and all patterns you make using this information are yours and you may sell them just not my “How To Do It”. Please if you do sell the patterns made from this or any of my books, place a small note somewhere that you used my Pattern Drafting Crash Course or my books Pattern Making for Dolls and Pattern Drafting For Miniatures and list my URL or e-mail. This is a very small thing to do for me and otherwise I give the Pattern Drafting Crash Course freely with no expectations that you will buy the books or anything from me. Please feel free to drop me a line telling me what you used the Pattern Drafting Crash Course for or if you used it to make a pattern and sold it. I like to hear about your success!

Pattern Drafting Crash Course for a Child Doll

sdarby — Tue, 25 Dec 2012 01:00:20 +0000

This tutorial was originally created in 2000-2001 and tested on my daughter at about a year old (she’s 13 now). I have also used this tutorial to draft for a doll as small as 1/2″ tall of course using magnifying glasses and a very sharp pencil! This is a preview of the techniques used in Pattern Making for Dolls and Pattern Drafting For Miniatures which were originally sold as hard copy books, moved to CD and finally are now available only in PDF as an instant download.

Included in this tutorial series are all the items that will be needed for all the pattern drafts and even some of the items that will be needed for the stylization in following sections of the full book. Please feel free to draft patterns and critique anything you find that doesn’t work quite right for you. Please also remember the full book covers ladies clothing and babies clothing too along with stylization and construction tips and techniques. If you pass this on to anyone else please remember to give me credit and point them to my website or contact information. Feel free to contact me with any questions you have regarding my technique.

At some point in the future I will be expanding this series of books to include Computerized Drafting and a book on Advanced Stylizations for Dolls and Miniatures. Keep an eye on the site and the blogs for announcements!

Pattern Drafting Crash Course – Glossary Terms

sdarby — Tue, 25 Dec 2012 01:00:04 +0000

Glossary of Terms

Abdomen- area between the waist and hips around the belly button area

Abdomen arc- 1/4 of the total circumference of the fattest part

Apex- the doll’s nipple if she has one or the tip of her breast

Arc- 1/4 of complete circumference measurement

Banana dart- a dart that looks like a straight up and down banana

Basic block- your pattern that you drafted from your measurements it has no design to it

Bias grain- the diagonal of the fabric and your grain line is lined up with it for a different drape

Blend- making separate lines look like 1 continuous one

Bust- chest level on a child or man or the breasts of a lady doll

Bust arc- the distance from the flat ribs below the bust to the apex

Bust bridge- distance between apexes

Cap ease – difference between cap and armhole measurement

Cap- height distance from biceps to cap at center

Center back- center of the back usually where there would be a spine

Center front -center of the front of a doll where there would normally be a breast bone

Circumference- distance around somewhere

Cloth body- the body is made of cloth and is very soft and huggable.

Composition body- the body I made of a plastic substance and does not squish when you hug your doll

Cross grain- grain running from selvage to selvage

Crotch- area where a drink and wet doll wets and where panties would normally go

Dart intake- the extra added to a pattern so that when you sew the dart it doesn’t end up too small

Dart leg- one of the lines that makes up a dart

Dart point- the tip of the dart

Darts- used to fit a garment close to the body primarily for lady dolls but can be used on children or men but never on a baby.

Drape- holding and pinning a piece of fabric up to a doll and pinching the material until it fits then marking where darts are and making a basic pattern from
the fabric markings in a connect-the-dots style.

Ease- the extra bit of room that allows you to dress the doll without breaking her

Elbow level – elbow of doll

Finger span- the distance around all the fingers at the largest point

French curve- plastic tool used to draw curves various sizes are available including ones specifically for dolls

Grade- to enlarge or shrink an current pattern

Grading- the act of enlarging or shrinking a pattern

Grain line- center of garment running normally from top to bottom of piece

Hip arc- 1/4 of the total hip measurement

Horizontal balance lines or HBL- horizontal lines used as a basis of where the bust waist and hip lie so that measuring is more accurate and easier

Notches- used at the armhole and top of sleeve to ensure that the sleeve doesn’t end up crooked when sewn

Porcelain body- made of porcelain doesn’t squish and is very hard similar to a composition body only very fragile

Princess line- the style of a pattern where the bodice or skirt has been split into 2 pieces for each quarter of the body

Raglan- a style where the sleeve doesn’t come from the shoulder tip but from the neck shoulder junction as in a sweatshirt

Right angle or RT angle- a 90-degree angle commonly found at necklines centers side seams and armhole bottoms

Rulers- measuring tool

Seam- sewn together pieces of fabric to form 1 piece

Seam allowance or S/A- allowance of extra fabric so that your sewing machine has a little extra to grab on to when it tries to feed your fabric through.

Sleeve cap -the curved top section of the sleeve from the front to the back

Sleeve ease- the added room needed to allow the arm to move if necessary

Straight grain- the vertical grain of the fabric

Style lines- various lines made on patterns to create a new look or design

Torso- the body part of a doll with out the head, arms, or legs.

Truing the pattern- checking to be sure that all areas match up side seams are the same length, shoulder seams are the same etc.

Waist arc- 1/4 of the total waist circumference measurement

Wrist level- the bottom hemline area of a sleeve, level with the wrist of the arm

Pattern Drafting Crash Course – Measuring Your Miniature Dolls

sdarby — Tue, 25 Dec 2012 01:00:00 +0000

Pattern Drafting Crash Course – Measuring Your Miniature Dolls

Since most dolls are evenly made on both sides, the measurements are taken on the half or in the case of an arc the quarter. The exception is circumference measurements, which are all the way around the body. It is advisable that you mark somehow, either with scotch tape on the body and a pencil mark or however you are comfortable, the center front and back along with where your doll’s bust, waist and hip fall. Deciding this before you start measuring will make a big difference in how your patterns will turn out and how accurate they will be. For scale and 1/2 scale miniatures use metrics, as a millimeter is more accurate than rounding to the nearest fraction. When working with dolls this tiny it is imperative that your measurements be accurate.

Please note that after 9 years this tutorial has been updated to reflect several minor errors that were made during the original writing.

Measurement Chart

This is a master list of all the measurements needed for all dolls. Copy the entire list and fill in the ones you need for whatever doll you are going to be currently using. Following will be explanations of how to do these measurements for each type of doll.
Permission granted by author to copy this page.

Key: A= All Dolls L= Lady dolls only C = Child dolls B = Babies M = Man				KEY
1) Full Height				A
2) Bust/Chest				A
3) Waist				A
4) Hip/Hip With Diaper				A, B
5) Center Length		Front	Back	A
6) Full Length		Front	Back	A
7) Across Shoulder		Front	Back	A
8) Side Seam Length				A
9) Shoulder Length				A
10) Shoulder Slope		Front	Back	A
11) Bust Depth				L
12) Side Seam To Floor				L, M, C
13) Back Waist To Floor				L, M, C
14) Crotch Depth				A
15) Hip Depth				A
16) Side Hip Depth				A
17) Finger Span				A
18) Wrist				A
19) Around Foot				A
20) Upper Arm				A
21) Sleeve Length				A
22) Armhole Depth				A
23)Waist To	A) Ankle	B)Knee	C)Floor	L, C
D) Short Train		E) Long Train		L
24) Inseam				A
25) Outseam				A
Waist Arc				A
Chest Arc				A
Hip Arc				A
Arms Type				A
Legs Type				A
Body Type				A
Fingers Type				A

My favorite sites

sdarby — Tue, 25 Dec 2012 00:10:34 +0000

This begins the series of posts on favorite sites and resources for anything doll related. Some miniature doll resources and other for various other dolls or sewing supplies.

Today’s favorite sites are Fabric Depot and Britex Fabrics.

Fabric Depot is based in Portland, Oregon and boasts a wonderful acre of fabric, notions and craft supplies. To go into the store you should start when the doors open as you can be there for literally hours the first time. They have a variety of fabrics including tiny prints and natural fiber fabric suitable for doll clothes and miniatures projects. Their online site is a wonderful place to just sit and browse for hours and find many favorite fabrics that may not be available in your local fabric stores. Their staff has always been helpful both in person and via online or phone ordering and their prices are just right… perfect for spending just “a little too much but oh my it was on sale”!

Britex Fabrics is located in the heart of downtown San Francisco and boasts 4 floors of fabric, notions and trims. The fabrics are very high quality and you can again spend hours just looking. The last time I was in Britex I was a poor college student and could only afford one tiny piece of trim which I promptly used on one of my early miniature dresses. Sometime soon I hope to visit again!

I miss large fabric stores like Fabric Depot and Britex Fabrics but no matter what I LOVE living in Alaska… after all what is the internet for if not to order fabric from a distance!

Pattern Drafting Crash Course – Pants Child

sdarby — Tue, 25 Dec 2012 00:00:44 +0000

Waist To Ankle (Inseam)	Waist Arc
Crotch Depth	Hip Depth
Outseam

1) Side seam- pants length. Square out at top &
bottom to both sides

2) Side hip depth- measure down and square
out to both sides

3) Crotch depth- measure down from top
crotch depth and square out to both sides

4) Waist to knee- square out to both
sides

5) Center back- formula: waist arc +
dart intake (see Miniature Draft Chart) + ease (see
Miniature
Draft Chart)

6) Back hip arc- from center back towards side seam

7) Back hip depth- from hip line measure
up and mark

8 ) Crotch bisect- at crotch level bisect
(45° angle) and mark out according to
Miniature Draft Chart)

9) Crotch curve- using your French curve
draw a curve from the mid-point to the crotch line
touching the tip of the bisect

10) ) Hip- Draw in hip line with French
curve

11) Center front- formula: waist arc + dart intake
(see
Miniature
Draft Chart) + ease (see
Miniature Draft Chart)

12) front hip arc- from center front
towards side seam

13) Back hip depth- from hip line measure
up and mark

14) Crotch bisect- at crotch level bisect
(45° angle) and mark out according to Miniature Draft Chart

15) Crotch curve- using your French curve
draw a curve from the mid-point to the crotch line
touching the tip of the bisect

16) Hip- Draw in hip line with French
curve

17) Inseam (crotch side)- square down
to bottom Inseam measurement Outseam (side seam) -From
Crotch level measure down Outseam measurement. The
distance between the lines at the bottom should be
no smaller than the Around Foot measurement.

18) Inseam (crotch side)- square down
to bottom Outseam (side seam) -measure over around
foot measurement and mark connect mark to crotch level
line