"Finish the Dress, and Get Out of the Way!!!"

There's a hard way and an easy way to do clothes in mini. When I want something that is reusable and going to be changed, I sew and make them like real clothes. When it is for someone like Tessie that will wear it for a while and discard it, I use a combo of sewing and gluing.

Yesterday, I woke up with a sore throat. Today it is a full blown head cold. GRRRRRR....

I don't really feel like doing a lot of moving around, so I opted to follow Tessie's suggestion and make her a new "disposable Dress".

I used some of the lace that I bought yesterday and some fabric that I have had for at least 20 years.

The first step was to measure and cut a piece of fabric for the skirt. I made it an inch longer than I wanted it to hang and at least twice as wide as Tessie's hip measurement. In the first photo I took a tuck in the skirt and added lace in the fold. The secret is to lightly glue the lace where you want it and then fold down the fabric and tack it in place.

I turned up the hem with white glue and stitched up the back seam. Then I ran a gathering stitch around the top of the skirt. I put the skirt on Tessie and pulled up the thread to fit and tied it off.


Here you can see the shape that I cut the sleeves. If you sew, you will recognize that curve at the top. If you don't, just cut the sleeve piece in a rectangle and then cut off the outer corners in a gentle curve. I glued a hem at the bottom and added lace. Then I stitched the sleeve seam with the right sides facing.

I am not giving exact measurements, because each doll is different. You will have to measure as you go.

Next, I slipped the sleeves on to make sure that they fit. Then I gathered the wrist about a quarter inch from the bottom, right on Tessie. I decided that I wanted less puff, so I gathered again at the elbow, making a Juliet sleeve.

After that, I cut a rectangle that fit around her under the arms, doubled top to bottom.

I cut two strips and again folded and glued lengthwise. I edged them with trim and glued them over her shoulders, trimming them at the waist to fit.

The last piece was a waistband to cover all of the raw edges.

As I was finishing, Zar came running in and yelled, "Tessie!!! Come quick! You are being infested!!!"

That didn't sound good. That's when Tessie shouted the title, "Finish the Dress and get out of the way!!!"......She had a few other choice words to say, that I won't repeat.

I followed them back to the garden. Zar calmly sat back in his chair and picked up his drink. Tessie grabbed her hoe.

It seems that the raccoon brought a few friends for lunch. And it also seems that Monty Python is worthless as a watchdog....er, watchsnake....

I fear that, before she gets all of the critters out of the veggies, Tessie is going to need a replacement dress. Rocky and Mr. Mole seem to be enjoying the tomatoes. Squirrelito(named for the ones in my back yard)hasn't made a choice from the menu yet.

My question is.....Why didn't Zar just chase them out and save Tessie the trouble? I have the feeling that the hoe is going to be used on a larger pest before this is done....."Zar, if I were you, I would put down that drink and head for the hills with the other pests!"

See you tomorrow.