Marcy from my FAV store in Scottsdale, AZ, this is for you (& everyone else too, of course)! Last July, a friend’s GD put this dress on Julie and we went shopping in Scottsdale, where Julie garnered lots of attention. I don’t get to Scottsdale often, so Marcy’s likely forgotten what I was talking about when I recently mentioned ‘the paisley dress on Julie’. So hope she pops in & sees this, as I wasn’t expecting to run into her & had no photo w/me that day.
Found this paisley-embroidered batik fabric long ago @ Joann’s in the ‘remnants’ bin. Hubby saw it and remarked that the pattern was too large for an 18″ doll, but I LOVED it. So, after questioning several other ladies @ the cutting counter, I told him he was overruled. Since it was also on sale @ 40% off that day, it was a ‘steal’, as remnants are sold @ 50% the price on that day – LOVE a bargain and those wonderful sewing ladies that encouraged me rightfully to buy it! 🙂 I decided Julie must have a dress out of it and searched my voluminous pattern stash for ‘just the right dress’, which is: Heritage Doll Fashions 70’s Panel Dress sold @ PixieFaire.com.
FYI: I always add little notes when I first sew a pattern, as well as reading any available reviews, so want to share that I LOVE this pattern! Last-minute I decided to put in a zipper instead of Velcro and wished @ that point I’d made the bodice lining longer, maybe even lining the whole dress. I just went with it, but for a long time I’ve wished that it fit just a tad more snugly and plan to either re-do this one or perhaps just make another. Secondly, the collar is about 1/4″ too long, but that was an easy fix.
Regardless, I’m surprised I’ve never before shared this fun dress, but if you decide you can’t live without it, do try on your doll as you sew, since all dolls vary greatly in terms of stuffing from Pleasant Company’s originals to today’s modern AG’s. Always wise to ‘try on as you sew’, just like you must with a real person! 😉
