Friday, December 16, 2016

Christmas Centerpiece

Christmas is one of the most popular holidays amongst my dolls. They love getting dressed up to parade around the house. They love being the center of attention. And while most can only think about the New Year's Eve Black and White Ball, an increasing number of them requested red gowns to participate in all the Christmas action happening in our living and dining room, this year.

They didn't want just any old Couture. My divas wanted that great big, red Barbie doll style dress with lots of "centerpiece" glamour. So I pulled out...Christmas fabric. You know--cheap, glittery tulle, polyester organza and red tulle--materials usually reserved to decorate tables, for example.In my mind this should be perfect for holiday gear.  But I soon discovered working with this stuff can easily turn your design into something completely overwhelming. The trick to working with it is to keep things simple. So for this project I am using a strapless foundation and evening length circle skirt as my base.

The first dress starts with a slim evening length, basic skirt out of gold lame. You make the skirt in red, but I like how the gold shines through the red and gold starry tulle.
Next I cut a circle skirt out of my glitter tulle which goes on top.
The corset is from my post "Paper Gladiators" using gold paper doilies. You could really stop here and have a fabulous flared look right there. Or push the volume of the skirt over to one side and tack on the side of one hip.


Accessory note: golden tattoos. I was inspired by BlackKitty who, a few months ago on her Facebook page, suggested using nail art as tattoos for dolls. They sell nail art here, but I haven't been happy with the designs in the stores near me in the US.


However, I found temporary tattoos by a French company, Ki-Sign in a crafts store in Paris which I liked. (You can search on Amazon.com for other companies selling metallic temporary tattoos.) Putting them on was a snap. The design is placed face down and wet the back. However, removal takes a bit more time. Alcohol. which removes them from human skin, didn't work so I rubbed a little oil on the doll, waited a bit then gently scraped the design off with my fingernail. No scratches on the doll, but I'd like to find a gentler way to remove them before using this product extensively.


For my next dress, I wanted something more delicate, more discreet. I had some polyester organza left over from my post, "Flaky Pastry."
 In my head, I wanted to create a Christmas rose with delicate petals over the torso of a sheer corset worn over a whisper of a circle skirt in the same fabric.

1. I begin by making a strapless foundation out of my sheer organza. I flame seal all external edges (refer to post on Flaky Pastry). Don't worry if the edges are uneven. That will simply add to the rose petal effect.
2. Trim the darts to within 1/8"
3. Fasten the back with hook & eyes.

4. Cut a number of irregular squares and flame seal the edges.
5. Pin, then sew in place, overlapping each petal with the other.

Make the circle skirt. You can either cut two layers or, like me, cut it in a single layer and slip a sheer slim skirt underneath.

Tulle is another cheap, "glamorous" material. The best is silk tulle which costs a fortune and only available at high quality stores. Otherwise, it comes in fine and course. Use fine if available because it will be less bulky at the waist and yield more volume. For this look, I've kept it extremely simply.
 1. This look also begins with a circle skirt.
 2. Next, I gathered 2x 1-1/2 yards (meters) into a ribbon, cut an inch (2.5 cm) wider than the doll's waist. This is to create a double layer of gathered tulle.


3. Put the tulle skirt over the circle skirt.
4. Tie a wide ribbon around the waist of the doll and tie into a bow in the back.
5. Take a wide length of tulle and tie around the shoulders of the doll to one side. Adjust the gathers over her torso and tack in place.
The models presenting these holiday fashions are all "Christmas dolls," gifts from my father. Opening photo is this year's gift, "Akure" (Barbie Top Model Nikki), the next doll down is Nichelle, Christmas doll 2013, (Barbie Model of the Moment) and the last photo is Grace (Integrity Toys Nadja R Out of Sight), last year's gift.
 
All photos and text courtesy of Fashion Doll Stylist. Copyright 2016.
 
 
Follow us on Twitter: @FashDollStylist
Like us on Facebook: @FashDollStylist
We're also on Pinterest: @FashDollStylist
Come show us you stuff on Instagram: @fashiondollstylist

19 comments:

  1. Well, this was fun and interesting! And once again inspiring.
    Now, if only I would sit down long enough to work one of these things.
    :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ha ha ha.... Oh yes, that's right...'cause the clothes don't make themselves and the dolls won't help out either! LOL!! Glad you enjoyed this post, Jano.

      Delete
  2. Moje lalki też uwielbiają Święta Bożego Narodzenia! Lubią się stroić i błyszczą koło choinki :-)
    Twoje czerwone suknie są przepiękne! Wszystkie zasługują na podziw, lecz mnie szczególnie zafascynowała ta, ze złotym gorsetem!
    Jest cudowna!
    Pozdrawiam Cię serdecznie!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Olla wrote: My dolls also love Christmas! They like to dress up and sparkle around the Christmas tree :-)
      Your red dresses are beautiful! All deserve admiration, but I especially fascinated by this, with a gold corset!
      She is wonderful!
      Greetings!
      Thank you Olla, for your kind words. Indeed, Christmas is such a magical time. I love the way the house looks and how I can dress the dolls for the holidays. The gold corset was created for a really fun post which, also works as the perfect accessory for festive occasions like the Christmas holidays.

      Delete
  3. These are fantastic! I especially love the gold paper doilies idea. :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you jSarie. The post (Paper Gladiators) where I created those corsets was such a fun (and inexpensive) project.

      Delete
  4. These are gorgeous. I need to make some centerpieces. They probably won't look this good, but I can learn from you.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Jaye. You know, the base for all of these looks is so simple, it's really the material it all so glamorous. I'm sure whatever you make will look sensational!!!

      Delete
  5. These Christmas outfits are gorgeous. What better way to decorate for the holidays than with dolls!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Just My Dolls. I totally agree. Normally the dolls are confined to certain areas of the house. But during the holidays I give them free range (except for the kitchen and bathroom). Dolls add such a festive look to Christmas and New Years decorations.

      Delete
  6. Another wonderful post. I do so love your blog and your talent and your generosity in sharing your ideas and tips, rather than using the blog to sell the produce.
    I'm a new Barbie 'owner' - only a matter of weeks and have been buying used dolls from eBay. A couple of disasters but generally getting faces that appeal to me and attempting to match them to the fashionista/so-in-style articulated bodies.
    My intention is then to re-dress the left over hybrids and sell them for charity. Inspiration is not lacking (soooooo many blogs and Pinterest pages) but the techniques of 50+ years of dressmaking are refreshed by you brilliant site.
    stevi

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Stevi, thank you for such a beautiful comment. I'm going to wrap it up and put it under my tree! The doll universe is such a nice place to be with plenty of wonderful people doing such interesting things. I think what you are doing (restyling used dolls and selling them for charity is so incredibly noble. Welcome to my blog. Come back anytime. And so happy to know you find inspiration here.

      Delete
  7. The dolls look wonderful and I'm glad my tattoo/nail art tip helped. Thanks for the heads up about their staying power. It's actually good news for me, because I want my doll tattoos permanent. I haven't tried taking them off, but I have a feeling water decals are easier to remove (and apply) than temporary tattoos. The dresses look amazing, it's hard to believe they are made out of such non-doll friendly fabrics! So there is hope for some pieces of cheap but pretty organza I've been hoarding since forever!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you BlackKitty. I bought the metallic tattoos but there were also black ones. They are water based, but they don't come off all that easily. Applying them is super easy, but taking them off was another thing. I want to find a gentler way of removing them because I'd like to change them up, maybe apply them to part of the doll's face.
      I've been eyeing those cheap holiday materials for awhile now. At first I went a little crazy with the style of dress but I didn't like the result. A little too much sparkle for my taste. But I simply scaled back the design and I like it much better. I chose these fabrics in an effort to show that sometimes cheap materials can actually work.

      Delete
    2. Black Kitty -I read that you can use that clear varnish to seal these tattoos, the stuff used to seal acrylic paint! It's available in matte, satin and gloss! I guess the first and second would work! :)

      Delete
  8. Just brilliant!!! Have a wonderful Christmas! :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you so much. Wishing you a blessed and wonderful Christmas as well!!!

      Delete
  9. I love your fashion <3 <3 Merry Christmas and happy New Year <3

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Urszula. Happy holidays to you as well!!!

      Delete

We love hearing from you. Your comment will be published shortly. Please note: SPAM IS NOT TOLERATED. It will be deleted immediately!!