Ragtime Melodies

There is something called "artwear." Generally found at arts and crafts fairs, these are hand made, one-of-a-kind garments and accessories created by regional artisans. Most of the time these items are not fashion. However, from time to time, designers are influenced by a craftsman's technique and translates it into high fashion. A few years ago, I saw a shaggy jacket during menswear week that I thought could be interesting. So, for this first tutorial of the new year, I have revived the "rag jacket" and scaled it down for my dolls. This is super easy to make and takes almost no skill. 

The concept is simple. In essence, It's a rug knotting technique used to create a jacket or shawl. You begin with a netting material at the base and an old garment cut into slivers. Tie each piece onto the honeycomb cell of the base. There is no sewing. It's as easy as tying a simple knot! My base material in this case is the plastic nettin that encased my Christmas turkey. Sometimes vegetables are wrapped in the same "material." But if none of your food comes wrapped in such a material, an old fashioned hairnet (generally found at beauty supply stores) will work as well! 

You need to use the most simplest patterns as possible. I really wanted sleeves, so I created a very simple "boxy" pattern that is joined along the underside of the sleeve and side of the garment. But frankly, the simple tube  we used to create our shrugs or a stole is less complicated and will render almost the same look. 

Here is the pattern I used. It was created by stretching out the doll's arms (for width) and deciding the length of the finished garment and drawing a box around the whole thing. There is a slit at the center front. Usually whenever I've used such a pattern, there is a horizontal slit at the neck. However, the netting is so loose, you don't really need to introduce a slit.

Cut a piece of the netting so that it covers the pattern. You will use the pattern to help guide you as you tie on the slivers of fabric. What I discovered is that it is better if you make that cut along the center front line. You can "finish" the front edges with fabric ties.

1. It's very simple. Whatever your fabric or material source is, cut them into slivers. For this jacket, I cut up an old pair of my dad's jeans into slivers that are approximately 1/2 inch (1 cm) by 4 inches (9cm). They don't have to be even. If the fabric frays, all the better. But if you want a more "controlled" effect, you could use ribbon, for example. You could even cut up non-woven materials like tulle, vinyl, even dryer sheets. 

2. Get comfortable. Put on a good movie or two. Pour yourself a glass of wine or put on a pot of coffee. You're going to be working on this for awhile. Tie each piece around the cells of the netting. Continue until you have covered the area. 

3. Put this on the doll and cut more ties.

4. I use more fabric slivers to tie the underarm and sides of the jacket.

5. Once I have finished, cut away the excess netting. Then tie on more slivers to hide the cut plastic edges.

6. And Voila! Here's Nicki and her new jacket. Very 1980's! But very versatile. With jeans and sneakers it's an extravagant daytime look. With a short circle silk skirt and thigh high boots...it's urban high fashion. 

I will say this. The jacket is heavy. What I learned is that you do not have to tie up the entire surface of the netting. But where you see gaps (around the neck and sleeves, for example), you can "modify" the fit simply by tying the cells together. The look of this jacket will change depending on the material used.

By changing the fabric to a lightweight metallic, my 80's jacket is upgraded to something that could walk the Met Gala (US Vogue Magazine's annual high fashion red carpet event at New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art). 

Katoucha wears it over a silver lurex gown. Of course before finishing this post, I wanted to try one more variations. What happens if you use yarn?

1. This is your ordinary wool yarn. I cut it into pieces of 6" (15cm) in length). I cut two pieces which are then folded in half and cut to make four pieces. I thread the four pieces of yarn through each cell and tie. Eventually I smooth the yarn so that it is all moving in the same direction. 

2. Since this is a stole, the base is a simple rectangle. When finished, you can add two longer lengths of yarn as ties to hold the stole around the doll's neck or shoulders.

3. When finished the backside looks like this. 

4. If you want, you can add on a lining. Here, I've used a piece of panne velvet as my lining. Turn the edges down and pin in place. Then hand stitch the lining in place.

And voila....Samantha looks stunning in her shaggy shawl!  Stay safe. Have fun!

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Treasure Hunt and Old Lace

One of the things I love to do in Paris is to lose myself in the neighborhood antique fairs. If you plan a trip to Paris, you can find when and where the merchants plan to be by consulting the schedule at: www.spam.fr. Here you will find a variety of interesting fare from old toys and miniature perfume bottles to vintage crystal and period furniture. Occasionally you can find trims or old lace perfect for making a sensational dress or coat for your doll.



As luck would have it, I found what was probably a yellowed square doily and a tiny piece of beaded silk tulle. Both were not in the best shape, but for me, they were one of those rare treasures that can be transformed into a one-of-kind "couture" garment for dolly.



The lace square is easy. The lace has a lot of open work. I simply found holes that allowed for the doll's arms to pass through. Since the lace was broken in one spot, one arm only needed reinforcing. However, I had to enlarge the openwork on the other side to allow the other arm to fit through. Make the openings are low enough so that you have enough margin to fashion a collar. Now decide where you want this overcoat or dress to fit and pinch the open work around the body closed then hand stitch. (The doll's top is simply a lace collar I have wrapped around her and pinned in place.)



The black beaded material is more complicated in that when cut, the beads--which are attached with a chain stitch--will unravel. If you can design something where you don't have to cut, all the better. However, I hated this fabric as a gathered skirt. And since I don't design anything for the doll that I, myself wouldn't wear, I decided to take a chance and cut the trim in half.



I wrap the fabric around the doll, pinning in the back and then mark the pins with chalk. Then I carefully cut down this line and around the pins. You will probably lose a few beads, but you can reattach them later. Remove from the doll.



Next, make a tube underdress. I used the top part of a panty hose, but you can also use a stretch fabric. In any case this garment will not be seen.



Now take the length of trim you cut for the skirt and lay it over the dress. Using the same technique we used for making the 1-piece skirt, create your darts in the front and back. Adjust. Pin and stitch directly onto the underdress. Stitch the darts directly onto the dress, but do not stitch horizontally because you will not be able to get the dress on and off the doll.



Now take the rest of the trim and drape over the shoulders. Make a slit in the fabric over each arm (about 1 inch down) then slip the top over the doll. Fold the fabric at the shoulders front over back and hand stitch. Cut away excess fabric from under the arms. Turn the neckline under and stitch or glue in place.



For the back, I decided to only attach the top at the back of the neck with hook and eye. You can stitch it down the back leaving enough space to slide it off, but I found the beads give this piece enough weight to hold the top closed and I didn't want the beads to catch onto the beads of the underdress when taking it on and off.



Afterwards, I sewed back on beads which had fallen off and I added a few extra sequins to make up for those beads which were lost over the tears.

Both of these outfits only cost 2€50 (about $4). What a find!!!!!



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Lost & Found

Unless you live in a large metropolis, finding a fabric store will prove to be chore. Still, you probably have old clothes and accessories around the house and that should provide a treasure trove of materials from which to work. Since the 12" doll has such minuscule proportions, the waistband of a skirt is all you need to make a suit; a sock is sufficient for a
knit dress and old camisole will be more than enough to make the most whimsical of summer evening wear. In this edition, we will look at a few super simple ways to create interesting garments out of old items. 



An old pair of gloves transformed into a garment. 

Fits Like a Glove…

In the above picture, I've stitched the gloves wrist to wrist (the fingers will be pointing north and south). Toss over the doll's shoulders, and voila..a shawl. Another variation: a cape. Place a pair of gloves side to side along the outer edges. (Baby fingers sewn together, thumbs point outwards; fingers point down.) Pin together, then hand stitch in place. Fold the joined gloves over about 2 inches (to form the collar) from the wrist line and drape over the doll’s shoulders. Hold in place using a tiny lapel pin at the throat or a 12” piece of (3mm or 1/8”) ribbon wrapped around the neck. Tack the thumbs in place should they stick away from the body.

This works using any type of glove. The possibilities are endless. 

 

Hat’s off!

Around our house there are lots of antique fur hats and old, knitted bonnets. These, too, are easily transformed into cocoons. Attach a bit of chain or ribbon across throat of the doll to hold the cloak in place.

Take a knitted cap, fold over the outer edge to create the illusion of a collar, then wrap across the body of the doll. Her hat, by the way, is the toe of a stocking knotted into a ball.

A New Twist

Thus far, I have featured little tricks for creating looks destined for either collectors with little sewing skills or those of you who not interested in investing in a sewing machine. At the beginning of my venture, I was not ready to commit to the sewing part of this project. So I resorted to draping and either hand stitching or pinning my "concepts" in place, sometimes over the doll's original clothing. I took pictures so that I could revisit these looks later and perhaps transform them into "real" constructed clothes. I also experimented with other types of materials like screen or aluminum foil which can be  pressed or crushed to the doll’s body. Your craft store is a good source for these sorts of things.

 

 

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