StoDoll Eggy's Introduction

I've been so busy rushing to get the knitting patterns for DreamHigh Studio's micro doll Pocca ready for publication that I completely forgot to introduce a newcomer around here. Meet StoDoll "Eggy", renamed "Betty" after arriving here. 

I ordered her as a "full set", meaning she came with the wig, eyes, outfit, and shoes pictured above, which is a good thing because I was so caught up in the designing for micro-doll Pocca that I didn't have time to work with her much at first. 

(I know! Her expression does look like she was feeling the lack of attention!) 

The pattern collection for DreamHigh Studio's Pocca was published a few days ago, so now I can knit and/or sew a few things for Betty. This dress is the first of what will hopefully become a nice new wardrobe for her. 

She still looks a little sad. Maybe she's disappointed that it's only one dress after she waited so long? 

Fortunately Betty fits into the clothing from my Pukipuki line of knitting patterns. She is on a stodoll S body, which is much like an ob11 body but with legs that are 5mm longer and with stronger joints. 

The StoDoll body is amazing at posing unsupported!

True "ball jointed dolls" are strung with elastic cord, which often makes them "kicky" and prone to having their elastic stretch out over time leaving them less stable and needing restringing, which can be difficult. 

The StoDoll body has more of a mechanical joint and it holds varied poses beautifully.

Twilight Fuschia Squid

The "Twilight Fuschia" yardage has now found its way into a garment. I've sewn it up into a Saori top/dress that is, amongst Saori weavers, commonly called "The Squid". Usually it's a shorter top, I've lengthened my version.

I really love the draped collar on this design. It's great for showing off interesting fringe treatments like the "finger fringe" I've done here. 

Finger fringe is tedious and time consuming to weave, but the results are, I think, worth the effort.

My Squid is 100% cotton, mostly 2/8, but with some 2/10 and 2/16 included as well. The wandering pattern is "travelling inlay" done in commonly available "kitchen cotton", the kind used to knit dish cloths.

The Squid design is based on a folded layout that makes the front completely on the bias, 

while the back has one side with the warp situated vertically and the other side horizontally.

I'm very happy with the way my "Twilight Fuschia Squid" has turned out and I'll be wearing it often. There will be more variations on this theme in my future, I'm sure.

For My Next Magic Trick

With a little more work than just the wave of a magic wand,

I'll be refashioning these 5 men's shirts into a women's dress using the Paganoonoo pattern for the Michelle Dress.

The colour in the photo is off. All five shirts are in the navy to denim blue range, two with a little beige, four with at least a touch of grey, and four with some white.

I may not use all five shirts. We'll see how it goes once I get started. The three on the right are for sure being used. The one on the far right fits the best through the chest and shoulders and suits my colouring the most. The next two seem to look best draped at the front for the pockets. The plaid shirt that is second from the left is actually my favourite so I'm hoping to somehow work it in.

Any remaining fabric, and there will likely be plenty, is in the exact colours I like to keep on hand for my boro/sashiko work, so it all good!

Tingle's Home!

Tingle is back from her trip to Ban's Boutique.



Ban did a wonderful job of painting Tingle's face and blushing both sets of Realfee hands.



Flame is very glad to have his good friend (and his hands!) back.



The weather has changed a lot since Tingle left and the area has sprung into bloom. Flame has been pointing out all the beautiful flowers.

Perfecting the Fit

Before going all out and sewing an entire dress for my Realfee girl (still with no faceplate!) only to find that it doesn't fit, this time I made a mock up of the pattern in paper toweling first.

This is MyOwnLittleWorld's pattern, "The Little Dress". I first made it up in the Littlefee size printed out at 86%.

I wasn't crazy about the fit. It was too long, too wide in the shoulders, and could have used some more wiggle room in the hip area. 

Next I tried the same pattern but in the Lati Yellow SP size.

The fit was much better in this version, but it was too short and the armholes could be roomier. 

With my new found experience I set to work to alter the Lati Yellow SP size to be a perfect fit for Realfee. I added 1/8" of length to the shoulder area which had the double effect of lowering the neckline slightly while at the same time giving more room to the armholes. Next I added 1/4" to the lower edge of the bodice, and another 1/4" in length to the ruffle piece.

Perfect length!

If she manages to arrive before Christmas she'll be all set with a little Christmas dress. I plan to knit a tiny, cropped cardigan in either red or green to go with it, but that will have to wait on a shipment of laceweight cashmere yarn I have ordered. 

Undressed and De-Throned

Every so often I get this urge to go "Thrifting" at the local second hand shops. Today was one of those days. In a three hour time frame I visited 7 of the 8 thrift stores (that I know of) in my community. 

When I added this girl with the frizzy blonde ringlets to my basket she was SO hopeful that she was about to be adopted into a loving home. What the poor thing didn't realize was that I was actually after the chair she was zap-strapped into. The dress turning out to be Holly's size just happened to be an added bonus.

Holly would enjoy her new chair and fancy Victorian dress much more if that freaky girl would quit staring at her!