A dolly needs to be able to dress like her "Mommie"

After accidentally beginning a series of dolly outfits from different countries and cultures (shown in a previous post--see "Dolly for a Sweet Girl in Korea"), it occurred to me that I really should include a traditional Korean costume as part of the first shipment.

This my first attempt at creating a kid-friendly "hanbok" for a dolly

It would look more authentic if the bodice were a tad shorter and fitted under the arms snugly.  But I won't make things so fitted as I want kids to be able to dress their own dolls.  The shoulders should be narrower for this dolly and the sleeves should be longer, but both things make it harder to put it on the dolly, so I have avoided those details.  It would be more gathered at the waist that way, too.  But it's not too bad for a first try, especially given my constraints.

The bodice is a polyester blend "shantung", so it's all been washed.  The stripes are a designer fabric I found on a sale table.  

I'm rather hoping the piece of designer fabric will be large enough to make something for the princess, but she's growing so fast I'm not sure if that will be possible.  I don't know what it is, but I'm pretty sure it is partly cotton.  The black part is almost sheer--very unusual.

I don't think the braid will do too well being washed very much, so hopefully it won't be necessary too often?

The neck band is bias binding, folded and hand-sewn.

For this one I had to break several of my "rules".  Normally I would not "gather" (unless by serger), but both the skirt and sleeves at the cuff had to be gathered.   Also, I would not completely "face" the bodice, but with this fabric it was necessary.  The stuff "shreds"--thank goodness for sergers!  Normally I would not use any braid that wasn't very durable either.  And hand sewing the bias binding is a major 'no-no', but I did--I wasn't messing with the shantung on the machine any more than necessary!

Also, it took possibly 5 hours to accomplish this chore from choosing fabrics, cutting, to completion--another HUGE 'no-no' for dolly clothes!   But she is Korean--so I tried to make it as authentic as possible.

Of course the back is open with a velcro closure--easy on and off for kids...

The diaper/panties with elastic front and velcro closure are made from a stripey yellow/gold cotton fabric (left over from the reversible baby quilt).  I used the same as a "facing" for the back bodice, so I could fasten the velcro into something more substantial than shantung.  I also put a piece inside the shantung on the side you see in the photo above for reinforcement.

So, in this shipment we'll have covered an American slightly Western outfit, a rather Chinese dress with Fishmen's pants, a somewhat Japanese kimono, and a Korean hanbok -- happy accident!  

I'm curious to see what countries may be represented in the next shipment--but I'm already mulling a Swiss costume or Dirndl, and I'm sure I'll get around to a pioneer or Wild West costume eventually.

My "muse" seems to work thematically--sometimes it's a rather unified color scheme or, as in this case it began with several coordinating fabrics and grew into several cultures.  In any case, it seems to sort of "flow together" as I ponder "what's next" as I work...  I rather like my "happy accidents".

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Sat., July 27, 2010

I am SO excited.  My nice Korean shipper recognized the hanbok!  So I did an ok job with my interpretation.  He said the white band around the neck was the "cincher".  He told me that part is often replaced during the life of a garment--makes a lot of sense.