August 29, 2019
It fits, it fits!
We designed our COMING SOON Pattern 1074: Ballet Costume Accessories Mix-and-Match Tutu Plates, Sleeve Puffs and Sleeve Ruffles for 18 Inch Dolls to coordinate with the fabulous Classical tutu and bodices from our Prima Ballerina and Ballet Performance Bundle patterns.
Don't they look amazing together?
We can't wait to release this pattern which is currently out with our testers, whee! and we hope that you can't wait to make it as well.
Here's a little extra incentive: when we shared the first SNEAK PEEKS of the pattern to the Lee & Pearl Facebook page, one of our friends asked if the accessories might work with the various American Girl® brand tutus as well.
What a great question!
Last Friday, "Pearl" drove over to the Dallas Galleria American Girl store and purchased the currently available Shimmering Ballet Outfit to give it a try...
Hey, those look pretty amazing together, too!
Here's the great thing about our tutu plates they are basically aprons. They are designed to fit snugly around our Pattern 1073 tutus, with ribbon ties or hooks in back. So they'll fit on pretty much any tutu that sits around an American Girl doll's hips. And as all American Girl tutus that we've seen — including the recently released Limited Edition Nutcracker Snow Queen outfit are composed of a stretch fabric leotard and an elastic waist tulle skirt that can easily be pushed down around a doll's hips, our plates should work with all these tutus.
Now we'll be honest, our tutu plate is a *little* big on the American Girl tutu as it's designed to fit a doll wearing multiple layers of woven fabric, and not just a single stretch fabric leotard. But that's an easy adjustment: instead of using ribbon ties or hooks to close the back of the tutu plate, just overlap the ends slightly, and attach snaps on the overlapping edges. Easy-peasy.
And of course, the sleeve puffs and sleeve ruffles in our Pattern 1074 will work with any outfit that leaves the doll's arms bare.
And now for something completely different
Whenever we find something unique and adorable for dolls during our visits to antique malls, thrift stores, estate sales and such, we love sharing it here with our friends.
Excited by her success at the American Girl store, our designer Pearl gave herself a treat, and stopped off at her favorite local estate sale showroom on the way home to see what they had in the display cases...
Well obviously, THAT had to come home with us.
That's a Steiff mohair stuffed rooster toy from the 1960s. It stands approximately seven inches tall, from its little felt feet to its perfect red cockscomb. And best of all, it was 75% off (and thus affordable, if you know where vintage Steiff prices usually land).
Pearl has been looking for doll-scale poultry for some time, and has sadly left many that weren't *quite* the right size on the shelf. But this one looked like exactly the right size...
And it is!
Of course, now we want the whole Steiff chicken family. Oh dear, this could be an expensive barnyard.
One last bit of news
Last month, Margie S. of Too Cute Doll Designs graciously interviewed Pearl for the Fall 2019 issue of her doll sewing magazine. That issue with the full interview is currently available in the Too Cute Doll Designs Etsy shop.
Margie asked a lot of great questions and we really enjoyed the whole experience. Thank you for the opportunity, Margie!
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See you next time!