Sew along with us!

As promised in this New Year, Sew Beautiful will be encouraging you to sew along with us, selecting one chapter each month from 12 different books. Our goal is not only to keep you stitching, but to introduce you to a variety of different ways to use your talents. 

So it’s month one, January, and I’ve selected the book Doll Fashion Studio by Joan Hinds. If you have a little one who loves her 18-inch doll, this is a brand new book and a terrific find. At $24.99 the entire book with a collection of full-size patterns costs less than you’d probably pay for one pre-made outfit in a doll catalog. 

Since my little niece Ellie just got an 18-inch doll for Christmas, I thought I’d surprise her with a little dress and use up some of my lace and fabric scraps at the same time. I’ve selected the “Sunny Day Dress” for my pattern. It only requires two pattern pieces and ½ yard of fabric. In the book, Joan made it up in a floral print with rickrack trim, but I’m taking an heirloom approach. I’m planning to join sections of colored lace edging for one side of the top and thinking about machine embroidering a design on the other side. We’ll see how it develops. 

I’ve included the book cover here. So you’ll have time to get a copy of the book, I won’t start sewing until my blog entry next week. So check back, and we’ll whip up this sweet little doll dress together.

Amelia