Sew and sew and so on and so forth

Worked on clothes for The Doll even though it is still at least a month out for The Arrival of The Doll. I just could not wait any more.

After all, my whole purpose in getting The Doll is to make clothes!! So there!

I dove into the vintage swimsuit pattern (#36) from Hello Dolly Boutique patterns:

the pattern has some flaws and issues, but the swimsuit is so far an acceptable effort for not having sewn doll clothes for - oh - I don't know - 40 years? I already want to do it over in a lighter fabric (I skipped the called-for lining in this blue version since the cotton was not as light as I would have liked it).

I will not finish the trunks or put the buttons on the top until I have The Doll in hand.

I also broke down and worked a little bit on an adorable skirt from Perfect Patterns: #85, a pencil skirt w/ pleated back and a cap-sleeved blouse.

I will hold off finishing the waist band and back close of the skirt until I have The Doll in hand. I still need to do the blouse.

It seems to me that the PP is much more closely tailored than the HDB pattern and, since The Doll is not exactly the same size as an American Model 22" (for which both patterns are drafted), I need to be careful how close to finished I make any PP clothes before I have the doll in hand.

I think I'll switch to my old Singer Featherweight sewing machine: it has narrower feed dogs than my newest machine (an electronic Bernina). I had to sew the side seams of the skirt lining by starting in the middle of the seam and sewing to one end, then starting again in the middle and sewing the other direction. It was the only way I could prevent the silk twill from diving down into the feed dogs and making an annoying lump of abused thread.