I am not an expert in sewing clothes for dolls. I can sew neatly, and I have a good sewing machine, but the most important thing in sewing is the pattern, and I can only make them using the breadboard method. Fortunately, there are successful ready-made patterns that produce clothes with a good fit.
I really like clothing sets that combine several sewn and several knitted items. And if it’s also complemented by leather shoes, then it’s absolutely wonderful.
Today I will show you what set of clothes I managed to assemble with my own hands, based on a sundress sewn according to Oksana Lifenko’s pattern.
I have already shown a knitted dress with a bow from this booklet - “We sew and knit for Paola Reina dolls”, I complemented it with a simple hat. In the booklet, in addition to the MK for knitting a dress, there was a pattern for a sundress and a MK for sewing it.
The outfit is shown by a Christie doll on an old body from 2013. I also tried the sundress on the newest body of Paola Reina, and it suits him quite well.
Here in the Caucasus, September is quite a summer month, but in the mornings it’s already cool, so a light jacket won’t hurt. I knitted the jacket from Iris yarn from the Kirovsky NPK, using fillet mesh knitting. The result is a fairly simple product, but there is one feature, if such a jacket or blouse is knitted for Paola Reina’s dolls, then it must be taken into account, these dolls have arms pointing down, they do not move to the sides, like dolls with fastenings in the form of a sphere (large Gotz, for example), so you should not knit a sleeve adjacent to the main part at a right angle, so that folds do not form. A sleeve at an acute angle will give a better fit to the doll’s figure; the item will turn out neater.
And during the day it can be hot and the sun is bright, so you need to take a hat. I came up with a hat that would hold its shape even without wire or starch treatment. This hat model is now my favorite hat for dolls; it is very easy to knit and matches the style of almost any outfit.
A description of knitting with photographs of the intermediate stages of a crochet hat is published on the website in the section of my free master classes.
I did not make a fastening with sewing buttons. I sewed on the buttons and made thread loops.
I complemented the three-piece outfit with leatherette shoes. I bought them in a joint purchase of doll shoes on the American Monique website. All Monique shoes are of excellent quality, there are a huge number of models in different colors. But it is important not to make a mistake with the size. These shoes look great on the old Paola Reina body, and they fit the Minouche dolls from Petitcolline too, but there is no way to fit them on the new body or the newest Paola Reina body.
While I have not yet learned how to make leather shoes with my own hands, we will use branded shoes.
Since I liked sewing according to Oksana’s patterns, I also sewed a shirt for a doll using the “Christmas Carols” master class, it was a free joint project 2 years ago. The outfit consisted of several items: a sewn shirt and a knitted sundress, a hat, a padded vest, and boots. I knitted everything except the boots, I think I’ll complement the outfit with Paola Reina’s signature leatherette shoes. Now all that remains is to do the embroidery on the vest and cap.
The shirt, based on Oksana’s pattern, fits well even on Paola Reina’s newest body. My shirt was tried on by a Cleo doll from an exclusive delivery at the beginning of 2018, there was such a batch of dolls before the body change at the factory, then ordinary bodies from 2015-2017 had sculpted legs, with knees, like the old bodies before 2015. Such bodies are usually called hybrid, and they are now very much appreciated among lovers of Paola Reina girlfriend dolls.
This particular Cleo is valuable not only for her hybrid knee-length body, but also for her hairstyle/eye color combination, because there was no serial production of Cleo with blond hair and a bob haircut + gray eyes. There was a bob haircut with straight bangs + brown/hazel eyes, but this one with side bangs was not mass-produced at all. In addition, Cleo with a haircut was completely discontinued in 2018; now even with brown eyes and straight bangs on the forehead, a Cleo doll cannot be found.
There was also an article for a naked Cleo doll with a bob haircut, but with red hair. It was also discontinued.
But for me this doll is valuable simply because I like it.
The boots in the photo above are Paola Reina’s signature shoes; since 2018, this model with Velcro closure has returned to the factory’s assortment; before that there was a period of simpler shoes.
And I recently knitted another dress for a paolka according to Oksana Lifenko’s pattern. The dress with hearts is still worn by Manika with colored hair, because I don’t have many suitable clothes for the newest body type, I usually knit tightly and tightly, I like a clear fit on doll bodies, not robes. Now we will have to decide in advance who will wear the new outfit, in order to adjust the product to the desired body type during the process of knitting and sewing. I hope to have more 2018 dolls on my body soon.
In order to sew a shirt for Paola Reina dolls, we need a pattern. I will describe it below, but now let’s imagine a little about why it might be useful to us.
First of all, this shirt was intended as an underdress under a sundress from the “Christmas Carols” outfit, but it doesn’t have to be limited to that :)
For example, if you cut it out of beautiful colored cotton, you will get a wonderful summer dress. Or you can sew it like a tunic, knit an openwork belt and add leggings or shorts. Or cut it out of cozy material and get a homemade nightgown, but what, dolls sleep too 😛
You can also sew such a shirt from brown material, and sew or knit an openwork white apron on top, choose white braid and run it along the neck and cuffs. And voila, we have a Soviet-era schoolgirl 😉
Inspired? Let's sew!
This is ours:
You can also download it in PDF format to print it on a printer at the desired scale; for this, when printing, select the scale 100% or “Real size”:
We cut out 1 part of the front from the fabric, 2 parts of the back and sleeves, and the facing of the neck. The split thread runs along the line of the middle of the front, back, sleeves and facing. Don't forget about seam allowances. I made 0.6 - 0.7 cm, along the bottom of the sleeve - 1 cm, and there is no need for an allowance along the bottom edge of the facing.
We sew a zigzag stitch on the side sections of the front, back and bottom edges of the facing:
Before sewing on the braid, it is advisable to check it for paint fastness, since if it suddenly fades, it will ruin your finished product. Baste and sew the braid to the sleeves. Sew the side sections and the bottom edge of the sleeve, I do this with one line:
Stitch and overcast the shoulder seams, folding the seam allowances to the back:
Sew a line from mark to mark along the sleeve hem, gather, but do not tie any knots so that you can adjust the gathering when sewing the sleeve into the armhole:
Sew the sleeves into the armholes and overcast this section. Fold the seam allowances towards the sleeves:
If you used a washable or disappearing marker to apply the pattern to the fabric, then you cannot smooth the seams at this stage; I simply straighten them with my fingers. And if you used a pencil, then feel free to iron the seams. This is what my shirt looks like at this stage:
Let's take care of the neckline 🙂 Attach the facing to the neckline (right sides facing each other) and sew it along the placket line:
Now we bend the bar and combine the control marks on the facing and the neck line:
We sew along the neckline and carefully cut off the excess seam allowances, making notches in the corners:
Turn it inside out:
We sew the sleeves and side seams with one line, turn the allowances in different directions, and overcast the bottom edge of the shirt:
Let's start with the sleeves - fold the seam allowance to the wrong side, insert a thin elastic band and carefully lay a line or sew it by hand, leaving a small hole:
We put it on the doll's handle, tighten the elastic, tie a knot and cut off the excess elastic, the tails of the elastic should hide in the remaining hole:
Sew the braid to the bottom edge of the shirt/dress:
We sew a line along the lines of the straps and neckline:
All that remains is to sew on small buttons for the fastener; for this I use monofilament:
View from the back:
All that remains is to wash off the marker and iron the seams thoroughly. In order to make it more convenient to iron doll things, I made the following devices, inside each there is a wooden slatted and padding polyester (except for the smallest one), covered with cotton fabric on top.
Now we've done it, it's time to try on our shirt. If the result does not suit you very much, then be sure to try again, and again. When a joint project took place in our VKontakte group, everyone did a great job, even those who had never sewed before. Therefore, I believe that everything will work out for you too!
You can complement the look with openwork tights, watch the master class and knit boots according to the description.
Among the various “parties” living in the boundless world of dolls, there is a circle of lovers of Spanish Paola Reina dolls. It is unknown how fascinated children are with these dolls, but adults play with them with gusto.
For example, there is a resource babiki.ru. There is a headquarters, a lair, a refuge for lovers of these dolls and a repository for various ideas for decorating them.
In short, the priests fooled Kozlevich... Having seen enough of people’s creativity and its amazing results, I bought Karla from Paola Reina with a new body.
(Attention! In 2018, the manufacturer again replaced the doll’s body. The so-called “new-new body” or “super-new body” appeared. Gone: the narrowness of the body, the waist with a steep transition to the hips, the drawing of the chest, abdomen and inguinal fold The body has become wider, flatter, and the arms and legs are closer to the body. Previously, the arms and legs were on the fly, which created comfort when cutting and trying on clothes.
The legs of the super-new bodies are very original. Thin in the hips, with enlarged knees and ankles...
1) New body; 2) new-new 2018; 3) new; 4) new-new 2018.
The heroine of the story is blonde Carla. And clothes for her.
Reasons for purchasing or how to succumb to suggestion and charm?
- The doll is mass-produced, that is, factory-made and store-bought, and therefore inexpensive. “Nyushka” (nude, nude) in mesh panties - 1200-1400 rubles. (summer 2018 prices). This one is sold in a simple plastic bag, but with certificate tags on the handles and factory marks on the head and back.
If the doll is not intended as a gift for a child, then there is no need to buy it in a box and in clothes and pay 3000-4000 rubles for this wealth: the clothes are not of shiny quality, the cuts are not processed, the finishing lines are crooked, etc. Paola Reina boots can be purchased separately. If you know how to make doll shoes, there are no problems at all.
The dolls are small - 32-33-34 cm, and their owners do not have to think about special cabinets or other special storage places.
However, many hobbyists and needlewomen collect a collection of a dozen or several dozen dolls, fortunately there are many of them: Carla, Carol, Christy, Karina, Cleo, Dasha, Claudia, Manika, Liu, Nora, as well as Carlos, Luis and Vicent. Add a variety of hair colors and lengths, different eye colors - and now you are tempted to buy another one, another one, another one... Some people like African women with Nora mold, some like Asian women, and some people remember everyone childhood dolls, admiring European women like Karl.
To the largest series of dolls “Girlfriends”, the manufacturer sometimes adds small series “Professions”, “Epoch” (there are dolls in long dresses), “Fairies” (dresses with wings) and so on. In general, the manufacturer is alive and does not stand still. He holds his consumer tenaciously in his hands. Baby dolls are also disappearing; instead, girls in gray T-shirts and shorts have come in a flood.
And the most important thing. This is a model doll - a long, thin, stick-shaped doll just for “dressing”. In one online store she is successfully presented as a “doll for handicrafts.” You can hold her comfortably by her legs, like Barbie; hugging, squeezing, cradling - this is not about her.
The body and all its parameters are quite small, and having sewed her a tiny dress, you can be proud of yourself.
However, her proportions are not the proportions and sizes of Barbie, Monster High and analogues, when the manufacture of clothes, shoes and accessories falls into the field of jewelry. There are miniaturists in the doll world, but this is a special caste and a special type of hobby or professional interest.
Paola Reina dolls are for the ordinary and mass fan of sewing and knitting.
And the most important thing. There are different directions in the world of doll production and in the neighboring world of doll lovers. But, despite new materials, trends and innovations, we managed to preserve the traditional conditional doll - a doll that does not replicate the proportions of a person, but, on the contrary, stimulates imagination and play practices.
So, Paola Reina dolls are just that, dolls, and their images are made up of charming human features, exaggerated to the point of tenderness. If we delve into the history of the issue, the situation was like this: molds for girlfriend dolls were made by a certain Spanish sculptor, and a German doll artist with a complex surname came up with the images of modern girls and a doll atelier. And now the company reproduces girlish fantasy images: “here I am a fairy”, “here I am a witch”, “here I am a doctor”, “here I am dressed like an adult”, “here I am at a ball or at a disco and all in sparkles”, etc. . P.
The dolls are charming in their conventionality. The proportions of the dolls' faces, 32-34 cm, resemble a child of 1-2 years old: such steep cheeks and a duck-like upper lip are found only in children who have not left the age of infancy. However, the eyes, thick hair and long neck refer to a more mature age. The body proportions are unnatural: short body and long limbs. The analogue in nature is a thin and disproportionate teenager. If you want, you can sew her a kindergarten cap, but if you want, you can sew a ball gown. Wide range of choice. Play - I don't want to.
The bonus is that the dolls smell like vanilla. The new one can be put in the closet as a fragrance, the used one can be applied to the nose for pleasure. ( True, dolls with super-new wide bodies of 2018 smell of some kind of mushrooms, mold or chemical laboratory; but even in such a cocktail the smell of vanilla remains, and when the chemical wears off, the vanilla remains).
- There are pitfalls.
1) Sometimes marriage occurs. Dolls with a new body (with a narrow waist, like my Carla) often have one leg longer than the other. This is what I got. Here one can suspect work for the Eastern European market, as well as the policy of dealer companies purchasing discounted injections. Or maybe this is a feature of the Spanish mentality - an easy approach to life. Who knows? But you have to be prepared for the fact that... a kind of Asya Khromonozhka or Marya Lebyadkina will come to you.
There is another marriage. But here Russian buyers applied the principle “And we will turn your lack into dignity!”. Some dolls' eyes sank into their eye sacs, and the vinyl eyelids slightly covered the iris. The owners of such dolls declared them “scops owls” - girls with half-closed sleepy eyes - and began to deliberately chase after these dolls, like philatelists chasing defective stamps.
(Perhaps the experiment with too original and very controversial super-new bodies of 2018 will cause increased interest in dolls produced in previous years).
2) The doll is a play doll, and therefore the manufacturer can make minor mistakes: inaccurate placement of limbs into body holes (cracks, shifts), unclosed technological holes on the back of the head, etc. And there is glue in the eyes, and empty hair holes, and squinting eyes...
3) Vinyl. Yes, yes, vinyl. Even collectible dolls sometimes have clothes that paint their bodies! And the vinyl of the Paola Reina dolls loves paint and attracts paint - that’s how interesting it is.
If you buy a doll in clothes, make sure that the outfit does not include bright pants with an elastic band, dark dresses and tights! There is a high probability that the paint has already penetrated the doll's body. Who knows how much time has passed since production? If the doll is “fresh”, it will come to you clean; and if it has been lying in a warehouse and experienced a change in temperature and humidity, then clothing stains may appear.
And then, when you sew doll clothes yourself, it is better to wash the fabric before cutting and do not risk wearing bright colored shoes without knee socks or socks. You'll be tormented to remove stains! Acetone, alcohol, melamine sponge, bleaches, a hellish 1:1 mixture of “White” and vinegar, a mixture of aspirin and hydrogen peroxide, expensive “Baziron” cream or cheap “Ugrisept” - nothing will help! The spots will fade but will not disappear.
Traces on the legs from colored shoes made of genuine leather.
There were black ones, but after all the manipulations they did not disappear, but only turned pale.
Traces on the doll from factory clothes.
After a week of “treatment” with “Baziron” skin cream.
Pleasant surprises and surprises. This is a very photogenic doll! And she always fools the camera! It is almost impossible to “catch” the doll in its natural proportions. If the face is in focus, then the limbs “creep away” and shorten. In photographs she looks like a chubby child with characteristic curves. In reality, this is a doll with a vertical dominant - long and thin.
The scale of the doll in comparison with a liter bottle.
And therefore any clothes suit her and any clothes will fit her:
- made by an amateur and made by a professional craftsman,
- fitted and loose,
- bright and faded-nondescript,
- children and adults,
- simple and complex,
- ordinary and couture,
- a single dress and a multi-layered set...
In short, this doll for girls of different ages - from primary school to deep retirement,- girls who love to sew. A doll for experimentation and self-realization of the owner.
Attention! I'm new to this. I'm just trying. You can look at conceptual masterpieces and the work of professional cutters on the same “Beibiki”.
___________________________________________________________
SO, I’M TRYING TO SEW FOR KARLA (pre-2018 body, with a narrow body and waist).
1) GRAY DRESS.
Other people's clothing patterns for a doll are scary: is she really that small? It can not be!
One of the ways to create a pattern for a doll is the application method.
So, the first pattern. Really small... But you have to trust people and not get carried away!
Pattern without allowances.
The normal allowance for such small patterns is 0.5 cm.
The drawing does not even show the lining for the fastener on the back. On the side of vertical cuts, it is enough to add 1-1.5 cm.
If you forgot to put numbers somewhere, you can count them by cells.
Everything is easier with a skirt. You can carve out a “sun”, “half-sun”, any arc.
You can put folds anywhere, you can just gather them...
Arc skirt.
Sewing doll clothes is a separate genre. It has its own tricks, conventions...
Puppeteer tailors have their own secrets and their own heights. For example, it is considered good form if the bodice or the entire dress is lined. That's how it turns out! That's how people do it!
When sewing my first dress, I used a master class from Beybikov. I don’t have enough brains for subtle technological steps and calculations.
There, the craftswoman, whose publication reeks of professionalism and experience, came up with a chic, cute and bright dress for a similar doll. And just one open seam at the waist! By the way, she also has a pattern for a dress with a balloon skirt. Many thanks to the master!
And here is my dress. Gray. Try.
But everything suits this tomboy! Even a gray dress made from scraps!
The bodice is clingy.
If the dress is sleeveless, then you can sew it in a velcro. It will fit!
2) DRESS MADE OF PATCHWORK FABRIC IN BRIGHT COLORS.
So. If it worked the first time, then the second time will work. You can pull out expensive patchwork fabric from the closet...
Let Carla have a real doll dress in her wardrobe - with polka dots.
I enlarged the bodice pattern a little. A little. And I reinforced the clasp with non-woven fabric.
Sewing according to the same master class. But with non-woven fabric.
Again, there are no allowances or bevels in the drawing.
Two skirts of different lengths are cut from the same pattern.
Length is optional.
Bows, headband, belt... As befits a real doll!
The genre is consistent.
Wow, what a girl she turned out to be!
3) A SET OF CLOTHING IN THE STYLE “FROM UNDER FRIDAY SATURDAY”, “GRANDMOTHER WAS GETTING TO GARDEN”, “WHAT I FOUND IS WHAT I WEAR.” (If you want to show off, then you can classify these clothes as casual, street-punk, boho... But we won’t, because the author doesn’t have any styles in his head).
All. I tried it. You can sew in peace. Anything goes with this girl.
And you can finally let your dream take flight. And this is my dream: I always wanted to dress freely, ridiculously and in many layers. So that one hangs and the other sticks out. To mother's skirt with grandmother's hat. But it didn’t work out. So you need to dress the doll as yourself! That's why dolls were invented - to make our dreams come true!
Set.
Short denim skirt.
(All patterns are below, after the fashion show).
Blouse.
Vest with raglan sleeves.
Skirt and leggings.
He also takes long leggings made from iris threads.
A hat and socks made from socks.
Padded jacket.
Jacket with a hood.
Long denim skirt with flowers.
And... get dressed! Let's make dreams come true and fight taste! “I’m a girl, I can do anything!”
____________________________________________________
a) White and blue short blouse.
The bodice is almost the same as the polka dot dress. New - sleeve.
Blue and white blouse with short sleeves.
The sleeve is not too full, but it can be easily extended.
b) A vest with raglan sleeves.
Pattern of a vest - already with allowances of 0.5 cm and a hem! It happened.
Again the overlay and napkin method.
Pattern manipulation.
The final pattern will have an increased collar line for pleats.
Hello, dear guest and doll lover. I suggest you to make a dress for Paola Reina doll height 32 cm.
To sew this update for Lisa, my little girl, I needed calico with a small print, white fabric for the lining and nylon lace for decoration.
The dress is cut at the waist, just below the knee length, with a wide pleated skirt, a double bodice, and a Velcro back closure.
PATTERN OF A DRESS BODY WITHOUT SHOULDER SEAMS
HOW TO SEW A DRESS FOR A PAOLA REINA DOLL
- Cut a skirt - a strip of fabric measuring 10x45 cm, where 10 cm is the measure of the length of the skirt (Du = 10 cm).
- Overcast the long cut.
- Stitch the lace. I stitched three rows of lace with a distance of 3 cm between them.
- Hem the short sections with a closed hem stitch.
- Place the bodice pattern on the wrong side of the printed fabric.
- Pin the pattern with the fabric.
- I did not trace the pattern, but immediately cut it out with an allowance of about 0.5 cm.
- Remove the bodice pattern from the fabric.
- Place the pattern on the wrong side of the white fabric.
- Pin a bodice pattern with white fabric.
- Carefully trace the pattern along the contour.
- Cut the piece with an allowance of approximately 0.5 cm.
- Remove pattern from fabric.
- Mark the center on the printed bodice piece.
- Stitch the lace, laying it in folds. Sew on 2 buttons. Subsequently, I cut off the buttons because they turned out to be very bright and large for this dress. I replaced the buttons with beads.
- Place the two bodice pieces right sides together.
- Pin together.
- Baste the pieces along the armholes, neckline and middle lines at the back close to the cut so that the basting stitches are not removed later.
- Sew parts on a sewing machine.
- Make cuts on the curves, cut off the corners at the neck.
- Turn the bodice pieces right side out, turning each side over your shoulder.
- Stitch along the sides.
- Sweep along the neckline and armholes.
- Be sure to iron the armholes and neckline.
- Place pleats on the skirt pieces, securing them with pins. I folded the folds to one side. The depth of each fold is 1 cm.
- Baste the skirt to the main part of the bodice.
- Sew the skirt.
- Baste the bottom of the lining from the wrong side of the dress.
- Topstitch the bodice on the right side close to the topstitch seam to attach the lining.
- Sew on Velcro. Instead of Velcro, you can sew buttons.
- The update is ready. This is what the dress looks like from the wrong side.
- This is how the dress looks with buttons.
- And this is how it looks with beads.
Hello, dear needlewomen!!!
I announce the start of a new joint project :)
We start with the underdress (shirt)
Dress/shirt pattern:
You can also download the pattern in pdf to print it immediately; when printing, select 100% scale or “real size”:
Let's move on to the master class :)
1. Transfer the pattern to the wrong side of the fabric using a washable marker or a regular pencil. The warp thread runs along the center line of the front, back, sleeves and facing. Seam allowances - 0.6 - 0.7 cm, at the bottom of the sleeve - 1 cm. For the "facing" part, we do not make an allowance along the bottom edge of the part:
2. Stitch the side sections of the back, front and bottom edge of the facing:
3. Sew decorative ribbon to the sleeves. Then overcast the side seams and the bottom edge of the sleeves (I do this in one stitch). Tip: Test your tape first for paint fastness. I didn’t do this, and then a “pleasant” surprise awaited me - it turned out that the tape was fading.
4. Stitch and overcast the shoulder seams:
5. Place a gathering stitch along the edges of the sleeves and gather them slightly, do not tie any knots so that you can adjust the gathering when sewing the sleeve into the armhole:
6. Pin and stitch the sleeves into the armholes (right sides together) and stitch. We bend the allowances onto the sleeve:
This is what it looks like from the front side, since I use a washable marker, I don’t smooth out the seams during the process, since the marker won’t wash off later, I just smooth them out with my fingers :)
7. Let’s move on to processing the neckline: attach the facing to the neck line, align the back and facing parts along the line of the placket and sew them (our facing is shorter than the neck line by the width of the placket):
8. Now bend the bar and align the facing with the neckline along the control marks:
9. We sew a line along the neckline, then cut off the allowances close to the edge and make notches on the bends:
10. Fold the facing to the wrong side and turn the corners well, this is what it looks like from the front side:
11. Sew the side seam and the sleeve seam in one line, straightening the allowances in different directions:
12. Fold the sleeve allowance to the wrong side and insert a thin elastic band (I have 2 layers of elastic thread), carefully sew the stitch, trying not to catch the elastic and leaving a small hole on the side. Then we put the sleeve on the doll’s arm and tighten the elastic band around the circumference of the wrist, tie the elastic band and cut off the excess (the tails of the elastic knots go into the remaining small hole).
13. Baste and sew a decorative ribbon along the bottom edge of the dress:
