If I ABSOLUTELY, POSITIVELY, TWIST MY ARM BEHIND MY BACK, had to choose a favorite doll dress…

I’ve been sewing for a variety of dolls and selling my outfits on Ebay and Etsy since 2006. I never really knew how many dresses I had sold in all that time, but I had my books out, finishing up my end of the year totals for 2014 and decided to add up how many dresses I have actually sold. I was surprised to see that I have sold 834 (mostly dresses) since I began. THAT’S A LOT OF DOLL DRESSES! In fact, I did a little math and it comes out to about 92 dresses a year. That’s not nearly as many as some seamstresses I see turn out, but I have other things on my plate and am not able to totally devote my entire day to sewing, so I do the best I can. I also take my time and make sure each dress is made the very best that it can be.

I’ve sewn for the tiniest little 7 1/2″ Riley, by Helen Kish to the larger 18″ American Girl dolls and everyone in between, and in all that time, there has been one dress that I don’t think I’ve shared with you on here. It’s been such a favorite that I guess I always thought I’d do a special post about it someday. Well, that day has arrived.

I’m not entirely sure why I think it deserves “Favorite Doll Dress of All Time,” but there is just something about it, or something that happened when we had our “photo session” or the way she looked at me when she was in the dress, but somehow it’s been my favorite all time dress that I’ve ever made.

Let me introduce you to Lian, in “Precious in Pink.”

Lian is a 13″ Little Darling doll, sculpted by Dianna Effner and painted by Joyce Mathews. This dress sold back in April of 2013 and is now residing on a little girl in Colorado who loves it as much as I do! I created the pattern which was no easy feat with the attached slip underneath and the double ruffled skirt. The fabric is as dainty and delicate as a kleenex and I think Lian just looked like a little princess in these photos. She also looks like she’s about to cry, which maybe is what makes them so special…she almost looks real to me.

So I hope you aren’t hurt that your doll dress didn’t win “favorite” in my eyes, but I’ve been wanting to share Lian’s dress for quite a while and decided today was the day. Now I’ll just share some pictures and see if you don’t agree that she is the most precious thing you’ve ever seen…
I’m sure the winner of this dress must be beaming to learn how I feel about this dress… It was probably the hardest one ever to pack up…

(If you click on the pictures they will enlarge.)

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I hope you enjoyed Lian’s little fashion show… I should leave the modeling to her and stay off the stage myself!

ALSO: Don’t forget about the GIVEAWAY of the American Girl Fingerless Gloves on Wednesday, January 28th. (HERE) is the post explaining it…You just have to be a subscriber to have your name entered into the drawing! I’ve picked up 7 new subscribers in the last 2 weeks! THANK YOU!!!

See you tomorrow,
Blessings, Jeanne

19 thoughts on “If I ABSOLUTELY, POSITIVELY, TWIST MY ARM BEHIND MY BACK, had to choose a favorite doll dress…”

  1. Oh, Jeanne—-just oh! What an adorable dress! I can’t quite figure out why Lian isn’t smiling about that dress! My smile would be ear to ear! It is just perfectly adorned, fitted, and even the petticoat, perfect for the tiny doll!
    I often wonder if the people who buy clothes for these tiny dolls change them very much? I certainly hope the little girl who has this dress realizes what a gem she has!

    1. Hi Linda,
      The lady who won this dress loves it and so does her Little Darling. I’m glad it wasn’t me who just thought it was special… from the comments below, apparently I picked the right one this time! I don’t think Lian would look bad in anything I made, but she just looked exceptionally pretty this day!
      I don’t think most people change the dresses very much. I get lots of pictures from customers showing me “their” doll in “my” dress… and they look the same, only with a different face.
      Blessings, Jeanne

  2. Hi Jeanne,

    I agree, I think this is my favorite of all the dresses you have posted as well. Lian is just beautiful and so is the dress.
    Karen

    1. Thanks so much Karen,
      Lian is blushing with all this talk about how pretty she is!
      Blessings, Jeann

  3. I remember this dress, Jeanne! It was a standout, for sure. Lian melts my heart with her precious expression, but the trio of delicate ruffles and ribbon embroidery around the neckline made this dress absolutely memorable. And…that sweet embroidered lace slip…and your creative use of the applique…everything about this dress is wonderful!

    1. Hi Cindy,
      Lian melted my heart too that first day I saw her on Ebay and she still melts my heart when I walk in the room and see her standing on the dolly shelf.
      Thanks so much for your kind words about her dress. I’m sure you must have a favorite amongst all the ones you’ve made, huh? I’d love to see your favorite.
      Blessings, Jeanne

  4. Jeannie B. in TX

    Jeanne, this is the perfect dress. It has absolutely everything I would want in a little girls dress which of course, Lian is a little girl ! She totally comes to life. As to her expression in this dress well,…. I think she is about to cry. She knows she can’t keep the dress and just wear it forever and ever and ever and ever…….. in a dolly’s dream land. She is precious!
    I think Lian NEEDS another just like this one!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    1. HI Jeannie,
      At this point, all my dolls would just be happy to have on a pretty slip…forget the dresses, just give me a slip, they say!
      Thanks for agreeing with me that she deserved this honor!
      Blessings, Jeanne

  5. I can’t think of a word to fully describe how adorable that dress is !! S
    tyle, print, trim, length, slips…everything is perfection!

    1. Thanks so much Kathie,
      I appreciate your sweet words… so glad you got to see it!
      Blessings, Jeanne

  6. Wow, Lian is just beautiful in this dress. I love it because it is the fabric I chose for you to make Patsy’s dress. Jeanne, you sew so wonderful and after receiving Patsy’s dress I don’t know how you sew such little details on your dresses..I know the person who purchases this dress must be so delighted she won.

    1. HI Regina,
      I was hoping you’d see Lian’s dress today since it was in “your” fabric. Thanks so much for your nice compliments on Lians dress. Yes, the winner was very happy!
      Blessings, Jeanne

  7. Lian’s dress is a wonderful example of your expertise with all of the detail work, color, textures and fabric choices. Beautiful !

    I can’t imagine how much work went into sorting the pictures for the Subject clicks on the right side of your Blog. Is that new or did I click on something to make it show up? What a wonderful resource. Thanks for all the time you devote to your Blog. I can see I’ll have to take a ribbon embroidery class to up my game. I’m just an amateur, sewing for my granddaughter, but why not do it right! Love all the details and your willingness to share.

    1. Hi Susette,
      Thanks for your kind words about Lian’s dress.

      The side bar tags are something that most bloggers use to help people find new posts about similar things they’ve written about in the past. I had it up for a while, had it at the bottom of my posts, and then took it off. I just decided last night to add it back on again. I’m trying to get it tweaked just a bit, and still have quite a few posts to categorize yet, but I’m going to work on the posts a little each night and pretty soon they will all be categorized. Then when you want to see all the posts where American Girls are featured you can just click on American Girl and they will come up.
      Thanks for noticing Susette,
      Blessings, Jeanne

  8. This is perfection so much eye candy. I adore this dress. How did you do that bodice embellishment. Such a wonderful talent you have

    1. Hi Lynn,
      Thank you very much! The pink criss crossed part is an applique that I bought and the embellishment around the ruffled neck is done with silk ribbon. I think the embroidered part adds such sweetness to the dress.
      Thanks Lynn,
      Blessings, Jeanne

  9. Juanita Zientara

    Delicate and timeless! The underskirts really are part of the whole ensemble! What a treat to see all the detail! Juanita

    1. Thank you Juanita,
      The slip part was definitely the hardest part… thanks for your comments.
      Blessings, Jeanne

  10. Oh so Sweet!!!
    Where on earth did you get the little “trim” piece that looks like eyelets with lacing?

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