Dresses with stripes look sweet on my 18″ dolls … Day 2

Yesterday I showed you Day 1 of my dolls in their various striped dresses made over the last 10 years. If you missed it you can see it HERE. I guess I don’t buy many striped fabrics because I only had 15 that I could round up. I did have a striped work dress for Felicity a long time ago but I guess all those pictures have been deleted.

The smaller girls in my collection were featured yesterday, so today I’ll show you who wore stripes in my 18″ sized dolls.

Up first is Samantha in a pretty aqua striped dress with lots of embroidery on the front… The dress was pretty but my Samantha was crooked or something..and it never really looked good on her, no matter how many pictures I took of it…

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Here is Samantha in a black and hot pink striped drop waist dress…

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Next Addy will show you a navy and cream striped dress…

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…and one on Addy in a pretty aqua and brown stripe. I always LOVED this dress on Addy…

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I guess I loved it well enough for Josefina to have a skirt made from it too… she looks pretty sweet in it…

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Probably my oldest striped dress and one that one of my readers sent me the picture of, is one that Felicity wore back in 2007.

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This is “sort of” a striped dress… the one Molly wore for the 4th of July.

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…and last up is Katie Effanbee in a dress made from the same stripe as Janie’s dress yesterday. I’ll show you a picture of the dress and then a picture of how the buttons looked in the back.

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You can see my previous post with a tutorial on how to make “Flower Buttons” HERE.

Well, I hope you’ve enjoyed my girls in their striped dresses. It’s fun to see them all in one showing, isn’t it?

See you tomorrow,
Blessings, Jeanne

17 thoughts on “Dresses with stripes look sweet on my 18″ dolls … Day 2”

  1. Jeanne, I’m back after a horrible storm and a 15 hour power outage! Had to clean up the yard too on top of that, plus a dr. visit, so I had no time to write! Things are better today, but now I have my 4 yr. old grandson coming for a visit! What next?

    I did see your blog yesterday, too, and can’t believe how many beautiful outfits you have made through the years. There is just no way to pick one or the other as a favorite!

    I must get my doll things put away now and get the little cars and trucks out, plus Thomas the Train!!

    1. HI Linda,
      Oh my goodness… 15 hours without power is a LONG time… When it rains it pours… literally… we had big limbs down in our yard too. One from a tree whose branch stuck out over the road… thankfully, when it fell, it broke off and then fell into our yard and not the road… or on a car… Yikes!
      I hope you had a good time with your grandson today… it sounds like you should win the #1 Grandma award!
      Thanks Linda,
      Blessings, Jeanne

  2. Linda’s story reminds me of when my then young nephews came to stay all night. By morning I had to be very careful where I put my feet — those little GI Joe accessories were hiding in the carpet everywhere and I dreaded hearing a tiny crunch. Then a Japanese friend arrived to apologize for not coming the evening before and was startled to have the door answered by short red-heads in pajamas. Then my parents showed up to see the kids and tell me about their vacation, and my mom and I retired to the kitchen to pull everything possible out of the refrigerator to create a brunch of miscellaneous food, hoping there would be something each person would be willing to eat. Fortunately I had just tried out a new chocolate dessert, which was uncut and untested, but generally chocolate goes over pretty well, even for breakfast. It was definitely a “What next?” morning.

    I think the Samantha problem was not the doll but the shoes. One of the few problems with early AG clothes was those shoes, which made the doll’s feet look stubby. To my mind, the ones made for Ruthie and for Maryellen are much more becoming, though they are dull and not patent. Let’s see if anyone else has thoughts on that.

    I’m very fond of both of the Samantha dresses above, but Addy’s outfits are always my favorites — one thing I really like is the collars with their scarves, ribbons, buttons, and pins. As people say time after time, your use of detail makes your work special.

    1. Hi Marilyn,
      What a fun series of events that happened that day for your so long ago. You still remember it like it was yesterday. I bet it all turned out just fine… it sounds like it did.

      I think my Samantha’s problem was her shoulders and her neck… she practically had no neck and her shoulders were sort of twisted and very wide…sort of like a football player with pads on. I think in all my sewing for her, I only had one or two at the most dresses that I really liked on her.
      I think the Civil War dresses are my favorites too. I LOVE making them… I appreciate your very kind words about my work on them…
      Thanks Marilyn,
      Blessings, Jeanne

  3. These dresses are just beautiful too, Jeanne. Isn’t it amazing what one can do with stripes?

    Take care….how is George doing?

    1. Hi Becky and thank you so much for your wonderful thoughts on my dresses. I’m glad you enjoyed seeing “stripes” as much as I did making them.
      My hubby is glad it’s Friday. His leg is still hurting and he’s wondering if maybe it’s a pulled muscle… I think his other dr. appointment is next week…
      Thank you Becky,
      Blessings, Jeanne

  4. These American Girl outfits are just too neat! I love seeing them over and over whenever you show them to us. Addy’s dresses are probably my favorite. Again the detail!! The colors you chose for her were perfect and she looked so sweet in them.

    Oh my to Linda and Marilyn. Sometimes there are days like that as most ladies know. I thought is was funny the way Marilyn said little G.I. Joe’s were hiding in the carpet and she dreaded hearing a crunch.

    Has anyone heard when the new American Girl, Melody, comes out? I thought by the beginning of July she was coming out.

    1. Paula, there are rumors that Melody will be coming out August 25th or 26th. The stores have activities with her introduction that week and weekend, so she should be there in the stores. AG usually introduces new items on a Thursday, but it may be Friday, the 26th this time.

    2. Thank you Paula,
      I’m glad you haven’t gotten tired of seeing my dresses even though many of them have been shown before. I hope you never get tired of them either…
      I knew you’d like the dresses on Addy… me too! :o)
      I was looking through my fabrics the other day and I’m pretty sure I know which fabric Addy is going to get next… :o)

      There’s not much worse than stepping on a little army guy… unless maybe it’s a LEGO…
      *ouch*
      I see Linda may have answered your question about Melody’s debut. Are you thinking of getting her?
      Thanks Paula,
      Blessings, Jeanne

  5. The dresses are all lovely. Enjoy seeing the details. I’ve never seen the decorative button idea before. Will check it out later. Great stories from everyone today too.
    We took a drive to the coast yesterday and had fish tacos, yum, at the Bird CafĂ© in Bodega Bay. The old movie “The Birds” with Tippi Hedren was filmed in Bodega.

    1. HI Joy,
      Thank you so much for the kind compliments on my dresses with stripes. I’m glad I had as many as I did to show everyone.
      If you got to see the tutorial on the flower buttons, I hope you enjoyed it.

      I remember that movie… “The Birds”… scared the daylights out of me the first time I saw it. I hope you had a wonderful time at the coast…
      Thank you Joy,
      Blessings, Jeanne

  6. Yes, I think your Samantha not quite straight, either that or she ate too many petit fours and had a stomachache. LOL I love both of Addy’s dresses, but the darker print is just stunning on her. Her little straw purse in the second photos is so cute. I’m always looking for little tiny doll props now.
    Felicity looks very sweet in her striped dress as well. with her crisp white apron.
    Hope that you are enjoying your time with your sister.

    1. Hi Laura,
      I don’t think my doll was quite straight. Maybe I’ll show a picture of her tomorrow… so you can see her shoulders…
      So did I get you hooked on looking for small doll props? It’s fun isn’t it?
      Well, I certainly enjoyed my time with Deb, but she’s back home now. I hate saying goodbye to her when she comes for a visit. I wish we didn’t live 6 hours from each other..but it could be worse…she could live on the east coast or the west coast and be much further away…
      Thanks Laura,
      Blessings, Jeanne

  7. Thank you, Jeanne, for another charming fashion show for the “Big Girls.” I am not alone in saying that it is difficult to choose a favorite, but I will just say how well suited the designs are for each girl and her era/personality.

    I do love how you “trim out” each outfit, and I am especially fond of Addy’s navy and cream dress with the damask peplum, as well as Katie’s sweet dress with the heart trim and pretty flower buttons. I also enjoy seeing the same fabrics used in different ways for different girls. I have noticed that the same checked fabric for Josefina’s shawl has been used previously as a scarf for Kirsten. It is a lovely, versatile fabric, and a personal favorite. Perhaps you could do a post of just trimmings, Jeanne. I’m sure everyone would appreciate a close-up of all the details that make your designs so special.

    I’m sorry you were without power, Linda. That is always an inconvenience, but it seems that the power was restored just in the nick of time for your grandson’s visit, and hopefully you had no food spoilage.

    Your story is funny, Marilyn, and so true to life, but again, it seems that you coped very well. Your brunch description made me smile, as the same thing happens for many a meal around here. We call it “Catch-as-catch-can!” Besides, who doesn’t like chocolate, no matter when it is served?!

    Joy, a drive to the coast sounds like the perfect outing for a summer’s day, and fish tacos sound like a perfect summer supper. I think you have just given me the inspiration for tonight’s dinner! (Please don’t be alarmed if I seem to be living vicariously through your adventures, land-locked as I am here in Ohio! of course, there is always a day trip to Lake Erie).

    Your post with comments is such an enjoyable read, Jeanne, and one prevailing truth seems to be this: You and all of your readers seem to have learned that the secret to full and grateful lives is to roll with the punches! What an inspiration that is! Happy Friday, everyone!

    1. HI Anne,
      Thank you so much for your very kind thoughts and comments on my doll dresses. I’m glad everyone enjoyed seeing them again…(and again and again…) Sometimes I show bodices and sometimes it’s sleeves, the next time it’s collars and the next time it’s fabrics. Thanks for allowing me to do just that.
      I enjoy it so much too, when people share what’s happening in their lives too. It helps me get to know them better and “almost” puts a face to their name!
      I hope you enjoyed your dinner, whatever you ended up making, Anne!
      Thanks so much,
      Blessings, Jeanne

  8. Those dresses are all adorable! I know we have seen some of them before, but I enjoyed seeing them again. I think my favorite is the first one. Even though Samantha doesn’t look quite comfortable in it, it’s really pretty. Hope you are having a good week. Work is hectic right now, but I can usually catch up on the few blogs I follow on the weekends. It’s always nice to see what my favorite bloggers have been up to.

    1. Thank you Carolyn,
      I’m glad you didn’t mind seeing some of the dresses again. If I had known I was going to start a blog I would have taken pictures of everything I sewed…for the last 50 years.
      I hope you can enjoy the weekend…
      Thanks so much Carolyn,
      Blessings, Jeanne

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