barbie doll finished!

OMG! Sharon, she is beautiful! You did a fantastic job on all the little details, I love the ring and earrings, too. Please let us know how DD responds.

-- Beverly

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Jean M.

I love it. You must have sewn it by hand. I love the detailing on the sleeves. How old is DD? She will be thrilled.

Kirsten Sollie

I did do a lot of it by hand. The darts on the bodice I could get to with the machine. (the bodice starts out flat) The skirt I did a lot on the machine. The petticoat is even serged. ;) Not historically accurate, but it won't ravel now. lol The rest was all hand stitching. Her hair is even "sewn." I used jeans thread about the color of her hair and wove the needle through the braids and through the hair close to her scalp to secure her hair do.

DD will be 12 in March. I figured this might be the last year that she thinks this is a really cool present. But then she may be like my sister-in-law who still loves to collect dolls. We'll see, I guess. *sigh* She's just getting so very grown up. :(

Sharon

Thank you Beverly. :) I really had a good time working on her. The gold part of the earrings came on the doll. The "drop" is a pearl bugle bead. I made a chain with gold thread through and around the bead and earring. I was really tickled with the ring. That's a flat gold bead and a seed pearl. Super Glue is my friend!!! :)

I will definitely let you know what the response is. I think she will be tickled with it. I need to get pictures of the other one I did a couple years ago. She loves that one so much, it's the only thing that gets dusted on her shelf. Other treasures up there have a light coating of dust till Mom comes along and flicks a rag over them. The "gay 90's" doll stays pretty much dust free all the time. :) So I know she still loves it. I will see if I can sneak that one out of her room and get a few shots of it. :)

Sharon

Thanks Jean. :) I have a friend who calls knick knacks of all sorts Look-ats. :) That's what she always told her kids they were to do, Look at, but not touch. lol

Sharon

Ah, Sharon, take heart: Soon you'll be planning her wedding gown! :-}

When my younger DD was twelve, I never would have dreamed it would be

-- Beverly

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Sharon,

If you ever want to make another one and your daughter has outgrown them, you can always make them for me. I have been collecting Barbies since I was little, and still get one or more every year. This year, DH bought me the "Happy Family" dolls (pregnant Midge, and the Dad/toddler son), last year it was one of the Harley Davidson Barbies, and even when we were overseas, he managed to find a couple at the base exchange!!

However, I have no historical Barbies and would welcome them warmly to the collection.

Larisa

mamahays wrote:

Sharon, that is so beautiful! I have lots of these patterns that I am terrified to start! So tiny. But you have given me inspiration.

I have one question: Where did you find a doll with the great hairstyle? Years ago I crocheted these fabulous period dresses. But I could only find Barbie dolls with modern hair-do's. The only reason I gave up on the project is because of the dolls.

Cindy

Yet again, I should have read the rest of the responses before posting!

Yup, and it happens in the blink of an eye, doesn't it?

Cindy

"> > Here's a link to the barbie "shelf doll" I did for DD's birthday. Now I

Sharon she's beautiful. I've made some Barbie clothes and know they are very difficult to do. Way beyond my abilities. Congratulations on a great job. Your DD will be thrilled. JJ

mamahays wrote: ...

You do realize how big the market is for OOAK Barbies on ebay? Look up some of the Barbies that people have done custom work on, and you could have some serious $$$

Sandi Jones

Oh I know!!! Some of those go for Big $$$ too. But I don't know that I could stand to do too many of them. I got really excited with this one and sat and did far too much handwork at one time. My left hand (the "holding things" hand) was Really Sore the next day. :( Plus, the ones that seem to command the highest return on Ebay are the ones that have been custom repainted and/or have rerooted hair. I don't know that I could do that. Might be fun to sacrifice one ratty Barbie (and I have a goodly supply of the ratty kind in the toy box! lol) to see if I could do it.

It's definitely something I've given some thought to. Might do one and see where it goes from there. Dunno. (I have a long list of "might be fun" projects. LOL)

Sharon

LOL!! I will keep that in mind Larisa. If you would like, I would be happy to email you detail construction notes and then you could do one for yourself. ;) I know how much spare time you have on hand. (remembering days of taking care of a pre-schooler and a newborn.....remembering that it was a Good Day if I made it to the shower and into clean clothes....)

I always wanted to have a doll collection. But it never really materialized. :( I get a real kick out of making them for DD though. She has several other dolls of various sorts. Even one that she saved her allowance and bought herself! (she's a 14" (or so) porcelain fairy with brown hair/eyes and a purple flower looking dress. Darling!!) I think I will get my kicks collecting with her. She loves them so very much and I don't think that will change too much over the years. :)

But if it does..... I will keep you in mind. I know they would be well loved in your house too. :)

They really aren't as hard as they look at first. It is a lot of hand work. But it would be a great way to share your love of collecting them with your DD when she's a little bigger. (right now I doubt she would be terribly impressed. lol) I'm sure you could do them too!!

Hope your eye is better!!!! Warm compresses!!! (as my Mom would tell you.)

Sharon

This is the one I did a few years ago. You can see I started off with a simpler one. :) I worked my way up (courage took a while to work up!) to the Elizabethan one. This poor gal has some hair starting to be a little mussed. That's from brushing off dust I think. I need to get a curio cabinet for DD, but I don't know **where** I would put it!!! lol

Jean M.

mamahays wrote: ...This poor gal has some hair starting to be a little mussed. That's from brushing off dust I think....

Actually, I kind of like the few tendrils of hair loose. It looks like it;s a wee bit later in the evening. It makes her look more real.

Sandi Jones

Re: barbie doll finished! Part II