Little Dolly Outfits

Well just a couple of weeks left to the doll show. Work has accelerated as I try to get as much completed as I can. This morning I laid out some of my items to get a feel for the stall.... I'm not sure if it helped or not, pretty sure it just made me more panicked. I have 6 dolls needing to be finished at varying degrees of completion. But at least some things are getting done, the mannequins now have dresses on them.

This little dress is made from Kent gingham and is finished with a lovely green silk satin ribbon and hand dyed vintage eyelet.

Hand dyeing the eyelet was my first attempt at dyes made from natural plants. I have fruit salad sage growing prolifically through my garden in winter, early spring I generally cut it down and put it in the compost when it starts going leggy, but I thought instead of composting all of it,  I would save some to make some dye from. The results were very soft, but I think it was a perfect soft sage green to go with this lovely green gingham.

 

Its definitely a fun experiment creating dyes from your garden. I put quite a fair bit of leaf into a big pot, filling it to the top, and boiled it down with about 1/2 cup of salt and some baking soda. The salt and soda act as a mordant and help fix the colour to the fabric.

 

This next dress is made from a beautiful piece of vintage fabric, a very soft lawn. The little apron is embroidered with matching rosebuds.... I think its a perfect little outfit for an old fashioned dolly.

 

The final outfit is an example of some of the more simple dresses and embroidered knits I will have for sale. Hopefully quite a selection will be available if all goes to plan. This little one I just loved, little daffodils and daisies!

 

Mel xx