60 Degrees of Inspiration : Lottie Week - Day 3

The third outfit set compliments that of Day Two and this one was made at the insistance of my little girl thinking that Lottie also needed a blue outfit.

Blue set

The top for this outfit uses the same template as for Day Two and again by using cotton I had to make the pattern a little bigger. This time I decided to add poppers on the front and embelish with mini buttons so that it is more like a shirt. I opted for a white top with the co-ordinating fabric sleeves.

"Shirt style" top

Sleeve detail

I used a reversible skirt template for a much bigger doll and I scaled it down by measuring the length and 1.5 times Lottie's waist, then added on the seam allowance all around. The two fabrics were stitched right sides together before being turned through a turning gap. I closed the turning gap using a small ladder stitch and added a strip of Velcro at the corresponding top edges to allow it to close both ways. The fabrics used for this were a beutiful Narwal fabric from Tales of the Sea by Lewis and Irene that I got for my birthday and a Riley Tartan, which is actually an Irish Tartan that my Mum used to make my husband a waistcoat for a Scottish wedding. Again it felt right to include fabric that was important to us to make the gift more special.

Narwhal side of reversible skirt

Riley tartan side of reversible skirt

I love a good poncho and my husband knitted me a lovely one when I was pregnant. Poncho appreciation is something Little Miss E's Mum and I share, so I thought it would be fun to include one. Again I turned to recycling as with the cardigan in Day Two. I had a lovely wool jumper that was springing holes all over the place and past darning. I boil washed it and it felted up really well. I used the rib and cut two rectangles. I stitched them together adding a small popper at the back. I added a basic blanket stitch to neaten the edges, although I was confident it was felted enough not to fray.

Upcycled Poncho

To go with this outfit I made a tiny dog made using the Pipsqueaks book. The dog has a lovely shape and was a joy to sew with the head and tummy pieces allowing it to stand properly. To increase the play aspect of this I also made a dog lead. I added a bracelet loop to the collar and made a lead using embroidery thread plaited to incude a bracelet lobster clasp at the end. The functionality of something so simple made me more excited than I should admit.