Sewing With Nancy

I'm a proponent of taking advantage of ten to 30 minutes of time to stitch a quilt. Minutes spent sewing result in finished projects. When today's guest proposed the idea of 30-minute doll clothes my interest piqued. I questioned, wondering if they could be made in truly 30 minutes. Joan's answer was yes. Our guest is Joan Hinds author and designer of great-looking doll clothes. Thanks for being with us, Joan. Well, thank you, Nancy, I'm happy to be here. With just a little bit of sewing knowledge you can create many garments for your doll in just 30 minutes or less. Let's begin with the birthday party trio the double skirt, camisole and leggings. They're mix and matching pieces that are a breeze to create. I'll share with you how flat construction tips streamline the process. "30-Minute Doll Clothes" that's what's coming up next on Sewing with Nancy. Sewing with Nancy TV's longest-airing sewing and quilting program with Nancy Zieman

is made possible by

Baby Lock, a complete line of sewing, quilting and embroidery machines and sergers. Baby Lock, for the love of sewing. Madeira, specializing in embroidery, quilting and special effect threads because creativity is never black and white. Koala Studios fine sewing furniture custom-built in America. Clover makers of sewing, knitting, quilting and embroidery products for over 25 years. Experience the Clover difference. Amazing Designs and Klass needles. We're going to start with a very festive trio for dolls. Joan, this is a great design. Thank you, Nancy. This is a combination of three garments. It's a camisole top a gathered skirt that has two layers of fabric then the leggings that go underneath that are made of a knit fabric. The sewing is simple. You've chosen brightly colored fabrics. You have two strips for the skirt. Yes, the first thing you need to do is cut your strips. The top one is a little bit shorter than the bottom one. You're using about the width of the fabric. Right, but you do need to make sure that they both line up, that they're the same width if you're using different brands. You need to serge the bottom and side edges. Then you would stitch those. Turn them under. Stitch them on your machine as they're turned under. It's nice to serge the edges because if kids are playing and playing it keeps the doll clothes from raveling. Absolutely. Meet them together as one. Right, you'll treat it as one fabric from now on. The gathering technique that Joan likes to use is to draw up the bobbin thread. Here, you can see just set your machine on a straight stitch take one stitch, draw up the bobbin thread and pull that thread long, as long as the skirt panel. Then zigzag over the bobbin thread. I like that technique, too, Joan. When you have the bobbin thread here's the bobbin thread, you can't pull that out. Absolutely. Now, before you pull the gather you did some quarter marking. Yes, I measured the skirt in four sections before it was pulled up, so I know how to match it. The waistband is just a simple piece of fabric. And the ends are stitched. Or pinned, in this case. When it's turned to the right side then you would quarter-mark the waistband. Match it right here and stitch along. Just serge that or zigzag that edge. Right, to finish that edge. That's all there is to it. This cute little detail happened because? I decided to just pull up this skirt top panel so you could see the underskirt. I put it just slightly off center and then I just did a few hand stitches to hold it down. That's it. The closure is just a sturdy hook and eye. Right, it won't pop open. And 30 minutes later, ta-da! You have a skirt. In less than 30 minutes, you can do the camisole. Yes, that is a very easy one. For the camisole, there are two pattern pieces very simple looking. We have the main body and there is a band. Right. This band, you did some pre-pressing. Yes, I did. I serged the bottom edge of it and then I pressed it a 1/4" under basically the serging width. Then there's some ribbon. Right, ribbons make easy straps. I just cut a length of ribbon. The measurements are in the accompanying book. I just made a "V" and pinned it in the center. It's about 1-1/2" from the edge. Then I pinned it again. Here's the trick. You meet the right side of the band to the wrong side of the camisole. Exactly. When you sew with 1/4" seams-- We didn't mention that, but all the seam allowances are 1/4". You want to bring up the little iron. We can press. You just press this forward. Then there is some topstitching. Just stitch along the lower band. Turn under the sides the serged width. Turn under the hem. You add hook and loop tape to the back. Wow, when I was a little girl we didn't have hook and loop tape. That's a great thing. That's right, very easy for kids to use. You know, a little person could sit on your lap while you're doing these sewings and help create clothes for their little doll. Here's some leggings. This is a really speedy piece, if you have scraps of fabric. Absolutely. The knit fabrics work well for this. The pattern piece is just one piece for both sides. We've got it marked here, center back and center front but they are interchangeable. The thing you do have to remember is that the widest part is the waist and the lower one is for the legs. You sew one seam and open it up. The elastic length is measured on the elastic. You'd stretch and zigzag it into place. Right, and if you don't cut it exactly at that mark you have something to hold onto as you're pulling it across. Simple zigzagging. You'd use matching thread. You can see that you would stitch the side seam. After sewing the side seam, stitch the legs. Right. Let me separate this so you can see it's in just one fell swoop that you'd sew the leggings. I'd say in about ten minutes. In ten minutes, you would have the third component of our birthday party trio the leggings, the skirt and the camisole top. Dig through your fabric scrap box and search for a perky little print. With just a few straight seams, and 30 minutes of time you'll be able to create a skirt for your favorite little girl's doll. Spend another half an hour of time and stitch a top. The result is a perky and pretty combo. These doll clothes really kind of make you smile, Joan. They sure do. They're very sweet. This little top is made in a very short period of time with a very easy closure. Then, a simple skirt. You've made this so that you're not sewing in circles. You have flat construction. The first thing that you would do is cut the top piece for both the front and back and then the skirt widths. I chose to use contrasting fabric for that. Sure. The bands are just sewn across the top. We have them right sides together. For the front it's just one seam at the top and you're done. For the back, it's the seam at the top just as you did before but I have a stitching line there to use as a casing. The reason for that is dolls do have different waist measurements. This way, it's easy to put on and it will accommodate the different sizes. Later, we'll be using the elastic and bodkin to put it through. You saw earlier how to do the gathering. We're going to use that gathering technique on many clothes. The flat construction is sewing the front band to the front piece after gathering. All it is, is just hemming the bottom and then stitching across the top. So, it's flat. Here, the back piece is the larger piece with a casing. We did this in contrasting thread. Then just use a simple bodkin and thread it through. We like to cut that elastic after threading it through. Right, it's about a five-inch measurement. Again, you should measure your doll to make sure that it will fit properly. After this has been hemmed, tack it on one side and pull it to the right measurement, tack it again. Maybe a little narrower than that. Then meet right sides together. Sew the sides and you're all done. Ta-da! It's done again. Very fast construction. The top is going to be lined. But don't be misled by the word, "lining." Right, this makes it a lot easier. You don't have all the little facings to turn. In this sample here we have the contrasting fabric for the lining. You'll need two fronts and four backs. You've sewn the print together at the shoulder seams and the lining together at the shoulder seams and done a little stitching. Right, then you would sew them together. You would stitch up the center back, around the neckline around the armholes, and around the top and bottom. You're turning the fabric through the side seams which makes it-- It probably takes the most time, a half a minute! That's right. So, you'd turn this right side out, totally. Then just through magic we have that already done. This sample has been turned right side out. Yes, I did make a mistake. The bottom and the top are not stitched on this particular garment because we're going to put in an ruffle. You could leave it plain if you chose. We pre-pressed the hem. Then you'd just meet the underarm seams this cute little underarm seam, and stitch it. After doing the stitching, you will then add the ruffle. The ruffle could be pre-gathered or any gathered fabric that you choose. But choosing an eyelet that's already gathered does make it go a lot faster. We have paperbacked fusible web. We press down, press it over and stitch. The final touch is the hook and loop tape. There you have a perky top. Your favorite little girl can have an extensive doll wardrobe using my simple patterns and speedy sewing tips. This Speedy Sundress is so quick to sew that you can create two dresses in just about the same time as sewing one of them. Simplified tips make it possible. You'll find many of the techniques that Joan and I are sharing with you to be common in many of your designs. Right. Rather than threading elastic through a casing in this little sundress, you have ribbon. It's sweet, easy to sew, and here's the pattern piece. You would cut out two of these for the front and the back. You could serge the edges first, just to kind of save time. Right, but you don't have to. Press the side edges 1/4" to the inside. And do some stitching. Right. Sew it down. Then, the top folds down. You would measure about 1/2" or so and stitch across this to make a casing. Here's that casing comparable to the casing we had for the elastic. But now you just thread ribbon through. Right. You will need two pieces, for the front and the back then it will just tie at the shoulders. A good tip to use to attach the straps is to mark it in the center with a pin and then take it to your sewing machine and just tack it down. The reason is, with children playing with it they will pull them out. Sure. So after creating two identical pieces before you sew them together you could put on a quick appliqu. Right, on this one, I chose to take some fusible web. I have two colors of pink. I cut out a flower here and fused three of them on there. The centers of the flowers are just buttons. The last step, sew the side seams. If you didn't pre-hem it then you could also stitch a hem around the edge. With a few stitchings really very few, you create a cute little sundress out of just inches of fabric. This doll is set to attend an afternoon tea. The Bolero jacket and dress are a perfect combo like tea and cookies will delight any little girl. Let's take a close-up look at how to stitch the dress in just 30 minutes. Joan, the combination that you created has a little jacket and dress. We'll discuss a comparable construction for the jacket in our second episode. We're going to concentrate on this cute little outfit. Right, this little yoke dress really works out fast. There are no side seams in either the top or the skirt which does make it go faster. The yoke tope is a funny little pattern piece. It definitely is. There are little horseshoe shapes here for the armholes. The first thing you need to do is cut out two of these and then finish the edges, if you like. Then you need to make straps. This is about nine inches in length and about 1-1/2" wide. You stitched it down the center with a 1/4" seam allowance. That seam allowance sort of becomes like the interfacing. We'll finger press over the turner. Then insert the wire section, then wrap the end. You can use your favorite turning technique but we really like this. Right, it works real slick. Then turn this right side out. This is a really nice piqu that you've used. After turning, you can just press it down the middle. Cut it into two sections. Right, there you have the two straps. They are placed on the garment. You would need to pin them like these have been sewn in here. Let's put them in here, they would be like this. Right. They would be pinned 3/4" from the armhole area. That's an itty-bitty armhole! Absolutely. Then you would place the facing on top. We've stitched around the top and the sides. When you turn it right side out, you have to do some pressing but you have the yoke created. The only thing you need to watch is that you don't catch the strap in your stitching so it's a good idea to pin it down. We did the gathering of the skirt. Turn under the sides, turn under the hem stitch it and then gather the top. Here we've used that same gathering technique. Once this is pressed, quarter this one off just as you would do your skirt. Then stitch it. Meeting right sides together. One seam across the waistline. Again, serging is great. If have a serger, this is a perfect time to use it because you can finish those seam allowances make certain that the fabric will not ravel. Then some hook and loop tape will work out well. Some dolls are not made all the same size. Right, so that one has just been moved over to accommodate a little bit larger doll. You can move either side of the tape and close it. Then presto, you have a fast sundress made with some gathering techniques, turning and a lot of straight stitching. We'll show you a lined little jacket technique in the second program of the series but this is a perfect tea time party outfit. Our next doll is ready to go shopping. A knit shirt, top and skirt ensemble is the perfect outfit for a doll to wear during an imaginative "Meet Me at the Mall" outing. Let's take a closer look at how each of these pieces can be made in just a few minutes. This is another three-piece outfit with the camisole a little knit shirt which you'll see in the second episode of our series and then a gathered skirt. The camisole is almost like making the yoke of the sundress. Joan, you designed many pieces to be compatible. Right, that one is just a little bit longer than the first one. When I show you the pattern piece it'll remind you of that yoke on the dress. I just want to point out that with doll clothes you may want to use that wrapped corner I've shown on other programs where you stitched off the edge and then wrap the seam allowance-- I should say stitch off the center front edge and you wrap the seam allowance toward the garment before sewing the corner. The seam is perfectly stitched down. This will make it easier to turn corners sharply right side out. I'll put the rounded end of the turner in and as I invert it the pointed end brings out the corner. You would do the same to all corners or edges. You can get sharp corners. That wrapped corner really works very well. You'd finish the inside by just turning in the hem and topstitching. After you've created the camisole you'll learn the knit top. Joan, you have the skirt ready to stitch. Right, this is probably the easiest skirt. It's just a width of fabric. It has gathering at the top with elastic sewn over it. The first thing you need to do is cut the width of fabric and then finish the bottom edge serge, and turn it to the wrong side and stitch. The top has been serged as well because that will not be covered up and the gathering will ravel. Once it is serged, gather it using that same technique. Then we're going to put the elastic along the top edge just pin it. This elastic should fit the width of the fabric that you have here. Then I'm going to use a wide zigzag. We're going to just stitch all the way across the top. We made sure Joan had a stretch needle in her sewing machine. You need to have those types of needles and then all-purpose thread so that all the sewing can go very easily. As she's doing the zigzag stitch you'll see that we have contrasting thread. You would use matching thread. You just zigzag away. We'll let Joan finish this, just topstitching really with that zigzag stitch. Yet, with that stitching it still has some give in it because of the stretch needle and the all-purpose thread. Sew the side seam and your skirt is finished. How many of you have ever had a makeover? Hairstyle, makeup or wardrobe makeovers are all common sought-after updates. We feel better after a makeover. It gives us a positive look. But did you ever think of being involved with a shelter or rescue mission makeover? Transforming physical spaces into very inviting centers that give hope and encouragement. Terry Grahl is our guest. She has made shelter makeovers her mission. She founded Enchanted Makeovers and is here to share how we can stitch and then give encouragement to others. Welcome to Sewing with Nancy, Terry. Thank you for having me. Enchanted Makeovers started kind of as a whim. Yes, it did. It was one call asking to paint a wall. In a shelter? You have a background of interior decorating. Yes, I started a decorating business back in 2005. My very first client told her client about what I did for her actually healing her and healing her home. He ended up being a fund-raising event coordinator for a women's shelter. From that, he said, will you please just come and paint a wall. This is what the shelter looked like before you were involved. A lot of sterile, used furniture. Yes, used prison beds. Prison beds? And mattresses that were far from fresh. There was no dreaming in that bed. For women and children who go to these shelters it was very depressing. Yes, a lot of the shelters we work with are six months to a year that the women are staying there. That's home for a year. You gave this shelter a home appeal. This shot really shows a total makeover. You painted the walls. Yes, we had murals done. Beds were donated. The lighting had to be redone. There was paneling that was falling off the wall. The carpet was stained. Everything had to be redone. Obviously, when that was done I knew that this was way more than just decorating. This was from the inside out. You painted murals on the walls. And each bed is no longer. You told me about the bedspreads. The women were using used nursing home bedspreads. So they were leftovers. Now, someone was trying to change their life raise their children in all this hand-me-down rejects. It was pitiful. I felt that the shelter's program was great but that the dorm was working against the program. There was really-- I felt how can a woman go to bed and feel like there's any hope, and wake up to any hope. There was a lot of negative energy that was in that room. Something had to change. What a great change. We can't, as Sewing with Nancy viewers send you paint and help you with the shelters. Perhaps we could do it locally. But what we can do for Sewing with Nancy is you have a project of pillowcases. Yes, a handmade pillowcase. It can be from the pattern on our site. We're all about, and love the detail. You can see the pom-poms, lace. Sometimes the seamstresses, stitchers or quilters add a little extra gift. A gift of a journal. Sometimes in some of the pillowcases there's a little plaque that's inserted with an inspirational quote. It really comes down to that we're really huge on handmade. This is sometimes the first handmade gift that they've received. Yes. Many of the women have told me that they've never even seen their grandma or their mother even iron. To actually have somebody take the time to make something handmade they never felt they were worthy of that. What a small thing we can do to make a big improvement on someone's life. It's a huge gift. Terry, thank you for sharing this part of the story. Terry's going to be back on our next episode of Sewing with Nancy to share more about Enchanted Makeovers. You can find out more about Enchanted Makeovers by going to our website NancyZieman.com Click on Nancy's Corner, and under the 2500 series you'll find Enchanted Makeovers and Terry's name.

Sewing with Nancy information will be at

NancyZieman.com You can watch current Sewing with Nancy programs online. You can read my blog and find out, basically all things Sewing with Nancy. Terry, thanks for being my guest today. And thank you for watching. We'll be back next time with our second program of our series on "30-Minute Doll Clothes." Thanks for joining us. Bye for now. Nancy and Joan Hinds have written a fully-illustrated book entitled "30-Minute Doll Clothes" that includes all the information and patterns from this two-part series. It's $14.99 plus shipping and handling. To order the book, call 1-800-336-8373

or visit our website at

sewingwithnancy.com/2512 Order item number BK2512, "30-Minute Doll Clothes." Credit card orders only. To pay by check or money order call the number on the screen for details. Visit Nancy's website at nancyzieman.com to see additional episodes, Nancy's blog, and more. Sewing with Nancy TV's longest airing sewing and quilting program with Nancy Zieman

has been brought to you by

Baby Lock, Madeira Threads Koala Studios, Clover Amazing Designs, and Klass Needles. Closed captioning funding provided by Rowenta. Sewing with Nancy &nbspis a co-production of Nancy Zieman Productions and Wisconsin Public Television.