Dolls, dolls and more dolls...

I know I haven't written quite long time. Very many things have happened - all august I was very busy with few large custom orders and on September... well, I got a job! Real day job. I start to feel little bit less scared about how to survive. But it means also, that I won't have enough time for crafting. I work only two weeks for now and I have not made ANYTHING within these two weeks. Sad... :(

But enough about sad things. Here are some great news - my doll family now has few more members :) So, let me introduce:

Frankie
Frankie is 11" fashion doll from Mattel company. Her full name is Frankie Stein.
"Frankie Stein is only 15 days old, created by her dad, a mad scientist. She has green skin, stitches, and bolts, and is new to Monster High. She is the daughter of Dr. Frankeinstein's monster and his bride (from Wikipedia)
For me Frankie is adorable creature, very romantic and very girly.
Here, meet my Frankie (clothes made by me :) ):

Likes to pose....

...but not for too long...

There is something mysterious in this girl...

And here is other romantic girl - little bit more grown-up - meet Rihanna!
Rihanna's real name is Reese, she is Dynamite girl. I fell in love with her hair color and... here she is - elegant, flirty and very self conscious.

Hello, I'm Rihanna...

Add caption

As You can see - I love dolls with articulated bodies :) But it is not so important - sometimes I just like some small detail in the doll and other things don't seem important anymore.

Next doll I want You to meet is from 80' (I bought her as model of 1981, but I think it's 1984 after all) - meet Sintya!
Her real name is Sindy and reason I wanted her - her face impression. I cannot define what it was, but it was something special I saw. So i got her :)

And my last doll (but, believe me, not for long ;) ) - well, guess what - it's a boy! I had never thought that I would buy male doll, but... at first, Frankie needed company (ok., she actually needed boyfriend), and at second... I don't know - may be it was just my weakness - cute doll, great price, articulated body... So, meet  Jackson - male doll from Monster High doll series (he is only one I haven't made clothes for yet so he is posing in his original outfit):

As you can see - he is gentleman - flowers for girl - it's so sweet, isn't it?

And girls cannot resist... :)

There are so many dolls in the world...

... and You can find unique clothing for all of them on Artfire. Here is nice collection of doll fashion - if You have fashion dolls You definitely will find something for them here.

Doll fashion!

Curated By: loststitch

ArtFire.com

Indie Design

How to crochet bikini top for Barbie doll - tutorial for beginners

This simple how-to tutorial will show You how to crochet great looking bikini top
for Barbie doll. My model is contemporary Barbie (made in 2009) so
this top will fit this type of dolls. If You have different doll model
measurements might differ.

Pattern is very simple and consists only of 4 rows. You will
use these stitches:
ch - chain
sc - single crochet
dc - double crochet
tr - triple (treble) crochet
sl - slip stitch
All these are basic stitches and if You are not sure how to do
them, You can click on them to find out great instructions for
beginners.
 
I cannot say I'm good in writing patterns therefore I took pictures of each step not only to tell, but also show how to crochet this bikini top.
If You don't understand anything or have noticed mistake or have any questions - feel free to add comment  or contact me.


For bikini top You will need:
Thin crochet thread (nr.20 cotton thread)
1,25 mm crochet hook
1 snap for closure






So, lets start!

Chain 51









Row 1
Make all row in single crochet










Row 2
17 single crochet, skip 2, 9 treble crochet in same ch, skip 2, 3
sc, skip 2, 9 treble crochet in same ch, skip 2, 20 sc.







Row 3
19 single crochet, skip 1, 9 dc, skip 1, 1sc, skip 1, 9 dc, skip 1,
16 sc.






 
Row 4
15 sc, skip 1, 8 dc, 1 sc, 1 sl, 1 sc, 8 dc, skip 1, 18 sc.
Fasten off and weave in ends.






Now You have made bikini top. Only thing that has left - add straps
(if You don't want it strapless) and sew on snap.


Left strap for bikini top:
Ch into 5th chain to the right from the middle of bikini, sc in
same ch. Ch 23. Ch into 5th ch from left side, sc in same ch.
Right strap:
Ch into 5th chain to the left from the middle of bikini. Sc in the
same ch. Ch 23. Ch into 6th from right side, sc in same ch.



Variation 1:
You can also make one strap bikini top. In this case:
Ch into 5th chain to the left from the middle of bikini. Sc in the
same ch. Ch 27. Ch into 5th chain to the right from the middle of bikini. Sc in the
same ch.

Variation 2:
Try also using two colors to make this bikini top even more attractive. For example - crochet first three rows with one color, but last row and straps - with other. Like this:











Variation 3
If You don't want to crochet, You can just buy some of bikini's at Loststitch studio or order them in colors You want! (sorry, could not resist to this self promotion ;) )

New outfits for Barbie, new doll for me!

Few days ago I tried to sew and as a result Blythe got new pants. But Barbie felt little bit upset that she did not get anything. So I just had to make something for her, too.  And Barbie got new mini skirt! She was so excited that agreed to pose for my online handmade doll clothes shop. We chose light orange blouse with short sleeves - it looked great with skirt! After that Barbie posed also in striped skirt (which by the way looked great with orange blouse!)



After Blythe got her new pants Barbie requested something new for her too.
So she got mini skirt - very simple and very cute.







This light orange blouse will look great both with skirt and pants
(jeans? Also great choice!)

And stripes are in fashion!
This cream and light orange striped skirt is very elegant.

And it looks good with that orange blouse!

 These and more handmade crocheted Barbie doll clothes You can find in my Loststitch Artfire studio.

Also my girls will get new friend soon - I just saw that adorable Frankie Stein (Monster High doll) in Collectable Dolls shop and I could not resist. I know I cannot aford her, but... let's say it's my birthday present for myself. Now I just have to wait while the beauty arrives...

Blythe fashion - crochet simplicity

For few last days I was totally out of inspiration - not only I couldn't make anything new, but I couldn't crochet at all - stitches were absolutely uneven. Last night things at last got better and I made some cute blouses for Blythe. As I didn't have buttons that would be small enough I used beads instead (I also ordered some tiny doll buttons from ebay - i will get them after 3 weeks).
So here are Blythe posing in all three blouses.


White blouse with big black buttons



Black crocheted blouse with golden buttons for Blythe



White crocheted blouse with pink buttons



Visiting exhibition of Barbies - more than 300 dolls together

Can You imagine 300 Barbie dolls together in one place? If You are doll collector then You might. I could not. So I just had to visited local mall to take a look to exhibition called "Barbie as fashion icon throught the years". I also took pictures of some of models I liked most. Here are some of my impressions:

Exhibition "Barbie as fashion icon through the years"

Barbie - Merilyn Monroe



Barbies in ethnic costumes



Anniversary Barbies

This was my favorite - love that outfit!

Barbie in sport and leisure



How many Barbies do You see? (I did not count, but as a little girl near me said - I want them all!