Craft for December

 Dresses for Calico Critters...

...And Dollies!

 
Well, it's that time of year again. My favourite time of the year, I might add. Growing up we didn't have a lot of the stuff that goes in people's wallets... but what we did have was creativity. So when Christmas rolled around, we would get to work making gifts for each other. It actually is so meaningful now to look back and think on, because as a family, even if we kids didn't always get along, we loved each other, and we certainly showed it around Christmas time, as we worked hard to make each other gifts.

So this year, for my daughter, I set to work making dresses for her Calico Critters, and dolls. I will show you the simplest way of making a large variety of dresses.

First off, you're going to need a rectangle. Make sure it's bigger than the size you actually need for a dress. As you can see, when you sew in all the sides, it gets considerably smaller.

 Then you're going to want to gather it in. I did this on the sewing machine, with a wide stitch, then pull on the threads to gather it in. Have your doll or critter on hand to check out the size, making sure it goes all the way around, and over laps in the back!

 I then added lace. This piece I sewed on, but adding ribbon or lace is easy with a hot glue gun!

 Then on the back, you're going to add your straps, using ribbon or lace, and don't forget Velcro. Before you hot glue it all on, make sure you try it out on the doll or critter to be sure it's all in the right place.

 And there you have it!

You can also do this same thing with (I believe it's called) Eyelet lace.
This required no sewing, only hot gluing! I love this lace!!

Now come see all the different kinds you can make with ribbon, lace, different fabric, and different sizes.

Happy Crafting!

S.L. Kliever