MOMMA CAT SCORES BIG ON EBAY!!!

It may have been mentioned before that Momma Cat loves dolls, and likes to collect them.  Lately she has been trying to find new or gently used dolls to make clothes for, and eventually resell.  

Well, this week she scored big on eBay!  Her first purchase was a little 12 inch Corolle doll.  She looks exactly like one Momma bought for Baby Cat when she was about 2 years old.  Her name is now Piccolina.  Piccolina will not be resold.  But Momma Cat plans to make her some awesome doll clothes in the near future!!

Piccolina

Today Momma Cat got her two newest beauties in the mail. She was so happy when got home from work, saw her box, and then opened it.  These two gorgeous 18 inch Madame Alexander dolls were inside.  The one on the left has the most beautiful, long, wavy, dark brown hair.  Her clothes are not original.  But who cares?  That's what Momma Cat loves to do, make new clothes for these wonderful creatures.  

The doll on the right is simply beautiful.  She has a few small marks on her body, but that just shows that she was loved by someone else in her previous life!  Now it's Momma Cat's turn to love her and make her some new and nifty duds!  

Little Piccolina insisted in being in the photo with her two new "big sisters"!
 

Piccolina and her two big sisters

It is very hard for Momma Cat to sell any doll she falls in love with, so we'll see how this experiment goes.  Hopefully she will have one to sell as soon as she learns how to make doll shoes.  Until then these girls are hers!!!! Na ha ha!!!

- Momma Cat

DOLL CLOTHES FOR MADAME ALEXANDER DOLLS

Momma Cat was a lucky girl and received these two crochet books from Daddy Cat for Christmas!  

You can see they both have a lot of different kinds of clothing you can crochet for your dolls. Momma Cat picked a pattern from the first book (the Teddy Suit pattern) and went to work!

She decided right away that She didn't want to make a Teddy Suit, She wanted to make a Cat Suit instead!  Go figure! So she bought some black yarn and went to work.  

She doesn't remember how long it took her to complete the outfit, but she was shocked when she went to put it on her doll!  It was way tooooooooo small!  It was probably her own fault for not checking the gauge when she first started (a very important step!), but she was not very happy with the outcome!  So Momma Cat tore it apart and started completely over again!  

She made the second Cat Suit and tried it on her doll.  This time it fit, but it was so very difficult to get on, that she decided it needed to be redesigned.  This caused no end of problems with the pattern, but she was able to re-make it with a back opening, including buttonholes and buttons.  This is pretty essential when making doll clothes, as doll arms and torsos do not bend and twist the same way a human's can!  

  
So, here's a picture of the finished Cat Suit from the back, you can see the tail, and the buttons!

Cat Suit with button and buttonhole closure

Cat Suit from the front

 What Momma Cat learned from making this outfit was, (and this is so important!), all 18 inch dolls are not created equally, so clothing will fit the dolls differently.  Pay close attention to gauge and try the garment on the doll periodically as you make it!  That way you can adjust it to fit your doll perfectly!  Also, zipper, velcro, or button openings are essential, or your doll's clothes will be very hard to put on and remove.  So, if your pattern doesn't call for them, you might have to do a little re-designing of your own!

Please learn from Momma Cat's mistakes, so you don't have to make the same outfit three times, and have fun creating some one-of-a-kind doll clothes for your doll, or for a friend's.  

- Momma Cat