Dora Needs a Mend

Every so often I shop for old patterns. Once I found an adorable size 2T dress. It had a scalloped neck edge with a few buttons, and it seemed to be a crossover bodice that continued onto just the front of the skirt. The sides and back were gathered for fullness. In the Great Craftroom Gutting, the pattern pieces were lost. How? I have no clue!! The instruction sheet remained neatly in its special tomb-like bag, but the pieces are gone.

On many of the older patterns, the pieces are drawn nearly to scale. So, off to the scanner I went and enlarged the page 200%. Our victim? Dora!!





She needs a new shirt, apparently. First order of business: mend the shirt!

Okay, so the pieces aren't perfectly to scale, but they're close enough. I tossed the facings after noticing they were quite ill sized for this. Facings patterns are easy enough: just trace the pattern piece that needs facing, but just leave off what would be a couple/few inches from the edge. In this case, about a quarter to half inch. :)





Oh no! I've put the sleeve on the wrong way! No loss without gain: there's one of the facings we just discussed.

I fumbled through the pattern, looking at directions only when completely muddled. I should have read step 3. It's made to be a pullover dress with ties for sizing. I thought it was buttoned closed, so I hadn't entertained the idea of connecting the bodice halves before sewing the skirt together. Dress makers in the day were clever!!

For Dora, I shortened the skirt by about a third, and could have shortened the waist by a scallop. I think it worked out nice, and I'd like to make it another 200% bigger for the doll I recently made.





when MissC saw Dora in her fancy new dress, she decided Boots needed a new shirt, so he was given Dora's hand-me-down. :) That's a little sister.