The Bottom Line
Pros
- Wide range of modern removable dolls clothing patterns
- Clear illustrations of hand stitches suggested for sewing the clothing
- Information on making hats , shoes and household linens
- Good information on knitting for dolls, simple Fair Isle diagrams
Cons
- Techniques are simplifed but will require careful handsewing.
Description
- Finely detailed modern clothing can be adapted for a wide range of sewing skills.
- You will achieve the most satisfactory results if you practise your hand sewing skills on the simpler items first.
- Book includes basic information on making shoes and hats.
- There are no specific knitting patterns or instructions on how to knit, but materials for miniature knitting are discussed.
- Instructions for making household table and bed linens as well as instructions for knitted towels are also included.
Guide Review - Book Review - The Miniature Costumier by Catriona Hall
This is a good reference on sewing modern dolls clothing, including everything from a traditional christening gown and bonnet for a baby, through to a man's dress suit. The clothing can be made to fit a range of modern periods. There is a sailor suit for a small boy, as well as a smocked dress for a young girl, but jeans, blouses and pinafores are included as well. For the dolls house matron there is a casual dress as well as more formal attire.
Catriona Hall does an excellent job of discussing fabrics, materials and trims suitable for dolls clothing. She also gives good instructions on how to make the patterns fit your particular dolls.
Most 1:12 scale dolls are not dressed in removable clothing. The designs in this book have been carefully worked out to create realistic clothing that can be removed and replaced. All the doll sizes are also supplied with patterns for basic underwear. This would be an excellent reference for making clothing for miniature dolls which are meant to be repositioned and set in various scenes.
The pattern pieces are designed to get the most mileage for the least work, and they can be adjusted and recombined in several ways to increase a doll's wardrobe. Ms Hall makes suggestions for the easiest patterns to begin with, and suggests ways to use various stitches to create different finishes for collars, sleeves and other details.
The Miniature Costumier,Removable Clothing For Dolls' House People by Catriona Hall, Milner Craft Series, Sally Milner Publishing, Bowral NSW, Australia, 2004 ISBN 1 86351 329 9 Price $16.95 US
