Spring Dress
May 20, 2008 23:12:47 GMT -5
Post by Bean Bunny on May 20, 2008 23:12:47 GMT -5
Don't buy it unless you've got some sewing knowledge. I didn't have to sew anything, but knowing how to fix stuff that is sewn wrong is going to be an advantage.
Whyzat? Look, it comes out of the box looking like this:
Why yes, those sleeves ARE over her hands. I think AG decided to make the sleeves 'bigger' to make a mutton leg sleeve, which is way hardcore historical accurate. But, instead of "longer", you're supposed to go "wider". Longer gives you less floof and more ... well, more fail.
For some reason, AG uses a screwball skirt making method where they make the skirt in three pieces instead of one and put two huge seams at the sides. They do it in every historical dress I've seen, and I don't know why, because it would almost have to be cheaper and easier to use one long piece of cloth. On this dress, someone forgot to press the seams flat, so when put on Nellie, they stick STRAIGHT OUT AT AN ANGLE. Never mind that the skirt behaves like someone put way too much cloth at the back and then again in the middle of the front.
Also, the bottom seam of the waist band wasn't sewn right or something, so the skirt tried to stick straight out. I had to put the dress on Nellie, reach up under her, tuck the seam where it needed to go, then pull her bloomers down a little bit to make the ensemble look half okay. Poor baby.
Nellie got taken into my sewing room and I ironed the two offending seams of the dress. I could have done more, I guess, but I didn't want to screw with it too much.
Maybe ten minutes of effort got me this:
I velcro'd the sleeves as tight as they would go. They still look hokey, but the skirt is not the most offensive thing on the planet any more. It still ranks in the top ten. This dress might fit a Karito Kid pretty well, actually.
Close up of the failure sleeves, and the bodice. Bodice looks weird and I don't know why. Also note the necklace, which comes with a weird, lo-res picture of some flowers. No idea how historically accurate jpeg artifacts are, but there you go.
At least the lace detail is nice. The shoes are heels, and I have no clue how Nellie is standing in them. It's really easy to stand her up in them, too.
Also, the bow is hideous. This upsets Nellie: it's a bow, so it's supposed to be good, right? But how can THIS:
be considered a pretty bow? I'm not sure I appreciate the fact that it's a clip, either.
Probably what I'll do is leave the dress on the doll for a week, just to see if I like it any better. (Sometimes that happens. It's almost like the clothes and the doll get used to each other.) But, I do wonder if maybe I got a bum dress and there's another out there that would at least fit okay.
Whyzat? Look, it comes out of the box looking like this:
Why yes, those sleeves ARE over her hands. I think AG decided to make the sleeves 'bigger' to make a mutton leg sleeve, which is way hardcore historical accurate. But, instead of "longer", you're supposed to go "wider". Longer gives you less floof and more ... well, more fail.
For some reason, AG uses a screwball skirt making method where they make the skirt in three pieces instead of one and put two huge seams at the sides. They do it in every historical dress I've seen, and I don't know why, because it would almost have to be cheaper and easier to use one long piece of cloth. On this dress, someone forgot to press the seams flat, so when put on Nellie, they stick STRAIGHT OUT AT AN ANGLE. Never mind that the skirt behaves like someone put way too much cloth at the back and then again in the middle of the front.
Also, the bottom seam of the waist band wasn't sewn right or something, so the skirt tried to stick straight out. I had to put the dress on Nellie, reach up under her, tuck the seam where it needed to go, then pull her bloomers down a little bit to make the ensemble look half okay. Poor baby.
Nellie got taken into my sewing room and I ironed the two offending seams of the dress. I could have done more, I guess, but I didn't want to screw with it too much.
Maybe ten minutes of effort got me this:
I velcro'd the sleeves as tight as they would go. They still look hokey, but the skirt is not the most offensive thing on the planet any more. It still ranks in the top ten. This dress might fit a Karito Kid pretty well, actually.
Close up of the failure sleeves, and the bodice. Bodice looks weird and I don't know why. Also note the necklace, which comes with a weird, lo-res picture of some flowers. No idea how historically accurate jpeg artifacts are, but there you go.
At least the lace detail is nice. The shoes are heels, and I have no clue how Nellie is standing in them. It's really easy to stand her up in them, too.
Also, the bow is hideous. This upsets Nellie: it's a bow, so it's supposed to be good, right? But how can THIS:
be considered a pretty bow? I'm not sure I appreciate the fact that it's a clip, either.
Probably what I'll do is leave the dress on the doll for a week, just to see if I like it any better. (Sometimes that happens. It's almost like the clothes and the doll get used to each other.) But, I do wonder if maybe I got a bum dress and there's another out there that would at least fit okay.