Community Chat

[Enufstuff]

  Toni says "Happy July 4th". She is ready for the July 4th parade, wearing her sailor dress from my Toni Doll Fashions

Collection. All of Toni's Fashions were designed and sewn by me. This sailor dress is a recreation of my own sailor dress that I wore in 1952.

      Have a happy, fun and safe holiday weekend.

[Kachina624]

Very festive and cute.  I used to love to make doll clothes.

[Enufstuff]

@Kachina624   Thank you. About 15 years ago, I was making Toni Doll clothes and selling them online for a few years to Toni

Doll collectors. I kept all my Ginny and Toni dolls from my childhood. I still have online the folders of all the dresses in the collection.

      It was fun , but after working all day at my day job, I would sew at night. The first dress I made and sold was a recreation of

my white dotted Swiss First Communion dress and veil. I even included a sterling silver cross and chain with the dress. I liked to include accessories with the dresses that I sold.

     What doll or dolls did you sew for? When my girls were young, I made most of their dresses and sewed Barbie Doll clothes for them.

[Kachina624]

I had a 16" (I think) Madam Alexander doll for which I made clothes.  Then Barbie came on the scene.  I got one and had fun sewing for her.  Barbie clothes were hard because they were so tiny.  I was too old to play with them.  I just liked to design and sew clothes.

[Enufstuff]

@Kachina624  Here is one for you in aqua. Shades of aqua and turquoise

have always been my favorite colors. This dress is from the Pinwheel Playtime Collection.

   Madame Alexander dolls are beautiful. As a child I had one 8" Wendy. Now I have the set of 8" Little Women and a few others that were my mother's. We were both doll collectors.

   You are right about sewing for small dolls. It is more difficult. I made clothes for Ginny too, but not to sell.

   When my oldest daughter got married, I duplicated her gown, headpiece and veil on a Barbie. I surprised her with it at

her bridal shower.

[Kachina624]

@Enufstuff    That aqua dress is gorgeous.  My favorite color, of course.  I would loved to have seen your bride doll.  Making doll clothes is clearly your passion.  Do you still make any?  I don't sew much anymore.  Don't have the patience or vision.

[Enufstuff]

@Kachina624  I thought that you might like the aqua dress. I have photographs of the Barbie bride somewhere. If I can locate them, I'll have my son help me to post one.

   I haven't sewn anything in a while. I have about ten Toni dolls

and I only have two of the dresses that I made. I have such a large collection of trims and fabrics, I want to make some for myself. I just haven't made the time to do it. My vision is okay,

but arthritis in my fingers makes things more difficult to do.

   After I stopped making dolls clothes, I got involved for the next couple of years, making seaglass jewelry and selling that.

I have more than a hundred pieces to sell, but then covid happened and no craft fairs.

    Now that I think of it, the last sewing I did was a few years ago when I made jingle dress regalia for my great grand daughter to wear,  dancing at pow wows. Where we live, pow wows have not resumed since covid. My daughters and I miss going to them. Hopefully things will get better.

[lynnie61]

@Enufstuff   wow, how pretty, I’m sure the bridal dress was beautiful.  My great aunt used to sew Barbie clothes for my sister and I.  Velvet gowns with pearl features.  I wish I had a few of them.  She would also crochet use blankets, rugs, she even made my Francie a crocheted purse.  Imagine how tiny that was!

I sewed a few outfits for myself in middle school, but that was my extent of my sewing.  We had the nicest home ec teachers!  I made a few jean purses, a pants suit, and a skirt.  

Anyways your Toni doll clothes are cute and festive!  Thanks for sharing.  I had a Penny Brite doll, but don’t remember these Toni dolls.  I’ll have to google it.  

[Kachina624]

@Enufstuff    We did have the huge Gathering of Nations Pow Wow here in Albuquerque this year.  It was cancelled in 2020 and 2021.  Wow, if you make those costumes, you're really talented.  I've never been to the pow wow but would love to go just to see the costumes...and to shop.  I just can't do the walking required though.  You and your daughter ought to come here next year

[Oznell]

@Enufstuff,  Toni is so cute in her patriotic-themed sailor outfit, flag at the ready!  How talented you are.

Happy Independence Day to you too, and wishing a glorious Fourth for all.