Hi I know a lot of you want and like to create clothing for your girls … ( Nothing like a home made frock from Mum *S* ).

I have put together a sleeve tutorial for any of you who would like to give it a go, with visuals and step by step instructions. I sew them in entirely by machine so that is the way i have shown here.

1. Take your already hemmed sleeve and sew an ‘easing’ stitch along the top of the shoulder. This is a stitch that is loose enough that it will allow you to pull on it afterwards to gather the top of the sleeve. You acheive this by adjusting the stitch length and tension on your machine. i alter mine from the usual 2.5 to 3.5 length and the tension from the usual 4 to 2. Remember not to sew backwards at the beginning and the end to secure your stitches as that wont allow you to gather the thread afterwards. You stitching should look like this :

2. Next take hold of the bottom stitch and pull at both ends evenly to create an even gathering in the top of the sleeve. This enables you to ’shape’ the sleeve to fit the bodice . Obviously a puffy sleeve will require far more gathering than this one which is a straight sleeve.

3. Now you want to take the good side or the armhole in the bodice and line it up with the wrong side of your gathered sleeve. Like this :

4. Next step is to shape the sleeve top to fit directly up against the edge of the bodice. You manipulate it in place with your fingers as you go , adjusting the easing thread if necessary and pinning it flush up against the bodice without overhang. As you can see from pic #3 it is the wrong shape and this is where the easing stitch is used to pull it into the correct shape as you pin.

5. Firstly remember to change your machine settings back to normal otherwise the stitch wont be tight enough. You now want to run a line of stitching directly behind the easing stitch ( so the easing stitch is the closest to the edge of the fabric and will be hidden by the securing stitch when turned out the right way ). You can sew backwards at either end here to secure your stitiching.

6. Then flip over your sleeve once sewn and press with an iron.

7. The sleeve is now ready to be joined up inside out ready for sewing. Pin the sleeve and side of dress together , matching up as you go.

8. Run one line of stitching starting from the bottom of the sleeve up to the top and down the side of the dress. Then remove pins holding in place.

9. Turn your dress and sleeve the right side out and your sleeve is in !

Remember : Sewing often involves some swearing….but the results are invariably worth it !

Blossom .

I haven’t blogged in ages (actually I think I’ve only ever blogged once), so pardon my first blog being blatant plagiarism!!

I received a great dolly article recently titled ‘Ten ways to Collect dolls in a Down Economy’:

http://collectdolls.about.com/od/dollcollectingresources/tp/collectingandeconomy.htm

I had a good read and decided to share some tips mentioned. Not sure if there will be ten, so let’s not count.

· Stop looking forward, start looking in!!! Love what you have! With Blythe, I HAVE to see them in front of me at all times. If I find myself getting over how they look, I re-do the WHOLE display. Sometimes I add furniture, sometimes I prefer to be minimalist because dusting the tiny tables gives me the shits. Recently I have devoted an entire expedit square to displaying my lovely dolly clothes – it’s so much better than having them stuffed in a box and it never fails to be admired even by the most non dolly person ( the ladies go ga-ga over the cute little dresses).

· Accessorise, accessorise, accessorise!! Can’t afford a doll? By her a pair of shoes or a new dress instead. I’ve gotten to the point where a new item for my dolly is more exciting than a new dolly altogether. Or, even CHEAPER, remix ur dolly’s wardrobe and try new crazy combinations. Another idea I might try that I’ve seen others do – dress ur doll like a scene or character from a movie. You don’t need to have the perfect accessories, see below pic; it took several looks for people to realise she wasn’t working on a kitchen bench LOL.

· Handy man!! Most of us have a crappy doll we keep MEANING to get to. Now’s a great time! I bought a $2 Barbie once just so I could wash her hair, it was a calming process and I thoroughly enjoyed it (NB: barbie hair different than Blythe hair, I still SUCK at doing Blythe hair).

· Cheaper dolls? I actually don’t agree with this idea, buts lots of people love it. Buy something cheaper to tide you over – instead of a Blythe, buy a pink box barbie for example. HOWEVER, this is dangerous as you can end up with a whole heap of crap you don’t really want . I’ve been there, done that, donated to charity.

· Garage sales!! I never have the time, but the idea seems so romantic to me!!! Another good option is the small local fetes and markets. Heed my above warning tho – crap is tempting!!

· Swap! The infamous swap –always a great idea!

· Strict Policies! Since getting married to an anti-doll nazi, my buying habits have been curbed. Instead of buying whatever I want by using the evil credit card, I have to think each purchase through. So I developed a simple rule; all dollies must be purchased with money gained from selling other dollies. I railed aboot it at first, but its actually turned into a great little system. I spent my early 20’s buying everything and anything I fancied on ebay. The result: boxes and boxes of random toys shoved in cupboards and the garage that never saw the light of day. I’ve spent the last year slowly decreasing my collection, its been painful but rewarding. Now I think purchases through before hitting that damn BIN button at 3AM in the morning (and trust me, I’ve been thinking of Milky Way Sugar for months).

SO, thats it!!!! Common sense but helpful tips to get us through these tough dolly times!

Looking for a dollhouse/studio that:

• lets you express your style?
• is great for photography?
• is easy to store?

Here’s a product from Cleabella called “Room With a View”. It’s a magnetic scene system to display and photograph 1:4 or 1:6 (playscale) dolls. A starter kit includes metallic folding background walls, a fabric floor rug and your first set of magnetic ‘mix-and-match wallpaper’ panels.

You can then add more mix-and-match wallpaper or panelling, and magnetic wall accessories such as windows, doors, faux bookshelves and framed pictures. The catch is- it’s expensive. But read on for my DIY tip!

For more flexibility you can buy blank magnetic panels and design your own background. That’s how Michael Williams created his stylish set piece, featured here on our blog and pictured below. Michael explains on his Flickr site how he scanned in the wallpaper design from some fabric and printed it on a large scale Epsom printer. He also printed the parquet hardwood floor. Visit Michael’s flickr set for more details: http://www.flickr.com/photos/mawphoto/sets/72157603894831644/

…and here’s my crafty DIY tip- as they say, “make of it what you will”. You can buy paint with iron filings which magnets will stick to.  You can get A4 sized printable magnet sheets from Officeworks, and larger magnets should be available at printers and signwriters.  And finally-you can cut out pictures you like from magazines, such as accessories, paintings, posters, views through windows. Then glue them on to those magnets you always get in the letterbox- you know, the ones that advertise the 24-hour plumbing service. Now that’s real DIY, and it’s free!

Vintage Barbie clones, despite their undeniable fug, are a nifty alternative to “real” vintage Barbies.

At first glance, they look like the real thing. The Dusty Springfield-esque eye make-up, the snooty expression, and the insane bodily proportions are all present. But cheaply produced Hong Kong clones from the ’60s are made out of feather-light hollow plastic and have all sorts of quality control problems. One of mine has one leg that’s a good half-centimetre longer than the other, suggesting a stacked heel might be in order. The other has ragged plastic around her hands, and both are partially bald, making hairstyling a tricky prospect.

All that aside, they’re a heck of a lot cheaper than vintage Barbies and are not without their own idiosyncratic charms. When I went to pay for one at the vintage collectibles market where I found her, the man behind the counter exclaimed, “Oh, I love the fake Barbies! They look so mean, like they beat the other Barbies up!” I can’t disagree. There’s something amusingly off-kilter and cockeyed about them, and they have a cranky quality that Barbies lack. They might be from the wrong side of the tracks, but their underdog charms just might win you over.

1. Choose your hapless victim:

2. Remove the screw from the back of her head:

3. Use a sharp knife to separate the scalp from the back of the head:

4. You should now be able to pull the back of the head off:

5. The eye mechanism is just lightly sitting in the front face plate. Lift or tip it out:

6. Do the same to another petite Blythe and swap them over.

7. Reassemble dolls.

8. Admire your handiwork. Here’s mine:

Okay, maybe “wars” is over the top. But nothing whips the Blythe community into a frenzy as much as facemould talk.

Blythe has had four incarnations since Takara started reproducing her in 2001: BL, EBL (AKA Excellent), SBL (AKA Superior), and RBL (AKA Radiant). Although they are all based on the original look of 1972 Kenner Blythes, each Takara mould gives Blythe a slightly different look. Indeed, people new to Blythe have trouble telling one facemould from another. More militant Blythe fans, however, reject certain moulds completely and embrace others, which can result in the occasional personality clash when someone feels as though their favourite mould has been slighted.

The BL and EBL looks are based on the same mould, but the finished dolls are distinct from one another due to the different thickness od their eyelashes, and the boggled (lifted) eyelids, fuller lips, and matte faces on some of the BLs.

With their extra-wide eyes and round cheeks, BLs are sometimes described as childlike or quirky. Being the earliest Takara Blythes, they’ve become harder to attain, and therefore have become widely coveted for their rareness and distinctiveness. EBLs have a more serious look, and their mouth shape is the least “smiley” of all Blythes, making them popular with collectors who prefer more melancholy girls.

Below: a Kenner Blythe (left) and a BL Blythe (right). This particular BL (Aztec Arrival) doesn’t have the matte complexion, pouty lips and boggled eyes of found on some BLs, so the differences between her and the EBL pictured lowered down are less pronounced.

Below: a Kenner Blythe (left) and an EBL Blythe (right).

SBL (or “Superior”) Blythes began production in late 2003. The SBL mould, is, anecdotally, the least popular of the Takara moulds. SBL Blythes are sometimes described as having a more sophisticated look than BLs and EBLs and have less rounded eyes, a more noticeable smile, and a different eyechip style. They also have thicker eyelashes and a more extreme side-glance than EBLs. More recent SBLs have a new style of lip that is even more smiley than the earlier SBLs.

Below: a Kenner Blythe (left) and an SBL Blythe (right).

SBLs are still being produced, but in 2006 added another facemould, RBL (or “Radiant”). Presently, Takara and CWC alternate production between the two moulds. The aim with the RBL mould was engineer a Takara Blythe that looked as much like a Kenner Blythe as possible. RBLs have especially large eyes which are slightly uneven, which is apparently a deliberate quirk meant to echo the imperfections of Kenners. They have a soft smile and a fuller face than SBLs. RBLs are sought after because of their resemblance to Kenners and relative scarcity compared to SBLs.

Below: a Kenner Blythe (left) and an RBL Blythe (right).

I’m sure I’ve left a lot out, but this is my impression of the various moulds! It would be great if you could add any extra info in the comments.

All photos by Sue.