Who Sews? Ally Sews

Earlier in the year, when I was looking for dolls to make under for my own Tree Change Dolls project, I had an amazing op shop find. A trio of sweet little Madeline dolls. Little did I know at the time, that the lovely little dollies staring back at me were made by a company called Eden, and were never actually released in Australia. 

Madeline Eden Dolls

They are the sweetest dolls, unfortunately the wardrobe I came home with was very limited (they have one pair of shoes between them).

I had seen some lovely handmade Barbie Doll and other dolls clothes on Instagram and Esty by Ally Sews. I contacted Ally, a 17 (nearly 18!) year old who is Ally Sews and asked her if she would be able to create outfits for them.

She even has accessories!

Ally was lovely and extremely obliging. I sent off a volunteer Madeline, and she came back with a beautiful handmade and very extensive wardrobe. I was so so delighted and Sophie is going to LOVE them!

AMAZING!!

I of course, had to find out all about Ally's Handmade Adventure;

How & when did Ally Sews come about? 

I've always known since I was little that I wanted to be a designer and make things. At the end of last year, I had only a small amount of fabric and not alot of money and decided to open an etsy shop and make do with what I had, my shop gained momentum really quickly so it all worked out...and I get to do what I love everyday :)

What's been the most exciting place one of your items has travelled? 

 

Barbie never looked so good!

They've travelled to lots of cool places!! Chile, Sweden and London are a few I'd like to visit someday. I'm from Texas and the only place I've traveled to is Australia so it would be awesome to go back or travel somewhere else. I mean...It'd be very hard to not buy ALL the fabrics wherever I go though ;)


Are you studying? 

I don't study, I left highschool a few years ago and got a job doing sewing alterations. I take sewing classes sometimes too.

What is your favourite thing to sew? 

Doll clothes of course

Where do you work from? 

My bedroom. 95% of my belongings is sewing stuff and fabric so it's basically a craft room with a bed lol!

What do you love most about what you do? 

I love sewing for children, it's so much more fun and fulfilling than when I was sewing normal stuff.

Do you have any other crafty outlets?

 I *attempt* crochet and knitting. Still learning.

What's next for Ally Sews?

This year's been pretty huge for my business and I can't believe it hasn't been a year yet. Soon my doll clothes will be sold by a few online retailers which is exciting. Next year I just want to continue doing what I do and make new styles of clothes.

I cannot recommend Ally's dolls clothes highly enough. If you're looking for a lovely, well made and special gift for a child who loves dolls, look no further then Ally Sews.

Did you like dressing up dolls as a child?

Hello Dolly - My Tree Change Doll Project

I know, I said I'd wait until 2016 to give this project a go. However my sister found some dolls in serious need of a Tree Change / Make-Under, and they kept looking at me with their ghastly eyes, so I had to do it!

If you're not familiar with this whole idea, Tasmanian Mum and artist Sonia Singh has started something amazing called; Tree change dolls. Sonia has been 'rescuing' dolls (mainly Bratz) from op shops and giving them a 'make-under', making them look like actual normal people and dressing them in the most adorable outfits that her mum makes.

These are my efforts

While I had the paint out, I gave this one scars like Sophie's

Firstly, it's not as easy as it looks! It was very time consuming, and being the perfectionist I am, I am not 100% happy with the paint job (I am no artist!). However I am happy that they no longer look scary, and I hope that Sophie loves them when she is old enough to play with them.

This one has a birthmark due to irremovable fluro pen

Not sure of the make of this one, she was a mermaid

The feet / shoes are a major dilemma. Bratz dolls have removable shoes that clip on to the legs. The shoes they came with are hideous and had to go. The problem is, how to replace them? I tried using Fimo, which was my absolute favourite when I was a kid. However it didn't really work.

Photo Shoot!

There is a brilliant group on Facebook called Rescued Dolls where like-minded people discuss and share all the different problems and solutions, tips and patterns related to rescuing these dolls. It was here I found my feet solution. I am knitting little jumpers for a fellow rescuer, and in return, she is making my dollies some feet! Hooray!! If you are thinking about rescuing some dolls yourself, I highly recommend joining this lovely online community.

Clothing was my next dilemma. I tried a few different ideas for knitted clothes, but my brain just wasn't in the right gear. So I ended up purchasing the pattern that Sonia's mum Silvia created for the dolls.

My little jumpers!

The pattern is simple to follow and presented in a very cute manner. You can purchase and download it instantly from Etsy. Of course afterwards I discovered a multitude of free patterns on Raverly which I am sure would have worked just as well. Still, supporting handmade is what it's all about.
To put my own spin on these little jumpers, I knitted some little motif's into them. Below are the charts for the ones I have made so far. If you make your own, I'd love to see them.

Bunny

Love Heart

Little Rabbit, Add a French Knot for a 'fluffy' tail

Currently my dolls have plenty of jumpers, but they are sharing one pair of pants. Am hoping to swap some jumpers with some talented sewers for pants. Reminds me of my favourite book as a kid; Socks For Supper. That's a whole post of it's own though!

Have you tried giving a doll a make-under? Or has something else made you stray from your Handmade Challenge List?