Trying something new...

... With my cheap camera. I always thought the "manual focus" thing was worthless ('cuz I didn't know what it was or how it worked). I needed to create the Bokeh effect without using Photoshop and the Macro function >.< So yah, I had to document myself about technical stuff that I can't quite understand yet xD Anyway, my first experiments! Which is your fav one?

Celestina

So I was keeping this wintery head, and he/she needed a body. Chiqui liked it and we decided he/she looked like a she. After some research I chose a B&G body that arrived just today! And despite the resin match looks quite bad in the pictures, it's not like that at all in real life.
She is my sister's first BJD, and the first hybrid in the family xD I did the face-up and chiqui chose the outfit and general appereance. I love size comparison shots so I leave you with these ones!






I think Loren's gonna turn hetero now.

How to sew a PJ outfit for a SSDF

These are the tools of trade. And the book I bought which is very good if you're a beginner like myself.





First off, you need a pattern. I downloaded the PJ shirt from UndeadThreads and resized it to 110%. For the bottom I used a pant I bought and traced a pattern out of it, then I adjusted it some.



Then you have to place the pattern pieces with the grainline arrow parallel to the selvages and pin them.



Double check the placement before cutting as accuracy is important. Mistakes made in cutting cannot always be corrected.



Do the same with the pants.





Since this fabric tends to fray you need to apply finishing seams. In this case, a zigzag stich was used. Then, iron the piece. Always remember to iron in order to get better results.



Sew right sides together, pin the sewn right and left pants sections together at the crotch seam. Line up the inner leg seams, and match any notches. Stitch the entire seam.



Join both pants at the crotch area using pins and sew them accordingly.



Finish the waistline. Fit what you have done to the doll and see where you want the girdle to be placed at. Fold the upper edge of the waistline and iron it. Stich and leave a a opening just above the first opening in order to get the elastic inside.



Use a pin to drag the elastic inside. Try it on the doll to see if it fits. Once done, stitch several times until it's strong enough and close the opening.



Try the pans once again on the doll and mark where you want the hem to be. Iron it and stich. The pants are done!



Now with the PJ Top. This is the collar and it's kind of tricky. You need to cut it perpendicular to the selvages of the fabric. With right sides together pin and sew the collar around top and sides and leave the other side open. Turn right sides out and iron flat.





With right sides together pin and sew the fronts with the back by the shoulders.



Fold wrong sides of the cuffs together at crease line, and iron them flat. Pin the cuff to the right side of the sleeve and make sure all the seams are aligned. Stitch the cuff to the right side of the sleeve.



Fold the cuffs out so that they lay flat. Iron the seam allowances pointed towards the top of the sleeve and stich.



I didn't take photos of the rest but the rest of the explanation can be found here since I followed those instructions.

And this is how it looks once the buttons are all added!



And this is how it looks on the doll! What a great feeling to see that it fits!

Self Directed Learning

That's the name of the Gened I took. This weekend I finally took some time to do something for my Gened. I've decided I would learn how to sew stuff... For my dolls. So I started with PJ pants for Coltrane. I made a pattern out of the pants I bought for him.

The final result was so ugly that I got depressend and I will never show them to anyone. But then I decided I'd try a T-shirt. I took a SD pattern from FlimFlam's website and resized it about 116% and added some cms here and there. The book steps were very clear, but since this is a Tshirt for a doll and not a human being, the size restriction was an issue, so I had to look at steps on internet and this time I think I got something decent. Now Coltrane has something way less formal to wear and now that I pay attention to him, he looks like some sort of "thinspiration" (which was totally NOT intended). Anyway, it feels good to see the thing fits! This is oficially my third time at sewing something and I'm kinda proud of myself... There's still some finishes that I should work some more but... Hell, it's a doll. He won't complain. So then I went nuts and did another "photoshot" on my well known table.

Not only the book and webpages helped me out some, also youtube did! I've learnt how to wing a bobbin just watching a youtube video xD

PS: I bought the pants.

Coltrane is finally complete!

So I received a call this morning from Canada Post and I screamed. I thought he was arriving this Friday, so that means it took just three days to get here! How efficient is that? Anyway, I bought a Regen from Luts, because I desperately needed a SSDF body and he was on sale for three days, so I said "why not?". So I bought him on December, and the other good thing is that there was this event so I could get a free head, the "Winter Event Head". Which is way too cute. Anyway, the photos!



The box inside the box!



What's inside those cushions? My sister was there and she didn't let me take nice pictures of the contents because apparently she was more excited than I was and took everything.



The mummy!



And this is Regen. He's cute but not so much my type, the lack of forehead bothers me, and his head is too small for his body. I think I'll practice face-up on him a couple of times and then sell him on the market.



Regen's head is the one at the left, and Wintery is at the right. Look how big is the deattachable SSDF hand!



So I changed heads and put on Coltrane's with his new wig (that I need to style as well). I almost cried out my happiness. Coltrane is finally complete.



And if you wanted to know the size difference between a SSDF and a SDF... I felt sorry for Loren, he looks like a child now... And they're the same age! This made me think it twice about getting a mecha angel (80 cm).



This is a cute one. Loren's uncomfortable because not only Coltrane is one head taller than him, he can also cross legs xD



And more Coltrane's photos, just because. I can´t get over his beauty. Wait until I paint a decent face-up and attach nice doll-sized eyelashes.





My friend Liliana wanted to see the veiny hands... As a side note, that watch actually works!



I love my dolls to bits... I wished my mom was here so she could sew something less formal for Coltrane. Oh well, I'll figure... Now I want a female doll, but my only female chara is Juno and she's a tough one, I can't find her anywhere. Anyway, I'm way too happy with these two, tho they can't stand each other xD * sings and finishes this entry *