Fashionistas in fabric and lambswool, circles and stripes

Lilly is looking all that (she thinks) in a darling sleeveless shift by Pistachio Libby on Etsy from some fabric I picked, actually dress shapes cut out first by My Own Little World, also on Etsy. I had the great idea to learn to sew, and thought the pre-cut fashions would give and my five thumbs a head start.

Suffice to say, when the sewing instructor referred to my machine as "a toy" and snubbed me, she really wasn't all that far off. It is a Singer Pixie Plus, but at the time I requested it from Santa, I didn't even realize there were different kinds of sewing needles, stitches or that I might need a free arm or a buttonhole maker.

I still don't need those things because I've somewhat abandoned sewing, except for a straight or zig zag stitch for altered arts and papercrafts. Libby is my go-to girl for fashion design and sewing. Her work is as fine as any tailor, and twice as detailed and challenging since it is so tiny. Check her out. She welcomes custom requests and collaborations. When I first saw her Etsy, her whimsical Hostess cupcake dresses and Snoopy holiday prints got me right away, and I haven't looked back. The girlz will be doing an entire Libby line fashion show on here very soon. We'll be showing ready-to-wear dresses as well as some snooze-worthy pjs.

Meanwhile, Bunny is wearing a sweater I finished last night. This is the second doll sweater I have ever crocheted, and I enjoyed using some very fine rainbow yarn, actually lambswool and angora called Childsplay by Lorna's Angel. This is a great pattern I've blogged about before from Crochet Today! magazine and adapted from a 1960s Barbie project kit. I ran out of yarn at the end, so all Bunny got was a matching cap, and barely that, instead of a hat. I'm happy with how my sweater turned out; the back even has a button and loop closure and these sleeves fit even better than the first sweater I made. So I must have learned something.