MODKID® Summer Fun: Sew 7 Stylish Projects for 18" Dolls    Mix & Match Wardrobe
Sophisticated Stitches for Favorite Dolls: Most of these patterns for swimsuit, shorts, t-shirt, coverup, tote bag, sleeping bag, pillow and sunhat are beyond the sewing skill level of a beginner, especially a tween: the shorts have cargo pockets, the coverup sides have drawstrings and sleeves have elastic to create shirring. The tote bag is lined and it, the hat and the swimsuit top have ruffles. What this publication does offer, however, is the opportunity for a duo to work together, using fabric remnants or repurposed clothes (jeans, for example, for the tote bag and hat) to practice special techniques. For example, the application of elastic to create gathers in the middle of a sleeve and making pleated patch pockets with flaps.If you’re just beginning to sew for your children or grandchildren, the patterns also provide how-to’s for features that can help clothes avoid the “homemade” look. One example is a two-part waistband on shorts, so that only the back half is elasticized. The casings on each side seam of the swimsuit coverup show a technique that could be adapted for the side seams of children’s slacks, so that pants could be hemmed a couple of inches long and shirred with short drawstrings until more length was needed.(Parenting Press, June 3, 2014)