Sunday 8 October 2017

Dress Up!

Hello everybody! Well, before the interview I shared another chapter on Coco's and Venezia's story, and told you I wanted to share a dress-up and so many anecdotes regarding their clothes! Well, thing is... here is the post!

Let's start with a question: why are they so wintery dressed? Well, I started these outfits on June and finished on mid August, which is exactly winter in my country. Disregard completely the fact that they are situated in Paris and it should have been summer clothes, but I was freezing and wanted a excuse to knit something! Anyways, it took me way longer than expected.

So, here is the dress-up, so you can see me struggling with Coco's turtleneck and Venezia's sleeves, and laugh at me xD More rambles and anecdotes under the cut!



So, first of all, I wanted to knit something. But of course the knitting would not agree with me. First I planned Coco's outfit to have a gorgeous U-shaped poncho in gray... it took me a week and I was almost done when I realized it was a disaster and looked terrible. So I went back to blank page (except with the leggings and turtleneck) to find another poncho design... and I found this one, which was a mix of crochet and knitting and looked easy to make. Another 3~4 days, and it was another disaster, because the wool was too thick.

So, I went ahead to purchase thread, because I didn't wanted to raid my mom's house for supplies: those are for her store. The first store I went had this perfect gray I wanted but the employee treated me like if I was an ignorant child and refused to sell me a small quantity. I was so offended after that. Hubby calmed me down and suggested to look for another store. I called 3 of them, and in the fourth the women had the thread I was looking for, but she was on vacation. So another weekend went by, in which I started Venezia's sewn part of the outfit.


When I went, of course she didn't have gray, but that lilac looked great. She had three balls but I grabbed two. As expected, by next day I was getting exasperated thinking it would not be enough, so I went back and grabbed the final ball... which I didn't used in the end xD I did ended up raiding my mom's supplyy for the light and dark purple to make the tassels, but those were insignificant quantities.

So, now it was a month or more of me going through this outfits, when I started Venezia's cardigan. I used a simplified stitch because: a) I didn't have enough thread, b) I don't have the skill yet to make the complex version of it. And here I was... crochetting, crochetting, crochetting... and I didn't advance not even an inch. So. Damn. Slow.

I whined via message to my mom about how slow I was and the increasing headache I was having, so she kindly offered me to help me knit faster. So you can say that cardigan is no 100% my credit, as she helped me a lot. So we went back and forth knitting, and it took me like 3 weeks to have it done. But it was white. You can imagine that after all that, when I finished it, it was nothing like white. It was a mix of dirty with more dirty and some fingerprints.

I always wash the doll clothes after I make them, but white clothing is like a shiny banner saying "your hands are dirty no matter how much you wash them".


And then, I made that scarf in like... an hour or so xD I was inspired by this outfit photo, and hubby helped me pick the fabric colors, as my first attempt at a jegging for Venezia fitted perfectly but the color was so terribly off.

And so, it then came the day to take some photos. But in the process of fighting with the autofocus, and then recording the dress-up (on which I did Venezia's only to realize I hadn't pushed the 'record' button and nothing was recorded)... I forgot to take outfit photos!! *facepalm* So... I had to wait to yet another weekend to be able to take photos, as I cannot do them on week days: I arrive late and natural light is not good at all.


So yes, I just had to share all of this, because it was a journey of facepalms, frustrations and learning, and realizing that I unknit more than I knit xD My deepest admiration to my mother's crochet skills, and her patience to deal with her musume (which means daughter) and my oh-so-slow progress.

But cheers! Outfits finished, I learned a lot, and here goes to keep learning! I have a couple more projects in mind, that I hope to tackle... one day, not now. My back is hurting from knitting and kneeling on the ground to record that dang video. Have a great weekend! :D

13 comments :

  1. Haha, I can imagine how frustrating it must have been fighting to crochet/knit. I suck so badly at both, and I know practice makes perfect, but I'm also lazy XD
    I think your outfits turned out stunning! I especially love Venezia's. Those legwarmers are the cutest <3

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    1. Thank you very much, dear! They turned out good, for all that fighting, hahaha
      I think you should keep practicing!

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  2. Oh my, I had a good laugh reading this and the fight to crochet and knit, and expect a nice outcome, is always a game. Who will win (mostly the yarn) and who will lose (erhm, me!) Best is to breathe, start over and in some cases call for help.
    I love the outfits and it is perfect time for warm things over here, when autumn slowly gets colder and winter is coming. And I do like that the heads are so easy to take off. Can not say the same when it comes to my two Narshas.
    Enjoy your Sunday and hope that your new week starts out well.

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    1. Glad I could make you laugh xDDd That is my goal when sharing this anecdotes, hahaha! Sadly, yarn and fabric always win, as one only temporarily tame them xD
      Also, happy you like the outfits! Have a great week you too :D

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  3. Oh my gosh, I've projects like that! Sometimes no matter how much time you spend on it, you just have to take it apart and start over. I'm currently trying to crochet a bear cub outfit for a PukiFee. I'm on my third type of yarn because the first two didn't work. To make matters worse I can't make sense of the pattern directions, so I have abandoned the pattern and am letting the piece develop organically.

    I love the lilac poncho and the scarf. The leg warmers are adorable. The shape of the white sweater is really interesting--is that a dolman sleeve? I've never tried to make something like that. (I don't think my skills are there yet.) Great work and fun post!

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    1. That is true, this was not the first project in which I had to do that, nor the last one either, probably xD I do hope your bear outfit turns out okay!

      The white sweater is the same my mom has been doing in commissions. Venezia needed one as well! :D

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  4. Hi Musume!
    This is one of the things I admire about you. You keep on keeping on, no matter how difficult a project is, you are like a dog with a bone and don't let go until you succeed. And succeed you did! Both outfits look wonderful, if you keep knitting different clothes for your dolls, you will find knitting will become second nature. :)
    Big hugs,
    X

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    1. Hahahah, thank you!! I will try to keep knitting, I need to master it! :D

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  5. Los tejidos te han quedado maravillosos, es bien cierto que muchas veces uno quiere tejer algo, pero el hilado decide otra cosa XD.
    Las polainas son adorables, siempre digo que le tejeré a mi muñeca un par, pero después se me van pasando los días. El poncho es precioso y el cardigan le sienta hermoso a Venezia. Yo creo que dominas muy bien el tejido y coses una ropa preciosa. Te felicito

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    1. ¡Gracias! Y es cierto, los hilos y la tela tienen ideas propias, jajajaj.
      ¡Me alegro mucho que te guste la ropa! :D

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  6. You did such a great job on both of the outfits! I love the purple colour you ended up using for Coco's poncho! ^^
    I have been thinking about learning how to crochet as I have an outfit idea where I need some leg warmers. Do you have any recommendations on what type of thread/yarn to use and hook size? :3

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    1. Thank you so much!! I loved that lilac color as well :D
      I'm not the best to recommend hooks sizes honestly, I got a huge confusion and my mom just provided them for me. For leg warmers, try to get thin wool or thread, but not too thin, or it won't be stretchy. The hook would depend on the wool/thread you get.

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    2. Thanks for your recommendations and tips - I will try to experiment a bit in the future. xD

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