Big Reveal of Small Sewing Room ~ Part 4

This is the final post about the "Big Reveal of Small Sewing Room" (are you guys tired of the same or similar pictures yet? I promise, there are other tutorial posts coming soon!). There are so many details in this tiny space, I just couldn't explain everything in one post.

Today I am going to talk about how I made the tiny clothes for the mannequin. She is only 3 1/4" tall, and I was contemplating how in the world I could make clothes for her. After thinking about it for a while I decided to do it just like a normal size dress, but with much simpler embellishment and help with glue. :)

{How to make the dress} --- Note: all the sewing was done with 1/8" seam allowance. If your mannequin is different size than mine, you have to adjust the size of the fabric strips.

1. Cut two strips of fabrics. One is for the top and measures 1 1/2"x 3" and the other one, for the skirt, measures 1 1/2"x 4 1/4".

* Top *

2. Take the fabric for the top and fold it in half and press with your finger. Open the fabric and make a small cut on the middle of the folded line. That will be the opening for the neck. Fold about 1/8" around the neck and the arm hole area as shown in the picture. Then sew.

3. Fold the fabric right sides together. Sew the sides.

4. Turn inside out. Press the sides with your fingers.

* Skirt *

5. Take the longer fabric strip and fold one of the long sides, 1/8th inch from the edge. Iron and sew. Then, using bigger stitches, sew the other side of the seam. Pull one thread to gather the fabric.

6. Fold the fabric right sides together and sew the seam. Open the seam and press with a finger.

*Putting it all together *

7. Slip the top onto the mannequin, and put the skirt on. It looks like the top is tucked in. Pull the thread to gather the fabric of the skirt piece and tie the end of the thread together.

8. I went through my laces and trims... in times like this, my tendency to "can't-throw-even-the-tiniest-things-away" comes in handy. I found a piece of lace and tiny ribbon flower. Use fabric Glue to glue them on. Oh! By the way, the pearl necklace she is wearing... I threaded 6 tiny beads to regular sewing thread and tied the ends. To keep the necklace on the mannequin, I used a small dot of fabric glue on the mannequin and set the thread of the necklace on it. In case you were wondering. :)

{Ironing board}

I bought the ironing board at Joann's. I can't remember how much I paid for it, but it was a really good deal. It had blue and white gin-gum check fabric on the board, but it didn't go with the room I was creating, so I peeled it off and added light gray fabric instead. The "quilt block" is 7/8". I guess from the ratio of the room, they are considered "big" blocks.

{Small quilt}

I didn't do a tutorial on this one, but the finished size of the quilt it 3"x 4". I also sewed this with 1/8" seam allowance. I used the same fabrics I used to make the fabric bolts, and they were already in strips, so zip, zap and zip! There is a quilt. I really enjoyed hand quilting this one.

Because I had so much fun doing this, I started looking at small objects such as bottle caps, toothpaste caps, spools... with a different set of eyes. Hmmm... What can I make them into for a tiny room... Ah, so fun!! I hope you enjoyed my posts about this small sewing room as much as enjoyed creating it. :)

Tutorial~Homespun Mannequin~

I have been wanting to get a child size mannequin for a long time. It may sound funny, but I thought it would be fun to display the clothes I made for Rachel in her room. Also, if I decided to do more open houses for Tea Rose Home, a mannequin would be a nice touch for the display. First of all, I never found one that I had in mind, the closest one was over hundred dollers. Umm... no thanks.

One day, I found this Torch stand at the clearance section in Target for $6.48(originally 12.99). The detailing is beautiful... I though, "What can I use this for?"... then, a light came in my head!


I can use this to make a mannequin! Just in case you want one, here is how I did it.

You will need:

Torch Stand
Wooden Dowel
One can of white spray paint(make sure that it is the kind that is made for metal and plastic)
Old blanket or Bath towels
Batting
Muslin
Iron or wood decorative top
Glue gun, needle and thread

How to:

1. Put the wooden dowel into the torch stand and tighten the screw. Spray paint the whole thing.


2. Cut several peices of 4" wide batting for the neck. Glue the first part to the dowel and start wrapping it tightly, until you get the thickness you want. You can either sew the end or glue it.


3. Using the same method, wrap the old towel or blanket to the dowel. I folded the old blanket and made it 15" tall for the body.


4. Add batting around the neck area to make a more natural and smooth look.


5. Cover the whole thing with batting. It was easier for me to sew it on to the body. I felt like I had more control and compared to using the glue gun, it is less permanent.


6. Cover the whole body with muslin. This part is a little tricky. Especially around the neck area. Sew the body part first, then the bottom and the top.


7. Around the neck area, you will need to cut some excess fabric off. Use the glue gun to secure the fabric to the top of the dowel as you make pleats.


8. I sewed lace around it.


9. Then, screw in the topper for the finishing touch.


10. Done!


and, the mannequin with some clothes on...


The whole thing cost me about 17.00 dollars. If you already have a torch stand or even a wooden standing coat hanger, you can make this a lot cheaper (Ladies go hunt in your garage or basement!). Although it is not perfect I love how it turned out! Apparently, Rachel liked it too, she started bringing some clothes to put on the mannequin. She and I played dolls this morning, it was a lot of fun!