For the third year, BJDcollectasy is welcoming in the new year with a specially costumed BJD. This time, Dream High Studio’s 5 cm tall tiny doll Piko was chosen for New Year Baby 2013. Creating outfits for such a diminutive doll was a bit of a challenge. A dress and mask were made for January 1st celebrations. The mask is based on the Halloween mask project (directions can be found HERE). A crocheted lace crown was also made based on a design by Charie Wilson (directions for the crown may be found HERE.)
Instructions for making Piko’s blue and white dress are included below.
1/12 size Doll Dress
1. Cut a strip of material. For Piko, an approximately 5 1/4 inch by 1 inch strip of white on white floral cotton was used. Press the strip flat. Fold it so the one side is longer than the other. Press again to create a crease. The side that is longer on my material strip includes the selvedge edge. Rather than hem, I used this edge as the bottom of the skirt. The other side of the strip will become an inner layer underskirt.
2.Fold and then hem the short ends of the strip. If desired, the skirt may be decorated. A simple chain stitch is used here. (See Martha Boer’s tutorial http://www.antiquelilac.com/embellish-with-chain-stitch—tutorials.html.) Lace or embroidery could be added to the inner layer of the skirt. (I just hemmed sewed the end seam and frayed it.)
Using the pressed line as a guide, gather the material with a basting stitch. Tighten the thread and make sure the skirt forms a circle that fits around the doll’s waist. Tie a knot in the thread then stitch to hold the gathered circle.
3. With such a tiny doll, most clothing fasteners are too big or bulky. To hold the skirt closed, a small piece of clear elastic is stitched to each side of the skirt at the waist between the upper and under-layer of the skirt. The outfit can then be slipped on and off easily.
4. The top part of the dress is a simple piece of ribbon. The ribbon is folded in half and then made to form a “V”. It is then stitched onto the top front center of the skirt as shown.
5. The ribbon can be tied around the back of the neck with a bow. If the head of your doll is easily removable (like a MuDoll Brownie BJD), a loop of ribbon without a bow can be used instead. The under skirt may be finished by being lightly frayed at the end or fray-check may be used to keep the edge from unraveling. Piko is also wearing a simple diaper made of felt. The dress is decorated at the bodice with a silver sequin and blue glass bead.
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