Lily Doll says that it is chilly, and even though she likes her upcycled lace dress, some woven dresses would be nice….. so she even offered to help with the weaving…..
Be patient, Lilly Doll! Dresses are on the way…. soon, Little One! Soon…..
The Lily Doll Project can be found at https://mirrixlooms.com/lily
This little lace dress for the Lily Doll LINK is a fun bit of upcycling.
It’s the easiest dolly dress to make, ever!
I found this scrap of lace trim – 3 1/2 inches (9 cm) wide, in a bag of sewing bits and pieces at the Thrift Shop.
I cut it to 11 1/2 inches (29 cm) then threaded 12 inches (30 cm) of 1/8 inch (3 mm) ribbon into a craft needle.
Stitch in and out along the top edge of the lace.
Pull up a loop of the ribbon 3 inches (7.5 cm) from each end. Pinch the ribbon to the edge to keep the end of the ribbon at the edge.
The loops make the shoulder straps.
Put the dress onto Lily Doll and pull up on the ribbon ends to gather it up.
Tie a bow.
You can leave the dress like this or wrap a ribbon around her waist and tie a bow at the front or the back.
A sweet dress for Lily Doll to wear while she waits for you to weave her wardrobe!
I am a dyed in the wool Teddy Bear fanatic. I especially like very very small bears.
So, of course, when I was designing for the Lily Doll Project, the first friend I designed for her is an absolutely tiny Teddy Bear.
These tiny Teddy Bears have my ‘signature’ hugging arms so they can hug back and also hold onto things.
Because they are so little, they are fairly quick and easy to make, so they are a great choice as Pocket Bears, and as Comfort Bears to give to other people.
The kits are available at: https://mirrixlooms.com/lily
I am delighted that I can pull the curtain back on a project that I am so excited about….
For months now, I have been hard at work, designing a darling little doll, Lily, and her friends, and clothes and accessories to weave on the Mirrix Chloe loom.
The Lily Doll Project is an ongoing series of kits from Mirrix that are available at LINK
Everything begins with the Lily Doll kit and Tiny Teddy Bear kit, then every other week, there will be a new kit available with full instructions and everything you need to make the project.
This is so much fun! I hope that you are going to love Lily Doll and her friends and treasures as much as I do!
The Lily Doll and all the projects can be woven on either the 5 inch or the 8 inch Mirrix Chloe looms. They are such a joy to weave with!
Hope you will join me for this fun adventure in joyful weaving!
I’ve been weaving all manner of magical and delightful things on the Mirrix Chloe Loom because a delicious series of projects is about to unfold.
I’ve been so busy that I haven’t had a chance to answer some questions that people have asked about finessing the Chloe Loom.
Here’s a little video that covers some hints and tips for things that I do when working with the Chloe loom.
I bought the Coquelicot Skirt and Apron patterns last summer after seeing several youtube posts and blog posts about how much people were loving this skirt.
They are designed by a Canadian designer, Melanie Boivin (a genius). Her website is: LINK
To be honest, I found the pattern daunting at first, so decided to make a ‘trial’ skirt before I committed to more expensive fabric. BUT! The instructions are beautifully written, and walk you through the making of the skirt step by step, so my concerns vanished as I was sewing the first iteration. In fact, I can now ‘whip up’ a Coquelicot skirt in a snap. Love love love that!
For ‘trial skirt #1: I made it from a thrift shop find- a queen size 100% cotton knit sheet. I wasn’t sure if the knit would be okay or not, but oh my, I love it!
I wore it non stop all summer and decided that I wanted to make skirt #2 in a combination of fabrics that I had set aside for it in a good place. (LOL, of course I can’t find the ‘good place’ where the fabrics are waiting).
I made a couple of changes to the skirt: I like long skirts, so I lengthened it – but I should have copied the knee length pattern first for the apron before I lengthened it for the skirt. Oops.
I am not a fan of using bias tape to bind pocket edges, so instead, I used fabric from a sheet that our little dog dug a hole in when she was being oddly enthusiastic about the joys of digging on our bed. Sigh.
I laid the upcycled lining fabric (cut from the doggied sheet) onto the pocket, stitched on the stitching lines,
turned it right sides out, pressed and topstitched the pocket opening
And made the pockets as shown in the pattern.
I found that the ‘D’ ring closure was uncomfortable, so I changed over to using gross grain ribbon for the ties for the back of the skirt (which are tied in front before the front is tied with self fabric ties)
Before the pandemic, I made a dress from all kinds of upcycled fabric scraps and and a blouse that I bought in a thrift shop because the fabric looked just like origami fabric.
I was no longer wearing the dress, so I wanted to upcycle it again, and decided that the apron would be a great way to do that. When I cut the dress up, I saved the pocket and sewed it onto the apron.
I found some awesome vintage closures that were supposed to be used on tablecloths, but I think of them as suspender clasps. Anyhow, I love how they make the straps super adjustable for adapting to however many layers I am wearing under the apron.
I LOVE the apron! I will make it again, but with fabric that is less ‘precious’ so that I don’t feel guilty about wiping my hands on it!
Knowing that I know that I absolutely love the Coquelicot skirt and find it incredibly comfortable gave me the confidence to go ahead and use some gorgeous wool fabric that I had been given to make another skirt. I practically live in this skirt now. So comfortable, and the hidden, well supported extra generous pockets are THE BEST!
Then I made another one to wear to the wedding of dear friends- also in gorgeous wool suiting that I had been given and have been holding onto until the perfect project came along. This is the perfect project!
I LOVE this skirt sooooooo much! For summer skirts, I am planning on using floral cotton and also linen from curtains that we no longer have on our windows, And, oh yes…. when that elusive black and white fabric re-appears- well! I will grab it and get sewing before it can get away from me again!
Do I recommend this pattern? You betcha! I am enjoying the skirts that I have made from the skirt pattern so much! And once I make the apron in a more ‘get down and dirty and don’t worry about it’ fabric, I will wear it all the time, too. I love aprons and this one is beautifully designed.
Well done, Melanie!
I have been meaning to write a review of Rebecca Mezoff’s awesome Tapestry Book since it came out. Sorry that it’s taken me this long to finally write a note about it.
Anyone who weaves tapestry already knows that this is the most wonderful, comprehensive, beautifully written, excellently photographed book and that it’s simply the best.
If you haven’t begun tapestry weaving, and you want to start, then I HIGHLY recommend this book.
And, I plunked my beloved little Chloe loom from Mirrix on the book because it’s such a joyful little loom to weave tapestry, and tabby and beads on.
The Chloe loom is just completely wonderful. The Mirrix team have hit it out of the ballpark with this sturdy incredibly versatile little loom.
What a winning combination- perfection.
I saw a woman on the news who said that if a reviewer was too enthusiastic about the product that they are talking about, don’t trust the review. Ummm…. that made me think that I should write a sedate and somehow un-enthusiastic review of these two things I love.
And, then I thought, awww phooey, if I don’t like something, I don’t talk about it.
BUT- I love Rebecca’s book and I love the Chloe loom. And, that’s the truth.
And, don’t we all need things that make us happy? I do.
Weaving on a little loom that I adore and being able to refer to the absolute Bee’s Knees of a ‘How to Do This Thing Really Well’ book is totally happiness inducing.
Like I said before: And that’s the truth.
Filed under book review/book/books, tapestry, weaving & handwoven
Noreen Crone-Findlay, designer and author
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