Matching blue shoes

I had planned but didn't manage to sew some matching ballet shoes for Laura the new doll in time for Christmas Day, however after Christmas I used my new gift for the pattern.

New gift?  Yes, my lovely husband took my Christmas request seriously and sent off for the wonderful new book of patterns 'Sasha Dolls: Clothing and Patterns' by Ann Chandler, Susanna Lewis and Anne Votaw.  It was shipped to a colleague of my UK based cousin in the USA who brought it over to England on one of her frequent business trips.  On Christmas Day my husband gave me an envelope with the errata sheets carefully printed out, and on Boxing Day, when we arrived at my cousin's house, he was able to give me the book.  Two days of relaxing with my lovely cousins, eating and drinking also included studying the book closely and trying to decide what to make first!  I had handled a copy of the book at the 2012 Sasha Festival, but unfortunately it wasn't available for sale at the festival because Ann Chandler couldn't bring a load of them over to the UK - her luggage would have weighed a ton.

So I carefully traced the ballet shoes pattern and made them in two layers of the blue satin.  I sewed them by hand as the fabric was so slippery my machine would have choked and shredded them very quickly, so it was easier to make them by hand.  They aren't perfect and I think another time I'll make a bigger seam allowance if sewing with satin, which tends to fray with narrow seams.  The shoes were ready in time for a visit to the Pantomime last week so my little girl got into her blue dress again, Laura was re-dressed (she had tried on the green velvet dress won by my girl in the Festival raffle) with the addition of her new shoes, a miniature Olympic badge pinned to her bolero and a ribbon in her hair.

Laura proudly wears her new blue ballet shoes

Close up of Laura with her velvet bolero and the Olympic badge

Blue satin ballet shoes

The stain removal on her legs continues.  We've actually had a day of sunshine (new year's day) so she spent most of the day with her legs on the windowsill (her face was covered with curtain to protect her) to help speed along the bleaching out of the stains.  The photo below shows the progress (compare this to the photo in the previous post to see the difference).  We'll concentrate on her arms and shoulders later.

Leg stains fading progress 6 January

My little daughter had a friend to play this afternoon, and her classmate's reaction to Laura was heartfelt 'Oh she is pretty', and 'she looks like you'.