Sewing a little outfit for a "Little Kingdom" Princess Doll!

As I mentioned in my last post, my daughter wants a princess castle. I have decided to buy several of the "Little Kingdom" (also sold as Favorite Moments) small Disney princess dolls. I will place them in a wooden castle that seems sturdier than the plastic Disney castles with the added benefit that her brother may get the gender neutral castle as a hand me down some day.

We already own a Cinderella doll and I am buying a few more dolls and dresses as part if the Christmas castle surprise. I really like that she will have the "real" Disney princesses and think that she will enjoy changing their cloths for different types of play. I hope she won't notice that it isn't the Disney castle. (Maybe the working drawbridge and trap door will take her mind off of that small detail!)

Besides being what I am certain she thinks of as a princess, these dolls are actually pretty well made. The arms, legs and heads actually move, but the thick rubber dress makes some of those movements difficult. For example, they can sit but not while wearing a rubber dress.

So I decided to make a simple skirt that the doll could wear when Lydia wants to be able to move her into more positions. It's mini-princess active wear!

I started with a scrap of mesh fabric cut into a long rectangle and a thin piece if elastic.

I folded the mesh over the elastic, trapping it in the middle, and sewed next to the elastic to hold it in place.

I gathered the fabric by sliding it on the elastic until it fit the doll's waist.

I sewed the side seam and then tied and cut the elastic.

The skirt was now finished.

The doll could now sit AND be stylish.

But if you are able to sit, wouldn't it be nice to have a PLACE to sit? Unfortunately, the sturdy wooden castle I bought does not come with furniture. I could buy some, but this castle deal already costs more than I had hoped. Besides, I really like part of Lydia's gift to be something special that either PJ or I make for her.

So, I have a nice big block of Sculpey (a plastic like clay that bakes and hardens in an oven) and I have decided to make a few pieces of furniture for the castle.

I am trying to keep everything fairly blocky so that legs and small parts aren't as likely to break. Here I am using my super special tool, a pencil, to add some details. Below you can see the finished shape of the chairs waiting to be cooked in the oven and then to be painted. This will be an ongoing project.... More to come!