Trends to Sew: Long-Sleeve Shirt Options from GapKids, Hanna Andersson, and Justice

As a further addition to the conversation started here:

http://thedollwardrobe.blogspot.com/2016/01/trends-to-sew-better-aztec-shirt-for-lea.html

And continued here: 

http://thedollwardrobe.blogspot.com/2016/01/honest-editorial-what-is-trends-to-sew.html

I wanted to post a link to a pinboard I created:

https://www.pinterest.com/thedollwardrobe/long-sleeve-gap-kids-hanna-andersson-justice-tops-/

There you will see pins of long-sleeve tops from GapKids, Hanna Andersson, and Justice.

-- Just like the title of this post says, haha. ;-) --

GapKids is great. I love most of their styles.

But some are better than others.

(I will most likely avoid things with glitter on them. Or pink hearts...)

This one is awesome:

^^^ I want that in my size...

...it probably is my size because I am built like a 12-yr-old....

Hanna Andersson has more youthful styles, but simple.

That is the comforting kinda style I wore as a kid.

My fav amongst the HA pins:

^^^ Yes, it's more of a hoodie sweatshirt.

But who says it can't be a hoodie sweatshirt?

And Justice is more of the wilder, brighter, bolder style.

But I like a lot of their stuff.

My fav from the Justice pins:

And of course, you can never go wrong with a button-down plaid shirt!

^^^ Justice offers them in several colors.

These are all companies that the AG demographic might theoretically be shopping at.

And there are definitely some shirts I would totally buy in doll-size.

So in case you are sewing up some more shirts -- go check out those pins!

And even if you aren't sewing -- go check out those pins!

I'd love for you guys to "heart" the shirts you like the best so that people who look at the board know which ones are the most popular.

And of course, if you are selling your shirts you may want to keep in mind shirts that will look awesome with Lea's chambray shorts:

Make the shirts and model them with similar shorts, 

and you may see an increase in your sales!

Just an idea. ;-)

If people have those shorts, then you are offering 

them another shirt to match them up with.

And, of course, putting them on a Lea doll would definitely help. :-)

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Thanks for visiting us today!!!

Trends to Sew: Justice, Part Two

Sup, Stitches. Maples here.

Here is the next part of my "Trends to Sew" for Justice.
Just woke up, so my sense of humor isn't really here yet. ;-)

This part is ideas for dresses. 

The first section will be fancier kinds that you might want to craft to compete with Saige's Sparkle Dress, or to give yourself an option if you sew and don't want the Sparkle Dress.

Again, Justice is a bold design company.

But there are a lot of interesting ideas offered there.

Many of the dresses have empire waist styling.

I like the black and white color scheme of this example.

Note the bolero additions.

This seems to be a multi-colored sequined dress.

Or is that is confetti? ;-)

You should be catching on that these fancy dresses do tend to be layered.

And actually layered, not with fake layers like AG does.

Nice blue one.

Princess seams with ruched tulle layer on the bodice.

Glittered daubs.

DW TOP TIP: A lot of these fabrics might be expensive in the fabric stores.

Try the sales racks at human stores, as we have said before.

Buy the largest dress you can find and cut it up for doll clothes.

Look for ones with the sequins, glitter, bling, etc. already on the fabric so you don't have to add it yourself.

You might also want to look at sales in the curtains sections of stores.

A lot of modern curtains are made of fancy-looking fabrics that have a manageable weight.

Some are even layered like these dresses.

Don't buy the tapestry-weight curtains. Those will be impossible to sew.

Many curtains also come with sequins and embroidered accents right on them already.

Also, don't limit your search to window drape panels -- bath tub curtains have also become rather posh.

Just pretend you are Scarlett and Mammy and cut those things right up.

Gold examples.

Really, really like this red one.

Especially how it looks like all the sequins are falling down into a big pile at the bottom hem.

Another nice black and white example.

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Here we have styles that are more day dresses.

Some really good ideas for the summer... 

Or if you actually live in a place that is warm in January...

We like the turquoise lace overlay on the lime,

and the little skinny belt as well.

This was marketed as a winter item.

But I think that only works if you live in Miami.

Lime and blue is a Justice theme.

And we think it works well if you want to embrace the bright neon phase.

The lime still shines, but it is toned down by the darker blues and turquoisessss.

Justice is offering a lot of ruffled dress examples as well.

Note the furry vests. We need to address those at some point...

These look especially nice over leggings.

Vertical ruffling.

Back to horizontal.

DW TOP TIP: Those random strings exist to cinch the dress waistline from the back into a bow. You might want to try this with your dresses and tunic shirts in order to help give your designs more shape on the dolls. Stitch them directly into your side seams as you put the dress together.

A beautiful example of a jazzed up tank dress.

And the maxi dress is still going strong in case you want to try those.

Justice does smocked top maxis -- no dipping V-necks.

Okay, that's all the trends we have to discuss today.

Stay tuned for more fun stuff!

Once we decide what to do next... haha.

Thanks for visiting us today!

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Trends to Sew: Justice, Part One

Hola peeps. Maples here.

We have 3 other Holiday Trends to Sew in the works, but we never got to those around the actual holidays. Sigh. We will tackle them soon though.

(We need a bigger staff around here.)

For now we wanted to look a little bit more at the Justice offerings.

Can count as holiday-ish since some of these are Justice winter items.

We talked about Justice in the Saige Sparkle Dress Review here:

http://thedollwardrobe.blogspot.com/2013/01/saiges-sparkle-dress-review.html

Basically American Girl took a Justice dress design and made it for the dolls.

You can learn more about that in that post.

Here we will look at Justice boot offerings and some outfit stylings in Part One.

Why hasn't anyone made a cowboy boot 

pattern for the AGs?

Does it exist and we just didn't notice?

I know Ebay sells AG-sized cowboy boots, but we think it would be fun to do a pattern and really open up the design possibilities.

Anyways... where did AG get their Saige gold cowboy boots idea?

Again, we argue it is from Justice.

They also offer some pink ones.

Looks like blue girl is gonna shove her cupcake into pink hat girl's hair in a moment...

And silver boots.

(My retinas are burning.)

Love these gradated jeans on the girl with the silver boots.

And her shirt actually.

Would have made the star smaller though.

But Justice does not do understatement.

Never seen two people more happy to be holding hands.

Though with her grip on that lollipop, I'm a bit worried pink girl really isn't having fun....

If I was blue girl, I'd be careful I don't get a lollipop in the face.

p.s. Why are there Easter eggs in the snowy holiday scene?

How about some dark leopard cowboy boots?

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As you can tell -- The Justice philosophy is more is more.

When designing shoes and outfits they keep adding and adding and adding.

Layers.

Glitter.

Bling.

Sequins.

Huge symbol graphics.

Flashy word graphics.

Ruffles.

Lace.

Metallic threads and accents.

Bling.

Fur.

Animal prints.

Tassels.

Bows.

Pom Poms.

Quilting.

Appliques.

Animal Prints.

Bling.

Have we said bling yet?

And color, color, color.

Lots of them. All in the same outfit.

This is bright, bold, big-statement kind of tween fashion.

If you want to mimic Justice style -- don't hold back.

Go for sensory overload.

If you like certain items, certain boots, shirts, skirts, etc. -- but you don't want to create a whole Justice look -- just make what you want to and create your own style.

We probably don't have to say that.

But just know that these ideas are for inspiration and you should 

add your own creativity and run with it.

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They also have a lot of other boot ideas for you.

Tall quilted boots with poms pom bows and fur accents.

Shown in grey on the model below.

Again, more is more. Perfect picture for that.

I have to look away before I have a seizure.

Lovely grey suede ones with some bling and zipper-down detailing.

Again, the hint of impending violence in this pic...

Looks like purple girl is gonna shove that microphone into blue girl's eye in a second....

Besides that, love these boots. Also love the leggings and skirts combos.

Gunmetal Shiny slouch boots with bows.

Purple slouch booties with sequin bows.

Could argue these below are cowboy-esque.

But they are a little too tall for the same Saige style.

Brown leather combined with brown leopard, bling accents.

In black below.

"Don't stab yourself with that star wand, girl!

You need both of your eyes to see all the Justice sequins!"

Awkward posing a special bonus.

Looks like they all need to pee.

Besides that, love the middle girl's outfit.

That is done well.

Looks like she is gonna chuck a disco ball at the cameraman in a second.

Love these. Black slouch suede, bling-ed cuffs and tassels.

In grey below.

Love their outfits. Plaid shirts, jeans, scarves, boots.

In bright Justice colors.

And those fingerless-gloves with mitten tops are to die for.

I'd explain the accident about to happen in this shot.

But it is kinda self-evident.

Furry. Blue. Pom Pom. Shiny. Boots.

'Nuff said.

Both of these outfits are super cute.

Love the flow-y dolman-sleeve blue baseball style shirt layered over the long-sleeve lime shirt. 

Her scarf is awesome as well.

That ground looks awful slippery...

Brown furry boots with blingy roped accents and metallic buckles. Soft brown suede to finish.

These look good enough to eat.

Maybe I just want some chocolate....

In black below.

Love the paint-splatter jeggings.

Lime green girl is gonna push blue girl down the sledding hill in 5, 4, 3, 2.....

Rain boot examples.

Don't know how one would make these, as they are poured rubber into molds.

But we thought we'd show them anyways.

Maybe someone really smart can come up with a rain boot pattern that doesn't involve pouring rubber into molds...

Okay, that's all we have for you today.

Stay tuned for more fashion fun!

Thank you for visiting us today!

p.s. Don't shove your cupcake into your friend's hair. 

And don't push people down hills. ;-)

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