Trends to Sew: Bedding for American Girl Dolls Series, Part 1

A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away....

When we started this blog six years ago 

there were barely any Etsy listings for American Girl dolls.

You were lucky if you found an occasional listing for a nice dress, 

nevermind something like bedding.

Today, that has all changed.

You type in "American Girl Bedding" into the search bar

and you get over 2,000 listings.

2,000!!!

But honestly, there are only 

a handful of them that we would purchase for our dolls.

Is anyone else having this issue?

Pixie Faire now offers a bunch of bedding, 

and sleeping bag patterns.

For example....

https://www.etsy.com/shop/PixieFairePatterns

http://www.pixiefaire.com/

But the designs and styling of these beddings do not lure us in at all.

There is guaranteed to be some pink in them.

Which we no buy-ee pink.

Most seamstresses seem to take their cue from the "girls want pink" idea.

And then when they sew up bedding sets, they include pink.

Which we no buy-ee.

We want our doll set-ups, rooms, and beds to look realistic.
And barely any of the sets we see on Etsy say "realism" to us.

The dog beds are more stylish than the doll beds.

We have bought more youthful, whimsical sets in the past.
But we already have those things.
We don't need more.

Our go-to real-life bedding shoppe is Urban Outfitters.
So that is the site we will use for these trends to sew today.

We recommend thinking outside the box of traditional doll bedding sets...

Do you still want something feminine but not pink?
Okay, how about monochromatic ruffles instead of pink flowers?

(1)

Want something a bit darker, but not emo?
Sophisticated geometrics on a warm grey.

(2)



Geometrics and tribal prints are very in.
Try these in white and dark blue, or black and white for stylish statements.

(3)



(4)



Tie-dyes and indigos are very popular right now.
A tie-dyed blanket or coverlet over all-white bedding would be awesome.

(5)



Want something a bit bolder?
Animal patterns are in, usually in warm grey and whites.
Paired with bolder pillows, they say: "I am a totally mod bed, dude."

(6)



Warm grey and white can also be seen in chic arabesque tile patterns.
Trust me, you won't find something like this on Etsy for AGs.
But it would be fantastic if it was there!

(7)



And of course, feathers have been in style for awhile now.
Here we have a black and white set with floral-patterned feathers.
Girly, but not juvenile.

(8)



If you are looking for something incredibly trendy and colorful,
try the galaxy or cloud fabrics that are everywhere now.
A galaxy comforter or coverlet with simple cream pillows says:
"This is not your grandma's bedding!"

(9)

Be sure to check out our end-of-the-year polls, which have started up.

http://thedollwardrobe.blogspot.com/2014/12/the-big-dreamer-polls.html

http://thedollwardrobe.blogspot.com/2014/12/new-ish-myag-outfits-poll.html

http://thedollwardrobe.blogspot.com/2014/12/2014-american-girl-round-up-surveys.html

AND

Reminder: Winter FDC 2014 Entries are due Dec 15th!
http://thedollwardrobe.blogspot.com/2014/12/winter-fdc-due-date-now-dec-15th.html

p.s. If you are making trendy bedding sets -- 

please free feel to comment below and 

add in some links to your listings!!!

The Big Dreamer Polls

Today's polls are focused on the two most expensive recent releases.... dun, dun, dunnnnnn.

Even if we did have all the money in the world
to buy the carriage, horse, and ice cream parlor, 

we don't have anywhere to put these huge things. 

 They are both really fun and beautiful sets - 

but how much would we use them? 

 How about you guys? 

 Do you want one of these items? 

Both of them? 

Do you own them already?

 Would you put them on display? Actually use them? 

 Any deep thoughts? 

 Feel free to answer the polls above, 

and the second one even allows you to put in an "other" answer, heehee.

The appearance of what is essentially a Central Park carriage and horse
from American Girl is either ironic or poignant.
I am not sure which.

New York City is moving to ban carriage horses in the city, probably by next year:

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/03/nyregion/intentions-of-carriage-horse-proposal-are-good-but-effects-might-not-be.html

One of the main reasons is horse poop.

Manhattanites are tired of smelling it from their $600 billion penthouses...

(^ Yes, this is an actual book.
With Amazon reviews like "Disappointed by the smells.")

So maybe the American Girl carriage and horse
is a small way to own a bit of New York City history for yourself,
but without the horse poopie smell.

You'll just have to use your imagination for that part. ;-)

Yesterday's polls are here for your voting pleasure:
http://thedollwardrobe.blogspot.com/2014/12/new-ish-myag-outfits-poll.html

Wednesday's polls:
http://thedollwardrobe.blogspot.com/2014/12/2014-american-girl-round-up-surveys.html

Reminder: Winter FDC 2014 Entries are due Dec 15th!
http://thedollwardrobe.blogspot.com/2014/12/winter-fdc-due-date-now-dec-15th.html

New-ish MyAG Outfits Poll!

We decided to address the latest MyAG outfits in today's poll!

If we made the poll correctly, you should be able to choose more than one answer. ;-)




During one of the free shipping coupons around Halloween we ordered the Happy Holiday Dress and Accessories and the Winter White Outfit.

We loved the fact that a holiday dress was deep blue, so that made it a must-buy. The style and design is just okay, but Hey! It's deep blue!!!

The Winter White Outfit looked like it would have a lot of mix and match potential.
But when our friend saw us take it out of the box, she said and I quoteth: "I'm sorry, but that's ugly." Haha. To each their own!



While I can't say that wearing an all-white outfit is very chic, I think separating the pieces into other outfits may work. Combining white, black and grey is currently very in-style for outfits. As well as combos of navy, deep red, and white.

The furry vest may work over a slim-fit knee-length party dress.

Turn those sweater-shorts into loungewear with
a holiday-themed tee shirt or a oversize drapey top.

The top may look better with a long drapey jersey knit vest,
perhaps with a statement metallic necklace.

The leggings and boots can certainly work with many types of outfits...
but probably ones with more color...

Please vote in the poll above and let us know in the comments if you have purchased any of these outfits, if they are on your holiday wishlists, or if you are avoiding them like the plague!

Yesterday's polls are here for your voting pleasure:
http://thedollwardrobe.blogspot.com/2014/12/2014-american-girl-round-up-surveys.html

Reminder: Winter FDC 2014 Entries are due Dec 15th!
http://thedollwardrobe.blogspot.com/2014/12/winter-fdc-due-date-now-dec-15th.html