February 2016
What's New from Lee & Pearl:
Introducing our new 2016 FREE Pattern for Lee & Pearl Mailing List Subscribers — Pattern #1035: Olá Brasil! Samba Top, Bahia Dress, Baiana Headwrap and Jewelry Tutorials for 18" Dolls.
We didn't think we could top Pattern #1033: Bonjour, Paris, our charming 2015 pattern gift to mailing list subscribers (now available in our Etsy shop).
But then we caught our first glimpse of 2016 American Girl® Girl of the Year® Lea Clark® and her beach- and rainforest-inspired collection, and we dove into a month-long odyssey through inspirations from beautiful Brazil!
We combed runway images from São Paulo Fashion Week, collected pictures of Brazilian children's clothes, studied the fairytale-lovely dresses, cascading beads and elegant headwraps of the beach community Baianas. And of course, we listened to glorious Brazilian music — smooth bossa novas, bright sambas, and driving, percussive batucadas.
Through all the fashion inspirations, one essentially Brazilian silhouette kept reappearing: a blouse or dress with a neckline that cuts straight across the body in one unbroken line from shoulder to shoulder.
This silhouette resembles both the mid-twentieth century samba dance dresses of Brazilian icon Carmen Miranda, and the late-twentieth century "peasant" styles of easygoing bohemians — but it's a sleek, modern version of the silhouette, with a fitted bodice wonderfully suited to 18" dolls. There's no extra fabric bulk to tuck away in the garments we designed around this silhouette, and no neckline elastic to pop off when your doll moves her arms.
Pair our beachy, fun SAMBA TOP, with its slightly cropped waistline, with separates from the Lee & Pearl pattern collection. The top looks great with our Pattern #1004 Cargo Shorts and Pattern #1033 Cuffed Shorts (shown above) and Pattern #1041 Denim and Pencil Skirts (shown below).
Add the easy waistband, skirt and ruffled underskirt included in this FREE gift pattern, and you've made our tropical-inspired BAHIA DRESS — the perfect project for easy-to-sew cottons and this year's splashy, bold prints.
But we couldn't stop there! Since so much of Brazilian fashion depends on amazing styling and accessories, we've included a page of instructions to turn the Bahia Dress into a lacy white Baiana Dress with tiered eyelet ruffles. And we've included directions to make your own BAIANA "CROWN" HEADWRAP to go with the dress.
Best of all, we've included a Lee & Pearl first — a fifteen-page INTRODUCTION TO JEWELRY MAKING e-book tutorial section that walks you step-by-step, tool-by-tool, and material-by-material from absolute beginner projects like pendants and hoop earrings, all the way up to boho-fabulous feather drops, glamorous chandeliers and cascades of colorful beads.
Follow our directions and you will learn how to make beautiful, fashionable jewelry for your dolls — and for yourself as well!
Our Samba Top and Bahia Dress are rated EASY/INTERMEDIATE for the curved sleeve hems, zig-zag elastic insertion, bias binding neckline finish and limited hand stitching on internal facings. The Baiana Headwrap is rated EASY as there isn't any stitching required. And the Introduction to Jewelry Making Tutorials are rated from EASY to INTERMEDIATE as they take you from one project to the next in a clear sequence of developing skills.
As always, Lee & Pearl's photo-illustrated directions and computer-drafted, guaranteed-to-fit-together pattern pieces make each step of each item in this pattern as easy as possible.
CLICK HERE TO JOIN OUR MAILING LIST AND GET YOUR OWN FREE COPY OF PATTERN #1035: OLÁ BRASIL!
Subscribe to our YouTube Channel:
Don't forget to visit our YouTube channel to see our reviews of the 2016 American Girl® Girl of the Year® Lea Clark® collection.
We've already posted our in-depth reviews of Lea Clark the doll, her outfits and accessory collections — including the EXCLUSIVE outfit — her Ocean Kayak set, and our thoughts as to whether Lea Clark, with her medium skin tone, long hair, hazel eyes, and tropical theme is the NEW KANANI...?!
We're still putting the finishing touches on our discussions of her large items, and a review of her book collection, so subscribe to our channel and STAY TUNED!
VISIT OUR YOUTUBE CHANNEL HERE
See you next month!
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