June 8, 2017

It's here!!!

We are proud to present the 2017 FREE pattern for Lee & Pearl mailing list subscribers — Pattern 1025: She Blinded Me with Science Unisex Lab Coat (or Unlined Coat) and Safety Goggles for Dolls.

This pattern is near to our hearts. "Lee" and "Pearl" spent many happy hours playing with test tubes and Erlenmeyer flasks when we were kids because our dad was a physics professor with a real-life laboratory. Because we think every child — and every doll — should know the same thrills we did, spotting single-cell organisms in drops of pond water and setting off chemical reactions in beakers, we are making this pattern our very first multi-size release.

CLICK HERE to sign up for the Lee & Pearl mailing list, and get your own FREE copy of this pattern.

She Blinded Me with Science includes pattern pieces for 18-inch American Girl®-sized dolls — and also for 16-inch slender-bodied A Girl for All Time® dolls and 14 1/2-inch Wellie Wisher®-sized dolls.

And because boy dolls love beakers and stethoscopes too, we've given our lab coat and goggles a perfect, unisex fit.

We researched real-life lab coats and goggles to make our doll-scale versions just like the real thing. We found that modern lab coats feature all kinds of stylish features, like the inverse pleat we used to fit the back.

We adapted the angled lower pockets that we spotted on one fashionable doctor into doll-scale pockets that fit large items like clipboards, notebooks and stethoscopes, while allowing unbending plastic hands to reach inside.

And we included one couture feature that you're unlikely to see on any other mass-market pattern — a curved back yoke seam that builds in shape, allowing the coat to fit smoothly over rounded doll shoulders.

The yoke seam on the yellow coat above appears straight, doesn't it? But if you look closely at the grain of the fabric underneath the seam, you can see that a curve has been built in — essentially, an invisible dart. The seam only appears straight because it matches the curve of the doll underneath. Neat, huh?

As we value our reputation for perfect fit, we didn't just re-scale the 18-inch size to fit the smaller sizes. Rather, we drafted them separately to suit the slenderer dolls' unique proportions. For instance, we added maximum roundness to the curved yoke seams for the well-padded American Girl® shoulders, and more gentle curves for the molded-plastic A Girl for All Time® and Wellie Wisher dolls®.

Along with other just-like-the-real-thing details like a button (or snap) front closure, working pockets and faced lapels, our lab coat uses a neatly stitched fabric tab in back to control the extra fullness — because former chemist "Lee" knows that real-world scientists can't have loose, flapping belts in labs full of glassware!

But of course, we included directions for a belt as well. In fact, we included directions to transform the lab coat into an easy-to-make, quick-to-finish cinched-waist Unlined Coat or Raincoat, using fashion fabric and contrasting lapels.

What a difference a fabric can make — !

Eagle-eyed doll lovers will note that that's not a Wellie Wisher® wearing the pretty flowered coat above, but rather Hearts-for-Hearts® Girl, Dell. The H4H dolls are slightly slenderer than the Wellie Wishers, so the coats will be roomy on them — but, as you can see, still a good fit.

Finally, because we don't want anyone actually blinded with science, we've included patterns in all three sizes and directions to make doll-scale clear vinyl Safety Goggles — the perfect science lab accessory craft.

CLICK HERE to sign up for the Lee & Pearl mailing list and get your own FREE copy of this pattern.

Please send us pictures of your dolls wearing these lab coats, unlined coats and goggles — and playing with science props like the Our Generation® lab accessory kit below. We would love to see your pictures and share them on our Made With Lee & Pearl Patterns Pinterest board, and in upcoming newsletters. Thank you!

See you next week!

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