April 5, 2018 

Who's ready for some Breezy Summer Dresses?

We've had a string of beautiful days here in the Lone Star Workroom — and Pearl's inbox is full of emails from fashion bloggers, showcasing casual summer dresses and floaty, drapey music festival styles.

So we've had enough of cold weather and we're ready for long summer days and sunshine for miles. Who else is ready to dress their dolls in BREEZY SUMMER DRESSES for all those wonderful picnics and barbecues, open-air concerts and bonfires on the beach?

Here's one of our favorite casual dress patterns — Lee & Pearl™ Pattern 1032: Desert Sunrise Maxi Dress, Halter Top and Beaded Chokers for 18 Inch Dolls.

Your girls will be festival-ready in these gauzy dresses and tops, draped in beautiful folds from a flattering — and easy-to-sew — bias tape-bound halter neckline.

You won't believe how quick and easy the halter top and dress are to put together. There are only two pattern pieces — the dress or top and an internal yoke lining.

Best of all, because that internal yoke is made out of ordinary, easy-to-sew cotton fabric, you can try out those fabrics you never get to use for the dress or top.

Go ahead, indulge in all the fluttery silkies and liquid-smooth jerseys you've admired in the fabric store, but put back on the shelf as too hard to sew.

Avoid those beauties no longer! Sew out of your comfort zone while still enjoying the ease of pinning and stitching to the quilting cotton or muslin internal yoke that holds everything together.

If you can sew quilting cotton, you can make this pattern.

Wondering what to do with all the time you'll have left over?

Make easy beaded chokers following the detailed, photo-illustrated directions and beading diagrams included in the pattern, of course!

We love the simple daisy-chain pattern above, but we've also included diagrams for several other patterns, including the charming double-flowers on our American Girl® Grace Thomas, below.

Pattern 1032: Desert Sunrise has been one of our most popular patterns since its debut. If you haven't made it yet, you really should give it a try!

CLICK HERE TO VISIT PATTERN 1032: DESERT SUNRISE MAXI DRESS, HALTER TOP AND BEADED CHOKERS FOR 18 INCH DOLLS IN THE LEE & PEARL ETSY STORE.

Here's a summer wardrobe pattern that you can make with all those pretty fat quarters in the quilting cotton aisles!

We found our inspiration for Lee & Pearl Pattern 1033: Bonjour, Paris Mini Wardrobe for 18 Inch Dolls in the retro-gamine styles shown by high-end French children's designers.

Our Bonjour, Paris pleated top, tunic dress, cuffed shorts and chef's apron fit perfectly into the closet of any doll who dreams of strolling boulevards, visiting morning markets, and enjoying a flaky pastry at a charming café.

The classic top and dress feature neatly stitched front pleats, inverted pleats on the tulip-shaped sleeves, and a ladylike rolled collar embellished with buttons, bows, ribbon flowers or anything else you choose.

We've even included photo-illustrated directions to make your own PERFECT BOWS using a fork!

Here's an essential summer wardrobe basic — the tailored, canvas-look shorts feature working hip pockets, optional cuffs and a front fly closure. Best of all, our cleverly drafted waistband curves ever-so-slightly higher in back than in front for a snug fit on your doll while she is standing, and a safe, no-gap fit when she sits.

The perfect accessory for every 18 inch French chef or baker, our chef's apron features a flattering fit, generous double pocket and neat bias tape binding. We've also included directions to make your own bias binding out of ordinary woven fabric.

CLICK HERE TO VISIT PATTERN 1033: BONJOUR, PARIS MINI WARDROBE — PLEATED TOP, TUNIC DRESS, SHORTS AND CHEF'S APRON — FOR 18 INCH DOLLS IN THE LEE & PEARL ETSY STORE.

Our last summer inspiration is truly one of our favorite patterns, ever.

We're still totally in love with Lee & Pearl Pattern 1035: Olá Brasil! Off-the-Shoulder Samba Top, Bahia Dress and Traditional Baiana Headwrap for 18 Inch Dolls.

After catching our first glimpse of 2016 American Girl® Girl of the Year® Lea Clark® and her brightly colored, beach- and rainforest-inspired collection, we surrounded ourselves with inspirations from beautiful Brazil.

We combed runway images from São Paulo designers, collected pictures of Brazilian children's clothes and studied the fairytale-lovely dresses, cascading beads and elegant headwraps of the beach community Baianas.

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.

Turns out, we weren't the only ones combing those runway images for inspiration. That Brazilian "cold shoulder" look became THE BIGGEST FASHION STORY OF THE DECADE and was soon proclaimed an iconic style — flattering on everyone, a new classic for the ages.

Pair our beachy, fun "cold shoulder" Olá Brasil Samba Top with its slightly cropped waistline, with separates from the Lee & Pearl pattern collection. This quick-to-finish top looks great with our Pattern #1004 cargo shorts, Pattern #1033 Bonjour, Paris cuffed shorts, and Pattern #1041 denim and pencil skirts.

Add the waistband, skirt and ruffled underskirt included in this pattern, and you've made our tropical-inspired Bahia Dress — the perfect project for easy-to-sew cottons and splashy, bold prints.

Both pieces feature a fun, Bohemian ruffle bound onto the edge of a perfectly-fitted bodice, with an easy-to-insert lining that make your top or dress almost as pretty on the inside as on the outside.

We've also included a page of instructions to turn the Bahia Dress into a lacy white BAIANA DRESS with tiered eyelet ruffles.

To complete the look of a traditional Afro-Brazilian Baiana, follow our directions to make your own two-toned "Crown" Baiana Headwrap to go with the dress!

CLICK HERE TO VISIT PATTERN 1035: OLÁ BRASIL! SAMBA TOP, BAHIA DRESS AND TRADITIONAL BAIANA HEADWRAP FOR 18 INCH DOLLS IN THE LEE & PEARL ETSY STORE.

Coming Soon from Lee & Pearl!

Don't you love our Olá Brasil Baiana's beautiful beaded necklace and earrings?

We're happy to announce that our INTRODUCTION TO JEWELRY MAKING e-book will soon be available for purchase in the Lee & Pearl Etsy store, with directions to make all those glorious pieces.

Follow along as we walk 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!

But that's not all...

We are so thrilled with the response to our recent release of Pattern 1051: Ballet Basics Leotard, Unitard and One Piece Swimsuit in two new doll sizes — for 16" A Girl for All Time® and 14 1/2" Wellie Wisher® dolls. Thank you!

So patternmaker "Pearl" is already hard at work redesigning our next offering for these lovely new doll sizes.

Yes — it's going to be Pattern 1035: Olá Brasil!

We knew this pretty, off-the-shoulder style would be flattering on these graceful, molded dolls. And we weren't wrong —

How lovely is our A Girl for All Time Clementine in this gingham prototype of our Samba Top?

Make sure to sign up for our mailing list, and we'll let you know as soon as the jewelry e-book and these pretty new sizes of our Olá Brasil pattern are available in the Lee & Pearl Etsy store!

Click here to sign up for the Lee & Pearl mailing list.

See you next time!