I recently made a cross-country move and can’t wait to tell you all about it in coming weeks. In the meantime, I will share a an end-of-summer project with photos taken before things got hectic. I sewed dresses for my cousins’ newly-acquired American Girl dolls. I wanted something simple that I could finish in a week, and the Katie dress at Sew Like My Mom fit the bill. I decided to do four dresses–two for each girl–in case any one dress was imperfect. (It was my first time sewing zippers, and I didn’t want one girl to think I put more effort into the other sister’s dress; sewing two was a nice safeguard.) The dresses on the left were for the younger cousin, whose style is “pink and sparkly.” The dresses on the right were for the older cousin, whose style is “purple and not frilly.”
I would probably wear the dress in the lower right photo if it came in my size! And I suppose it could, but let’s face it: I’m a quilter, not a fashion designer. (I’m jealous of all you ladies with handmade wardrobes!)
I got rave reviews, and it was a fairly stress-free project… until I had to pack my whole apartment and my sewing machine broke again. Speaking of which…
Do you prefer Singer? Janome? Bernina? Any advice would be gratefully received at this point!
East Dakota Quilter 
October 16, 2013 at 12:39 pm
First thing to consider is does your sewing machine handle the fabrics for different projects well? Is there features that you wished it had? For me, my sewing machine didn’t handle knit fabric well and I wished I had more control over stitch width on zigzag and such. Go see the different sewing machines in your price range with the features you want.
October 21, 2013 at 6:50 pm
Check with Judith. She has a beautiful old Pfaff that she never uses. I’ll grant you it was her college graduation present, but she might want to have it move to a good home.
October 15, 2018 at 6:23 am
I would like to sew a costume like this for my Journey Girl Doll. Visit https://www.australiangirldoll.com.au/ for hand made dolls and doll accessories.