BCSG 2017 - 9 Hand-stitched Dresses

The 9 dresses, washed and air-dried (IG album)

It's been almost a year since the news that some of fellow Blythens said they'd be organising Singapore's first Blythe event (posted here). I can't believe almost 1 year has passed since!

Though I'll be attending, I've not been consistently following the BCSG webpage or Facebook page. But I did check out the vendor list and the programme, and occasionally, the donor highlights. I'm excited to meet many of the vendors, and desperately hope to get my paws on their goodies! (It's going to be hard to spend prudently...I've also been a bad bad bad girl this year because I've been, uh, adopting a few of the translucent dolls that were released this year... Drat! The year I decide to cut down and downsize, and they decide to release more translucents!)

As a collector and amateur craft hobbyist, I thought perhaps it would be more fun to share the fun and joy I feel every time I (successfully) make something. I admit that I am generally a bit of a hoarder, but it is also joyful to give. Actually, I feel very embarrassed because most of the donors are well-known and very skilled doll customisers and crafters, while I'm just an amateur hobbyist. But, well...hey, just give anyway! Sharing the fun is more fun than just hoarding it all.

Hand-stitched, double gauze cotton

The dresses were among those I'd made over the course of a few months with the cap sleeve dress pattern by Eva Hovelsrød of Tirin & Katten (posted here). For the record, the copyright owner of the pattern is Eva, of course. So I wrote to her to ask for her consent to share the dresses which were made using her dress pattern. She was very kind to agree!

All 9 dresses were made with double gauze cotton. The textiles used are:
(Top, left to right) PIKKU SAARI "parveke" in white; the same in green; and nani IRO "Le nani - For beautiful corolla - izumi";
(Middle, left to right) nani IRO "Birds Eye らんまん"; nani IRO "Lei nani - For beautiful corolla tender green"; PIKKU SAARI "parveke" in blue;
(Bottom, left to right) nani IRO "fuccra : rakuen ピピモーリシャス"; nani IRO "Birds Eye ibuki"; and nani IRO "sen ritsu エンブ".

Houston, we are a go! (IG)

Both nani IRO and PIKKU SAARI are manufactured by Japanese textile manufacturer KOKKA. The nani IRO series is designed by Japanese textile designer Ito Naomi (伊藤 尚美) (interview), and the PIKKU SAARI series is designed by Helsinki-based Japanese textile designer Shimatsuka Eri (島塚 絵里) (interview).

It took me a long time to complete the dresses because all of them are hand-stitched (and done whenever there was free time). Most of the stitching is back-stitch, some exposed seam edges are blanket-stitched, and the bodice lining is closed at the waistline by whip stitch or slip stitch.

No particular reason for the preference to hand-stitch, really. My main reason is a practical one — I don't have a proper sewing machine (mentioned before, elsewhere).

Made some last-minute adjustments and finishing touches to the dresses over the course of last week. They were then all washed and air-dried them before being neatly packaged with acid-free card stock.

Truly had a lot of fun making these dresses, and that's what I wanted to share by giving them away. Sharing the fun with others makes for more fun!

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Dress Pattern: Cap sleeve dress for Blythe dolls by Tirin & Katten © Eva Hovelsrød (etsy | facebook | flickr | instagram)
Materials: 100% cotton double gauze — the loop closures are made using plastic beads and cotton thread
Textile designs: nani IRO by Ito Naomi (伊藤 尚美), and PIKKU SAARI "parveke" by Shimatsuka Eri (島塚 絵里), manufactured by Kokka (Japan)
Care Instructions: Cold water wash (dark colours may run slightly); gently squeeze and air dry; ironing is optional, if ironing, use a medium iron — do not iron the loop closures