Where we live in the mountains, none of the houses have air-conditioning, since at our altitude it rarely gets unbearably warm. In fact, last week, we actually had our heat on because it poured rain for two days and the high was 50F! Down on “the flat” where I work it’s a different story…always at least 10 degrees warmer and without the afternoon showers that cool things off. And now it’s mid-August. You know, the hottest time of the year when people would prefer to be up in the mountains? And yet, we go back to school next week, which means it’s time to go on a spending spree with the large budget of zero dollars my district provides their SLPs to buy fun stuff like tissues, Clorox wipes, hand sanitizer, stickers, markers, glue sticks, lollipops, etc.
I had a professor in my undergrad SLP classes who told us all the time, “You should be able to do therapy with nothing but a paper clip!” Her point was not to rely on pre-made materials to motivate and instruct, but on yourself and your own knowledge and skills. I agree with her wholeheartedly, but when a kid sneezes on your paper clip and has snot running down her face, you also need tissues and hand sanitizer. 🙂
Maybe your doll needs something cute, cool, and comfortable to deal with her un-air-conditioned classroom, or maybe she’s still on summer vacation. Either way she will love this dress and you can learn about the three different types of angles you might want to use to clip various seam edges so they press perfectly after you turn them.
DOWNLOAD THE PLEATED DRESS PATTERN FREE HERE
A few more things:
I realized later there wasn’t a clear link to the smocking pattern last week, so I updated that post, but here it is again: https://www.etsy.com/listing/196456657/classic-smocked-dress-set-for?ref=shop_home_active_1
If you don’t have a paypal account, my etsy shop is now set up to accept credit cards AND etsy gift cards! I organized it a bit too, and you can see categories now in the sidebar to help you quickly find things. Here’s the link
I had planned to list a bunch of pre-pleated kits for smocking in case you are eager to try machine smocking but don’t have a pleater. I went out and bought a bunch of fabric, washed and dried it, and then realized it might be a big task to make them in all the different sizes and keep them organized somehow, so…
This is what I have available right now. It’s a lightweight poly/cotton blend gingham. The one that looks black is actually navy blue. Let me know what size doll you need it for and I will pleat the front panel for you according to the pattern measurements and include enough fabric to make the rest of the dress for $8 plus shipping (about $2 probably)
If I don’t melt in the heat, more Back To School projects are coming soon! Also stuff for Sasha Baby, and there’s still a big historical project in the works…
If you’re new to the blog, there’s a GREAT post with backpack, lunch, and assorted school supplies tutorial here
Unless your dolls are going to back to school at Hogwarts, in which case, they’ll want the stuff here:
https://jenwrenne.wordpress.com/2012/07/26/hogwarts-spellbooks-for-dolls-tutorial/
https://jenwrenne.wordpress.com/2012/07/25/hogwarts-robe-pattern-for-slim-18-dolls/
https://jenwrenne.wordpress.com/2012/09/28/harry-potter-costumes/
Wren*Feathers 
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