September 10, 2013 – Author and doll clothes designer, Joan Hinds, joined us for an awesome Sewtopia Sewing Club trunk show. With so many tips and tricks shared with the group, I wanted to share a few of them with you. Watch this short interview with Joan Hinds to see a little of what was shown at the lecture.
Joan Hinds is the owner of Fancywork and Fashion, a doll pattern and accessory website.
Her love for doll clothes began over 20 years ago. With over 15 published books and numerous videos with sewing celebrities like Nancy Zieman and Martha Pullen, she is known throughout the sewing world.
Her book 30 Minute Doll Clothes is Heirloom Creations top selling book. With 10 simple outfits to create, these patterns will suit any girl with an 18” doll with an eye for fashion. These patterns are also a great for a young sewer to use when learning how to sew clothing. With a little assistance from an adult the memories of sewing doll clothes will last a lifetime. Click here to order the book.
One of Joan’s great tips was where she finds great quality knit fabrics with matching ribbing. Inside of the local fabric store, head to your local Target or Kohl’s for end of the season T-shirts. Purchase the largest size available for the most amount of usable yardage. Then position patterns so the lower edge sits along the T-shirts hem to eliminate the hemming step!
Another great tip was sewing elastic to the TOP of a shirt or pants. It will look and act like an actual waist band. This is a fashion that has been seen in ready to wear kids clothing. Why not save some extra steps and try it out. (See video for more details of this technique).
Joan also got to meet one of of youngest fans, Oliva. Oliva did her 4th grade “Celebrity” report on Joan. Oliva has made many of Joan’s patterns for her American Girl dolls and has even started designing her own patterns!
Here is Joan and Oliva together!
Joan, thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to spend a day teaching at Heirloom Creations! We all enjoyed all the inspiration and all the wonderful tips you shared. We heard on numerous occasions that they wanted to run out and purchase a doll just sew they would have someone to sew for! Love your work and your books. Come back and see us in the future!