I made the simple pattern by holding copier paper right up to the doll and marking with a pencil. Then I just basically played connect the dot. I left plenty of leeway to make sure I had enough room to put the robe on the doll after I machine sewed it. Then I just put a dart right down the middle of the back to fit it perfectly to the doll. I used the elastic from the stirrup of the pants to make the elastic cuff on the sleeves.

I had fits with the collar. This is my second attempt. The first one, I had to rip off because it was just too bulky. So I decided to do kind of a backwards interfacing that would come around the front of the robe to form a bib type placket. The first couple of pics show the steps of making the pattern, cutting out the collar, and sewing it together. I pinned and hand-sewed the collar to the robe right sides together so that I could fold it over for a clean edge in the back. I pulled the long ends around and glued them to the front of the robe. In her video, Jodi Creager had recommended FabriTac by Beacon glue and it worked great!

Things did not go much better on the first try at her hair. These pictures show how I glued the hair to the head in preparation for cutting it short and close to the head, which is how mom wears her hair now. I should have taken a picture, but I tore it off out of frustration. It looked like I took after her with a weed-whacker. So then I decided to give her the hairstyle she wore in her 40's which I always like the best anyway. I forgot to take pictures of how I did this, but basically, I glued it to her head so that it hung down over her face and then flipped it back to create the hairline. I then folded it under and glued it in the back. No way was I going to take scissors to her again. And here she is!

I was pretty happy with the buttons, made from a simple cane.

Stay tuned for the accessories and setting.