CUSTOM DESIGN FOR GENE

A friend of mine brought back from a convention a gorgeous hat by Bill Jones for her Gene doll “Tierney.” This isn’t just any ‘ole hat! Bill used a vintage silk blouse in a unique two-tone dark green dotted pattern in a color I dubbed “smokey green.” My challenge was to create a fashion to complement this hat! The hat and completed outfit are shown below:

To see more hats by Bill Jones, including Cissy size, visit his website at the following link: Wickedly Extravagant Hats by William Stewart Jones

It was a long and arduous process, but definitely a labor of love! I not only love challenges, but I love the process, especially when the results (finally!) turn out as I pictured. You be the judge whether I achieved success.

NOTE: PICTURES OF THE COMPLETED OUTFIT AND ACCESSORIES ARE SHOWN ON THIS PAGE. THERE ARE LOTS OF PICTURES SO HOPEFULLY THEY WILL ALL LOAD QUICKLY. IF YOU WANT TO READ OF MY NUMEROUS CHALLENGES, FRUSTRATIONS AND FINAL SUCCESS, CLICK HERE AND I TILL TAKE YOU THROUGH THOSE EXPERIENCES! I PUT IT ON A SEPARATE PAGE IN CASE YOU WANT TO SKIP THAT PART OR COME BACK LATER.

Briefly, my first challenge was to match the color of the hat. This was finally achieved by layering black chiffon over a pale green crepe back satin for the result you see. Sewing multiple layers was a second challenge which brought many problems as mentioned above.

The Results
And now--drum roll please--pictures of the final results:

Here are individual pieces, starting with the bodice, which snaps in the back:

For the skirt, I added black flowers identical to those on the hat, and painted the centers to match those on the hat. Splashes of color were added on the jabot lining, as well as a panel of lining inside the lower half of the skirt (this picture isn't shown, but will be added later). The skirt overlapped to the left side front and closed with snaps. I also added a custom MFB tag inside the back of the skirt.

Matching earrings, purse, stockings with seams up the back of the leg (not panyhose) and strappy shoes added finishing details. The purse used the same layered black chiffon over pale green satin as the dress, but with an added layer of black netting between, which replicated as a subtle hint the dot design on the hat.

The final touch is a plushy black faux fur cape in the style of the vintage Genuine Sears Mink that I recently completed for Barbie.

Thanks for looking!

Email me at deniseea268@yahoo.com

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