Pattern: A Bolero for Gene

Is anyone still playing with Gene?  I have a few sitting around my house.  She still appeals to my inner starlet.

Gene in Mai Tai, an OOAK design for the 21st birthday of the ACFDC

The Alameda County Fashion Doll Club turns 21 next month.  And to celebrate, our esteemed members have created cocktail-themed OOAK dolls and fashions for the raffle.  I made two dresses for Gene.  A 50s Tiki dress and bolero named Mai Tai (the pun is "my tie" for the faux wrap design).  And Seabreeze: a striped, chiffon dress, and silk/cotton blend circle slip from a Randall Craig pattern published in Haute Doll Magazine, June 2009.  This dress is accessorized with a glass pearl choker and white sun hat.

Seabreeze:  an OOAK dress based on a Randall Craig design

I decided to post the pattern for the bolero here, for those who are still playing with Gene.  I suppose it will fit other 16 inch dolls, like Tyler or Ellowyne, maybe.  But I'm not too up on that, so cross-reference your measurements to be sure.  Here's a closer look at the little jacket.

You can see that it has a mandarin collar and is lined.  I used a Japanese cotton with silk charmeuse for the lining.  To dress it up, I added tiny, gold, glass beads before completing the lining.  This is a fairly easy project, and it can really look good with a simple sheath dress.  Gene's 50s Tiki dress is a sheath dress with a off the shoulder princess neckline and a faux wrap and tie on the side.  It is made of matching red and gold Japanese cotton and lined with a very fine white cotton to protect the doll (though this fabric did not evidence any bleeding).  Accessories include: Gene's own pearls, a red hair ribbon and tropical flower, and red mules.

The pattern for the jacket is on Scribd:  A Bolero for Gene.  I hope that it is easy to download in the right scale that way.  I did include a guide line for you to make sure it is the correct scale.

Happy Sewing!

As a parting note, I'm including shots of more OOAK designs by some of our talented members.

Happy 21st Birthday ACFDC!!!