Finally, stockings!

I like to fiddle with doll accessories. As much as I love to have all my dolls dressed in pretty clothes, I love their accessories more. It's not only that I love accessories in general (meaning for myself); when a doll has all kinds of shoes, jewellery, hair pins, arm warmers, leg warmers - you can tell it's special. It's no longer a toy, it's a carefully constructed art piece.

I feel that if I invest time and effort into the little details, it will count a lot in a finished outfit. And it's something you can’t just half-ass. Let me explain: dresses are everywhere; they are on the doll when you buy it, even if the doll is used you can often find clothes on it – unlike shoes and earrings, which are the first things to break or disappear. You can buy a ton of different dresses from the manufacturer or handmade. You can tuck fabric under a hair band and you got a new skirt. Pin a handkerchief around for when you’re expecting a visit from your sensitive grandma who can't bear doll nudity. Or take five minutes to make one of those sock dresses that are everywhere. The point is, it’s really easy to dress a naked doll. The choice for accessories, on the other hand, is very limited. You have to buy a full fashion pack or hunt down the one item you liked from it on the secondary market. It’s also very expensive. And if you decide to make these things by yourself, there’s no shortcut. There is nothing you can pin and tuck and call it a day. You need a perfect fit.

So yeah, the ideal project for me to obsess over. Last time I made shoes, and yesterday I finally decided to sew stockings - something I've been wanting to try ever since I got my first doll. The story will follow, but first, here is a glorious wall of honeysuckle I passed by today: 

The smell was divine!

Now, the stockings.

I knew it could be done. You have surely seen them for sale everywhere, with prices ranging from 5$ to 15$. I think this is robbery; especially since none of the pictures I've seen show the back, and that's where the mess is! I wonder what factory-made hosiery looks like. Fortunately, one of the dolls I ordered is wearing tights so I'll uncover the mystery for you when it arrives. I imagine some types are seamless though.

I've considered making seamless stockings, but I don't know what I could use for that. Mesh tubes like the kind where you put beads, or the ones from cyberpunk dreadfalls - even if they are the right size and stretch, I wouldn't know where to find them. So I settled for fitted stockings with an ugly seam in the back. I chose a soft stretchy net. (Is it net or mesh? Or fishnet? In the store where I bought it, it simply goes by "net"). Once I had the right fabric, I needed to work out the pattern.

Now if you ever looked for ways to make stockings, you know there are two methods. One is to measure the leg circumference at different heights and draw the pattern from the measurements. Knowing me, I chose the method that involves the least numbers I can mess up. The general directions go along the lines of this:

 - wrap the fabric around the leg

 - pin in place

 - check that you can slide it over the leg

 - sew where the pins are

 - cut excess

 - turn inside out

 - enjoy!

If this looks too easy to be true, it's because it is. I don't know, maybe I don't have the right fabric, or my hands grow from the wrong place, but I just couldn't get the stocking to stay on the leg long enough to pin. It kept slipping, twisting and stretching. I barely got a few pins in there and when I slid it off, it didn't look like a stocking at all. I couldn't even make out the sewing line.

I think this method might work on rubbery legs with internal joints, or with a non-stretchy fabric. But it was definitely unusable in my case.

I decided to make a pattern the usual way - with masking tape. I wrapped the leg, cut in the back, folded in half, traced on paper, added seam allowance... and something didn't look right. I pulled out my fabric (pins still in place) to compare.

Yup, that is one big pattern

I cut the pattern without the seam allowance to see how it would work out. Marker refused to write on net, so I stuck the pattern in a fold and pinned it well before cutting.
I am NOT GOOD at cutting fabric.

I sewed about 1,5mm from the edge with a blanket stitch. Mid-stocking, I checked the fit:

Some places were too loose so I adjusted the pattern. You can barely see the new outline on the picture above. I used the corrected pattern to cut another piece. I got to the knee and tried it on. It fit! Time to add the upper trim. I taped the edge on the leg to mark the cutting line and this sparked an idea... 

I wanted to see if I can cut through both fabric and tape and then tear off the tape without turning the fabric to shreds (and if not, I still had enough fabric to cut under the edge of the tape). To my relief, it worked! I could go ahead and choose the trim.

I had two different trims in mind for this. One was an organza ribbon gathered on stretchy thread in the middle, and the other was small lace, non-stretchy. I know many people use stretchy trims, but I don't see how this would help keep a stocking up on smooth hard plastic. The lace looked better anyway:

I sewed the lace to the top of the stocking while the tube was still open.

The finished stocking, after turning inside out:

Time to check the fit!

*drumroll*

...

Success! Still needs a bit more room at the toes and some bulk shaved off the calf, but I did it! I was very excited to start the second one.

Now I used the masking tape trick to cut the whole pattern, not just the top edge. It stuck both fabric layers together, so I could easily lay the pattern on top and make a very neat cut:

The tape peeled off with no problem...

Theeeeere. Much better.

The second stocking took remarkably less time to finish.

And turned out a lot neater.

So yay! Doll stockings!
Ghoulia wears them like a boss:

With the shoes I made before

I barely got the shoes on, but they were pretty tight to begin with. I will try to make some other pairs to go over socks and stockings.

Here are the stockings by themselves:

front...

...and the messy part:

They can slip down to the knee when handled, but it can't be helped. I will definitely try to make this fabric into tights. I think it looks wonderful!

Next stop on my list is to figure out a way to make gloves/armwarmers for MH that don't require to pull the hands out... Any ideas?

Love, The Black Kitty (^^)~