Hooray! I’ve completed my first craft project of the year!

We grew up loving clothkits – we had a few items of extra pretty clothes that mum made using a cut-out-and-sew kit from a company based in Oxford. Ruth and Hannah had clothkits dolls too, which wore mini versions of the children’s cloths.

So when I was thinking about getting Jemima a doll for Christmas I decided to ask for one of the classic clothkits dolls that have recently been re-produced. My sisters gave her the kit and I got sewing!

I’m not much of a seamstress so I’m glad the instructions were clear and explained bits that more experienced people might find obvious.

I decided to hand-sew the doll and her dress – mainly to give my hands something to do in the evenings that didn’t involve lifting chocolate to my mouth!

The kit provides you with everything except for pins, scissors and needles. So you just cut out from the printed fabric and sew it up.

The doll was pretty straightforward but the dress included techniques I had never tried – if I were working on a bigger scale I might have been put off by the challenge. But I can now do some gathering and shirring – not perfectly, but well enough for my standards!

There are pieces I haven’t made yet – bloomers, a jacket and a cherry basket. I’ve decided to count these as a separate project and use them as a chance to get more confident on a sewing machine. I’ll work on them later in the year.

Dave thinks she’s a bit weird-looking but nostalgia wins for me and I love her! Each of the kids have played with her and Jemima seems pleased!

My slight disappointment now is that I wish clothkits were making children’s clothes as pretty as they used to. I think the stuff they have is all right, but probably not lovely enough to justify the cost and the work. Bring back the retro fabric and the puffy sleeves!

I’d like to try sewing more toys, so if anyone has any links to good patterns or pinterest boards, let me know!

Next project – a knitted jumper which I have had to unravel because my gauge was wrong. My temptation is to give up (and swear and cry), but my plan to finish what I start (and a pep-talk from mum) is forcing me to persist.