What Shall I wear?-My Dress up Book-No Sew

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A little fabric color matching book that is a perfect way to have fun with your child and teach them to match colors.

Although I am designing with dies for die cut machines, you can also use a paper doll as your guide to making something similar.

I purchased these dies a few years ago and have used them when making cards.  However, for a long time they have sat idle until today.  Yesterday I was in a Joanne Fabric store and saw in the summer crafts for kids, they were selling dies already cut out similar to the dies I have.  An idea popped into my head and away it goes!!!  I hope you too have dies that have been put on a shelf and you have forgot all about them and this idea appeals to you.

Materials.  Scraps of fabrics.  Ultra Heat n Bond.  Check out this blog for what this product is and how I work with fabrics and die cut machines.  Here's the link.
http://linda-allfreepatterns.blogspot.com/2010/07/die-cut-machines-and-fabrics.html

The dies I used.

You will see why I needed a frame die once you read on.

Sizzix by Ellison now sells a different doll shape and you can check out their site.  You need a doll body, and whether it be a die cut doll or a paper doll template you are using, fuse Heat n Bond on the back before cutting out.  You will do this for the rest of the doll design and the dresses.  Choose a cotton fabric with the skin color as close to the child as possible.

I am not designing this for any particular child, but if you do, you may want to cut out a new hair shape that looks like the child.  I used a die cut and made it in brown cotton.

I wanted to put underwear on my little girl but it didn't come in a die.  I improvised with the boy clothes die and cut out the shorts in cardstock first.  Then I folded it in half and trimmed until the shorts looked like panties.  I then cut the shorts out in white fabric and will use the panties template to guide me to cut the panties out again.  You can see the shorts and then how I cut them to panties.

I decided I will use the long dress die to make the changeable outfits.

I chose seven cotton fabrics in fun colors and patterns and made seven dresses.  I left the paper back of the Heat n Bond on them until I was ready to heat set on to the pages.

I've had this frame a long time, and now it will have a new use.  I wanted to outline my doll and her dresses and this one was the perfect choice as it was just the right size.  If you don't have a die cut frame, then border your pages with a trim or lace.

I made eight pages for the doll and seven dresses and took a plain fabric that was different than any other color I was using.  I worked out the page size by measuring the frame and left enough space all around.  I drew out these pages on the fabric I chose, then cut a second piece the same size and sandwiched Heat n Bond in-between the layers of fabric.  This blog is to give you an idea of how to make this book, but it is up to you what size you will make it.

Then I cut the pages apart.  They have a nice sturdy feel due to having Heat n Bond sandwiched between them.

First inside page.

These die cut pieces have Heat n Bond on the back of them.  I centered my dress up doll in the center of the page and heat set her down on the fabric.  You can add the frame first if you wish.  Then I heat set her hair and underwear.

The other seven pages.

Then I added the frame around her.  Here you can see her page and the seven other pages with dresses in the center of the frames.

I reversed the colors for the book cover and then die cut and heat set the words 'what shall I wear' spaced as well as I could.  Don't worry about being perfect.  Your child will love any book you make especially for them.

I had been thinking about where the dresses should be when not on the paper doll and finally decided to make two more pages at the back of the book.  I had seven dresses and divided up the pages to accommodate seven dresses and then added the velcro patches.

There are other ways you can bind your book, so do a search on the Internet to see how other people have bound their books. I chose to bind my book with a plastic binder because I have them.  My daughter purchased an electric book binder from off the Internet a few years ago for $32.  They cost about $600 at that time.  It was broken and did not work and that is why it was so cheap.  My clever daughter can fix many things, so she took it apart and made it work.  Now I have an inexpensive way to make my books.  I have been a writer for many years and binding books helps me take my stories and poems and bind them into groups.  This was her gift to me.

When you open to the first page of the book, you can see the paper doll.  I added tiny wiggle eyes and drew a nose and mouth in red.

When you open the next seven pages they each have a dress.

The last two pages have the dresses stored on them.

This is the final page in the book.

The object of the book.

The child can choose a dress from the storage area and see what it looks like on the paper doll.  Then she has to find the right color dress in the other pages and add it to the dress that is on the page.  It is a color and choice book.  You can come up with many books to make for your child, boy or girl.  This blog is to give you ideas, not an exact pattern.

If you like this blog and are looking for ideas for an older girl, check this one out.

Here's the link.

http://linda-allfreepatterns.blogspot.com/2010/07/fashion-plates-no-sew-project-runway.html