My Latest purchase from Goodwill.
A bright orange Ladies Linen shirt size Medium, price $1.89
A Pair of rather large Ladies floral Capri style pants also $1.89
I decided to buy both the shirt and the pants to make several different outfits.
The first dress uses just the pants. After cutting the pants down the seams, I was able to use the fabric for a variety of different items.
The first outfit is an Hawaiian style dress , accessorized with a very inexpensive white plastic lei, the kind you might find at a party store, a small silk like flower from Michaels and a dozen wooden beads for the bracelet.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/300761562319?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1555.l2649#ht_512wt_1189
The Dress has an opening bid price of $16.99.
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The second outfit for the American girl doll uses both the shirt and the pants.
It is a top and a skirt. The top has the orange linen fabric featured as a a ruffle and accented with small pink rick rack, only 1 1/2 yards of trim was used in the outfit.
The buttons from the shirt were sewn onto the top for a cute look.
The skirt has the same fabrics with trim, I used 1/4 inch elastic at the waistline to give the skirt a full look. Matching shoes were made of the floral fabric, as was the headband on the doll's head.
A cute tote bag was made using a scrap of white fabric and the fabrics from the garments.
A copy of the American girl doll magazine was added to the bag, it's one you typically get in a mailer from the company.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/300761569195?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1555.l2649#ht_730wt_1189
This outfit has an opening bid of $17.99.
The first article of clothing that I bought, was a Ralph lauren's Ladies Polo, lemon striped Chambray cotton long sleeved shirt. I found it at the Goodwill store, it was half off the listed price on the day of purchase. At the Goodwill in my town, shirts sell for $3.89, unless they are on sale. The store has a board that lists the sales for that day, that day all long sleeved shirts were half off. I paid $1.95 for this shirt. It looked new, had no signs of wear and tear, and had enough fabric for me to make a very cute doll dress. After laundering it, I began to cut the shirt up so I could make something very special for the latest American Girl Doll, McKenna.
The shirt was a fitted size 4 ladies dress style shirt, it was very slim fitting. I decided on making a dress, sun hat, shoes, tote bag, hair bow, undershorts, and dress hanger. I had to be very creative with pattern placement and maximum use of the shirt's fabric as possible. After all was cut out, I did not have much of the shirt left over.
It took me approx 3 hours of sewing in my spare time to turn the shirt into this most adorable dress for the American Girl doll. I tried to use primarily the shirt to complete the outfit to keep the costs at a minimum to myself.
This is the end result of what you can do with a donated item. I added the little magazine which is a copy of the one American Girl send to you in a flyer to buy the magazine. The shoes were made using a piece of foam board and 1/4 inch elastic. A barrette was stitched onto the hair bow, so it stays nicely in the dolls hair, the bracelet was made from an old bracelet that is no longer in fashion. The tote bag uses an old table cloth that I cut up to make the panels, the shirt makes the pocket and handles, and the dress hanger is made from the same fabric, a piece of floral wire and some batting.
The dress was listed today on ebay with a starting price of $19.99, with free shipping. It is on a 5 day listing at the following link: .http://www.ebay.com/itm/300747471550?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1555.l2649#ht_806wt_1189
The listing ends on July 29th, lets see what happens?
I have decided to purchase quality clothing items from my local thrift stores and donation centers, and recycle, resew and remake that piece of clothing into an adorable new outfit for the American Girl Doll or similar sized 18 inch doll.
I will then sell the new outfit on E-bay under the American Girl doll clothes, sub heading, to see how much this new piece of clothing will sell for in an ebay auction.
I will post photos of the garment as it began it's first life, and how it then became a bespoke piece of clothing for the ever popular American Girl doll.
I will include the price I paid for the item at the thrift store and the price it eventually sold for on Ebay.
My goal is to make several pieces each month to see what kind of money can be made from this pursuit. I also want to use my love of sewing to turn an item of clothing that was donated by somebody, into a unique and one of a kind, bespoke, or more so, recycled doll outfit, for the ever popular American Girl doll.
I hope it's enjoyable for all that stop by this blog spot to view all the cute items I will be making over the coming months for the American Girl Doll.
