Easy Handmade Sylvanian Ribbon Dress (for sister figure)

I created this tutorial myself, based of a picture in a Japanese book scan my kind friend Santie from Lollipop's Sylvanians sent me when I was ill earlier in the year.

I made an adult's version earlier this year (shown above). Once you have made this dress, perhaps you could try making a bigger one for an adult figure as I did. 

This super-simple tutorial will show you how to make a pretty dress for a regular sister figure :) I think that a child could make this with adult supervision and help on a few steps.

You will need:
- 1cm wide ribbon
- Rick-rack (or other similar sized trimming, such a miniature crotchet or lace)
- 1.8/2cm wide ribbon (the colour does not matter - you can't see this when the dress is finished)
- 2-3mm wide elastic
- 3-4mm diameter button
- White cotton and/or clear thread

In the photo above from left to right: 1.8/2 cm ribbon, rick-rack, 1 cm ribbon.

Cut a piece of the 1cm wide ribbon to around 11cm. It should fit loosely around shoulders of the figure the dress is intended for (in my case - Renee Sparkle).

Take the ribbon, and cut this piece in half, making sure one half is slightly longer than the other. Sew the miniature button on the end of the shorter piece, and make a button hole on the end of the longer piece.

Cut a 10cm length of the 1.8/2cm width ribbon, two 10cm lengths of rick-rack (or other trimming), and two 10cm lengths of the 1cm ribbon.

Take one of the pieces of rick-rack and sew it along the very edge of the wide ribbon. You do not need to be really neat as it will not show, however it is important you avoid sewing on the outside edge otherwise it will show.

Take a piece of the thinner ribbon and sew it on, overlapping the rick-rack and covering the previous stitches. Then do the same with the other piece of rick-rack.

Sew on the last piece of the thinner ribbon. It should meet up exactly with the edge of the wider ribbon. For a more professional finish, you may want to use a clear thread, or do a neat backstitch in white cotton.

Turn the ribbon the wrong way up and seam it 2/3 of the way up, then split it into two seams (by folding it back on itself). Sew some elastic onto the top of the skirt to create a "tail hole". You need to measure the figure and try it on to work out how big a seam allowance to leave.

Make sure you regularly check the dress on your figure! 

Take the 'strap' piece you made at the start. Ensuring the button is directly in the middle of the back of their neck, decide how you would like the strap to go and pin it together.

Sew the strap pieces onto the skirt. Again, to make it look neater you could use clear thread.

If you would like to make it a bit more formal, you could sew a bow (made of narrow ribbon) onto the front, or some beads along the edges :)

Finished! I hope you enjoyed this tutorial and found it easy and enjoyable, please do leave a comment or subscribe via email to find out when I make a new post! If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me and I will happy to help you :-)

Adorable winter knits from Woolly Woodlanders!

I recently received a package from the lovely Hazel from Woolly Woodlanders, who sells miniature knitting patterns and kits she designs herself for Sylvanian Families (Calico Critters).

Although I can knit, I felt my older sister could do the patterns far more justice than I could, so she kindly volunteered to knit them for me.

It's getting very chilly in Little Chestnut so I had quite a few volunteers to model the new clothes!

Cameron Moss is wearing a snuggly jumper from the 'Playing in the Woods' kit.

The problem with Winter is that as much as you want to wear pretty dresses, it's just far too cold! Maria Buckley can now wear a dress that is not only warm but ornate! ;)

One of my favourite patterns are the trousers! Rupert Buckley finds them suitably insulating when skiing.

Tilly Dappledawn loves her warm hat because it doesn't squash her ears!

Juniper Moss and Abbie Keats love taking winter walks! The spotty jumper has to be my all-time favourite :)

These are just a few of the clothes, I will be sure to show some more over the next few months. There might even be a special Christmas Story up in the next few days featuring some more of these adorable clothes, so keep checking back (or you can subscribe for free to be notified by email when I publish a new post - see the toolbar on the right).

There are several options when buying from Woolly Woodlander's website: patterns, kits (which include the patterns and all of the needles/wool/buttons etc) or if you're not quite confident at knitting yet, ready-made clothes. Hazel is only happy to help, so feel free to send her an email if you have any questions before purchasing.

Woolly Woodlanders website, and Etsy.
My older sister's handmade baby clothing company: Tiny Bluebird on Etsy

Please Note: I have not being paid to make this post, I just feel Hazel is extremely talented and deserves some attention :)