Last week, on a whim, I made myself a pelerine. This week, I made two cute doll size versions.
Theo got a Pelerine and Violet got a Fichu.
For a while now, I’ve been curious if the scallop embroidery on Grandma’s sewing machine could make a nice pelerine. I’m a bit behind the times in terms of what modern sewing machines can do. I do the vast majority of my sewing by hand. My machines were both my Grandma’s, now likely considered vintage and antique. I rarely use anything besides a straight stitch. But, there is this cute scallop stitch. Thus…. the pelerine.
Well, a collar, then, a pelerine.
Mine came out cute.
I used a cotton voile, a sheer, plain weave cotton with firmer hand. I learned on my second piece (discarded) the embroidery stitching must be done first, with at least an inch on either side of the stitch line. Otherwise, the stitching pulls up the fabric and a mess ensues.
There was a left over piece from the center of my pelerine that was just the right size to make two of my dolls pelerines as well.
I figured, if I was going to do the draping for a pelerine, I might as well drape some other shapes as well. I came up with a couple pelerine and fichu variations for both Bonnie & Violet, my 20 inch dolls, and Theo & Lisette, my 16 inch dolls. The backs each have a rounded upper back line, a mid back V line, and a V that goes to the waist. Each could be adjust as needed.
I made both pieces the same way I did mine. I really did use the scrap from the center of mine. I traced out the pelerine/fichu stitch line with a pen that disappears when ironed. The voile is sheer enough to be placed over the template and traced through the fabric. I started at the neckline and stitched clockwise around the pelerine/fichu, slowing at the turns. Each turn was by chance. I may be able to time the distance out better in the future to get the sides to match up. I finished at the neckline again overlapping just a tiny bit. I pressed the pelerine fichu flat, causing the ink to disappear. Then I cut out the scallops. I could easily add a little bow or pin for decoration.
I rounded the waist V line on Violet’s as the stitch line landed nicely.
The templates I created could be used for hand embroidery easily. Or, as easily as white-on-white hand embroidery can be. I can see these with a cute decorative motif center back and a pair in the front. If someone can do a teeny-tiny rolled hem for scale ruffles, I would love to see a little ruffly pelerine.
As I worked on transferring the drapings to paper, I saw the template/pattern could also work nicely with other materials. I could see a light weight silk taffeta with the edge pinked. Then, narrow pinked ruche tacked around the perimeter. A tiny lace could work as well. A quilted black taffeta version could make nice winter wear.
Patreon patrons have access to the Pelerine/Fichu template on Patreon. Keep in mind these are the hand drawn templates I did for myself. The larger one does run off of the paper as it was a tad too big for the sheet.
Don't Paint the Cat 