Infinite variety

Phew!  The midwinter party season is over for another year!  What some dolls do at this time of year is pester their over-stretched couturier for several different party dresses.  But clever Shona found the perfect solution – she asked me to make her just one dress that can be worn in many styles – an Infinity Dress.

The skirt of this clever design is simple enough: a skirt gathered into a waistband.  But it’s the ‘bodice’ that is so different.  Attached to the front of the waistband are two long, wide straps that can be tied in many different ways.  The dress was very straightforward to make up from the pattern by Forever 18 Inches and it is sized to fit American Girl, Gotz Precious Day and other sturdy 18″ dolls.    The dress is made from double-knit jersey which does not fray, so the edges of the straps are unfinished.  I hand-sewed the hem so that it was invisible.

We had great fun over Christmas working out some different party styles, and Shona wanted me to show you three of her favourite ways to wear this clever dress.  Click on the photos to see them full size.

Style 1: Sleeveless V-neck

Here’s she has styled it as a sleeveless v-neck: the two straps are taken up over the shoulders and then crossed at the back, passed around her midriff and tied at the back.  Here’s how it looks from the back:-

Style 1 (back view), simple cross-over and sash-like tie.

Next Shona went for a demure, 1930s-inspired style which has perhaps just a touch of the vicarage tea-party about it.  Here the straps are spread wide and shawl-like over the shoulders, forming generous sleeves.  The straps then cross at the back again, are pulled around to the front, looped around each other and taken to the back again where they tie in place.  An elegant string of pearls completes the ensemble.

Style 2: 1930s chic

In the third style the two straps are twisted hard together to form a bulky, almost sculptural twist which goes firmly over one shoulder.  Then they are separated, spread out flat and passed around Shona’s midriff to form the body of the dress, and once again tied at the back.  The pearls are pulled close around her neck so that they do not interfere with the neckline.  Her little ballet pumps match the hot pink of the dress perfectly.

Style 3: Asymmetrical single-strap style

 

It’s her favourite!

This really is her favourite style of the three.  But there are many more ways to tie the ingenious Infinity Dress.  We’ll post more as we discover them.