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Introducing the Miniature Jane Austen Play Set Project!!!

January 10, 2020

check out our new project!

I’ve had this project in my head for a while now- at least the general idea of it.  So long, in fact, that it almost feels weird to actually see it in real life. 

I’m always at odds with myself as I plan new patterns.  On the one hand, I know that most people love a quick and easy project that has cute results.  I’ve often fallen victim to this method of thinking myself.  I can’t even tell you how many times I seen an adorable pattern only to pass it up thinking, “Eh- too many pieces.  I don’t want to follow that many directions.” (I secretly hate following patterns… I’m not sure what that says about me since my whole business is based around other people following patterns…)

But here’s the thing about simple projects.  They are simple. And that means they look simple, which isn’t always a bad thing.  It’s just that sometimes I like something that looks a little more detailed.  In fact, pretty much whenever I sew for myself, I choose a project with lots of detail work (but, frankly, usually not one that requires following too many directions.  I’m definitely more of a free style sewist.)

I’ve had the idea for a specific pattern a while now.  It’s basically a miniature doll, at the same scale as a doll house doll (1:12).  I’ve always known that my pattern testers would be so mad at me for making them sew up something to finicky… so I’ve put it off.  Until now!

Now that I’ve started doing video tutorials, I have the perfect way to share a more complicated project in a way that won’t overwhelm others.  (Because with video, you can just follow along without actually sewing anything, and you still get to see how it turns out!) As I’ve planned out this project, I’ve broken it down into bite sized chunks and I’ll be sharing each step through videos.  My hope is to make the videos interesting enough to follow along, but also informative enough that you can sew along if you like.  All the pattern pieces for this project will be available for free here on SweetbriarSisters.com and I’m playing with the idea of writing out the instructions and selling the whole thing as a printed pattern once it is complete…  we’ll see about that. I’d love to provide a way for someone to have everything compiled into a neat booklet without needing sift through the internet… but I’m still not convinced that anyone will want to make this but me! What do you think?

So….without further ado, Welcome to Week One of our Jane Austen Inspired Doll House Play Set! (I definitely need to find a shorter title for this…)  I’ll introduce the project in the video below and give you a bit of a glimpse into the design process I use while planning out a new pattern.  I’ll be posting new project updates about every week (Hopefully! My health issues make it hard to plan these things out.  There might be some brief if my symptoms flare up too much.  But we will get it done eventually!)

I’m so excited to get started and share this journey with you.  Here we go…

Girls, Jane Austen Play Set, Patterns, Sewing · 4 Comments

« DIY Cat T-Shirt | Free No Sew Tutorial
Week 2 of our Jane Austen Playset »

Comments

  1. Lizz moore says

    March 9, 2020 at 9:15 pm

    I will be following along and sewing every pattern you publish. So excited to be able to play along with your play set. Thanks so much

    Reply
    • Jessica says

      April 8, 2020 at 2:35 pm

      I’m so excited to hear that!

      Reply
  2. Darcy Mathews says

    June 20, 2020 at 3:58 pm

    I’m so excited that I stumbled on your blog, and this project!! I can’t wait to make this for my daughters. Do you think you will design a little coat for a boy bunny? I would love to make one for my son as well.

    Reply
    • Jessica says

      October 30, 2020 at 3:16 pm

      I am planning on a set of boy clothes. Unfortunately things are running very slow at the moment with Covid. My whole schedule is thrown off! Hopefully I’ll get to things again soon.

      Reply

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Hi, I’m Jessica

I’m on a mission to create handmade items that are cherished for years to come. I hope you’ll join me along the way!

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sweetbriarsisters

Sew handmade gifts that will be cherished forever with Sweetbriar Sisters patterns
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Instagram post 2327252897543629252_417393240 It is finally getting warm here and I'm so excited for long days in sunny fields.
Instagram post 2321314328934193695_417393240 Did you know that ladies during the Regency Era often wore a shawl because the breezy empire waist gowns they wore were a little chilly? ⁣
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I've been having so much fun adding historical details to this project. I love the idea of history seeping into a child's mind through play.⁣
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I know it's just a tiny detail, but I wanted our dolls to have shawls because I keep reading about the huge cultural shift that came with the style we see in Jane Austen's time period.⁣
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In a period of about 15 years we went from Marie Antoinette style gowns with huge, structured skirts, to these breezy gowns that might (gasp!) show your silhouette if a breeze came in.⁣
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To the younger generation they were progressive. Napoleon's wife was the one who made the style popular and because of her influence it symbolized a new way of thinking. (Marie Antoinette's way of thinking was, after all, proven slightly ineffective.) ⁣
⁣
Sure, the dress was a little chilly. But it was a way to leave dated ideas in the past. So they grabbed a shawl and moved forward!⁣
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I know that a shawl on a doll won't automatically teach a kid all that history. But it might give us the opportunity to tell the story as we play, and I want to add as many of those opportunities as I can.
Instagram post 2320150626645961038_417393240 What's the best glue gun out there?⁣
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I love the ease of hot glue, but have always found my glue gun work rather sloppy.⁣
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A while back I talked to my good friend Erin from @thegreyrose about this. She is the closest thing to a Glue Gun Expert there is: She uses a glue gun full time to create her amazing felt floral arrangements. Her work is delicate and skillful, which are words I'd never use to describe my own glue gun efforts.⁣
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Her secret is this amazing detail tipped glue gun. (The Surebonder Detail Tip Glue Gun...Please note, this is NOT an ad. No one is paying me to review this thing. I just genuinely like it and thought I'd share.)⁣
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I bought the exact model she uses for her work and I will never go back! For the first time I feel like my hot gluing can be clean and precise. It's amazing what a difference having the right tool can make.
Instagram post 2318523881759128711_417393240 amen.
Instagram post 2316180582466133425_417393240 The bonnets are finished and I'm off to work on top hats and cravats. Because we definitely need a Mr. Darcy Rabbit.
Instagram post 2315017019194132946_417393240 The next Jane Austen play set tutorial is up and running on our blog!⁣
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This week we make bonnets and shawls to complete for our Regency bunnies and I can hardly contain my excitement.⁣
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Link in bio -> @sweetbriarsisters
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