It Happens in a Blink

What We Did This Weekend- My Big Floppy Doll Bassinet Fail

Welcome to this week’s “What We Did This Weekend.” In this segment, I showcase a project or recipe that YOU have inspired me to do! Let’s see what you’ve gotten me into this week… 
I have to admit that today’s post is slightly ironic, considering I’m in the process of refocusing my blog. A big fat fail doesn’t exactly scream, “Wow! That’s Sew Rugged!”, but I wanted everyone to see that sometimes projects don’t go the way you planned and that it’s ok! Trail and error is what helps you learn sometimes. Anyway, on to what went wrong…
Last week I showed you my Doll Diaper Bag that I made using Twelve Crafts Till Christmas‘ tutorial. The little one is having a baby doll Christmas, so I am trying my hand at some custom accessories to go with her main present. Since I was fairly happy with the results of the bag, I decided to give the Doll Bassinet tutorial from the same site a try.

This decision has led to my first ever project flop here on this blog. Usually I can save it somehow, but there was no saving this one. I have no idea what I did wrong, but my bassinet looked nothing like the tutorial picture.

The main problem seemed to be the bassinet was too floppy. I felt like I was missing some sort of stiffening agent. I used the batting and followed all the instructions, but mine was still a big fail. Here’s a photo of what made it out of the project alive:


As usual, here’s my thoughts and things I’ve learned with this tutorial:
  • Even though I used the batting like the supply list called for, I felt like my bassinet was missing something to make it keep it’s shape. No idea what, though.
  • The supply list doesn’t call for a piece of batting for the hood, even though in the tutorial there is a step that calls for batting to be applied to a hood section. If you are attempting this project, you may want to read over this part before cutting. 
  • The end assembly is slightly confusing. You really have to think it through to make sure that you are putting it together correctly- not that I ever completed this step.
  • A good thing about this project is that you can use all remnants for it, if you have them available. 
  • I had problems joining fabric for the outer body. When I ran the outer body around the bottom fabric, I came up short. Not sure if this was my bad with the measurements, or if I could have just used another inch or two more of fabric. 
  • If you are more successful than I, you’ll have a cute baby doll piece!



Has anyone else does this project successfully (other than Twelve Crafts Till Christmas, of course)? I’d love to hear your thoughts if you have!

P.S. Julie at Vibrant Designs may have came to the rescue!! She conquered the Doll Bassinet with some changes. Check out her bassinet {Here}, as well as instructions on how she changed it up a bit. Also see the comment section below for a few more of her recommendations. 


Linking to these great parties!  

    Comments

    1. Haha! I’m so glad I’m not the only one who has fails.:) It looks like it was going to be really cute. I love the different fabrics.

    3. HI 🙂
      I think I know what happened to your doll bassinet.

      Here’s mine from last Christmas
      http://www.vibrant-designs.net/2010/12/crafting-for-christmaspart-3.html

      I have experience in making purses and bags of varying styles so this really helped me when making the doll bassinet. The principles are very similar. But what I noticed in your bassinet is in the bonnet part. I believe that you sewed your seam in the opposite direction. As I recall, I remember this part being unclear to me…I read it 3-4 times through, but in the end I knew which direction to sew that seam because of having made bags in the past. Another thing that I changed was that I used fusible fleece as apposed to batting. This will help the stiffness, but the main reason is the seam in the bonnet. It’s the seam that gives it the boxy look. If you have any questions, please feel free to email me. myvibrantdesigns at gmail dot com The little bassinet really does turn out well…I also think you could rescue yours. There would be some seam picking involved (which is not my favorite past time!)

      Julie
      http://www.vibrant-designs.net

    5. Oh goodness, how many fails have I had!?!?! lol Of course they are just part of the creative process but it is still so frustrating, isn’t it?

      Thank you for your sweet words on my blog, following you! 🙂

    10. I have countless failed projects, but through them all, I learn something. I am usually really frustrated, but I know more than when I started. Thanks for sharing with the rest of us. It helps to know that I am not the only one that struggles with crafting sometimes. 🙂 Thanks for linking up @ Show & Share!

    11. you win some, you lose some, huh? i know i’ve had my share of fails, too! thanks for linking this up to last week’s tip-toe thru tuesday party! i hope to see you again this week!

      andie @ crayonfreckles

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