There's Always A Catch...

Rosie asked me [very politely] if I would repair Baby Annabell's arm as it was about to fall off. The doll is 18 months old - but on inspection, I'm amazed the arms hadn't come off sooner. The construction is dreadful. "But where is her babygro?" I asked. Baffled expression "Dunno, Grandma" I couldn't just mend the arm - I had to return her properly clothed. And I was itching to do some stitching anyway.

I found a ball of wool in a wicker hamper labelled "Wool" and having measured the doll, knitted two rectangles and two trapeziums [trapezia?] and stitched them together. That was the jumper.

I knew there was a piece of cotton fabric printed with unicorns in the drawer by my bed [no, I don't know when I bought it, or why I stashed it there...]  Like many of the teddies they fix on the Repair Shop, this doll is designed to be in a sitting position. 

I cut a paper pattern [it took three attempts] which would make some trousers. But her body is just a floppy pillow shape - an elasticated waist wasn't going to keep these pants up. 

I needed some sort of braces. I decided to add a bib and make dungarees. 

I love dungarees. For all my adult life I've had some, they are practical workwear garments- with pockets for my pen, phone, keys and hanky. But where could I get doll sized clips or catches?

Answer: the old conference lanyards which I have used to tie things together for the move. They work perfectly, and are just the right scale. These recycled catches are exactly the thing to give the dungarees the perfect finish.

Annabell looks happy, and Rosie was pleased. I wore my dungarees on Saturday too. Rosie did not know the word dungarees. I explained it was a word which has come into our language from India. 

"I know about dung-beetles, Grandma, but not dung-garees" said Ro. "What do dung beetles do?" I asked  "They roll balls of poo across the ground. Dung means poo" she told me.

So now I'm wearing Grandma's Poo Trousers! There's always a catch...