Barbie head mold confusion-headache, and question...

[WhiteDove01s]

Spectra sounds perfect. If we lived near each other I'd be asking what color tulle because I have a lot just sitting around for unmade tutus since I got that Jenny doll book :/.

I will recommend buying a spool of tulle for doll sized tutus, cutting from yardage is a nightmare in its self.

I thought so too. The thin face she's got should work well for a tragic nightmare character. I'm still undecided between basic white (which there should be some lying around somewhere) and looking for silver metallic-or-glitter to give her a bit of a sparkle without breaking up the monochrome theme. I'm eyeballing spools on ebay and they're only a couple dollars, so that'll be easy enough to snag in a few days (watching an auction right now so postponing any other spending till it ends).

[victoriavictrix]

I would not suggest tulle at all, because it is too stiff for that style of tutu at that size, and you'll get it sticking out in a poofy Lolita way you don't like. It's made of a harsh nylon that there is no way to soften. That style of tutu is called the "Romantic Tutu," reaches to mid-calf, and is famously used in the "Wilis" scene in Giselle and the "Procession of Souls" scene in La Bayadere.



IF you could get silk tulle, it would drape right. But while you can "get" it, it's over $60 a yard. What you want is stretch net. https://www.amazon.com/Small-Through-Stretch-Spandex-Fabric/dp/B0195NRFKA

You can get it with glitter flecks if you want sparkle. It's what I make all my Romantic Tutus with for my BJDs. I only use tulle for petticoats for Lolita cupcake dresses.

Another couple of options that will drape properly and will look appropriately ghostly are cotton cheesecloth and cotton gauze bandages. You can probably get the cotton gauze bandages at exactly the right length that will have a finished edge.

[WhiteDove01s]

Ah, thanks a lot. I didn't think about it being too stiff or sticking out too much. That's a problem I've sometimes 'fixed' before with hidden elastic thread to force a drape... but not much of a way to hide that in a sheer tutu. And, yes, that dress is similar to what I was picturing, or like the ones in Edgar Degas paintings. I'll add that to my amazon wishlist, but I'm also going to hold on a good search of my fabric bags. I've cut up a lot of old/misfitting clothes over the decades and vaguely remember a translucent light grey/silvery top of a very drape-y and thin polyester in that at some point. (And a white one come to think of it) Plus I need to hunt for other bits and bobs that might turn up. I just remembered my acrylic paints do have a metallic silver in them I could probably thin down to a wash that wouldn't make the fabric too stiff. Or use white and then have the trim silver instead. Ideas, ideas... I even have a second Spectra head, and am now debating making a doll with a head to swap to change between her passive-ghost-look and the bloody nightmare attacking version, instead of just making separate dresses. That would mean more hair needed, tho... Hmm...

[victoriavictrix]

Cheapest option I found was here on ebay:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/ENGLISH-NET-SN ... SwCV5c0nOb

It's in California and has free shipping, so it's $6/yard.

Feel free to ask me about anything ballet costume related. I even know how to sew a proper pancake tutu. FYI, even at doll scale it's very fiddly.

[WhiteDove01s]

Feel free to ask me about anything ballet costume related. I even know how to sew a proper pancake tutu. FYI, even at doll scale it's very fiddly.

I'll try to remember that. And I may be able to dodge on the fabric as one of the drawers turned up some leftover white extra-fine mosquito netting that is very floppy, so I may try using it when I get to the 'putting clothes on' stage of this one. (I still need to get the rest of the duct tape sticky off her torso).

(I may still pick up a yard of that with part of my next $25-for-doing-surveys "paycheck", because that is a good deal and the odds of me needing something like that for some doll project or other are probably high.)

[victoriavictrix]

After Halloween, check the costumes and decorations on markdown looking for that stretch netting. I have a drawerfull I got from "ghosts" you hung up. They use it because it doesn't need hemming and doesn't fray. I think I got the ghosts for a buck apiece, and got 2 yards of useable material off each one. Romantic tutus need about 4 layers of the stuff, so that came in handy.

[WhiteDove01s]

Good idea, I'll be sure to mark that one on my pending post-halloween-hunt list. I'm going to have to add more needles to a list, too, and still have some doll bodies I want. XD

And since this has gone to being mostly about the Ghost Dancer, I started an OOAKing projects thread. And I am even managing to do pictures.
https://www.dolliehsanctuary.com/sanctuary/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=13097#p145290