A Jumble of Jumper Dresses
- wingedmermaid
- Jan 31
- 5 min read
Updated: Mar 26
I was a hardcore Magic Attic Club fan back in the day, especially when it came to Megan Ryder, the strawberry blonde, green-eyed girl who loved reading and writing, horses, cats, and the color, yellow. I could relate to her in a number of ways -- being considered the most responsible in a group and being asked to take on leadership, dreaming of becoming a writer and owning a horse as an adult, and being interested in some of the same areas of history (e.g. Ancient Greece).
I read all of her books over and over, and I loved saving up for or receiving her clothes and accessories as gifts. In fact, I recently came across an old notebook where I'd meticulously detailed how much allowance I'd need to save to buy different Magic Attic Club clothing or accessory sets, which page of the catalog I could find them on, and my priority for obtaining them (like Giftster before Giftster lol). But had I had a little more patience and a lot more practice, I might've opted to make my own clothes for my Megan doll instead.
My mom has always been really good at sewing and there've been several times in my life that she (and even sometimes my dad) have helped me complete sewing projects that were way above my skill level. Sometimes it was for a class projects, sometimes it was for cosplay. But I remember one time when my mom assigned me a sewing project that she thought would be beginner-friendly enough that I could complete it mostly on my own, and would result in something fun my doll could use. That project was a doll-sized jumper dress and hat from Simplicity 0647.
It was a very simple, easy-breezy dress. I don't completely remember what the final product looked like, but I'm pretty sure the fabric was some kind of blue or navy with carrots printed on it. As a final touch I added a little brown bunny button in the center, which matched my own pet brown bunny, Amber, fairly well. I think my mom had to help me with the hat -- if I remember correctly, it was a little trickier than I was ready for. I was pretty proud of the final outfit, but I remember thinking how loose it seemed to fit on my doll. The pattern had been designed for Pleasant Company dolls, which had larger torsos than the slim 18" Magic Attic Club dolls.
Then, not long after, Magic Attic Club developed a series of patterns with Simplicity. By then, I think I either didn't have as much time to try sewing an outfit again or maybe my mom took a look at them and thought they'd be too difficult for me at that time. But, we still managed to get a set for each of us. Remember $1 pattern sales? Ah, those were the days...
For years, I've kept those patterns safely tucked away, more as keepsakes or Magic Attic collectibles than anything. But last year, as I was looking through my patterns and trying to downsize a little, I realized it was time to finally put them to use. If not for Megan (because she needs to be restrung badly and I'd rather keep her safely stored until I can learn how to do that well), then maybe an American Girl version of Megan! I've tried a couple of times to make an AG Megan, but I think I'm finally getting close with my latest attempt.
I highly recommend mid-90's patterns. The thickness of the pattern paper, the dark, crisp ink, ahhh... 11/10, A++, no notes.
I was immediately drawn to the jumper dress on one of the pattern covers because of the dress I'd made in the past -- and it was not lost on me that I'd once made a dress for a MAC doll from an AG pattern and was now using a MAC pattern for an AG doll.😂 I know AG dolls have been made slimmer over the years from their PC predecessors, but I was sure I'd still need to widen this pattern to make it fit nicely. I was prepared to do a lot of guess and check to get it right. But surprisingly, the only thing I really had to alter were the shoulder straps. They were just a little too short for American Girl dolls. The finished dress ended up more fitted than the original design, but it didn't look too tight. Instead of a relaxed fit look, it now looked like a regular fit, if that makes sense.
Practice Makes Perfect
At first, I followed the pattern instructions to a T, but then I realized I didn't like the way they recommended joining the sleeves (two sleeve pieces, joined together with a straight stitch and raw edges "hidden" under the straps when worn). I tried several ways before finally stumbling upon this video that ended up being exactly what I was hoping for: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6-E-Oo_6R_E
I've made a TON of these jumper dresses over the past few months, and with each one, I feel like I've gotten better at putting them together. Here are some of my past renditions...
And last, but not least... probably the best one I've made yet!
This pattern takes SO little time to make now compared to when I first attempted it. I still can't seem to make one that's completely flawless (hence why I'll probably never attempt selling these), but I can definitely see a difference from my first attempt to this latest one.
I don't know what it is about these dresses, but I really love how they look on my dolls. I actually found a human-sized pattern (from the '90's) so I can make one for myself someday. But... human sewing is still trickier for me than doll-size, so I might take some time to do a little more practicing before I tackle that.
