While I lament summer coming to an end, my dolls are all rejoicing at the thought of events to come...a month long fashion week and the return of red carpet spectacles. All things considered, I thought it was time to do a few posts showing how to deal with specialty fabrics: velvet, sequins and beads. In this, the first of this series, I explore velvet, a fabric that, over the past few seasons, has staged a comeback. While I love the look and feel of this material, fact is....it is a beast to sew...especially on the scale of doll-scaled garments! Let's Talk Velvet Many years ago, my mother bought a boat load of panne (pressed) velvet) which I found and was anxious to use. So when I saw velvet gowns in the collections of Dior, Armani and others, I immediately headed to the closet. But as I started to sew this lofty fabric, all of the memories of struggling with this beast from my high school days surfaced. The fabric was way too thick for the doll, especially on the s...