Rainbow High Dream and Design Fashion Studio Playset

Since MC mentioned playsets, I decided to review the Rainbow High playset that I got for Christmas, which included a Skyler Bradshaw doll. This set is not exactly 1:6 scale, but then the Rainbow High dolls aren't either. I still think it's a nice addition to my doll displays.

This set obliviously includes items for sewing play, but first Skyler has to create a design. For this, she has some paints, brushes and a palette, what I think is a pencil, and what I think are oil pastels. She also has a large portfolio, with pictures that will appear when treated with water. She can use these on her worktable, which can be flat or tilted. Her work stool is not that sturdy. I didn't think of it until now, but I wonder how it would work for Barbie. She also has a potted orchid to give her a touch of nature.

When she's got a design she likes, it's time to start draping fabric and sewing her creation. She has a sewing machine, cutting mat, two pairs of scissors, an iron that sits kind of oddly, a rainbow shaped pincushion, a measuring tape, and a cup of coffee to keep her going. There's also some fabric included in rainbow colors. The tailor's dummy is a little odd. It's made for pretend draping, which makes sense since it's for kids, so there are no real pins, just these oversized pins that go into holes in the dummy. I think the ruler-like piece that has a circle on the top, sitting to Skyler's left in the second picture, is supposed to help insert the fabric into the slits in the dummy, especially some narrow ones in the back. I do like the fact that two pair of scissors were included. Anyone who sews will find out quickly that fabric should be cut with different scissors than pattern pieces or thread.

Since Rainbow High has a storyline for the dolls that takes place at an exclusive high school for fashion design and related studies, it makes sense that this playset is about designing clothes. It actually comes from a short series of episodes where Skyler wins a Project Runway type competition that included students from Rainbow and Shadow High. The stool can be used in many displays, and the work table could go from sewing to a computer table, a crafting table, or even a table for your doll to take pictures of her doll displays. :) The main item that I'm not sure I like from this playset is Skyler herself. To me, her head doesn't work with her body. Of course all Rainbow High dolls have oversized heads, but this one looks off to me as the other dolls I have don't. On the other hand, I hate to get rid of her, since blue is my favorite color. I'm going to try re-dressing her, and maybe a lip repaint. I'm going to include her in my collection count, since if I sell this one, I will probably buy a Skyler from another line that I like the look of more. What theme would you like to see for a playset?

Total dolls: 88

On the Art and Science of Color

I've been working on increasing my drawing skill, as well as learning about fabric design. It's doll related, because I would like to design both my own doll clothes, and fabric to suit. It's a huge undertaking, and will probably take me ages to get there, if I ever get there, but I'm working on it! Partially, this post is for Xanadu as well, since she likes to talk about the color wheel and color tones and shades in relation to dressing your dolls, as well as setting up rooms and backdrops for them. I had these books on my Amazon wishlist, saw them recommended somewhere, and Mr. BTEG and the Dancer bought them for my birthday last week.

The first book is called Palette Perfect - Color Combinations Inspired by Fashion, Art & Style. It talks at the beginning about the color wheel and how to use colors to create attractive looks. It then has pages and pages and pages of color groupings, with both their CMYK and RGB color graph numbers given, to help you get the correct shade you're looking for. I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed by this book!

I also received The Fabric Design Book - Understanding and creating patterns using texture, shape, and color.

I think this book will help me increase my "feel" for good fabric design. As I said above, this whole process is a bit overwhelming right now, because I'm such a beginner at design, as well as using design software. I feel that I owe it to myself, though, to at least try to get better at these things that I want to learn.

I know several of you who have skills that you use in service to your doll collection. Has anyone learned or tried to learn something purely for making things for your dolls? I know MC and RagingMoon1987 have talked about learning sewing to make doll clothes, which I totally support!

Mattel Barbie Sewing Machine Desk

This set is one of those Mattel head-scratchers, or at least the distribution is. I saw it on someone's blog of new Mattel releases last year, and supposedly it was scheduled to be released for Christmas 2018. Mr. BTEG and the Dancer tried to buy it for me for Christmas, but couldn't find it. Early in 2019, I found it on Amazon, going for about $40. Then a few months ago, I saw it at Target for $9.99, and grabbed it. Mattel can be so weird at times.

So, this desk set includes the desk, with the sewing machine attached, the pink chair, a dress form, a measuring tape, two "thread" cones, three pieces of fabric, a tomato pincushion worn on the wrist, two hangers, a pair of scissors, a "fashion design" sheet, and a plant.

It's nice to finally have a realistic-looking machine in 1/6 scale, and the accessories are not bad, for Mattel. :) The machine will need some paint to bring out the details and make it look better, but at least it's not pink. The scissors don't open and close, and they're clunky. Wouldn't want to make the scissors much smaller for a kid's toy, though. The plant is cute, but kind of a "meh" accessory. I would constantly be knocking it off of my work space. :) This plant fits into a recessed circle on the desk.

The pincushion could also use some paint. The green leaves on top of the typical tomato pincushion are molded on, but not painted.

The desk would look nice with clothes hanging off of the hangers, but the desk can't be pushed all the way against a wall, because of the hangers sticking out. That's not awful, but I do keep wanting to push the desk up against the wall, and being stymied by the hangers. The dress form looks good from the front, but is only partially done in the back. It's also rather wobbly standing up. I haven't measured it to see if it is the right size for the Fashionista or Made to Move bodies.

The fabric has the feel of a spandex knit, but barely stretches. Each piece measures 3.5" x 2.5", or 8.89 cm by 6.35 cm. I really only like the polka-dotted fabric, but there is not enough there to do something meaningful with anyway.

The fashion sheet is weird. There's a hole in the top center, so you can hang it up on one of the two pegs on the "peg board" at the back of the desk. That makes the model in the middle odd proportionally to the other two, even if she is supposed to be petite. Also, the hole on the sheet is round, whereas the peg is slightly rectangular, with a rounded end. You can see by the slight wear around the hole, that I tried to get it on a peg, but didn't want to force it, as I was afraid that I would tear the cardboard.

This seemed like the perfect opportunity to share a Re-Ment sewing machine set that I bought quite a while ago. This set is number 6 of the March Comes in Like a Lion - Kawamoto Family Living Room series. In addition to the Living Room series, there seems to be at least a couple of other March Comes in Like a Lion group packs. These all seem to be somewhat related to a manga, which was made into a movie.

The main item in this set is a sewing machine, but on a slightly smaller scale than the Barbie one. Like several of the March Comes in Like a Lion sets, this one has a cat theme. There is a cat on the decorations along the bottom of the machine, and the brand of the machine is Nyanome. This is probably a take on the real Japanese sewing machine brand Janome, which means "snake's eye," based on the round bobbin that the founder of the company pioneered. Nyan is the Japanese version of the English "meow," but I don't know what, if anything, Nyanome means.

The Re-Ment set also came with a spool of "thread," a small basket holding a pincushion with molded pins, and a bag decorated with a cat face.

There is a sewing pattern, of sorts, included with this set. It's actually part of the small card that typically comes with Re-Ment sets, and since it's stiff paper, it won't bend very well, the way it is shown in official photos. I have no plans to use it, but since it does come with the other things, I wanted to show it.

What do you think of these two sets? Do your dolls do any of their own crafting, or design projects?