A few months ago, I received a request to make a fabric design based on the Hitty book dust jacket. It took me a while, but I finally finished. There are two color variations based on different editions of the Hitty book. Both designs are now available in my Spoonflower shop.
New Hitty Book Cover Designs on Spoonflower
Hitty Book Cover Classic
The first design is based on a jacket from the September 1946 Macmillan edition, which has a dark red background and greenish-gold crosses with off-white flowers in the middle. There is a also a faint white line along one edge of the crosses.
Hitty Book Cover Bright
The second design is based a newer edition of the book published by Simon and Schuster in the 1990s. This book has a dust jacket with a bright red background and yellow-orange crosses with bright white flowers in the middle.
Now, how should I showcase these new designs? I think they would work great for quilts, coverlets or pillows. And I ordered some wallpaper swatches to make a backdrop for Hitty photos. But would the prints work for doll dresses? To find out, I needed to order some fabric.
I am always on the lookout for the best custom fabrics for doll clothing. When I learned that Spoonflower had a new fabric called Cotton Silk, I decided to order the new fabric and compare it to their Cotton Poplin. Here are photos of both Book Cover prints on Cotton Silk.
NOTE: Although I concluded that Cotton Silk DOES NOT work well for Hitty dresses, I wanted to share my findings, so you can decide for yourself.
Review: Cotton Silk
Here is how Spoonflower describes their new Cotton Silk:
A versatile, naturally breathable fabric with a slight sheen made of a luxurious blend of 51% cotton and 49% silk. Cotton Silk, with the sheen of silk and the breathability of cotton, is a luxuriously comfortable fabric. Its versatility makes it a prime choice for projects that need a touch of elegance with a gentle feel.
Spoonflower
FABRIC CONTENT
While Cotton Poplin is made from 100% cotton, the Cotton Silk is a blend of 51% cotton and 49% silk. The weave is a “sateen weave,” which has a smooth surface texture. Here are the care instructions from Spoonflower’s website:
Care Instructions for Cotton Silk
Spoonflower
Machine wash cold. Use only non-chlorine bleach when needed. Line dry. Cool iron if needed using a pressing cloth or by ironing on the unprinted side of the fabric. Woven fabrics may experience fraying when washed. We recommend serging or stay-stitching 1/4″-1/2″ from the cut edge or using a delicates bag when pre-washing.
COLORS
The colors of the Cotton Silk samples are rich and fully saturated. They look more vivid than the Cotton Poplin. I did not detect any fading after washing.
PRICE
The printable area for the Cotton Silk is 52” x 36” per yard vs. 42” x 36” per yard for the Cotton Poplin. Cotton Silk costs quite a bit more: $54 per yard vs. $22 per yard for the Cotton Poplin. Although the price per yard is more than double, since the Cotton Silk is wider, the actual price per square inch turns out to be about 2.9 cents for Cotton Silk vs. 1.4 cents for Cotton Poplin.
SHRINKAGE
After washing, I noticed that the Cotton Silk shrank more than the Cotton Poplin. According to the Spoonflower website, shrinkage is 4-6% in length and 2-3% in width. For the Cotton Poplin, it is only 2-4% in length and 0-1% in width.
WEIGHT
The Cotton Silk drapes well due to its lighter weight. Cotton Silk is only 2.4 oz. per square yard vs. 3.3 for Cotton Poplin.
SEWING
Cotton Silk seems to ravel more than Cotton Poplin and needs a seam sealer such as Fray Block or Fray Check. The fabric has a tendency to snag. To avoid this I had to use silk pins and a brand new sewing machine needle. Also, the slippery texture makes it hard to pin pieces together.
PRESSING
The Cotton Silk shows more wrinkles, and it tends to pucker when sewn. The sateen weave seems to make the fabric harder to press. Having to use a pressing cloth on the printed side only, with a cool iron, makes it hard to get a nice, crisp edge.
CONCLUSION
Although the colors are rich and beautiful, Cotton Silk does not work well for Hitty dresses. It has a slippery texture with a sateen weave that makes it hard to sew. It also puckers more, and the surface can snag unless you use silk pins and a brand new sewing machine needle. The fabric may work better for a simpler project, such as a quilt or pillows.
The Finished Dresses
To test the two types of fabrics, I designed a pattern for a dress with simple sleeves and a wide neckline. It has a vintage look, which is quite flattering on Hitty dolls. The dress on the left, modeled by Hitty MacKenna, was made from the “Hitty Book Cover Bright” fabric printed on Cotton Silk. Hitty Shannon Rose on the right is wearing a dress made from the same design printed on Cotton Poplin. Notice how much smoother the neckline and hemmed edges look on the Cotton Poplin version. I had trouble getting the Cotton Silk to press well and lay flat.
Although the Cotton Silk dress disappointed me, the Cotton Poplin dress was a success. Here is Shannon Rose standing next to the matching 1990s Hitty book.
MacKenna and Shannon Rose are my very first Hittys, carved in 2013, and they are the best of friends. So naturally, I had to make a dress for MacKenna from the “Hitty Book Cover Classic” design, using Cotton Poplin. Here is MacKenna next to the matching 1946 Hitty book.
