So my bailiwick is sewing and embroidery. I’m pretty good at it since I’ve been doing it since 1970-uh-something. I have memories of sewing on a Holly Hobbie battery powered sewing machine at my nana’s house using McCall’s 627/8181 (copyright 1982) for my Darci Cover Girl fashion doll, and at that point I’d been hand sewing for a few years already doing needlepoint and counted cross stitch. I know it was before I turned 9 that year. So it’s been a hot minute.
But this isn’t about that pattern. That comes later. 🙂 Today I’m sharing something I tried that I’ve never done before and have been super nervous about but have REALLY wanted to do for a long time. Silicone mold making and resin casting!
This is by NO means a how-to since I’m a rank amateur at this (witness the bubbles in the shoes) but I’m so excited (pun totally intended) to share my very first attempt. I was heckin’ nervous about potentially ruining a 35 year old pair of doll shoes that I paid WAY too much for but it came out really well for the first attempt. They do resemble “Cinderella” style shoes, even though that wasn’t the look I was going for. Protip: stir the resin SLOWLY. Fast = bubbles.
I will say that this particular product has a REALLY long work time compared to the products used by the YouTubers I’ve been watching… 30 minutes! I WAY overmade the batch too because I couldn’t gauge how much I needed for one pair of shoes that weighed 3 grams. Protip: it’s about 7.5ml TOTAL resin for A pair of shoes. That is a SMALL amount of resin.
I’m also the world’s most impatient crafter (TM) and kept checking on this project every 5 minutes. After about 4 hours, I stuck the mold outside because it was just not setting up. 10 minutes in 90 degree Florida sunshine did the trick and I was able to de-mold them while still flexible. They are an exact replica and I’m gratified that my first-ever mold actually worked.
Stay tuned for more “truly outrageous” projects to come along with more “Sew Through The Century” projects and other vintage and vintage inspired things.