'Mrs. Sew & Sew' Makes Doll Clothes For Over 80 Years
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Jennifer Peryam-jperyam@timesuniononline.com
Warsaw resident Lois Garber has been sewing doll clothes for more than 80 years and sharing her skills with her family, friends and the community. Garber, 89, started sewing doll clothes when she was 3 years old and has continued the hobby – or what she calls her “therapy” – over the years. “I have always enjoyed using my imagination. When I see a piece of fabric, I can almost see it made up,” Garber said. “My mother, Elsie Porter, taught me how to sew when I was 3 and taught me to cut and stitch fabric. I remember I told her I wanted to sew, and she told me here is a needle and thread and if you get that needle threaded I will teach you to sew, and I did,” Garber said. She said the first thing she sewed was a dress for a baby doll when she was 3. “As I got older I learned to sew more things for the dolls,” Garber said. Garber has four daughters and sewed two of her daughter’s wedding dresses. She made her daughter’s clothing while they were growing up, and sewed shirts for Doc Fuson’s Great American Race, an antique vehicles race that goes from California to New York. “I made doll clothes for a Shirley Temple doll when I was 10 and that was my favorite,” Garber said. She said she took a design class in high school in Arkansas that helped her to learn to sew in addition to what her mother taught her. Today she makes clothing for Barbie® and Ken® dolls, 18-inch dolls such as American Girl dolls and smaller dolls. “My daughters got one of the first Barbie® dolls that came out when they were $3 and I made clothes for the Barbie®,” Garber said. Garber’s daughter, Doris Bush, said she and her sisters had drawers full of Barbie® clothes when they were growing up that their mother made for them. “I’m proud of her and she does a gorgeous job,” Bush said. Garber also has made doll and Barbie® clothes for her granddaughters and a Babe Ruth suit for a GI Joe® for her son-in-law, Rob Adams. “Not everyone can say they make doll clothes for their son,” Garber joked. Garber said she collects Barbies® and dolls at garage sales and stores them at her home along with fabric. “I look at a piece of fabric and use my own patterns,” Garber said. She said it took her three days to sew a Barbie® wedding dress with sequins and pearls on the fabric. She said a pair of shorts for dolls takes the least amount of time to make. She can sew dresses, doll blankets, coats, formal dresses, jackets, swimsuits, shoes, boots, slippers for dolls. She has three sewing machines at her home she uses. She will sell doll clothing at a Holiday Bazaar Nov. 7 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Warsaw First Brethren Church, Warsaw.
