How to Make Pretty Doll Clothes
I had always wanted to sew, but never seemed to have the time to do a full-blown course, or the money to invest in large amounts of material for an outfit that may or may not be wearable because of my inexperience. One day, while playing with my daughter, I hit upon a great idea - doll clothes! It's a great way to learn to sew without a major investment of time or money. If this idea appeals to you, or even if you're an experienced sewer looking for some great tips, this article is for you.
Before you begin, decide which size doll you want to work with. Dolls like American Girl or baby dolls (16" and 18"-20" inch dolls) are easy to sew for, and lots of fun! Fashion dolls like Barbie are harder because they're so small, and I would only recommend them for intermediate and advanced sewers.
That said, let's get started.
First of all, before you give or throw away old clothing items, check them out. Since doll clothing only requires a small amount of fabric, even outfits that are ripped can be used. If you don't have any old clothing or a stash of fabric scraps, head on down to the remnant bin at your local fabric store. You can get wonderful material for pennies.
When choosing fabrics, try to stick with lightweight materials that will flow softly enough to drape nicely over the doll. If there are any obvious weaves or decorative patterns in the cloth, make sure that they are small and tight; otherwise, they'll look funny in doll proportion. Also, non-fray fabrics work best - felt, real or faux fur/leather/suede, micro fleece, soft upholstery fabric, knits, boiled wool are all good choices. Even if you're only using doll clothing to learn how to sew, you still want your finished product to look great!
Once you've chosen your fabric, cut it into conveniently sized small strips. That way you can cut out the small pattern pieces without having to deal with the bulky weight of excess material. Some doll makers cut on the bias (that means cutting on the diagonal) to give more stretch and drape to the clothing (materials generally have more stretch to them on the bias than on the straight grain).
Now that you've cut out your pattern, you're ready to sew. When it comes to making doll clothes, you have lots of options for sewing - which is another reason that sewing for dolls is an excellent way to get experience.
The first option is hand sewing. Doll clothes are so small that they can be hand sewn quickly. The trick is to sew small stitches, so that the dolly outfit doesn't become bulky.
The second option is machine sewing. The advantage is the speed and the small, accurate stitches; the disadvantage is that sometimes the clothing is so small that it's hard to maneuver under the presser foot of the machine. However, for 18 to 20 inch dolls, machine sewing is not such a problem.
There's another option for making doll clothing, and that is the "glue/sew" method. This method of making doll clothes uses either only gluing or a combination of gluing and sewing. Gluing is terrific for enforcing tiny seams, sealing edges and tacking rolled hems before sewing, as well as for speeding up the attachment of complex pattern pieces (such as joining gathered sleeves to an arm hole). Some doll clothing seamstresses glue all cloth pattern edges with waterproof glue, and sew just inside the glue line. Then they trim through the glue line for a really neat edge. This method is also helpful if you need to produce a very tiny French seam. Glue and sew as described above. Trim very close to the sewing but still within the glue line. Then flip the material, finger press and sew again.
Voila!
Once your doll's outfit is sewn, you're ready to accessorize. There are lots of inexpensive, fun ways to dress up doll clothing. If you want a pinafore for your doll, then tiebacks from curtains are the way to go (they also make instant skirts!). Choose ones that have an approximately 2" band on top, and a ruffled bottom. You can even get them at the thrift shop.
To dress up a dolly vest: Add "fur" or binding to the edges. You can also fringe the lower edge, or add a beaded fringe. Let your imagination go with vest closures. Use jewelry clasps, buckles, tab and ring, button and loop, or a hook and eye.
Tie a matching ribbon around the waist of a doll's dress and in her hair for quick belt and hair accessories.
If you find flaws in your doll's outfit, don't panic! Use carefully placed accessories - mini handbag, scarf, hat, shawl, or whatever strikes your fancy - to camouflage.
If you're like me, you'll probably be wondering exactly how to store all of these tiny items without losing something every time you sew. There are a few ways to organize the chaos. Personally, I like Ziploc bags. I group similar fabrics, trims and laces in separate bags, label them, and keep them all in an old tote bag. I do the same for buttons; I sort them by color into the little zip bags that googly eyes come in. I then take all those little bags and put them into one bigger Ziploc bag, which also goes into that old tote. This cuts the time on finding buttons to less than half! Elastics, rickrack and cording all get the same treatment. Sewing necessities like needles, thread, scissors, etc. are all in my sewing box. The more organized you are, the easier it is to sew even in small time increments - you can get a lot done on a doll in twenty minutes!
I hope you found these tips helpful - and if you have any of your own, I'd love to hear them.
Enjoy!
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