Give Your Doll Clothes a Professional Look

(Update January 19, 2013: I still love the designs in this book. However, I made--or attempted to make--the Cropped Jack, and the sleeve was too big to set in without gathers or puckers in the sleeve seam line. Although I admit to finding set-in sleeves a challenging part of doll clothes making, I've been able to put other sleeves in. I certainly have no trouble with sleeves of my own garments. I visited the author's website and left her a note. No response yet.)

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I love this book!

I will tell you why:

I have sewn everything from coats and suits to prom dresses. But sewing for an 18-inch doll is simply another matter. Although I have many cute ideas for doll clothes, I have found myself disappointed in my results.

Most written instructions do not take in to account the significance of the 1/4-inch seam, as opposed to the usual 5/8-inch seam that is used in patterns for people. There is less room for error with the smaller seam; the finished garment will be too snug if the seam is too big or the fabric can easily ravel to the seam line if the seam is too narrow.

Making doll clothes look neat on the inside is important, especially if you're selling them. I've had to change the way I think about seams after years of pressing them opened to get the garment smooth and flat. Most of my seams now face one direction, and I finish seams whenever possible.

I don't think that Simplicity, the best-known pattern company, accounts for the differences between people and dolls. It is difficult for me to turn a hem under just once--per Simplicity's instructions--because the raw edge looks unfinished underneath, especially with fabric that ravels.

Dressing up 18" Dolly has practical instructions for sewing doll clothes. One suggestion, for instance, is to finish the edges of some seams before joining the two sides together. This is a small book with some super cute patterns, and I will give more concrete examples after making one of the patterns myself.

A couple criticisms of the book: The photos taken of the doll clothes could be much better. Also, I prefer American Girl or Madame Alexander as doll clothes models. Springfield dolls are cheaply made, and they look like cheap dolls. Would I buy my child a Springfield doll? Yes. But the doll doesn't photograph as well.

Doll Clothes Alterations

Below is an unfinished polka dot dress that I made with Simplicity #4654 that still needs a hem. Please note that the designated hem is only one quarter of an inch. Since I've revisited my childhood hobby of creating doll clothes, I've become dissatisfied with many of the patterns that I find. The clothes have a strange fit, or they're basically boring. This dress is too long:

I appreciate anyone's effort to create, period. But what I envision is simply different from anything I see. Once I hem the dress--and add the velcro to the opening down the back--the dress won't look much different.

I am trying to dress dolls as if they're kids, fashionable kids, at that. I don't see little girls wearing mid-calf or ankle-length dresses. Why would anyone dress American Girl or Madame Alexander in a long dress unless the doll is supposed to be a wearing period costume or a princess dress?

I'm going to hem this dress somewhere above the knee after I change the look of the dress with a pleat here and a tuck there. With a few tiny alterations and with some accessories, this dress will look vastly different, and much better. That is my aim, anyway.

Please check out my next blog entry to see the results.

Fashion and Dolls

When I was a little girl, I had a sewing machine that was probably considered a toy. The machine was designed like the real thing except that it had no foot pedal or knee attachment. I manually turned the wheel that made the needle go up and down.

My dolls were pre-Barbie. I owned a couple beautiful 10-inch Madame Alexander dolls. In those days, Madame Alexander sold some of the dolls without luxurious costumes. They came in the box wearing something plain. At first my mother made outfits for my dolls, but in no time I was making my own doll clothes.

My granddaughter is almost five, and I recently got the bug to make doll clothes again. My first recent foray into doll fashion was to make a little girl dress with a matching doll dress. I flipped through books and perused the Internet, trying to find patterns that matched, and I eventually found dresses that were only similar. I made them match by adding some flowers and ribbon to my granddaughter's dress and purse and to Ariel's dress.

I was disappointed that the doll clothes pattern I used was way too big for Ariel. I ended up scrapping the pattern and making something from scratch.

Since that experiment, I've learned that the 18-inch doll is the most popular. American Girl has demonstrated longevity. Madame Alexander and a few other companies make an 18-inch doll with similar measurements. I find sewing for this size doll to be more fun. The larger doll allows for more detail.

My long-term goal is to make fashionable clothes for my granddaughter's 18-inch dolls, and, hopefully, I'll find an easy way to make matching clothes for little girl and doll. I've searched the Internet to see what doll patterns are available. American Girl manufactures beautiful clothing and accessories for the 18-inch doll that are pricey. Butterick, McCalls and Simplicity carry some cute patterns, but I have something else in mind.

I want to create some doll clothes that are trendy, modern, creative, funky, maybe a bit freaky. Not sexy. These are little girl dolls that can become well-dressed. Why not? Although period costumes can be adorable, I think that little girls like to dress their dolls the way they dress themselves.

I gather ideas from the likes of Teen Vogue and Seventeen. My aim is to create "looks" so these dolls can walk the runway. Dolls. Fashion. Patterns. Little girls.

Welcome to my blog about doll fashion and sewing for dolls.

This blog will change my life

I look forward to making this blog beautiful. Stay tuned for some stylish funky doll clothes patterns.