Doll Clothes Patterns

Doll clothes patterns and patterns for real girls have one big difference. Dolls are small and girls are big.

If you’re sewing matching outfits for your special girl and her doll, you want to make them look as much alike as possible. But, since girls are so much bigger than their dolls, you have to adjust the proportions. For example, if you plan to use a patterned fabric, the pattern on the doll’s dress should be much smaller in proportion than the pattern on the girl’s dress.

Girl-sized fabric:

Say you want to use a flowered print. If each of the flowers on the fabric you’ve selected for the girl are about the size of the girl’s hand, then you’ll want to find a matching fabric for the doll with flowers about the size of the doll’s hand.

Doll-sized fabric:

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Here’s another fun project you can cut and sew without needing to buy doll clothes patterns.

Look in your closet for cotton knit fabric you can recycle and reuse to make your doll a rag scarf. All you need are two or three old t-shirts in coordinating colors. If you’re creative, you can use white t-shirts and dye them before cutting the strips.
Be brave with your color choices. Experiment. Mix and match until you find striking combinations, like sky blue, aqua and teal …or maroon, apple red and pumpkin.

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Doll clothes patterns should be inspired by the latest fashion trends. The same is true of doll accessories. Your choice of accessories can complete an outfit, or make it ordinary.

One of the strongest accessory trends we see today is the tote… or oversized handbag. (A hobo bag is shown below.)

The oversized handbag has replaced the backpack as the new ‘must have’ fashion item. Read the rest of this entry »

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Doll clothes patterns that fit perfectly when made in woven fabrics may not fit at all when sewn in knits. Loose and stretchy knit fabrics can be difficult to handle if you don’t know a few important tricks.

1.) When cutting out the doll clothes patterns, first cut the fabric along one of the ribs in the knit. Use this as the grain line when you pin your pattern piece in place, even if it isn’t parallel with the selvage edge. If your knit is very crooked, wash it. Then while it’s wet, pull it into shape or ‘block’ it with your hands and lay it flat to dry.

2.) Use seam tape to prevent the fabric from stretching and to maintain the size of the original doll clothes patterns. See the photo below. Also try not to pull the seams when surging or zigzagging the unfinished seam lines.

3.) Use steam to ‘block’ your knits into shape. Be very careful when using steam on knits. It can either shrink the garment, or restore its shape. Read the rest of this entry »

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Doll clothes patterns are sized for an exact fit. You invest lots of time and money to sew them into great outfits for your American Girl and 18-inch dolls. But, you may be overlooking something very important. Did you launder the fabric before cutting out the pattern pieces? There are several good reasons to pre-wash: Read the rest of this entry »

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Doll clothes patterns can be adjusted before cutting, to ensure a perfect fit for a variety of dolls. You can easily see size differences by comparing the measurements of three popular 18-inch dolls:

1. Madame Alexander ‘Girlz’
2. American Girl Dolls
3. Gotz ‘Precious Day Collection’

The lines drawn on the dolls in the photo above show exactly where to measure your dolls. American Girl dolls have become the standard for the proper fit of doll clothes patterns. But, if you measure first and adjust carefully, your doll clothes and doll accessories can fit most 18-inch dolls. Let’s compare.

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Doll clothes patterns can be confusing when it comes to achieving a proper fit. The first thing I discovered when I started sewing for my American Girl dolls is that not all 18-inch doll bodies are the same size. That means your doll clothes patterns require small adjustments and alterations to fit each doll. So, lets look at several different dolls and compare their body sizes.

The dolls shown in the photo above are (left to right):

1. Lindsey, a Springfield Collection doll
2. Julie, an American Girl doll made in 2008
3. Girlz, a Madame Alexander doll
4. A German doll made by Heidi Ott
5. Kaya, an American Girl doll made in 2002

As a group, these dolls appear to be very similar. However, there are slight differences, even among American Girl dolls that will affect the fit of the doll clothes patterns. Because the 18-inch dolls have cloth bodies that are made by humans in sewing factories, quality control is sometimes an issue. I had to return my first Julie doll to the American Girl store. Her head was not attached halfway between her shoulders, but was mounted closer to one of her arms. Her body looked distorted, especially in a short-sleeved top. My point is… Even among the dolls made by one manufacturer, there are variations in body size. Sometimes seamstresses take larger seams, causing the bodies to be smaller. They may use more or less stuffing, which will change the size of the doll’s waistline. If the doll is not stuffed tightly enough, it will be difficult for her to stand on her own. She’ll need a doll stand, like the one shown in the photo above. Read the rest of this entry »

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Doll clothes patterns this season should include an updated version of the ‘hoodie.’ The hoodie has a great new look. It’s longer… almost knee-length with a loose, more relaxed hood. Two of the most popular styles include the wrap-front and zip-front. Other styles may have either long or short sleeves, like the hoodies in my drawings. Read the rest of this entry »

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Although our blog discussions will usually focus on sewing unique fashion-forward outfits from doll clothes patterns, sometimes a creative, money-saving idea is just too good to overlook.

If you can find a package of Saran brand Quick Covers hidden away in your kitchen or pantry, you’ll have a cute shower cap for your 18-inch doll. These plastic covers were manufactured to fit assorted sizes of food-storage containers. The medium size fits Julie, our American Girl doll, perfectly. Read the rest of this entry »

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If you’re looking for doll clothes patterns and doll accessories that are fun and easy to sew, this blog is for you.

Today’s girl wants to dress her doll in clothes she might wear herself… or dream of wearing if money were no object. So, we’ll look at what girls are wearing now and talk about the new fashion trends. Then, we’ll translate these popular trends into doll clothes patterns, so you can create the latest styles of clothing and accessories for your dolls.

The doll clothes patterns on this blog are sized to fit many 18-inch dolls, …like American Girl dolls, Madame Alexander Girlz, the Springfield Collection and Gotz dolls.
You’ll enjoy learning about fashion design and working with fabrics and colors to sew totally coordinated outfits for your dolls. It doesn’t matter if you’re young or old. Whether you’re a girl, a mother or a grandmother, you’ll learn to think like a fashion designer and be sewing doll clothes in no time flat.

You can create outfits for your doll that are fashionable, unique and original. But, they’ll be much less expensive than “store bought’ doll clothes. Our blog posts will talk about money-saving ideas and offer shopping tips. We’ll suggest places you can go to find ‘overlooked treasures’ that can be recycled into one-of-a-kind doll clothes. We’ll introduce pictures and instructions for making great doll accessories… like jewelry, shoes, handbags and hats. As everyone knows, girls and dolls love accessories! Read the rest of this entry »

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