Doll Clothes

There are so many commercial patterns for doll clothes, these particular ones are for 18" dolls.

The instructions are very detailed and easy to read.

From this pattern, I made party dress A, the tee shirt, tights and jumper H.

I made the pajamas and slippers from this pattern.

I wouldn't mind a dress like this :)

I used some "roses" machine embroidery on the ribbon instead of topstitching it to the dress.  

I should have used a different color thread because the white doesn't show up at all!

I made the tee shirt and tights from a new "Susan G. Komen 5K Race for the Cure" tee shirt.

The jumper matches it perfectly.

I machine embroidered some bows on the hem, I like the look :)

I made a little set of pajamas, with matching slippers.

The Hello Kitty fabric is from another set of pj's that I repurposed.

That's a working pocket on the pj top, too.

My doll Red Rose is going to model the clothes.

I wrote a post about Red Rose if you're interested, you can see it here.

I made these clothes for my grand daughter Charlotte, who will be 4 years old in a couple of weeks.

I saw a little package of eyeglasses that I am going to buy for Charlotte's doll, and a pair of pink shoes to match her dress.

I love the bow on the back of the dress.

By the way, isn't this dog the cutest?

It's the closest I'm ever going to get to owning a real one :) Lol

Doll Dress class

I taught another Doll Dress class and the students were delightful!  They made the apron dress (in the middle)from "Vanilla House" designs.  This doll dress pattern is easy to construct because the pattern pieces are all rectangles, cut with a rotary cutter.  There is no fussing with inset sleeves, and the back of the dress is fastened with an 8" long piece of sew on velcro.

Mickey brought her grand daughter, Makayla.  

Donna  brought her grand daughter, Kate.

The girls chose their two coordinating fabrics all by themselves.

I love the pleased look on Makayla's face as she shows off the dress she sewed for her doll Julie. 

Kate is really pleased with her dress too, her doll's name is Taylor.

The girls learn how to measure and use a rotary cutter, with strict supervison of course!  They also learn how to use an iron, and how important it is to press for good results.

It is very rewarding teaching young girls how to sew.

Isn't it cute how much each of the girls' dolls looks just like them!

Doll Class

Katie asked me to teach a doll dress class at her quilt shop.  We picked out the fabric and the pattern and I took it home to sew.

 

The pattern was pretty easy to sew, because the pattern pieces were all rectangles.  There weren't any little armholes to fuss with, or facings on a curve.  I would recommend this pattern, but it would still be helpful to have some sewing experience.

This dress is the one pictured on the righ,t on the pattern envelope.  The pockets were so easy to sew with the rectangle pieces, and they are self lined.  The neck lining is one big rectangle, the size of the little dot fabric in the center of the dress.  You sew a square in the middle, trim the l/4" seam allowance, turn inside out, press and you have your neck opening.  The only thing is, the doll's head won't fit through the hole.  When you are finished sewing the dress, you cut the dress down the back and  press the seams back l/4".
You then sew velcro along the back, enclosing the l/4" seam and your dress is finished!

I really like this dress also.  It was even easier to sew.  I made a mistake though. Notice that the skirt seams straight.  Well I attached the skirt front and back pieces the wrong direction.  The dress should be shorter and have more gathers.  The diagram on the pattern shows you to attach the skirt rectangle this way and  there are no dimensions to tell you otherwise.  Being an experienced sewer, I should have known better.  That is why everyone needs a seam ripper.  I haven't changed it yet but I will. The pocket was so easy to put together.  You start with a square of yellow fabric.  You sew a red gingham rectangle onto the top , creating a rectangle.  Take another rectangle the same size and lay them together.  Sew the pocket shape all the way around, without an opening.  Cut a little slit on the back of the pocket.  Turn in right side out.  Press and topstitch the pocket onto the apron!  So, so easy....

This is the advertisement for the class that Katie posted on her blog.

doll dress sewing class

via sew katie jean by katie jean on 3/7/12

This Saturday, March 10, Sew Katie Jean is having a class to teach you how to sew dresses for your 18" doll (American Girl).

Cynthia Horst is teaching that day.  And you will learn to sew 2 different dresses from the Rectangle Dress for Dolls Pattern.

This would just be the funnest class to take with you own girl who is just beginning to sew.  Make a memory together or just surprise her on her birthday or at Christmastime!  She would love it.

The doll featured in these pictures is one that I just bought at Target for display at my shop.  They also had these sewing accessories for $23.  I just had to buy it with the sewing machine, wrist pincushion, and sewing box.  Plus just look at the little hearts on her shoes!  I bet you would like it just for yourself....

Saturday, March 10

1:00 - 3:30 p.m.

$25.00

teacher: Cynthia Horst

Call {916} 209-3930 or stop in to register.

This mom and daughter were darling.  We all learned that her daughter loves to iron. Every chance she got, she would run to the ironing board!  Even her mother didn't know that little tidbit of information.  The mom said she would definately get some ironing for her daughter to do at home.  They had to leave a little early because the little girl had a daddy daughter date later that evening.

This mom and daughter had a wonderful time too.  It was really fun watching the girls walk around the shop and choosing their fabric.  The girls were so excited to create a dress for their dolls.

This is a grandmother/grandaughter team, they were a lot of fun.  The grandmother kept cracking jokes, and she was a wonderful mentor, teaching her grandaughter how to sew.

She was so proud of her creation.  She especially liked the candy fabric she chose for the trim on the pockets.  I used the pink fabric in one of the squares on my Swoon quilt.

This little girl thought to bring her doll to model the new dress.  She is so happy!!

We really had a great time in this class. The girls were so excited to create an outfit for their dolls, and learn how to sew and press at the same time.