Free Tutorial - How to Make Doll Clothes

This tutorial is perfect, it was done by my good friend Megan who owns American Prim.  I added a few Homespun from the Heart notes.

Doll Dress:
1 - Follow the pattern pieces for making the clothes making sure to follow any instructions for doubled material or laying pieces on the fold.


2 - Cut or Tear the skirt piece of the dress and sew a gathering or a running stitch about 1/4" away from one long edge. Gather the skirt and with right sides together match it to the bottom of the bodice. Pin & sew right above the gathering stitch. (With my own dolls/patterns I like to just pleat the skirt and sew it to the bodice, skipping the gathering - I feel like my gathers bunch up way too much when I do it that way, see what you are comfortable doing as you learn this technique. Both are right!)

3 - With right sides together, match the underarm seams and edges of dress and sew the bottom of the arm and down the sides of the skirt on both sides. Sew across the shoulder seams leaving open where indicated on your pattern-or if you have cut on the fold-clip an opening for the head.

I like to put the doll's dress on feet first-especially if the doll has a big head!
Sew a gathering or a running stitch around the neckline and around the cuffs of the arms and legs (if indicated in the pattern)

Making the 'Loons (aka Pantaloons, shorts, or pants):
A lot of patterns will not give you an actual pattern piece for pantaloons or a slip (underskirt). They will simply tell you how long and tall the piece of material should be and most will have directions or diagrams for how they should be sewn.


1 - For loons cut a piece of material the length and width indicated in pattern.  Fold from left to right. Sew the side about 1/4" from edge (green marking)


2 - Move the seam to the middle


3 - Sew up one side close to seam, across a few stitches and back down other side (Purple marking)


4 - Clip between the stitching making sure to clip the corners


5 - Turn loons right side out and sew a running/gathering stitch around waist (red thread)


Now you can tea stain if you wish to do that! I always do mine and hang them outside so the mess drips out in the yard.

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