It’s great to hear that many of you have enjoyed sewing my new Wedding Dress doll clothes pattern, I’ve received tremendous feedback.  Some of you have also asked how I made the wedding bouquets that my dolls are holding in the photos so I thought I would put together a little video showing you how I made these wedding bouquets.  Enjoy!

So now you know how I made my wedding bouquet which goes beautifully with either the 18 Inch American Girl or 18 1/2 inch Cabbage Patch wedding dress doll clothes patterns.  Have fun making yours and don’t forget to send me photos of your gorgeous brides.

Happy Sewing

By Rosie Saw

It’s been weeks in the making – drafting, sewing, filming, editing, typing, photographing, uploading and testing – and is definitely my biggest and best ever doll clothes pattern release to date.

‘Sew’ it is with great pleasure and much excitement that I launch my new  ‘Glitz and Glamour’ Doll Clothes Pattern Category and release …. drum roll please … this stunning 18 Inch Doll Wedding Dress Pattern.

Just about every little girl dreams of having ‘the perfect white wedding’ for their doll.  Now with my new Wedding Dress doll clothes pattern they have a choice between two gorgeous designs.  The first option has lace overlay on the bodice and delicate lace sleeves while the second option is sleeveless and has beautiful lace overlay on a very full skirt.

Also included with my Wedding Dress Doll Clothes Pattern is a pattern for a petticoat, which helps to give fullness to the skirt, and I show you how to create your very own beautiful full length wedding veil.

This pattern will suit 18 Inch dolls such as the American Girl ® doll and also includes pattern variations for the 20 Inch Australian Girl ® doll.  To get your American Girl Doll Wedding Dress pattern now, click here.

Coming soon will be the 18 ½ Inch Cabbage Patch Wedding Dress Doll Clothes Pattern, so stay tuned.

Happy Sewing

I received an email from Peggy recently asking if everything was okay with myself and my family as I hadn’t updated my blog since before Christmas.  You remember Peggy, one of my wonderful customers who sometimes does guest blog spots.  Well, anyway this email made me realise that there are probably lots of you out there wondering what has happened to me and whether I will be bringing out any new patterns.  ‘Sew’ I finally put fingers to keyboard to update my blog and let you all know what’s been happening.

My family and I are all well, thanks for your concern Peggy, I just haven’t had a chance to do anything with my patterns website as I was so busy with orders for Rosie’s Dolls Clothes leading into Christmas.  Then we took a short break and I was planning to start a new pattern in January.  However, January proved to be just as busy (almost) as November and December and because so many of my stock drawers are empty I have had to make doll clothes for every order.

But some good news, I have finalised my new pattern and Brad, my multi-talented hubbie, spent last weekend converting it all into pdf files and adding all the writing.  I have actually started filming this week and OH MY GOSH, this is a big one!  Trust me to start back with something so grand!  Anyway, I should finish filming this week fingers crossed – and then it’s onto editing and loading onto the website.

At this stage I’m planning to release my new pattern around the end of February, early March and I’m super excited because it will be the very first pattern in my New ‘Glitz and Glamour’ category!

Hmmm, perhaps I should look at selling Rosie’s Dolls Clothes so that I can spend all my time designing, producing and filming my doll clothes patterns?  Certainly something to think about.

Anyway, thanks again Peggy for your concern and please stay tuned for my grand pattern release in a couple of weeks.

Happy Sewing

As this will be my last blog before Christmas, I would like to thank you all for being such wonderful customers and sharing your sewing experiences with me.  I continue to meet truly beautiful people each and every day (albeit via email) and am so grateful for your friendship.  It has been a very busy year personally for me and I haven’t added as many patterns as I would have liked but I plan to change that in 2014, so stay tuned!

I have some great news for everyone who enquired about where to get the wooden doll stands that were displaying the dolls in some of the photos in my blog Resizing Doll Clothes Sewing Patterns Continued.   The stands were made for Lauri by her clever husband who has since been working with some doll clubs to perfect the stand.  And now, he finally has the stands ready to go and has opened an Etsy shop

They are hand-crafted from unfinished clean wood, fold flat for easy shipping and storage and are super easy to assemble.   They’re available in Sasha size, Bleuette size, and 18” AG doll size so if you want some, visit their Doll Dad Stands Etsy Shop today.

Some more great news!  If you haven’t already taken advantage of my awesome Christmas special offer, there’s still time to purchase my How to Make Doll Clothes video course and receive 9 Free Doll Clothes Patterns.  Yes, for only $49.94 you normally receive over 130 videos with great tips and tricks that make sewing doll clothes super easy AND 8 free doll clothes patterns which is already awesome value, BUT from now until midnight December 24, 2013 I’m giving away an additional doll clothes pattern of your choice.  Simply email me after completing the checkout process telling me which pattern you would like as your special Christmas bonus pattern and I will add it to your online membership.

If purchasing the online course to give as a Christmas gift you can order right up until Christmas Day as membership details are sent to you at the completion of the checkout process which means the recipient can log in straight away.  If ordering the DVD set and you live in the US, please order in the next few days to ensure delivery before December 25^th.  New orders for the DVD set to be delivered outside of the US may not arrive in time for Santa.

Also, if you’re looking for Christmas stocking fillers, doll clothes are perfect!  They’re inexpensive if you use fabric left over from other projects and super quick and easy to make which is great news if you are a little stretched for time.  Because all my patterns are accessed via my website as soon the checkout process is completed, you can start sewing straight away.  The video tutorials that come with every doll clothes pattern ensure a stress free experience, so get your doll clothes pattern now and start sewing!  For 18 Inch Doll Clothes Patterns click here and for 18 ½ inch Cabbage Patch Doll Clothes Patterns click here.

I wish you all a wonderful Christmas with your families and an awesome year in 2014.

Happy Sewing

Well, it’s inspiration time again.  Yes, time to share some of the wonderful photos that you have sent in and I am so thrilled to be sharing this first set of photos with you today because Sacha’s daughter is 12 years old and she has been very busy learning how to sew doll clothes for her American Girl dolls.  Although she has been sewing quilts for a number of years, this is the first time she has made doll clothes and I can see why she is so proud of the outfits she made all by herself.

Tere and her daughters have also been doing my How to Make Doll Clothes video course and they are so excited. ‘We have now finished two outfits for their American Girl dolls. So fun! Thank you!’

Annmary has sent in a photo of her Samantha modelling her beautiful new Summer Dress.

‘I really enjoyed working with it (the pattern), as the construction is so well thought-out, and the result is so pretty.  I am planning to hopefully make many more of these, as I have three very small granddaughters.  Since I look forward to guiding them in their early sewing, I am learning your methods, in order to be better prepared for that! 

As we all know Peggy (my guest blogger) loves to experiment and she saw a quartered dress on a little girl and really liked the idea.  So what did she do?  Well, she got to work and ….

‘The shorts or other pants patterns are easy to do but I had to play around with the tops and divide one down the middle to get the two tone effect.   With the dress pattern I split the top down the middle and added enough to make a seam allowance and did the same with the skirt.  Anyway, I thought I would share some my creations with you.’

What a great way to make a plain pattern super interesting!  Thanks so much for sharing this idea Peggy.

Amy did my How to Make Doll Clothes video course about a year ago now and when she has some spare time (and has finished her homework) she likes to make doll clothes and the following are all outfits that she has made recently.  She now has the confidence to experiment and make her own patterns or adjust patterns she has and I think she has done an awesome job.  I can see a junior fashion designer in the making!

Thanks again to everyone who has sent me in photos of their doll clothes creations, I absolutely love receiving them and I know my readers do too.

Happy Sewing

I have recently received a lot of enquiries from people desperate to find doll clothes patterns that will suit dolls other than the standard 18 Inch dolls and they are often very surprised to find that my doll clothes patterns will fit their different sized dolls without having to resize using the photocopier reduce or increase function.

No way you say…..Well, let me explain.

I’ll start with the popular Cabbage Patch kids dolls.  Over the years these dolls have come out in so many different sizes that it can often be confusing finding patterns to suit you doll.  Well, in my experience, I have found that the torso of the different size Cabbage Patch Kids dolls is often very similar and the main difference between my 14” CPK (from 1978) and the 18 ½” CPK (from 2004) that I have on my website is the length of the arms and legs and the size of the head.  This means that many of my patterns designed specifically for the 18 ½” CPK we still have available in Australia, will fit my 14” CPK.  For example, the photos below show my 18 ½” CPK Dressing Gown pattern worn by both dolls and also my 18 ½” CPK Shorts and Halter Top patterns.  The only adjustment that may be necessary if you prefer a shorter dressing gown, is to shorten the length – a really easy adjustment.

My 18 ½” CPK Summer Dress pattern is also easily adjusted to fit the smaller 14” CPK doll by simply shortening the skirt length about 2” and also the length of the bodice by say ½”.

Based on this information, I would imagine that the modern 14-16” CPK Toy Kids, the 15” CPK Preemie and the 17” CPK Original Newborn Baby would all have similar torso sizes and would be able to wear my 18 ½” CPK doll clothes patterns with only minor adjustments.

I do know that these patterns have been enlarged using the photo copier to fit the 20” CPK dolls available in Australia so I’m sure they could also be adjusted to suit the 22” CPK Original Kids dolls.

Now let’s have a look at the 18” American Girl doll and a smaller 15” cloth and plastic doll that I had in my collection of dolls.

Although there is several inches difference in the height of these two dolls, the torso is again a similar size.  The pictures below show the two dolls side by side and then the smaller doll wearing the Summer Nightie, Halter Top, Three Way Skirt and the Winter Pyjamas made from my 18” doll clothes patterns.  As you can see, they all fit really well and the only adjustments that would be necessary are the length of the straps on the summer nightie and the length of the sleeves and pants on the winter pyjamas.

If you were wanting to make a Summer Dress, it would simply involve shortening the length of the dress as you can see from these photos.  If the torso is a little shorter, you could also shorten the length of the bodice as I showed above with the Summer Dress on the smaller CPK  doll.

Another thing to remember is that patterns that use spandex/Lycra or a knit fabric, for example, my underpants, tights or one piece bathers patterns, there is some stretch in the fabric and so the one size is better able to fit a variety of doll sizes.

Not all patterns need to be resized just because your doll is taller or shorter than the doll that the pattern was intended for.  Often it is simply a case of shortening or lengthening the sleeve, pant leg or skirt pattern piece.  Don’t be afraid to experiment a little.

When buying doll clothes patterns from my website to use for different size dolls, the best thing to do is to compare your doll’s measurements to the measurements I have on my Doll Sizing page and if the length of torso, waist and neck measurements are similar, you should find that the patterns will fit your doll with only minor adjustments to the length of sleeves, pant leg or skirt.  If you are still unsure, please send me the measurements of your doll and I will advise further.

Happy Sewing

By Rosie Saw

Have you been thinking about buying my How to Make Doll Clothes Video Course but just haven’t gotten around to it yet!  Well, now’s the perfect time because with Christmas just around the corner, I’m feeling very jolly and have decided to start giving out my Christmas gifts a little early.

Firstly, if you’re a Cabbage Patch Doll lover and would love to purchase my How to Make Doll Clothes video course but receive the bonus patterns in the 18 ½” CPK doll clothes patterns size instead of the 18” doll clothes patterns size, then NOW you can!  Simply email me after completing the checkout process and let me know so that I can arrange that for you.  If you order the DVD set, you will still receive the CD with the 18” doll clothes patterns but I will then set you up with 12 months online membership so that you can access the 18 ½” CPK bonus patterns online!

Secondly, I’m sure you’ve already heard what awesome value my How to Make Doll Clothes video course is with over 130 instructional videos and 8 free doll clothes patterns…well now it’s even better value!

Yes, from now until midnight on the 24^th December, 2013 when you purchase my How to Make Doll Clothes video course I’m giving away an additional pattern of your choice absolutely free!  So whether you choose to do the online course for $49.94  or purchase the DVD set for $69.94 you will receive a total of 9 Free doll clothes patterns.   That’s up to $57.55 worth of doll clothes patterns absolutely free!

And as always, you also get to choose whether you do the course….

• online over 6 weeks which is just like going to classes but without having to travel (and you can watch the videos over and over again for 12 months),
• online access to all the course material and bonus patterns immediately so you can skip over the basic stuff and get right to all the great tips and tricks that make sewing doll clothes super easy,
• OR you can purchase the DVD set so that you can do the course now at your own pace and then pass the DVDs onto your children or grandchildren when they are ready to learn how to sew.   It doesn’t get any better than that.

‘Sew’ with Christmas coming, what are you waiting for?  click here to purchase my How to Make Doll Clothes video course now.

Happy Sewing

Wow, some of you have been very busy making doll clothes and I really appreciate you sending in these awesome photos to share and inspire others.

Donna has been very creative and altered my summer dressing gown pattern into a lovely top and matched it with long pants from my Winter PJ set.

Love the extra detail on the pants Donna.

Peggy has been working on building up her inventory ready for selling at Christmas markets.  Here are some of the gorgeous outfits she has made.

On the left is a beautiful summer outfit made from my Frill Hat Pattern, Halter Top and Capri Pants.  I love that everything matches so nicely.

On the right is another cool summer outfit made from my Crop Top and Sports Shorts doll clothes patterns.

The lavender Peggy used for the summer dress is so sweet and I love the matching cap.  The bright red halter top goes beautifully with the sports shorts and looks like Peggy has used her serger to do a rolled hem on the edge of the handkerchief top to give it a slightly different look.  Love them all Peggy and I wish you all the best at your Christmas markets

Alicia is so proud of her first project, a summer dress.  (see photo on left)   I think it looks absolutely gorgeous!  Katy has used my halter top doll clothes pattern for Elisabeth, her Precious Day doll from Gotz.  If you’d like to read Katy’s blog which features this outfit and see some more of her beautiful work you will find it at Kit’s Couture.

I love the variety of doll clothes that Betty has been sewing.  She has used a Halloween print fabric with my halter top and sarong patterns to create a cool Halloween outfit for her doll to wear when she isn’t dressed in her formal Witch costume!  She is also ready for winter with her Fur Trimmed Jacket that looks really stunning.  Betty has also done an awesome job turning my Funky Fur doll clothes pattern into a great Santa outfit.  Betty certainly looks ready for both Halloween and Christmas!

Well, I’m sure you’ll all agree that this has been a fantastic ‘Share and Tell’ and I can’t wait to see what you create next so keep sending in your photos, I love receiving them!

Until next time,

Happy Sewing

As you all know I love to receive photos of the gorgeous doll clothes outfits that you make with my patterns.  I also appreciate your feedback because this is what enables me to learn, improve and ultimately help make your experience sewing doll clothes so much more enjoyable.

‘Sew’ in this blog I am sharing with you some of the feedback and tips that my customers have discovered work best for them when making my doll clothes patterns.  You may find that these techniques also work better for you too.

Debbi wrote:

‘Hi Rosie,
I hope you don’t mind me offering my latest tip. I have been making heaps of frilled hats and have started sandwiching the brim in between the hat and lining, right sides together, leaving an opening, and then turning the hat the right way. I slip stitch the opening closed and then top stitch. This makes them reversible, but with a contrast brim and I think it makes the inside of the hat a bit neater as well. I did try to take a shortcut by closing the opening with a topstitch but it wasn’t a good idea!! I have also made the hats with a slightly wider brim, and sometimes added a Suffolk puff or flower. If you do make a wider brim it’s best to take a bit of length out so it’s not so gathered.
Kind regards,
Debbi’

One side (note the lace used in place of the frill on one hat)

Reverse Side

This method certainly gives the hat a neater finish and being reversible means it can be mixed and matched with lots more outfits.  These hats look so cute!  Thanks for this tip Debbi.  If you would like to make your own filled hat you will find my Frilled Hat Doll Clothes Pattern for the 18 inch dolls here and for the 18 1/2 inch Cabbage Patch dolls here.

Peggy wrote:

‘Hi Rosie,

I have been spending quite a bit of time at my sewing machine these past few days. The weather has been so cold and wet that I had to cheer myself up by doing some sewing. There are plenty of household chores I should be doing but I would rather be sewing.

Anyway, I have made some of your patterns and doing that frayed edge (on the handkerchief top) was quite time consuming and a bit of a chore.  I found that using a pin to help pull out the threads was not working as it was too hard to hold and the pin kept bending. My finger nails didn’t do well ether. I did decide to try the pointy end of my seam ripper and that worked better.’

Depending on what fabric you are using, the threads may be a little more difficult to remove so the seam ripper sounds perfect, thanks Peggy.  I do think it was worth the effort though because this outfit looks fantastic.  If you have a serger, drop the blade and try the rolled hem as it works wonderfully and is super quick too!

This Handkerchief top is one of my more popular doll clothes patterns, so if you would like to make one for your doll click here for the 18 inch doll clothes pattern and here for the 18 1/2 inch Cabbage Patch doll clothes pattern.

Finally, I received a question about how to ensure the edges of the fabric stay together evenly at the beginning and end of sewing when using the serger, especially when serging thick fabric.

I usually lift the presser foot and place the beginning of the two pieces of fabric that are pinned together directly under the needle of the serger rather than letting the feed dogs pull the fabric under the foot and up to the needles.  This works for the beginning of the fabric but I don’t have a ‘foolproof’ technique for the end of the fabric other than sewing a couple of stitches by hand or with the sewing machine first.  But this is an extra step that all takes time so it would be awesome if anyone has a tip that you could share with us on how you keep the ends of your fabric even when serging.

Also, if anyone has other tips they have discovered while sewing doll clothes and you would like to share them please email me and I will include them in future blogs.  Or if you have other questions you would like answered, let me know.

Happy Sewing

By Rosie Saw

With Halloween just over a month away, I thought it would be the perfect time to share some of the wonderful Halloween outfits you have created over the years using my Halloween doll clothes patterns.  Let’s put all these awesome photos in the cauldron, stir in some creativity and say the magic words…

‘Can you believe it’s almost time for ‘Trick or Treat’,

Where the children get lots of sweets to eat?

I guess that means it’s time to Sew and Stitch,

So let’s scratch that creative itch.

Take one of Rosie’s fun Halloween doll clothes patterns,

And add her video instructions with that funny ’ Aussie Accent!’

Now mix together with inspiration from others,

And you’ll create the most awesome Halloween Event!’

Here are some terrific variations of my popular Witch doll clothes pattern costume, with Karen even transforming her Witch into a Wizard with the wave of her wand over the sewing machine!

Next we have some pretty Fairies all ready to sprinkle lots of ‘Fairy Dust’ on anyone not having fun at Halloween.

Oh My Goodness, is that a Jack o’ Lantern hiding inside a Jack o’ Lantern full of sweet treats?  And oh how creepy those pumpkins below are looking!  Lots of fun can be had with my Pumpkin costume doll clothes patterns.

Now let’s take the Angle costume doll clothes patterns that we used last year and turn it into a Maid Marion costume.

And for those who want a more practical Halloween outfit for your doll, why not pick up some cool Halloween fabric from your favorite fabric store and make a Halloween dress using my summer dress doll clothes patterns.

Well, I hope this has inspired you all to get creative this Halloween and remember to send in photos of your creepy (or not so creepy) creations so that everyone can enjoy your sewing.

And don’t forget that if you can’t decide which Halloween doll clothes pattern to purchase, you can always buy the Halloween Doll Clothes Pattern Bundle and save 10%!  These bundles are available for both the 18 inch doll clothes patterns and the 18 ½ inch Cabbage Patch doll clothes patterns.

Happy Halloween Sewing