I’m thrilled to be releasing my new 3 Way Skirt Doll Clothes Pattern suitable for 18 inch dolls such as the American Girl ® doll.  This awesome pattern is ‘3 patterns in 1’.   Included are pattern pieces, written instructions and detailed video tutorials to make three different skirts.  And with a little tweaking of your own, it’s possible to create many more styles!

Firstly, the Basic Skirt is a great beginner project and by just altering the length of the skirt or adding trims, you can create many different looks, and it uses such a tiny amount of fabric.

Next, the Frill Skirt is super cute and again by just altering the length of the frill, you can make a lovely peasant skirt.  Or repeat the instructions for adding the first frill and you can make a multi-layered skirt – just remember to add extra length to each additional layer.

And finally, the Pleated Skirt is perfect as a Cheer Leading skirt, Basket Ball skirt or use a pretty fabric and make a pretty ‘dress-up’ skirt.

All skirts are super easy to make and the variations are endless so I know you will have lots of fun sewing this wonderful 3 Way Skirt Doll Clothes Pattern.

Remember, when you purchase my downloadable PDF patterns and written instructions, you also receive LIFETIME access to my online video tutorial where I show you step-by-step how to make this great doll clothes pattern.   

And for everyone looking for the 18 ½ inch Cabbage Patch size, I will be releasing this pattern soon.

Happy Sewing

Remember a couple of weeks ago, Peggy showed us how to make a pair of underpants from the top part of a ladies sock?  Well today Peggy is going to show us how to make a top for your doll using the bottom of that same sock so you can end up with a cute two piece bathing suit or underwear set for your doll.

 1. Cut a tube piece about 2-3 inches long from the middle of the foot portion of the sock.

 2. Use fold over elastic to encase the top and bottom edges and pin in place. Zigzag elastic to sock.

3. Make 2 straps by folding the elastic in half and attaching them to the top edge of your top. We now have a two piece bathing suit, front and…

4. back views

Thanks Peggy for sharing this wonderful tip with us all.

Peggy also says, ‘It is possible to open the back and put velcro on it to close again, especially if the sock tube is loose enough to have the extra fabric to fold under. For this doll the tube was snug and it would have been challenging to have enough to close properly again with velcro.’

A one piece bathing suit could also be made using Peggy’s tip to make underpants from the last blog but bring the top of the sock up till it is under the armpits (instead of the waist or hips).  Then add the straps as she has here.

Peggy says she has ‘also made panties with the leftover foot pieces of sock and added elastic to the waist. The possibilities are endless when using socks, and when you end up with a sock that has mysteriously lost its mate, you can still make use of the remaining one for the doll.  I am sure there are plenty of other things to do with them if I play with it long enough.’

Peggy’s last paragraph in her email to me made me laugh and I just had to share it with you all.

‘The best thing about sewing doll clothes is that you can so easily recycle used clothing and make some great outfits. I spend a lot of money at second hand stores and find all sorts of great deals and then make some really interesting outfits. The other thing I like about making doll clothes is that the dolls don’t grow out of them and if a seam is itchy or something, they aren’t going to complain.’

Thanks again Peggy, I’m sure everyone has enjoyed your tutorials.

Remember, if you would like to know more about making doll clothes the easy way, please visit my How to Make Doll Clothes Video Course page.

Happy Sewing

By Rosie Saw

Today I’ve got another tip from Peggy on how to make a pair of doll clothes underpants from a ladies sock so again this is perfect for using those odd socks that we all end up with.

1. Pull the sock onto your doll with the top of the sock at the waist or hips and then mark the crotch level with a pin or pen. Remove the sock from the doll and cut across the sock at this point.

2. Fold the sock piece in half vertically and pin to keep from slipping when you cut it in the next step.

3. Cut a wedge shape off the bottom corner on the side that has two folds. In this photo the left side has one fold and will be the centre front and back of the pants so you cut from the bottom right side.

   4. Open the sock out and you can see the pants take shape.  Because the leg openings were cut together, they will be the same size.

5. Peggy does a rolled edge with her serger around the leg opening. You could do a zigzag stitch if you don’t have a serger. Then serge or stitch the crotch seam with right sides together.

 6. The elastic edge at the top of the sock becomes the waistband and it fits beautifully.

Peggy has since used fold-over elastic on the leg openings and attaches it before sewing the crotch seam.  This give a nicer finish on the edges.

As you can see from the photos above, Peggy loves making matching socks and underpants.  In the coming weeks Peggy will show us how to make a simple top to match with these underpants.

Thanks Peggy for sharing this wonderful tip with us all.

If you would like to make some underpants for your 18 inch doll or 18 ½ inch Cabbage Patch doll using an old t-shirt and a little elastic, I have a lovely underpants doll clothes pattern that is easy to make and I’ve been told is, “the best panties pattern piece ever!”

Happy Sewing

By Rosie Saw

Gosh, I just don’t know where the time is going.  I’m a little late with sharing your photos from February but I guess it’s better late than never.

Lynne is an Aussie who has been making a new wardrobe for her granddaughter’s American Girl doll.  Lynne’s challenge has been to make these clothes without having a model to try them on as her granddaughter is living in the US at the moment.

Lynne extended the sleeves on my summer dressing gown doll clothes pattern and made this lovely chenille winter dressing gown although she did find the thicker chenille fabric a little tricky to work with.  Lynne has done a great job and I can see why,  ‘Hailey is thrilled’.

Suzanne has been having lots of fun with my How to Make Doll Clothes course and says, ‘Thank you so much for all the work you put into your patterns and tutorials.  The tutorials are invaluable.  I had never sewn a hem or a casing and I was able to make those clothes!  I am on week 4 of your course and I am learning so much. These wonderful photos show Elizabeth,  McKenna, Julie and Marie Grace proudly wearing their new clothes.  Suzanne has done an awesome job and I love the retro look.

Pila has added puff sleeves to my summer dress pattern and finished it off with some gorgeous lace.  Her granddaughter,  Gabrielita thinks her doll, Maria, looks beautiful and she now wants a dress just like the doll’s dress!!!!

I think you have started something here Pila – have fun creating matching dresses

Jill has also been having fun with my How to Make Doll Clothes course and posted these photos to my Face Book page.  I thought they were just too cute not to include in my blog!  I love the bright colors and the big smiles.  I look forward to seeing more doll clothes creations from Jill.

Katy has not touched a sewing machine for 25 years and is also loving my How to Make Doll Clothes course.   She told me, ‘Your video was incredibly good.  Each time I struggled with the instructions, you were there on the video to make it all clear.’

Here’s Kit in her party shorts and a sporty tee shirt with the raglan seam picked out in yellow piping to match the yellow balloons on the shorts.  Another way to add interest to the t-shirt pattern is to use a contrasting color for the sleeves and why not do both – contrasting sleeves and piping!

The summer dress on the right was made with lawn which Katy found, ‘was hell to work with – frayed all over the place – never again!’   Katy ended up lining the bodice and skirt with interfacing to give the material some substance.  This is great information to pass on to everyone – fabric that looks beautiful may not necessarily be so much fun to sew with and you may also need to modify the pattern a little to make it work.  Katy also used bias binding for the waist and hem trim, which gives a slightly different effect from my pattern but it has turned out really pretty and Kit looks pleased with her new dress too.

 Thanks so much to everyone for sending in your photos and sharing your sewing experiences with me.  It’s fantastic to hear so many stories and receive your feedback.  I’m sure everyone else loves to see your work too so keep them coming in.

By the Way (BTW) what does everyone think of my new title ‘Share & Tell’?  It just came to me as I was finishing off this blog and thought the new title is kinda cute.

Happy Sewing

There must be a lot of hungry sewing machines out there as I have received the same question twice in the last couple of months so figured it would be a good idea to share my tips on how to keep your munching machines under control.

When sewing doll clothes you are often sewing tiny seams with small bits of fabric and if you are not careful, your machine will gobble up your fabric as you begin to sew.  To avoid this happening there are a number of things you need to do.  Firstly, it is really important to ensure that you have a good needle because if it is blunt or bent, it will not go through the fabric easily and tend to want to push it down into the needle plate.

Next, you must hold tightly to the needle and bobbin threads as you begin to sew.  Doing this not only helps to keep the fabric on top of the needle plate, it also prevents the threads from tangling and nobody wants that. If you are still having difficulty, try moving the beginning of the fabric past the needle a little further toward the back of the machine before lowering the presser foot.

Another trick is to use a piece of tissue paper, or even normal writing paper, under the beginning of the fabric, drop the presser foot, hold the threads and start sewing.  When you’re finished sewing, simply tear away the paper.  This method also helps to stop your sewing machine munching the end of the fabric when you do your reverse stitches if you go too close or past the end.  The photos below show this technique when attaching elastic to the beginning of the leg in my underpants pattern.

Another tip that Katy, one of my wonderful customers, told me about was to start on one piece of double fabric and then feed the fabric you are sewing with into the machine immediately afterwards, like train carriages.  I can certainly see how this would work, but as Katy said it can be fiddly.

I hope these tips help to keep your munching machine under control and ultimately makes sewing your doll clothes easier.  Thanks Katy for your tip and happy sewing to you all.

Happy Sewing

By Rosie Saw

I was recently asked why I place my pins in the same direction as the stitching and not across the stitching line.  It was suggested that placing the pins perpendicular to your row of stitching means you can sew straight over the pins and pull them out when you are finished sewing the seam making the process a little quicker.  Yes, I agree this definitely makes sewing a little quicker and I do use this technique sometimes e.g. at the beginning of sewing thicker fabric together to stop the edges from moving.  However, there are a number of reasons why I prefer to pin along the stitching line.

Firstly, I find that it helps to hold the fabric in place a little better especially when sewing smaller items like doll clothes.  Secondly, when you have a tiny ¼” hem it is definitely easier to place the pin in the direction of sewing rather than across the tiny hem (see photo at right).

Thirdly, it is easier to press the fold of a hem if the pins are away from the fold line – I can just press all along the fold line and remove the pins after pressing.  If the pins are sticking out over the fold, I have to either press over the pins or press around the pins (see photo at left).

Another reason I pin in this fashion is because I use my serger quite a bit and you really can’t afford to hit the pins with your cutting blade as the metal pin damages the blade.  Because the serger sews much quicker than the sewing machine, you really do have to be on the ball and stop before reaching the pin if it is sticking out in front of the cutting blade (perpendicular).  When I first started using a serger I didn’t take my foot off the gas quick enough and hit a pin with the cutting blade and apart from getting the pin jammed, I made a dint in the blade.  Now I always place my pins along the sewing line when serging because if I don’t remove the pin in time, it is not so much of a drama.

I have also hit a pin with my needle while sewing over it and this scared the beegeebers out of me, think I was using a knit stitch at the time, so I am a little cautious when stitching over pins.

So I guess pinning in the direction of stitching works best for me for the majority of the time.  But as long as you don’t have the head of the pin going into the presser foot first, which makes it very difficult to remove, you should ultimately do what works best for you as neither way is more correct – both ways are perfectly fine.

Let me know which way you prefer to place your pins and why.

Happy Sewing

By Rosie Saw

There was such a wonderful response from my blog post where Peggy shared her tips on making a pair of tights for your doll from a ladies sock, so I’m sure you will enjoy the following tutorial, again from Peggy, on how to make a pair of socks for your 18 inch American Girl or other sized doll from a ladies sock.

1. Sock lying flat

2. Decide on the length you want the sock  plus enough to cover the length  of the foot. Mark the sock with a pin  and cut straight across- usually between 4-6 inches down from the top  of the cuff. You can just see the pin in the picture above.

3. Sock portion cut to desired length

4. Cut sock up both sides

5. to make 2 pieces

6. Fold each piece in half, right sides together and pin

7. Serge a rolled edge hem or sew a small zigzag or knitt stitch from the top down to the bottom and then across the bottom edge.

8. Turn to right side

9. Completed sock on doll

Peggy often does the same thing with the foot section of the sock, but she has to do a rolled hem around the top opening and then join the side and toe seams with a rolled hem stitch as you don’t have the top cuff to act as the top of the sock.

If you find it difficult to keep the edges together when sewing or serging, you may prefer to try the following.

1. Mark the point where you would like the bottom of the sock to be with a pin
2. Mark the centre of the top of the sock with a pin
3. On the left side of the top pin, stitch a small zigzag or knit stitch down to the pin at the bottom and then stitch out to the left side.
4. On the right side of the top pin, stitch a small zigzag or knit stitch down to the pin at the bottom and then stitch out to the right side.
5. Make sure to leave enough room between the two rows of stitching from the top down so that you can cut between them
6. Cut across the bottom and up the centre
7. Turn to right side and Voila!

If you have suitable fabric in your stash, you could also very easily make socks for your doll by cutting two rectangle pieces approx 3″ x 4-6″  (8cm x 10-15cm) depending on how much stretch your fabric has and how long you want the socks to be.  Hem the top of each rectangle (one of the shortest sides), fold in half as Peggy has in step 6 above and then sew the side and toe seams.  Turn to the right side and you have a cute pair of socks for your doll.

It was fantastic to receive all these photos and instructions from Peggy and she has sent more tutorials on making underpants and a top from socks too that I will share in coming blogs.  Thanks so very much Peggy for taking the time to share your ideas with us.

If you would like to know more about making doll clothes please check out my How to Make Doll Clothes video course.

Happy Sewing

By Rosie Saw

Happy New Year everyone, I hope you all enjoyed this special holiday time with your families just as much as I did.  It’s great to be back and I am really looking forward to introducing new patterns and tips this year and of course, hearing more of your sewing adventures.

I thought I would start the year off by sharing more of your wonderful photos.  Firstly, we have more beautiful doll clothes from Crystal….she really should consider selling her doll clothes as they are awesome!  The first three suggest that her daughter is a huge soccer fan (love the colors – green and gold are the Aussie sporting colors!)  Crystal has used the same fabric for the handkerchief top and capri pants, the summer dress and the sports shorts and crop top combo.

Same summer dress pattern, more gorgeous dresses……

One more summer dress using fabric depicting Dorothy in a scene from the Wizard of Oz, so cute.  Next is a halter top and sarong combo using pink and black which is another favorite color combination.  Another owl print crop top and sports shorts set (we know from earlier photos that Crystal loves owls) and finally some froggy camo print winter pyjamas.  Phew!

I missed one of Peggy’s Funky Fur outfits in my last customer photo blog so have included it here.  Peggy also made some cute mittens and shoes to complete the look – it will certainly brighten a dull winter’s day.  Margaret is a new member to join Rosie’s Doll Clothes Patterns and has sent in a photo of her pretty denim and pink capri pants, I can’t wait to see what Margaret makes next.

Again, thanks to everyone for sending in your photos, it gives me a huge thrill to see the wonderful outfits you make using my patterns and I hope that it gives others inspiration to try new color combinations or even just the confidence to ‘have a go and make your own doll clothes, it really is easy and lots of fun’.

Happy Sewing

Is it just me or does Christmas come around quicker these days?  I remember as a kid, Christmas always seemed to be a long way away and the count-down to Santa’s arrival took FOREVER!   But these days with growing kids and a business to run, if honestly felt like we had only just taken the Christmas tree down a month or so ago and the kids were asking to put it up again!  I’d swear someone is stealing time.

But anyway, here I am again writing my Christmas blog and reflecting on the year just gone.  We had some really exciting things happen at Rosie’s Doll Clothes Patterns this year.  The first was the relaunch of my website with a great new look and easier navigation.  I have had some wonderful feedback and will continue to tinker with things in a quest to make my website even better.

I also introduced the Free Beanie pattern so you could see just how detailed and helpful my video tutorials really are.  This has been super popular with many of you taking advantage of this great offer and becoming part of the Rosie’s Doll Clothes Patterns family.

The most exciting thing to happen this year has been the release of my How to Make Doll Clothes course as a DVD set.  It has been really well received and the feedback has been awesome.  Some of you have purchased it just so you can go back and look at the videos whenever you need to and the reason I loved most was so that ‘when the grandchildren come to stay, they can spend some time sewing doll clothes with mama.’   What wonderful memories that family will have.

Next year promises to be another great year with new patterns, new special offers, more great tips and informative blogs.  Keep your photos, questions and feedback coming in and I will continue to share them with you all.

Thank you so much for being part of the Rosie’s Doll Clothes Patterns family and joining me on this sewing journey.  Have a wonderful Christmas with your families and may 2013 bring everything you wish for and more.

Merry Christmas and Happy Sewing

PS.  If you want to make a Santa outfit for your doll like the one above, visit my blog from last Christmas where I tell you how I did it….it’s super easy!

Although my tights pattern for both the Cabbage Patch dolls and 18 inch dolls are really quick and easy patterns to make up, sometimes it can be a little tricky to find just the right stretch fabric.  So this month I am sharing a tutorial on making doll tights from a ladies sock that one of my wonderful customers, Peggy, has sent me.  Peggy loves to create doll clothes using socks and was kind enough to send me some step-by-step pictures and instructions.   She says, ‘The nice thing about it is that it is easy to find so many great pairs of socks in really great colours and designs.’

I am sure you will enjoy this tutorial as much as I did.

1. New ladies knee sock lying flat

2. Pull the sock onto the doll so that the top of the sock is at waist level, mark the bottom of the foot and crotch level with pins

3. Take the sock off the doll and lay it flat again before cutting. Top pin marks the crotch, bottom pin marks bottom of foot. Cut across the sock at the bottom pin level

4. Move the crotch level pins out to the sides and cut up the side creases from the bottom to the level of the crotch pin marks on both sides (about 6-7” for an American Girl doll). The sock is now split up the sides to crotch level

5. Turn the sock so that two sides are formed to make legs

6. Turn the piece inside out and pin across the bottom, up the inside of that leg, across the crotch and down the opposite side again

7. Serge a rolled hem across the bottom, up the inside of the leg, across the crotch area and down the other side. Be careful to catch all the fabric well in the crotch area so that it doesn’t run, sometimes it is necessary to go over that area a second time

(If you don’t have a serger, sew using a small zigzag stitch or knit stitch.  I would also recommend dropping the cutting blade if you use the serger. If you want to make tights without feet, Peggy finishes the lower edge with the rolled hem the length she wants before sewing the leg seams.)

8. Turn to the right side and put on your doll. Tights fit doll beautifully. Natural ribbing top band of the knee sock becomes the waist band of the tights

9. Stripy socks make stunning tights

Thanks so much Peggy for sharing your tips on sewing doll tights from a ladies sock, I’m sure there will be lots of people out buying colourful ladies socks to turn into cute tights for their dolls this Christmas.  If you would like more tips and tricks on how to make doll clothes the easy way my video course is the perfect resource.

Happy Sewing

By Rosie Saw