How to Sew Doll Clothes

The Materials

• Needles
• Thread
• Fabric
• Closure (snaps or buttons)
• Scissors
• Pins
• A pattern (or your own measurements)
• Pencil or chalk

Many of these materials can be found on the Dollcrafter Marketplace. We even sell kits for sewing specific doll outfits.

Optional Materials

• Iron
• Pin cushion
• Measuring tape and/or a ruler
• Other decorations (beads, ribbons, lace, etc…)

The Basics

Patterns or measurements

To make any sort of garment the first you need to know is what you are making and how you will make it. In sewing the instructions to making a garment are called a pattern. A pattern is made up of pieces of paper that you trace on to your fabric to cut out the right shape for whatever you are sewing. A pattern will also include instructions for how those pieces of fabric are to be sewn together. Some people may opt to measure the doll and cut the fabric as they go instead of using a pattern. These people are still technically creating a pattern they are just directly tracing their measurements onto the fabric instead of on paper first. Some items such as skirts can easily be made without a pattern as they only require a few measurements while other pieces such as sleeves require more particular measurements and are more easily made with a pattern.

Preparing the fabric

Once you know what you are making then you can choose your colors of thread and fabric that will make up your garment. To prep your fabric for sewing you can use either pencil or chalk to trace your pattern or measurements onto your fabric. (Make sure not to use anything like pen or marker to write on your garment as those will not wash out.) Even though pencil and chalk will wash out of your garment we generally do not wash doll clothes so it is good practice to trace your pattern or measurements on the bad side of your fabric. The bad side of the fabric is simply the backside of the fabric that you will not see and will be on the inside of your garment once it is sewn together. Once everything has been traced onto your fabric then you can cut it out using scissors, fabric scissors are preferred however many beginners do not have them so regular scissors are fine to.

Needles & pins

To sew the pieces of your fabric together you will of course use a needle with your choice of thread attached. Some people can confuse pins and needles when reality they serve very different functions. Pins are used to pin your pieces of fabric together while you sew. Essentially, pins temporarily hold your fabric in place while you sew with the needle. Once you have sewn past the area that a pin is holding in place you simply remove it.

Seams & hems

When you are learning to sew you you often hear the terms seams and hems. Seams hold two pieces of fabric together while hems are used to prevent the edges of the fabric from fraying. Whenever you are sewing a seam together it is important to make sure that the good sides of the fabric are facing each other. This means that from your perspective as you sew you will be looking at the bad side of the fabric. This is so that when you flip the fabric to the good side the seam will be hidden on the inside of the fabric. To sew a hem you simple fold the fabric over itself this time with the good side of the fabric showing and the edge of the fabric folded over to the inside of the garment. To account for seams and hems most patterns will include a seam allowance which is how wide the seams and hems should be. If you are measuring the fabric yourself it is important to account for how much fabric the seams and hems will take up and add that into your measurements.

Closures

The last thing to consider for a garment is what closure you will use. Most commonly this takes the form of snaps or velcro. Many sewing their own doll clothes choose snaps since they cannot snag the fabric like velcro often does. Most often you will add these to the back of the garment to hold it shut. Sometimes other things like zippers or buttons can be used for closures, but they are more complicated and harder to find in doll size. If your fabric is stretchy it may not require a closure but make sure to test that it is stretchy enough a head of time.

Other elements

Now that you know the basics there are some other things to consider. Firstly you may choose to use beads, ribbons, or lace to add embellishments to your garment. You may also use an iron to smooth out any wrinkles in the fabric that you will be sewing with. Many experienced sewists also choose to utilize a pin cushion to put their needles and pins into when they are not using them. This also makes it less likely you will accidentally get pricked while trying to pull your needles and pins out of another type of container. Finally, if you are going to be using your own measurements to make your garment you will need a measuring tape and a ruler. The measuring tape is flexible and you can get soft ones specifically for sewing. You can use the measuring tape to measure around different parts of the doll's body. The ruler can be used to transfer the measurements you collect onto flat fabric or paper. Some use a measuring tape to transfer their measurements onto a flat surface, however, it is not a precise as using a ruler.