Cute button front skirt pattern for 18” dolls

Some styles are just perfect for dolls. I love the way a flat front yoke or waist band makes a doll outfit look like a mini person outfit.


This modern little skirt was inspired by a Vogue skirt design I saw in Australian Vogue Magazine. The little belt loops and belt are an easy way to glam up the skirt.

I noticed this skirt has a bit more gather and a button band down the front. That will be a good idea for a variation on this design. I will keep that in mind for another time.

Happy Doll Dressmaking,

Val

Vintage Skirt and Blouse for 18" dolls

Aren't vintage outfits cute on dolls?

I am really taken with the 50s designs for little girls and I love translating them into doll clothes.

In order to get a good idea of the type of clothes children used to wear in the 50s I looked up the archived pages of the Betsy McCall paper doll that came out in the McCalls magazine over several decades.

You can find the paper doll pages year by year HERE

You can find out more about Betsy McCall HERE

The page I started with is July 1951 and Betsy is going to visit her grandma on a farm.  I have recreated the red skirt style and the blouse.

Happy Doll Dressmaking,

Val

The 50s L-seam petticoat pattern for 18” dolls

I love to design and when I started designing petticoats I just kept going. After 5 designs, including the drafting, the sewing and the instruction writing I decided it was time to get back to some dresses. I wouldn't expect you to make all 5 petticoats at once but making a dress and a petticoat at the same time is an easy way to create a beautiful outfit.
You will also find some panties patterns in the pattern library that are easy to make as well.

It's always fun to complete an outfit with underwear and there is no need to use the same old petticoat pattern for every dress you make. I created this petticoat collection to showcase some of the best designs from different eras so you can choose the perfect design to suit the dress you have made.

The 50s L seam petticoat

• Perfect fit for dolls like American Girl Doll or Our Generation Dolls

Don't you hate it when a pattern doesn't fit your doll!

When I create patterns I include enough ease to help them fit a range of doll tummies. This petticoat just fits my vintage Kit with a waist of 11", yet it still looks good on the slimmer dolls. The tapered waist on the bodice pattern pieces make it easy to adjust the waist by just straightening out the side edge before you cut out.

• Full step by step instructions

Do you like instructions that are made for printing out?

Do you like the idea of minimal pages with clear neat diagrams?

Your instruction pages consist of line diagrams with some shading and easy to read 12pt text. This makes them perfect for printing out.

The diagrams clearly depict each step and you will find the right side of the fabric lightly shaded and the linings marked with a simple hash mark to make it obvious what you are looking at. Since the diagrams can be smaller than photos and still show the details, patterns written by me rarely have more than 8 pages.

The clarity of the diagrams and the size of the text make the instruction pages perfect for making into 1/2 page booklets using the booklet button in Adobe Reader.

You can read more about this petticoat and more photos in this blog post

These petticoats will be added to the newsletter pattern vault for subscribers.

See the signup box at the top of the blog.

Happy Doll Dressmaking,
Val