I love sewing 18" doll clothes. It seemed a natural progression to start designing them too. You can read all about my life journey on valspiers.substack.com
There are two ways to get the hacks. You can watch the videos and DIY or you can buy the pack from my Etsy shop. (Coming soon the the shop)
This video shows how to hack the pattern. This blog shows how to sew the shirt.
If you find this sort of tutorial useful please like and subscribe to my You Tube channel.
Hack C has a few small changes with the front and back yokes and it includes cute contrast western cuffs above the regular cuffs.
This is how I put it together.
The Back
Fold the yokes and the lower back in half and press to crease.
Stay stitch the lower back either side of the valley. Snip the valley to the stay stitching.
Pin the wrong side of the lower back to the right side of your yoke lining piece.
Just on the first half.
It doesn't matter whether you sew on the yoke lining or the main yoke first.
Stitch to the snip.
With the needle down, raise the foot and turn and move the pieces so you can continue stitching to the other side.
Fold the yoke and cut out a little V so it will sit flat.
Pin the right side of the lower back to the right side of the main yoke.
Follow the stitching line for the yoke lining to where it changes direction at the snip.
Turn and arrange the pieces so you can stitch to the other side.
Cut the little V in the main yoke.
Trim the seam to reduce the bulk at the point.
Pin the yokes together at the shoulders and gently pull to the left with your left hand while you press the seam flat.
Aligned
Make sure the shoulders are aligned
Not aligned
Keep the shoulders pinned together and add trim.
Enclosing the rick rack
If you are going to enclose the trim in the seam for piping or rick rack you will need to sew it in place on the main yoke piece before stitching it to the lower back.
The Fronts (adding trim after sewing the fronts)
I like to line everything up in the way that it will look when it is sewn together.
This helps me be sure that I will get a left and a right front when my fabric doesn't have a proper wrong side.
Flip the main yokes so they sit on the lower fronts right sides together. Pin and stitch.
Flip the yoke linings so they end up right side towards the wrong side of the lower backs. Stitch.
Press up one yoke.
Then press up the other yoke so the shoulders align and the seams are flat.
Pin the shoulders in place for the yokes and add the trim.
Enclosing the rick rack on the fronts
If you are enclosing piping or rick rack then you will need to sew it to the right side of the main yokes first.
Button Bands
Now, for some reason I kept sewing the shoulder seams before I did the button bands even though I wanted to do the button bands first. Because the shirt is so small, having the back and fronts sewn together at the shoulders didn't make it any harder to sew on the button bands.
I have always wanted to make a shirt with a contrasting button band.
I haven't bothered up until now because I thought it seemed a bit tricky to get it just right.
I was right. My first go had it completely in the wrong place and folding in the wrong place.
I didn't see this until I tried to sew it.
I struggle with 'seeing' things in 3D and even when I'm sure I have it right it turns out wrong!
The second half of the video shows how I created the new pattern pieces for this hack from the original pattern pieces. If you watch it in You Tube please hit the like button and subscribe. There will be lots more Pattern Hack videos.
I needed the centre of the button band to be the centre front of the shirt and this tricked me up a bit. I had to place and fold and try it out a few times to get everything in the right place.
This is all I had to do.
Cut the front shirt along the centre front line.
The new seam line for the front is 1/4" from the cut line
Add 1/2" to the band edge furthest from the shirt front. Zag the top edge up to match the zig next to it.
Your new seam line is 1/4" from the cut edge.
To make the front yoke draw a horizontal line halfway down the armhole.
Cut it and add 1/4" seam allowance to each cut edge.
It's really easy to sew up once the pattern pieces are right. Just one seam, two folds and a topstitching row.
I've decided to name the Hack Packs with numbers because I know I will do more than one pack for some of the patterns. But inside the pack I am including 3 hacks. So what will I label them as?
I am going with Pack 1 Hack A , Pack 1 Hack B and Pack 1 Hack C
On the pattern pieces I need the name of the original pattern as well. There is only so much room on a doll clothes pattern piece so I can't just keep adding to the name non stop. I now have 3 lines of title.
1837 Everyday Shirt Lower back Pack 1 Hack B
It seems trivial as I am writing about it but if you drop a pattern piece under the table and you find it again 3 days later you have to know where it goes.
So let's get to the tutorial part for 1837 Everyday shirt Pack 1 Hack B
Cutting it out
I rarely have a piece of fabric that is uncut. I had just enough of this cute pink checked spot to make a shirt. Putting pattern pieces on the bias tends to take up a bit more space too.
I cut out these pieces then refolded the fabric to get the sleeves, cuffs and another 2 front yokes in.
I couldn't fit the collar so making the collar from a contrast fabric made this shirt possible. Adding contrast features is a good way to use up pieces of fabric that are too small for a whole garment.
Marking important points with pins
From early on in my doll dressmaking journey I have been marking notches or dots with a pin in the fabric. I don't even use those pattern marking conventions anymore on my pattern pieces. Since I always say put a pin in to mark things I might start putting a drawing of a pin on the pattern piece to show where the marker pin goes.
It is certainly overkill to sew tailor's tacks on doll clothes garment pieces.
If a dot has to be marked I put a dot on the pattern piece then I fold it in half and cut it to make a hole. I then lay it on the fabric and use a pencil to mark a dot through the hole.
For the lower back of this hack you need to mark where the two back pleats go. If you are making the pattern pieces for yourself you need to use the lower back piece you made for Hack A and mark each pleat fold halfway from the centre back to the armhole edge. Mark one then transfer the mark to the other side with another pin.
The other pieces you have to mark just for safety are the button bands. It is fairly obvious with end has the curves and will be at the neck but it is a good idea to put a pin on the right side of each button band at the neck edge. I haven't got a picture of me doing that but you can see that making sure you have right side down and the curved bit at the top could be tricky.
Back Pleats
Because this pleat is going to be a faux flat felled seam you need to fold it wrong sides together.
Pin it in place and stitch 3/8" from the fold.
I pressed my pleats towards the armhole but I think I will do it towards the centre next time.
Stitch it down close to the fold to secure it. Do both pleats.
Back Yoke
Lay one yoke piece right side down on the right side of the back. Pin and stitch it in place. Lay the other yoke right side down on the wrong side of the back and stitch through all 3 layers. Press each yoke up over the seam allowance. Top stitch close to the seam along the yoke.
Front Yoke
Lay a front yoke piece on a lower front so the straight edges of each piece line up and the armhole edges are both on the same side. All the yoke pieces have to go right side down. Pin and stitch.
Lay the other yoke piece right side down on the inside again making sure your straight edges and your armhole edges are in the right place. Pin and stitch through all layers.
Press one yoke up then the other one making sure the 2 yoke pieces sit perfectly on top of each other. Top stitch close to the seam along the yoke.
Button Bands
Lay a button band right side down on the wrong side of a front so that the curved edge of the band is at the neck edge of the front. Pin it and stitch it in place.
Press the seam allowance and the band away from the shirt. Trim off a tiny bit of the front where the yoke seam is quite thick.
Use the first dip in the neck edge of the button band to make the first fold in the band. It should measure about 1/2". Press.
Fold the band again using the first fold as a guide. Press. Pin the band to the front so the fold just covers the stitching line. Stitch it down close to the fold.
Complete the other button band the same way.
Shoulder Seams
It is a snap to hide the shoulder seams.
Press under 1/4" on the shoulder edge of the main front yoke piece. Place a front and the back shirt wrong sides together at the shoulder edge and pin together the lining yokes only. The lining yokes will be right sides together.
Stitch the seam and press it open.
Lay the main front yoke over the seam with the 1/4" fold tucked under. Pin it. Tops stitch across the shoulder close to the folded edge of the main front yoke.
Do both shoulders.
Finish off with the collar, then the sleeves, then the hem.
You can use sleeves from other designs. The short gathered sleeve with a cuff band from 1804 would look good on this shirt.
It is best to use sleeves that have a bit of gather in the sleeve head. This means you won't have to worry about the sleeve fitting this armhole and you can use a favourite sleeve from any design not just mine.
As with the other shirts I have been making I just put velcro patches down the front and didn't add any buttons.
If you need a shirt pattern to get started with your fun hacks journey you can't go past my 1837 Everyday Shirt pattern.
