How to make adjustments for thicker fabric when sewing doll clothes

Thicker fabric makes a huge difference when you sew small garments.

You can't just wake up one morning and say, "I'm going to use denim instead of quilting cotton".

I would also like to add that if you have trouble with your hands or fingers such as arthritis you will find it difficult to thread elastic through the denim waist band. If you really need denim trousers I recommend the flat front waist trouser patten 1812. There is only half the distance to thread the elastic.

My example is the button tab capris I made end of 2022.

They need:

• a button tab
• a stitched on waist band 
• and cuffs included in the inseam

All these require some special treatment to make them work in denim instead of light weight  quilting cotton.

Button Tab

If you try to make a strip with a seam in it for the tab you won't be able to turn it right side out. That's my observation anyway.

You could possible sew the seam with right sides out then centre the seam in the back. Just fold down the end like I did in my instructions before you do the seam.

I already had a pattern piece that was going to work if I folded it in 3 to make the tab. This piece was my waist band. I didn't have to measure up a special strip and try to get it just the right width.

I'm all for use what you've got with as little changes as possible.

Not having seam allowances kept my button tab nice and flat.

Waist Band

To make the pockets fit neatly I needed a sew on waist band. This means more seam allowances. So I decided to finish the raw edge for the inside of the waist band and have it overlap the waist seam as one layer rather than turn the edge under. It's not as neat but it also isn't as bulky.

This is my sample garment so this waist band is not as neat as I would like. I thought I could get away without pinking the edge, but not so. In the instructions I have said to pink the edge then zig zag it.

But you can see what I mean about less bulk.

One last thing about the waist band. You have to use 1/2" elastic. 1/4" elastic isn't strong enough to pull-up the denim waist band. The denim stretches out the elastic instead and the waist doesn't hug the doll.

Cuffs and the Inseam

With quilting cotton fabric I generally take the easy way and just sew the inseam with the cuffs rolled up. No-one can see much of that section when the doll wears the pants so cuffs with a seam through them doesn't really matter.

But with the denim, all those layers in the cuffs makes sewing the seam really hard. So you have to unroll the cuffs and wiggle things around a bit so you get the inseams together neatly for sewing.

Sew the seam then roll up the cuffs again. Denim is pretty stiff so the cuff tends to just stay in place.

There is not a lot of room between the tab and the in seam so you just have to make sure you don't accidentally catch some of the cuff.

Look out for this design in my shop before the end of 2022.

Happy Doll Dressmaking,

Val

3 Essential Tops to add to your doll clothes wardrobe

1. An open neck blouse with a convertible collar

2. An everyday shirt with a business collar

3. An easy T with dolman sleeves

An open neck blouse with a convertible collar 

A blouse with a convertible collar can be warn with the neck open or buttoned up for two completely different looks. It works for summer or winter with short, long or no sleeves.

You can swap in most gathered sleeves for different looks.

Enlarge the pattern by 2 to 5% and you get pyjama tops and jackets.

An everyday shirt with a business collar

A business style shirt is perfect for boys. It looks great on girls for a cowboy look or as an over shirt for a tank top. You can swap sleeves around to make it more girly with gathered sleeve heads.

Enlarge the pattern by 5% or so to use thicker fabrics like denim or pinwheel corduroy more of a jacket look.

An easy T with dolman sleeves

Want a knit top without too much fiddling. The dolman T is made from just a front and two backs. You can add bands or just do hems. It looks great by itself and it also fits well under jackets and cardigans.

You can check out my post on tips for sewing knits HERE.

You can buy patterns for these garments

1806 Open neck Blouse

1827 Everyday Shirt

1872 easy T Module 1

Something that got me thinking

I just wanted to add in something that got me thinking. I read a review for one of my coat patterns that said they thought it was very expensive. This pattern was $7 AUD. Most of my patterns are $5 or $6 and some are very low at $2 or $3. This would make a $7 pattern expensive in my store. I had a look around and any kind of coat pattern from another shop is at least $9 and some are $11. Sure my pattern doesn't have tricky panels and seams but it fits great, looks good and has excellent instructions.

It just goes to show that when you start a shop you set the expectations when you set your prices. 

Some doll dress designers have all their patterns at around $15 and their sales are great.

I have been getting my jewellery shop ready to go and I am seeing the same sort of thing in the jewellery shops. Some have low prices and some have high prices and they all make good sales.

I will be not feeling any anxiety about setting my jewellery prices at the level I think I deserve.

I do have a particular audience in mind when I design and price my doll clothes patterns and for the end of 2022 and going forward I will be pricing any new patterns at $4AUD. I made this decision because I love making relatively easy to sew designs and after years of experience I can create the design and the instructions faster and more easily.

Everyone likes free things!

Looking for more patterns and tutorials? You can get instant access with the link below.

Happy Doll Dressmaking,

Val

3 tips for sewing knits for doll clothes

1. Look for double knit knits

2. Use a 1mm wide zig zag for all the stitching

3. Use the same knit for the bands or don't have bands

Look for Double Knits

The plain pink knit is the same on both sides. 

This one is printed lycra. The all over pink print keeps it from curling.

If you want to make a quick and easy knit top for your doll you should look for double knit fabric. This is the type of knit that looks like stocking stitch on both sides of the the fabric. Most T-shirts are made from this knit. However, many women's knit tops are made from single knit. Since I like to use second hand garments to make many of my doll clothes I have to make sure the knit fabrics will be easy to sew.

Single knit fabrics will curl up on the edges making it almost impossible to sew seams properly or finish off bands with a row of stitching. The seam allowances cult up and you can't get them to lay flat so you can secure them when you do that stabilising row for the bands.

I have found that printed lycra can be quite stable due to the printing. The ink makes it stiffer than usual. 

Double knits are great because they are difficult to make run or fray. You don't have to overlock raw edges. Normal use for play should see your garments lasting for ages.

Single knit and double knit are the terms I use.

The more technical terms are:

1. Jersey or plain stitch. It has two different sides with vertical ribs on the right one and horizontal ribs on the wrong side. The fabric curls towards the right side. Jersey is the most popular type of knit fabrics due to a variety of colors, patterns and useful consumer properties – it is comfy, soft and stretchy.
2. Interlock. Unlike jersey, both sides of interlock knit are with lengthwise ribs and look the same way. The fabric features good shape retention, medium or heavy weight, smooth texture. (Taken from https://tissura.com/articles/knit-fabrics )

Use 1mm wide Zig Zag Stitch

Width set to just below 1

Stitch type set to zig zag

Since I started sewing my knits with this very narrow zig zag I hardly ever have a problem with the needle pulling the fabric down. You will also find that the narrow zig zag stops the knit from stretching so much as you sew. It doesn't look as wrinkled like a lettuce leaf when you use the narrow zig zag.

I use the narrow zig zag for all the stitching. The seams and the top stitching. 1mm is so narrow that it almost looks like straight stitching.

I find that I don't have to worry about using a knits needle when I use the narrow zig zag. 

Use the same knit for the bands or don't have bands

Double knits are great to use as bands. They have plenty of stretch and hardly curl at all when you stitch them to fit.

Bands can be narrow or wide. They can be doubled and sew on with one step. These bands look good with two rows of top stitching on the garment side of the band. The two rows firmly secure the seam allowance.

Band can be done like binding. You sew the garment and band right sides together with the band piece as a single layer. Fold it over to the wrong side so it forms a narrow band over the seam allowance.

Pin it in place and top stitch on the band side of the seam. Careful trim the edge on the wrong side back to 1/8". 

Looking for more patterns and tutorials? You can get instant access with the link below.

Happy Doll Dressmaking,

Val