Photo Tutorial: sewing the collar on the open neck blouse

 Sometimes doing something for the first time is a bit tricky.

Once you see how it goes together it all makes sense.

With that I mind I have created this photo tutorial to explain and show the steps for getting started with the open neck blouse. I cut out everything with pinking shears.

Pin the collar pieces right sides together. Make sure you leave the correct side open. It is a bit less pointy than the other side. Sew around the 3 edges. I don't bother trimming the seams. Just snip the corners and turn the collar right side out. Gently push out the corners.

Now way back when I first designed this blouse I was still thinking in people size and used the techniques I learnt when making clothes for myself. The pattern instructions tell you to stay stitch the open side of the collar and snip it. DON'T BOTHER. The pieces are so small that snipping is not required.

Fold both the front facing to the inside. Just match up the neck and shoulder edges and make sure the hem edges are straight then press the fold.

Sew each shoulder seam making sure the front facing is out of the way.

Press the seams open.

Once again the instructions say to stay stick the neck edge and snip it. Again, DON'T DO THIS.

With the bodice and collar right side up pin the centre of the collar to the centre back of the bodice. Measure 3/8" from the front facing fold and mark it with pins.

Pin the ends of the collar level with the marker pins then gently stretch the bodice neck and add more pins. At least one at the shoulder seams and one more before the end pin. If you are a beginner doll dress maker you might want to baste the collar to the neck at this stage. You will need to gently stretch the neck as you sew.

Fold each front facing back along the fold line. Use the pin already in the collar to pin the facing and collar near the fold. Use the pin at the shoulder seam to pin the facing a bit past the shoulder seam.

Stitch from one facing fold to the other with the collar facing up. You will need to gently stretch the bodice neck edge as you go. You may have to adjust the raw edges so they stay aligned. Turn it over to check your success. I was a bit careless and let my neck raw edge slip a bit so I only just caught it in the seam. That's OK. It will get stitched with the under stitching step. Basically You are looking for pleats or obvious misses that will need to be unpicked and fixed.

On the other side I didn't keep the shoulder seam open as I sewed over it. But I am not going to bother fixing that.

Snip the corners at each end then turn the facings right side out. Gently push out the corners.

Press the collar seam where the front facing is on each side and,

turn it over and press the collar seam down.

The collar seams need to be pressed towards the bodice so you can stitch it down.

Before stitching down the collar seam you need to stitch the shoulder of the front facings to the bodice. Pin them so they line up with the shoulder seams. They should fall past the seam line of the bodice shoulder.  Stitch them in place from the wrong side. Follow the seam ditch.

You can hardly see it from on the right side.

Under stitch the collar on the right side. Start about an inch from the facing fold and stitch 1/8" from the seam line. Make sure you are stitching through the seam allowances that you have pressed down previously.

The collar seam allowances now stay in place.

Line up the fronts as tough you are closing the blouse. Line it up with the centre back so it looks neat. Pin the revers to the front to hold them for ironing.

I pressed the neck open just up to where it meets the collar. Then I press the centre of the collar at the back where it naturally rolls to help it sit flat.

Happy Doll Dressmaking,

Val

Updating the instructions for 1840 Sailor Suit pleated skirt

I was surprised to see that my pleated skirt instructions dated back to 2016. That's a lot of experience gained up to 2026.

The instructions for the skirt with the 1840 sailor suit were pretty vague and the free pleated skirt instructions definitely needed some new photos.

Below is a photo tutorial for the 1840 sailor suit pleated skirt. (these pleats are a bit narrower than the free skirt pleats so they make a lovely knife pleat skirt.

Hem your strip first. I pressed over as close to 18" as possible. I then folded it the second time as I sewed it. I started with a 36" strip but 34" is enough.

Lay the end of the strip, right side up, level with the edge of the page and start adding pins at the first line then every second line after. Just go the end of the page.

Lay it on the ironing board wrong side up with the pins on tour right.

Make a fold using the pin as a guide. Make sure the hem edge and top edge are matching so your pleat will be perpendicular.

Take out the pin and press a crease. Here I have unfolded it to show the first crease.

Fold again using the second pin as a guide. Take out the pin and press the pleat. Make sure your hem edge and top edge lay perfectly level with the edges underneath the fold.

Now you have two creases.

Continue creasing.

Place the strip back on the pleat guide and line up the first crease with the first line. Bring the crease to the second line and pin it in place. Avoid pinning the paper.

Make sure the next crease is lined up with the third line then make the next pleat.

Keep going to the end of the page.

Being careful to keep the pleats perpendicular, stitch across the tops of the pleats just a bit less than the 1/4"seam allowance. Back stitch at each end.

It now looks like this.

Take it to the ironing board. Hold down two pleats so you can press them as perpendicular as possible.

Continue two pleats at a time.

To make the next set of pleats put the edge of the last pleat level with the second line on the guide page.

Place pins at the second pin line then every second line to the end of the page.

Follow the steps again. Crease at the pins then make the pleats and stitch across the tops. Then press the pleats in place. Keep going until you get to the end of the strip.

Follow the rest of the skirt instructions in the pattern file.

Happy Doll dressmaking,

Val

18" doll pattern - 50s style sash dress

Pattern included in the Substack Doll Clothes Pattern Club

This dress is a favourite of mine because it looks so pretty. It is not easy to make or fast to make. 

Here are some tips to get a good result.

Most important, you will need to print it out from a computer so you can be sure to get it printed at 100%. The 1" square is exactly 1" or 2.5cm except for maybe the width of the printed line. Certainly not a mm or a 1/16".

Sometimes the doll's arms or hands might be a bit different. Check the sleeve band will fit by pinning it with a generous 1/4" seam and trying it on the doll.

The collar sits so the lace overlaps at the neck not the fabric part of the collar.

I like to pin the lining in place with it facing me.

Then I turn it over so I can see the collar basting and use that as a guide.

When you come to attach the sash to the sides don't make the mistake I did on one side where I didn't lay the dress flat on the table to get the sash and the front bodice to lay flat. You can notice that the side front on your right is not laying perfectly flat.

Lay the dress and sash on the table like the image above and mark the side seam on the sash.

Sew gathering threads either side of the pin. Start each thread with a back stitch.

Gather it up tight so it measures 1" and tie off each thread with 4 knots.

The sash should lay so you can sew down the middle of the gathering threads but make sure you lay it all on the table again and make sure the side front lies flat. Pin the sash to the dress then sew it in place following the side seam on the dress. In the image below I had to sew closer to the right gathering thread to sew exactly on the side seam with the side bodice nice and flat.

If you haven't signed up for the pattern club you can read more here

or you can buy this pattern in my Etsy shop here.

Happy Doll Dressmaking

Val