Doll Clothes Sewing Tips - Bias back neck facing

There is always the opportunity to improve your doll dressmaking skills by looking at how others put the designs together. 

I am so grateful for the many doll dressmakers who post on blogs and on you tube and Facebook about their sewing experiences with doll clothes.

Many times I have thought "What an obvious method, how could I not have seen that?".

So in that spirit I am sharing a simple way to neaten the collar seam on a button down doll blouse.

For years I have resisted this method because I had an unfounded dislike of additional sewing or cutting out of pieces.

The couture appearance of this finish far out weighs the extra few minutes to set it up and I have no explanation to why I have left it so long to use this seam neatening method.

So, what is the finished result? Here are some shirts I made for my Summer doll clothes capsule. 1806 is a perfect second layer for the Summer clothes capsule.

And what do you need to do to get that finish?

About 4 1/2" of bias strip 1 1/8" wide.

Quite simply, you sew on the collar as instructed then you cut a 1 1/8" wide bias strip that extends about 1/2" into the front facings on each side. Fold the strip in half and press it. Centre it on the collar so the raw edges match the raw edges of the neck seam. Stitch it in place and trim the seam. Press it down over the seam allowance and stitch it down.

All this takes about 5 mins.

I haven't tried this folded bias strip on a round neck blouse yet but that is something I will do when I republish my round neck blouse pattern. At present I am redoing the Open Neck Blouse pattern to include the instructions for the bias facing. Look out for the New! version on Etsy.

You can download the instruction page on creating a bias facing with a collar from my Dropbox.

If you are signed up for my newsletter you can also access it as no.20 in the Newsletter Patterns folder.

Happy Doll Dressmaking,

Val

Easy velcro patches on doll clothes. Much better than strips.

I always use velcro patches instead of strips.

This is a vintage blouse with piping.

I love piping but I am definitely not a fan of putting piping on the collar. However, I am really happy with how it turned out.

I will probably stick with piping on the sleeves, a plain collar and coloured buttons to match the piping. It looks great. I will put up some pictures soon.

Today I am working on acute vintage blouse that goes with any of the suspender skirt patterns I am making.

Skirt 1882 is in the shop for just $4 AUD.  It is teamed with 1806 Open Neck Blouse.
See how you can make a circle skirt version here or keep an eye out for the circle skirt version in the shop.

The vintage blouse will be published soon. Keep an eye out.

I like to use just three patches on a blouse.
Do the top and bottom first then just centre the middle one by eye.

I will not line a garment unless it has no sleeves or no collar. I find lining for the sake of it just makes the garment stiffer and less normal looking. The front facing I have drafted fit very neatly into the shoulder. You would never know there is just a facing.

The hooks go on first under the right front.
Then the loops go on top of the left front.

I lay the fronts like this so I can position the loops.
Just hold it in place to put it under the needle.

All done. It only takes a few minutes.
It is easy to close and open and the small pieces
are easy to get out of the hair if that is where they end up.

Ready for the buttons.
I have used matching thread in the bobbin so the stitching hardly shows.

I think I used a velcro strip on my first ever garment and never again. I am really happy with the patches. You should give them a go.

Happy Sewing,
Val

Cute outfit using 1806 Snugfit Elaine and a free skirt

I made this outfit as part of my first wardrobe capsule for the American Girl Doll. I will be posting more about how I chose fabrics and designs for the capsule but now you can make a cute outfit with pattern 1806 Snugfit Elaine and my free skirt pattern.

I have just put the instructions files into the pattern on Etsy. If you already have the pattern you can download the instructions for getting this look and add them to your files.

Download instructions for getting the blouse look.
Download the instructions for making this skirt.

Happy Sewing,
Val

Pattern for Australian Girl Doll

I just love the Australian Girl Doll. She is 20" tall and has a very cute face. I have spent the last few weeks trying to adjust my American Girl Doll patterns to fit her. It is possible to get a reasonable fit if you enlarge the 18" doll patterns to 106% but if you want the clothes to look just right you can't go past my new patterns.

My latest pattern to be published is the 20" version of Snugfit Elaine Open Neck Blouse. It now comes in two sizes - 1806 for the American Girl Doll and 2006 for the Australian Girl Doll.

Both are available on my Etsy shop.

Introducing 2006 Snugfit Elaine Open Neck Blouse for the Australian Girl Doll.

I am gradually building up a collection of Free Fashion Files showcasing outfits that you can make from the patterns. Like my page on Facebook for regular updates.

Happy Sewing,
Val

Doll clothes Lab Coat Pattern Fashion File no.8

Lots of sewing happening. I decided to work on another fashion file. This time it is a variation on 1806 Snugfit Elaine Open Neck Blouse.

The blouse pattern is perfect for designing coats and jackets with just a little bit of imagination. Since I first designed it I have wanted to make a lab coat.

When you make jackets and coats you have to allow extra ease so you can put them over light clothing. Enlarging the blouse pattern to 102% is perfect for a fairly light coat like the lab coat. If you want to use more wooly fabrics I suggest enlarging to 104%. Still use a 1/4" seam allowance and maybe reduce the width of the facing a little bit.

Fashion Files are free tutorials to help you get even more from your purchased patterns.

It is easy to extend the length of the shirt to make the coat. Just a couple of straight lines.

The sleeves needed a 1/2" hem but you can cut that back if you like.

I played around to get the pockets in the right place. I had to put them on after I made the coat so I could get them right but you can put them on first if you like. Same with the tabs. Just make sure you measure from the seam line not the raw edge.

You can download the instructions as a PDF for free from dolldressmaking.teachable.com Sign up for my free resources and my newsletter.  The lab coat is made from 1806 Open Neck Blouse that I sell on and Etsy and at dolldressmaking.com GST free for my Australian and NZ customers.

I am also busy preparing my patterns for the Australian Girl Doll. She looks so cute in her new long sleeved shirt from pattern 2006 and her jeans from pattern 2013. I am just waiting on a new batch of velcro to keep making samples. That is also why there are no buttons on the front of the lab coat.

Happy Doll Dressmaking,
Val