Free pattern to make a custom dress bodice for your American Girl Doll

A new Fall outfit for Rebecca.

I did some sewing today to make a little Fall dress from pattern 1804 and also add another bib to pattern 1804a.

You must see the gorgeous Christmas dress I made with the pointy bib here.

If you already have a dress pattern by someone else, you can use the free bib. Just lay it on top of your bodice front pattern piece and cut out the points. That way you know the bib will fit onto your bodice.

I decided to use a second pattern piece as a stitching template. You can see I made some adjustments to the points because I made them to small to start with.

This dress has a lined bodice to make the neck and armholes neat. It also has a 30" gathered skirt with the skirt strip 4 1/4" wide plus a band 2 1/2" wide that is folded in half and stitched to the bottom of the skirt (including the 1/4" seam allowance).

You can download for free, the pointed half bib pattern piece and the instructions relating to the bib and the skirt.

You can find more ideas for the 1804 dress here

I hope that you will have a good look at my designs on  Etsy . 

You will find well fitting, classic designs for around 3.60 USD and I am still adding to the collection. 

The pattern pieces are meant to be swapped around to create lots of different designs. They also provide American Girl Doll dressmakers with reliable fitting pattern pieces that can be used as a basis to make different outfits to sell.

Download Fashion File 21 now to get the free pointy half bib pattern. You will need to supply a dress bodice pattern.

I'm always coming up with ideas for new styles. Why not join my mailing list so you won't miss anything. Yes please! 

In Fashion File 21 you get the pointy half bib pattern
and instructions to make up the bib and a skirt with a bottom band.
This is a pattern hack. You need a dress bodice pattern to start with.

Happy Sewing,

Val

Not Just a Witch Pattern - This is a Valspierssews Doll Designs Witch

After Halloween I will rename Snugfit Witch to Snugfit Wanda. This is because the pattern is not just a witch costume. It is a part of the Doll Designs range and the pieces can be used in lots of different ways. As well, it is part of the Snugfit range so the pieces can be swapped around with other Snugfit patterns.

With just the 1417 Snugfit Wanda pattern pieces you can make these two beautiful dresses.

Here she is with the cute Tote Basket you can make using the Applique Tote pattern 1401.

Typical of my Doll Design patterns The Applique Tote 1401 has a free related Fashion File with lots of ideas for making up the pattern.
The Snugfit Witch (aka Wanda) will also have a free Fashion File with basic instructions on how to get the different looks. I even have a Christmas Elf costume idea with the pointed peplum. Coming soon.

If you have Snugfit Anna Blouse 1402 you can combine the blouse bodice with the witch sleeves and get double use out of the black skirt to create this gorgeous old fashioned look.

So it is a good idea to pick up the Snugfit Witch while it is on special for only $1.00 USD. Only until Halloween then it reverts to $1.50 USD.

If you haven't taken the plunge into internet shopping you can't get much safer than PayPal for the checkout and you don't have to have a PayPal account even.

Visit my Craftsy Store.

Visit valspierssews's Craftsy Pattern Store »

Cheers,
Val

Snugfit Witch PDF doll pattern - a little witch, a big witch and a princess all in one.

This has been a big project mainly because I kept wanting to add to it as I went.
I have included lots of instructions for those who haven't sewn clothes before. I realise that gathering with a gathering thread or applying elastic are not normal things for patchworkers so there is a bit more detail than I would normally do.

I had to add some witch's britches because the short skirt was quite short. I only had navy stripe knit but I think they would look great in red and white stripe.

The hat was a bit of a challenge. I had to use my maths to get the circles and slopes right but it fits perfectly. I wish I had a pumpkin brooch to add to it.

The big witch has a much more grown up look and I wanted to try a skirt with lots of gather. The look is helped a bit with a long tulle petticoat.

I thought not everyone is into witches and I could see how I could make a great princess costume without much change. The hardest part was sewing on the roses by hand.

The little buckle here is a plastic scrapbooking embellishment. I bought a bag of them from the craft shop for $2.00. It looks great. The ribbon roses are also from the craft shop.

The pattern includes pattern pieces and instructions to make everything.

See lots more ideas for using your pattern and the bonus pieces I have included in this blog post.

You can see how to make the necklace here.

Visit valspierssews's Craftsy Pattern Store »

Cheers,
Val

Progress on the Snugfit Witch

I have been really enjoying playing with this design. The plan was to make a cute witch costume for Halloween but after I made the short skirt little witch version I thought it would look pretty awesome with a long black skirt.
Once I did the long black skirt I thought this design would look great as a princess dress in pink satin so I had to go and get some pink satin. I already had some pink chiffon that I thought would look nice as short sleeves.
The sleeve pattern curves on the bottom edge as well as the top edge and I discovered that curves are not good for the rolled hem foot. I had to re-do several sections in the centre of the sleeve hem.

I finished off the princess outfit and decided to play with the sleeves a bit more. I didn't really want to make another witch or princess outfit so I looked at my design and figured it would make a great Regency style dress if I just cut the bodice a bit shorter. To fix the sleeves I just cut the hem off straight and hoped it would still look OK. As you can see they still look great.

I have been learning so much about the fit of sleeves making doll clothes. I didn't like the way the sleeves sat in the princess dress because I gathered them nearly to the side seam edge. The sleeve above I only gathered to within 2" of the side seam making it really puffy in the top. It still looks alright but I am thinking I need to do another test garment and gather the sleeve to within 1" of the side seam.
The garment I have in mind is a shirt waist blouse using the Snugfit Anna bodice and the Snugfit Witch sleeve with some pin tucks in the front and the pointy collar. I think it will look perfect with the long black skirt. She will look like an old fashioned shop girl.

It is difficult to see in these photos but I made some ruffles for the front of the dress bodice using my ruffler foot. They didn't really ruffle enough so next time I will try tension 7 and stitch length 3 instead of stitch length 2. There will be lots more chances to put ruffles on things.

The ribbon is just tied around the bodice and has a bow at the back. I thought if I sewed it on it might look a bit rough and wrinkly.

I got this fabric for a good price at my Spotlight store. The pretty stripe has a slightly raised white floral design printed on it.

Yes. Believe it or not this dress can be made from the pieces in the Snugfit Witch pattern. I can't wait to get it published. Hopefully next week.

Cheers,

Val