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

3 ways to easily apply bias binding to doll clothes

Need-to-know Doll Dressmaking Tips

Using bias strips as a decorative binding

• Bias binding is easy and versatile

• It can be used on both casual and dressy garments 

• There are several ways to apply the binding

Since starting to sew doll clothes I have become almost obsessed with using bias binding to neaten the necks and armholes of dresses and tops, creating a neat gathered edge on necks and pockets and purses and even creating a decorative hem edge on skirts and dresses. It is just so easy to add to almost any garment.

Whether the dress is a vintage beauty or a weekend play dress using bias binding in matching or contrast colours provides a perfect feature or neat finish. Cutting stripes or checks on the bias looks fabulous.

There are at least 3 different ways to apply the binding and each has its virtues. They are interchangeable but speed and ease will play a part in your choice of method.

What is Bias Binding?

Bias binding is made from a folded strip of fabric cut on the bias or cross grain of woven fabric. When cut like this it is quite stretchy and works like ribbing on a knit garment. It is usually creased along the centre lengthwise then the raw edges are folded to the centre. When it is folded again the raw edges are enclosed. Its stretchiness makes it perfect for binding along curves like necklines and armholes.

How can it be applied?

Method 1

The quickest way to apply the binding to an edge is to fold a flat strip in half once. Use a strip about 1" wide.

With right sides together, line up the raw edges with the raw edge you are binding and stitch it in place. Press the binding away from the garment and seam towards the garment.

Top stitch along the right side so the seam is held in place on the wrong side.

The decorative bias strip on these pockets is perfect for this method.

Method 2

The second method is a bit neater but requires a bit more fiddling to create the bound edge. Use a strip 1 1/4" wide.

Open out the binding strip and place it right side down along the wrong side of the edge to be bound. Stitch it in place. Trim the seam.

Press the binding up over the seam allowance. Fold in the raw edge of the binding and then fold the binding over the seam allowance. 

Stitch it in place close to the fold.

Method 3

This method is both easy and quick.

Using a 1 1/4" strip fold it in half then stitch it in place to the wrong side of the edge to be bound. Trim the seam allowance.

Bring the folded edge of the binding all the way to the right side so it shows only on the right side and stitch it down close to the fold.

Making continuous bias binding

I have always wanted to make bias binding this way but I have never needed more than short strips. Have you tried making bias strips like this. See what I mean on the blog called Reconstructing History

Different ways to finish necks and armholes

Get the whole series now

Are you looking for a variety of ways to neaten necks and armholes on your doll clothes?

Get full instructions and different patterns to use for practising different ways to finish necks and armholes in the Finishing Necks and Arm Holes series of Applied Doll Dressmaking by Val Spiers Sews.

Happy Doll Dressmaking,

Val

Doll clothes pattern vintage petticoat design to fit American Girl dolls

This little girls' vintage petticoat design from the 50s era is perfect for dolls. I love the flat front panel and gathered side skirts. Without much more effort than a regular gathered skirt petticoat you can create this beautiful petticoat with stand out design features.

You can also make it without the ruffle. Just extend the hemline.

If you intend to sew this one I have written up some details that may be helpful.

Batiste
The best fabric for underwear is batiste. It is a moderately lose weave fabric that has a nice crisp feel to it. The slight stiffness is perfect for holding out dress skirts.

Polycotton
Another fabric I used was polycotton. This closely woven fabric is a bit softer and thinner than quilters 100% cotton and still fits under the dresses I make using my 1804 pattern.
I have started putting a 3/4" facing allowance on my designs so you can easily finish the egde as you please. I have done a single fold hem on this one.

Synthetic Lining
I had some synthetic lining fabric that I thought might be good. It is thin yet still has some body to it. Unfortunately it tends to fray easily and makes a fluffy ball of threads in seconds if you handle it a lot like when you are gathering the ruffle.

If I was to use this fabric again I would overlock the edge and pull up the overlocker thread to gather. You can see where the trim is that it is starting to fray.

I also tried zig zagging over a thin cord but found that the edge got messy as I stitched and I had to move further in than the 1/4" seam allowance. So if you want to zig zag over cord to gather the ruffle for this fabric you will need a wider seam allowance.

Adding trim to the ruffle
Because the ruffle edge is straight you will need to finish the edge to stop it fraying either before you sew on the trim or as you sew on the trim.
Some flat laces could be overlocked on. For other trims it is best to use pinking shears and just shave off the very edge so you don't reduce the seam allowance.

Trim at the neck and arm holes
The stretchiness of the gathered lace trim allowed the hem to turn smoothly. However, whenI used the rick rack I had to put a few snips at the tightest section of the curves to help it lie flat.
The raw edge on the garment and the snipping is not a problem because the curved edges of the neck and arm holes resist fraying.

The rick rack I used measures 1/4" from the crest to the trough so it just fits nicely on my 1/4" seam allowance leaving the little bumps to show when I turn it in.

Length
The length of my pattern finishes about 1/2" above the just on the knee skirt length for dresses I make with my 1804 pattern.
I haven't tried making it shorter or longer but my educated suggestion is that to make it longer you should lengthen the body section by just adding to the bottom edge. You will then have to lengthen the side skirt pattern piece by the same amount. Just make sure you lengthen the hem edge not the side edge. I have labelled the waist edge and the side edge on the pattern pieces.

Fit and resizing

Vintage AGD: I have found that this petticoat fits my plumper vintage Kit Kitridge doll without any changes and the 1804 dress goes over it also without any changes.

 

Our Generation Doll: If you just have an Our Generation Doll you can make a permanent change to the back facing by folding it in 1" and trimming it back to 1/2" when you hem the raw edge.

Both AGD and OGD: If you want the petticoat or 1804 dress to fit both OGD and AGD you can put a wider velcro patch for the hooks only, then you can pull it across further on the thinner OGD.

Australian Girl Doll: I have tried my AGD petticoat on the Australian Girl Doll and even though I haven't included fitting for the Australian Girl Doll you should be able to make a lovely petticoat for her by just adding 3/4" to the bottom of the main pieces and the side skirts so it is longer. This will make it about 1/2" shorter than the 2004 dress pattern. I will probably do up pattern pieces with the extra length soon so if you want Australian Girl pattern pieces you can convo me through your receipt or email valspierssews at gmail dot com with an image of the title page for the free version. Just give a a week or two to sew up one first.

Closure
As with nearly all my garments I have used velcro patches for closure. They don'y get in such a  muddle as the long strips do yet they seam to hold just as well for dressing. I have used my coloured velcro that I got from Allie Express. I cut off a piece just wide enough to fit on the facing.

I hope you enjoy this design. I have a dress or two planned using the same flat front panel design.

Look out for the petticoats as a collection in 2019. Sign up for my newsletter so you will always be kept up to date.

This petticoat is the second in a series of 5 that I am giving away for free in my newsletter.

Happy Sewing and Dress Making
Val

Must Read Insights into The School Uniform Dress and Patterns 1804 and 2004

While making the school uniform dress I perfected a lot of my skills in making dresses.

If you have the Uniform Pattern No.1 It is worth reading through this post to get a better feel for why I have done things a certain way.

If you have the 1804 or 2004 Dress Pattern you should also have a read because you may be able to improve how you sew the dresses by applying some of the points. You should try adding an extra 1/4" to the back facings. One day I will redo the pattern pieces but not for a while yet.

There are some slight variations to the way I used to make dresses that I think make it easier to get a perfect result.

I will point out the things I did differently for the school dress and explain why I did them that way.

1. I made the back facing 3/4". I did this so you can finish the raw back edge with a single fold hem or a rolled hem or overlocking while cutting off 1/8"
2. I pressed the back facing fold line before finishing the back edge so you can just measure 3/4" and fold and press. If you do it after neatening the back edge you would have to check where the fold line was by using the pattern piece.
3. When stitching the collar pieces together use a short 2mm stitch. This makes it easier to go round the curves and also helps to stop the corner poking out and breaking through the stitches while you are pushing out the corner.
4. I placed and basted each collar 1 at a time. In the past I just pinned them on and basted right across. I also place the doll's left collar on first so the other collar lies on top at the CF. This makes it easier to sew across the front when you sew on the collar.
5. The collars have to be at lest 1/4" from the facing fold line so you can overlap the backs to close.
6. When I stitch on the collar I am happy with stitching the seam then overlocking it. Press it then under stitch on the right side 1/8" away from the seam line, keeping the collar out of the way.
7. For the School dress I have added a bias facing to the neckline. I experimented with a 1" wide piece folded in half then I experimented with a 1 1/8" bias piece folded in half. Even though the narrower facing only just covers the trimmed seam it works best. When stitching it down you aim along the middle of the strip so you are close to the seam line and it all turns out good.
   
   If you use the wider strip you end up with a fraction too much facing width so you have a choice of stitching close to the neck seam line and having a flappy facing edge or sewing close to the facing edge and having trouble getting the neck to sit flat.
8. I made the bias facing strip about an inch too long because there is nothing worse than finding you are just a fraction short with strips. This means that if you find that your are just a fraction short on fabric for the bias strip you can cut it back about 3/4" shorter and it should still work. I don't recommend doing this unless you have tried the design with the full strip at least once to calculate for yourself how much shorter you can make it.
9. I am still not set in one way to do the hem and fold the back facings in. Sometimes I overlock the hem the fold in the back facing and stitch across the facing on the hemline. You then turn the back facing and stitch the hem. I do it this way in some of my instructions.
10. Another way it to overlock the hem leaving thread tails at each end. Press up the hem tucking in the thread tails then fold in the back facing and stitch the hem and back facing at the same time. I do it this way in some of my instructions.
11. A third way to do the hem is to overlock the hem leaving thread tails. Press up the hem tucking the tails in. Stitch the hem then turn in the back facing.

Happy Sewing,

Val

How to Sew Doll Clothes: Velcro Closures

Very early in my doll clothes adventure I needed to take clothes on and off the dolls to photograph the outfits. I think I may have put long strips of velcro on one or two items and I know I got frustrated trying to make the hems even and close the strip without bubbly bumps. I decided to use small patches of velcro like buttons. They made it so much easier to adjust the garment and to get it off easily too. I haven't had any trouble with it not holding strongly.

So this is how I do my velcro closures.

I have small rolls of hooks and loops. I cut off rectangular pieces about 1/4" wide. I just cut them by eye. I always do the hooks first.

I have a little bitty box that sits to the right hand side of my machine. I put the patches in there while I sew each one. For a time I even put them inside a little zip lock bag because they mysteriously disappear. Sometimes they never turn up again. 

I use white or cream thread in the needle and thread to match the fabric in the bobbin. It is easy to place the rectangle so the hooks run side to side. I have found that for me as a right hander I like the overlap to be on my left looking at the closure of the garment so I sew the hooks patches on the under side of the overlap.

I start sewing down the long side first. I find by doing this it is easier to sew them onto knit fabrics that stretch side ways so I just do it this way all the time.

After the top one I put on the bottom one.

I then place the middle one by eye.

Now cut 3 loops patches. Put them in a safe place. Sew each one on the outside of the underlap. (I didn't notice that I needed to put dark pink in the bobbin so my stitching shows on the inside.) 

Sew on the bottom loops patch.

For the middle loops patch I like to just check it is level with the hooks patch before I sew it.

The stitching is not very noticeable on the outside.

I just felt this top needed buttons on the back. I sew on buttons using my button foot on the machine.

See my blog post about sewing buttons on by machine.

This design is pattern 1857 Fashion Top. The skirt is 1858. (Both will be published soon)

Happy Sewing,

Val

How to Line a Doll Clothes Jacket

50s doll clothes slim dress and crop jacket.

There are some parts of sewing in the lining that just don't lend themselves to diagrams so I have made a photo tutorial. This tutorial focuses on inserting the lining only. The rest of the jacket instructions come with my pattern along with a link to this photo tutorial.

*The pattern is not yet published but it is very close. Look out for 1828 and 1829.

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Getting Started

• Stitch together any front or back pieces and complete the fronts and back.
• Stitch together the shoulder seams.
• Stitch in the sleeves.
• Using the sleeve pattern piece press up the main sleeve hem to make a crease.

Where to stitch first

• Line up the main and lining pieces with right sides together.
• Match the fronts and pin.
• Match the shoulder seams and centre back seam and pin.
• Match the rest of the neckline and pin.

• Match the wrist edges of the main sleeve and lining and pin.

• Stitch across the bottom front, around the neckline and across the other bottom front. Back stitch at each end.
• Stitch across each sleeve hem edge. Back stitch at each end.
• Trim the seam allowances and clip the neck curve every 1/4".
• Turn the jacket through so it is right sides out.
• Press all the seams.

Stitching the Side Seams

• Fold one side of the jacket so it is inside out.
• Push the lining out of the way and pin the main fabric right sides together from the wrist edge of the lining to the seam line at the front. The back main fabric extends 1/2" past the front seam line.

• Sew this section. Press it open as best you can.
• Continuing on from where you started stitching before, pin the sleeve lining edges together and the front and back lining side seams. You end up with a strange looking tube.
• Start stitching from the wrist edge and finish at the front seam line. Your 1/2" back hem section will need to be stitched separately.
• Press the seam open.

Turning and Finishing

• Turn the jacket right side out and you will see a tunnel where the sleeve should be.
• Pull the main sleeve out through the tunnel so the lining follows.
• With a bit of luck your hem line crease will still be there so the sleeve pulls through to the crease and stops.

• If you are not sure, line up the lining and main armhole seams and wiggle the sleeve again or measure the turn up inside the wrist. It should be 1/2".
• Press it all. Probably a bit steam would be good now.
• Turn the 1/2" back lining and main hems to the inside and machine or hand stitch to close the opening.

This is not meant to be full instructions for a jacket. It only shows how to put the lining in.

If you want to make an unlined jacket into a lined jacket you will need to cut main and lining from the front and back pieces. You will have to adjust the sleeve pattern. If the main sleeve has a 1/4" hem allowance cut the fabric 5/8" longer than the pattern. For the lining cut the fabric 5/8" shorter than the pattern. This gives you a 1/2" 'facing' at the wrist.

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Happy Sewing,
Val