Free Petticoat pattern for 18" dolls and 14" dolls

Since making some petticoats and adding them under my doll dresses I must say the outfits look much prettier. The skirts stand out nicely and look just great.

Being a practical person I am a fan of the half petticoat. 

Full petticoats are more difficult to fit under a dress. It is surprising how much ease disappears from the dress when you put a petticoat under it.

Full petticoats need to be made from special fabric like lawn or batiste so they are not too bulky.

The half petticoat can be swapped on and off without taking the dress off.

It can also be adjusted for length slightly just by moving it up and down the dolls body.

18" Doll skirt with cute layered ruffles

Wow! This skirt is so cute. 

When I made the first test skirt it looked terrible.

The top ruffle was too short and not gathered enough so it pulled oddly at the side.

The curved feature sat at the side seam and was hardly visible and the yoke was too long.

So, back to the drawing board.

I made all the adjustments and crossed my fingers.

I was so excited to see it come together more like I had imagined in the first place.

I love the challenge as much as I like making cute doll clothes.

The blue skirt I made for Kit Kittridge. She is a Summer colour type so cool colours suit her best. There is some contrast between her eyes and skin and hair so she can handle some contrast in her wardrobe.

This off-white top and mid blue skirt with off-white flowers complements her complexion perfectly and makes her look very together.

On my prototype I did a narrow double fold hem but on the two good ones I did a quick overlocked single fold hem. I like to try things without the overlocker (serger) because not everyone has one.

I especially made the curve of the top ruffle on the top edge to be gathered so the bottom hem edge would be straight and easy to turn up.

I just knew this skirt would look fabulous with some trim around one or both of the ruffles. I spotted the bobbly trim left out on a shelf and thought it would look cute. I didn't take into account how narrow the edging was. I had to use my zipper foot to get the needle onto the edge very close to the bobbles and had to restitch a few inches where I didn't realise the bobbles had pushed the needle off the edge.

When I first started making skirts with the yoke I realised that not enclosing the yoke and skirt seam made it hard to get the skirt on and off the doll and have it sit neatly. The neatest way to line the yoke is to fold a strip in half lengthwise and stitch the folded edge to make a casing for the elastic.

I am quite happy with the exposed back seam. Being in the back it doesn't get noticed when the skirt is on the doll.

The skirt with the bobbly trim is in warm deep colours that suit Lea Clark and her True Spring complexion. She can handle deep colours and lots of contrast so the white tops look good on her with the dark skirt.

You can get the pattern for this skirt in my Etsy Shop now.

Happy Doll Dressmaking,

Val

18" Doll Skirt - Classic A-line Style

I wanted to do some appliqué so after a bit of thought I printed out my basic A-line skirt pattern.

I used my computer to create this cute lion appliqué but it is just as easy to draw onto your skirt pattern.

Just remember that you have to reverse your appliqué design before tracing it onto the fusible appliqué paper.

If you have your design drawn on the skirt paper pattern you can hold it up to a window and trace over the design on the back of the paper.

The lion skirt is just one of the patterns available in the Newsletter Pattern and Tutorial folder. When you subscribe to the newsletter you get an access link to the Newsletter folder and a direct link to the Basic A-line skirt with a waistband so you can get sewing fast.

If you don't like newsletters you can get this pattern from my shop 

The lion applique skirt doesn't have a waist band. The waist edge is finished with a wide facing on the inside. I was experimenting with just leaving off the waist band of the basic A-line skirt and cut identical shorter pieces for the facing.

There are no darts or any tricky bits. So quick and easy to make.

When you subscribe to the newsletter you get a direct link to download the basic A-line skirt. This one has a waistband. Just a little more construction required compared to the one with the yoke but still quick and easy to make.

There are lots of pattern hack ideas for this basic design. Box pleats and front pockets are just two hacks I am working on adding to the newsletter folder so you can download and print out.

Below I have outlined some ideas for customising you skirt design. I hope you get inspired to get sewing.

• Thick fabrics need an adjusted pattern
• Add 1/8" to the centre front and centre back
• Lengthen the waist band by at least 1/2"

This latest skirt is close fitting. This is a problem when you use different fabrics. I love solving such problems. With a little bit of adjustment to the pattern pieces it becomes suitable to make in denim or corduroy. 

If you already have an A-line skirt pattern for your doll and you want to make it in a thicker fabric you will need to add 1/8" to the centre front when you cut out the front and add 1/8" to the back facing on the backs. 

If it has a waist band you will have to add at least 1/2" to the length of the waist band but possibly even more since there are folds at each end that take up quite a lot of fabric around the fold in thicker fabrics.

• Use fancy facing fabric 
• Decorate the skirt with appliqué motifs

I love having the facing on this skirt because it looks so cute with the facing in a fancy fabric. My Micky Mouse facing fabric is very course and stiff and not really suitable for a nice doll dress so I used it for the skirt facing where the Micky pattern is what stands out not the feel or drape of the fabric.

There is lots of potential to decorate the skirt in little appliqué hearts or flowers using the same facing fabric.

If you like appliqué you may even find some items from your pattern stash of appliqué items that will fit perfectly on the skirt. Things like birds or animal heads or bugs and butterflies would be perfect.

I designed a lion face and body to fit onto the side and be stitched into the side seam. I really love the disembodied tail coming in from the side. Appliqué is such a perfect artistic outlet that combines well with my love sewing.

• Use patterns you already have to come up with new designs
• Use second hand or bargain clothes to get small amounts of fashion fabrics for doll clothes

When I set out to design this skirt I found that the free sign up skirt was a good fit if I just left off the waist band. I then created pattern pieces for the facing and played with the appliqué idea. Rearranging things and coming up with new ways to put them together is what I love about doll clothes designs. It doesn't take all day and metres of fabric to alter and test a new design.

To make my denim skirts I used old jeans. I find that using men's jeans is better because the denim is not stretchy like most of the women's denim clothes. The stretchy denim does not age well and looks wrinkly like old elastic. Especially when you have small pieces representing a whole doll skirt. It seems to amplify any imperfections in the fabric.

Don't just get stuck on denim or quilting cotton. I used cotton sateen for the lion skirt. It is a bit stretchy and has a nice sheen to it.

The pink skirt with the box pleat is more of a canvas weight fabric that looks good pressed into a pleat. I must have picked it up in the curtain department of Spotlight.

No matter what skirt pattern you have you can have some fun with it using different fabrics, different trims and appliqué and special features like the box pleat.

Happy Doll Dressmaking,

Val

What to do with your 18" doll dress pattern

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Have you ever been looking at doll clothes or people clothes pictures on Pinterest and seen the perfect dress for your doll?

Don't you wish you could recreate the design using patterns that you already have?

What you need is a great fitting doll clothes pattern or two that allows you to easily draft new designs.

My latest spring design that will be published in March was inspired by a dress I found when I did a Google search for Spring dresses.

I took a screenshot and thought about what patterns I had that had pieces I could use without any fancy drafting.

The 3/4 fitted sleeve I took from a dress in my 60s Vol.1 collection but the sleeve piece 7 from 1806 Blouse should do the job. You will just have to cut it off at the elbow.

I didn't want to have to experiment with ruffle depth so I used the skirt from 1804a Scallop bib dress.

It has a hem band that I like the width of. This design also had the front and back bodice pieces.

I know from experience that a normal gathered skirt looks silly with a 3 x gathered ruffle. It is just too out there for the size of the doll.

So I folded under the pattern pieces for the skirt strips so the front strip was 6 3/4" to be cut on the fold and the back pieces were 7 1/2". This gives me a 24" skirt.

I then took the hem band pieces and cut each 1 3/4" wide. I taped them together then adjusted the length to be twice the skirt front pattern piece. You could do this with plain paper too. You don't need the hem band pattern piece.

The hem ruffle is twice the skirt hem.

When you cut the ruffle you need to cut 2 on the fold. I stitched them together at the side seams then I turned up a 1/4" hem. I gathered using a single row of long stitches.

For the sleeve ruffle you need to cut 2 ruffles twice as wide as the sleeve hem edge. Fold under what you don't need on the hem ruffle pattern piece then cut 2.

The ruffle needs to be twice the width of the sleeve hem edge

I folded over the excess from my hem ruffle pattern piece to cut the sleeve ruffle

You can see my whole range of doll clothes patterns on Etsy

Just one of the add-on bib designs in this pattern

Happy Doll Dressmaking,

Val

Cute button front skirt pattern for 18” dolls

Some styles are just perfect for dolls. I love the way a flat front yoke or waist band makes a doll outfit look like a mini person outfit.


This modern little skirt was inspired by a Vogue skirt design I saw in Australian Vogue Magazine. The little belt loops and belt are an easy way to glam up the skirt.

I noticed this skirt has a bit more gather and a button band down the front. That will be a good idea for a variation on this design. I will keep that in mind for another time.

Happy Doll Dressmaking,

Val

Gathered skirts are perfect for dolls: Part 1 - Inspiration Overload!

Gathered skirts are easy to make and don't have to be plain or boring. Here I describe some of the exciting styles that you can quickly make for your doll without a pattern

Just a few styles for you to get started with are:

1. The rectangle with a fold over elastic casing
2. The rectangle with a sewn on casing.

This petticoat has the top tier with a fold over casing. I just overlocked the top edge and folded the casing over. This one has a centre back seam that makes threading the elastic and finishing really easy.

This skirt has a sewn on waist band that matches the skirt.

I also love this one with the contrast waist band.

3. The sewn on casing opens the door to other styles like ones with pockets built in. 

4. You can have the casing as one long piece or give it side seams to fit in sashes that tie in front or in back. You can have a fitted waist band or an elastic waist band.

5. Ones with panels in the skirt are great for adding pockets that just sew right into the seams.

6. Try ones with panels in the casing so you can have the sash starting in from the side seams. Make the tie narrow and cross it over at the back and tie in the front

Any of the styles can have:

• Growth pleats in the skirt for decoration

• A contrast band sewn to the bottom either single with a hem or folded and double

• or contrast binding sewn to the hem edge
• or a ruffle of any width to make a tier or a border

• What about knit fabrics and ribbing for a waist band. You can have narrow ribbing or wide so it folds over like yoga pants waistbands. You can have a tight skirt or a gathered skirt.

• Then there are endless embellishment ideas. I will have to leave them for another post I think. You can see some great ideas for braids, bows and applique in the examples I have already included.

All of these designs can be easily made into doll clothes skirts. You can see more inspiration on my Gathered Skirts Board. You can make skirts with shaped waist bands or belts and belt loops. I love the ones with the top of the casing made to show as a feature.

In Part 2 I look at how you can determine the waist band for different dolls, what elastic width and length is most suitable and what length sashes and belts work best. Also, how to make belt loops.

In Part 3 I show you how to make some of the different styles.

If you like free stuff you should check out my Free Resources at dolldressmaking.teachable.com
Just sign up to see all the free sections.

Happy Doll Dressmaking,
Val