Okay, I said that the American Girl doll T-shirts were my favorite thing to sew--and they are!--but these leggings are just almost my favorite thing to sew.
They're MUCH simpler than the T-shirts, for one thing. And they're just as cute, and just as amenable to every kind of knit fabric, from performance stretch to old T-shirts, so the possibilities are endless.
I actually didn't like this pattern, the Snow Day Pants from Doll Fashion Studio, by Joan Hinds, when I first made it, and the first pair of leggings that I sewed following the instructions as-written are now the American Girl doll equivalent of painting clothes, ahem. Like, the instructions tell you to zig-zag stitch the elastic straight to the raw edge of the waist? WHY, THOUGH, when there are so many options just as easy and way cuter?
I modified the pattern quite a lot, including lengthening it so I could also make a full-length version, and remembering that I have a random but huge stash of fold-over elastic in the closet that looks a LOT nicer sewn to raw edges, and now, I LOVE this pattern!
I love the fold-over-elastic at the waist and the ankles for the knit and rib knit fabrics:
And since I'd already made about a million American Girl doll T-shirts by the time I took a break for leggings, I also love using an old T-shirt for leggings, including its existing hem:
Even cuter when I realized that I had room on most old shirts to make both a doll T-shirt AND doll leggings! They're so perfectly matchy!
If you put them both on the doll, they're basically those jersey knit pajama sets that I used to put on my daughters, and that I would in all honestly 1000% wear myself if they just made them in my size.
I'm already working on an American Girl doll skeleton costume using a black T-shirt and leggings set. Stay tuned!
Alternatively, you can mix and match for comfy play clothes in any color range:
Anyway, I made a bunch of these leggings for my niece's doll, too, just because I think it's nice to have plenty of neutral-ish options for dressing her doll. The simpler the components, the bigger the scope for imagination!
As an example, lol, see the outfits that my kids came up with when I asked them to dress our dolls in some of these new clothes before I sent them off to my niece:
long-sleeved T-shirt, short-sleeved T-shirt, and 3/4-length leggings
full-length leggings made from four-way stretch, and a doll tunic a kid made once upon a time from one of their old newborn onesies
sleeveless dress, short AND long-sleeved T-shirts, and 3/4-length leggings
You can see I got a little lost in the weeds sewing doll T-shirts and leggings all summer, right? I kept thinking of new fabrics to test and pattern variations to try, and while I was doing that the summer whisked itself away and now I have to sew a bunch of witch hats as fast as I can.
OMG, y'all. SHOULD I SEW AMERICAN GIRL DOLL WITCH HATS?!?
P.S. Want to follow along with my craft projects, books I'm reading, dog-walking mishaps, encounters with Chainsaw Helicopters, and other various adventures on the daily? Find me on my Craft Knife Facebook page!
When I first started sewing doll clothes, I thought that the process was super complicated–all those tiny seams on all those tiny bits of fabric!–but it turns out that I was just picking out super complicated patterns. Like, I don’t even sew clothes with that many complicated construction techniques and fussy embellishments for myself, much less for a toy!
Fortunately, after lots and lots of sewing lots and lots of picky patterns, I got a lot more comfortable with winging it, and I figured out how to apply the elements of flat construction used in doll clothing to my favorite simple methods of sewing quick clothing pieces.
And now I’ve got all kinds of fun pieces that a kid can mix and match for the doll and that I didn’t have to spend an entire evening cussing down the house to sew!
This doll skirt is particularly easy to sew, even more so with the flat construction method that doll clothing uses. Although my photos here show me making skirts for my niece’s 18-inch doll, you can use this method to sew a skirt for any doll.
Here’s how!
Materials
To make a doll skirt for any size doll, you will need the following:
fabric. Scraps and stash work great for this project–if you can fold the fabric over twice and still stitch through it, you can use it! For the skirts in these photos, I used one of my kid’s old bedsheets for one skirt, and some stash quilting cotton for the other skirt. See Step 1 for dimensions.
elastic. You can use most types of elastic for this, so definitely prioritize what you’ve got on hand, but I use 1/4″ elastic for pretty much every doll clothing project, so that’s what I’ve got here. If you use a different width, you’ll want to recalculate the width of fabric you cut and the width of the fold for the elastic channel.
measuring, cutting, and sewing supplies.
Step 1: Measure and cut the fabric and elastic.
First, measure and cut the elastic for the skirt’s waist. Measure around the doll’s natural waist, and cut elastic to that exact measurement. You’ll lose .5″ from the length of the elastic when you sew the skirt, and that will provide plenty of snugness for a good fit.
For the skirt, first measure from the doll’s natural waist to the spot where you want the bottom hem of the skirt to hit. If you need to add a stitched hem, add .5″ to this measurement, but there are lots of circumstances in which you wouldn’t need to! For instance, I really liked the selvedge of the fabric that I used to make the skirt in the photo below, so I used that for the skirt’s bottom edge and didn’t hem the bottom at all.
For the sharks skirt that I’m sewing in these photos, I similarly used the finished edge of the sheet as my bottom hem–again, no extra sewing needed! The polka dot quilting cotton skirt is the only one in these photos that needed the extra .5″ for the bottom hem.
Assuming you’re using 1/4″ elastic for the waistband, add another .5″ to the measurement to accommodate the waistband casing.
The width of the skirt should be at least twice the length of the elastic, but you can go even longer, especially if your fabric is thin or drapey.
And for all of these measurements, since I’m explicitly trying to use up my stash, I fudge my measurements as necessary if it helps me use up a bit more stash. Would a skirt that’s 1″ longer or 2″ puffier let me avoid tossing a bit of scrap into the garbage? If so, that skirt is going to be a bit longer or puffier!
For a standard American Girl doll, my elastic measurement is 10.5″. My skirt measurement is 5.5″ long with a pre-finished bottom hem, and 6″ if I need to hem the bottom myself, and at least 21″ wide, but I’ll go up to 24″ if it helps me not have to toss a scrap.
Step 2: Measure, fold, and stitch the bottom hem and waistband casing.
If you’re hemming the bottom yourself, fold it over 1/4″ to the inside, then fold it again to hide the raw edge. Stitch along the folded edge to hem.
For the waistband casing, assuming you’re using 1/4″ elastic, fold the top edge of the skirt over 1/2″ to the inside. We’re not minding the raw edge, but if you do, just add enough length to the original skirt measurement to accommodate a double fold here, too.
For the tidiest waistband casing, you’ll be stitching twice: stitch one line along the raw edge, then stitch another line along the fold.
I think this makes the top edge of the waistband look just a little crisper. It’s a tiny detail, but surprisingly noticeable!
Step 3: Insert the elastic and stitch.
Pin a safety pin to one end of the elastic, then thread it through the waistband casing.
At each end of the casing, stitch back and forth to secure the elastic. This is different from circle construction, in which you’d sew the two sides of the skirt together, then insert the elastic, etc. Flat construction like this is often reserved specifically for doll clothing, but I don’t know why, because it’s genius!
Your skirt should now have a finished bottom hem and an elasticized top hem.
Step 4: Stitch the two sides of the skirt together.
Using a 1/4″ hem, stitch the two short sides of the skirt together, right sides together.
Iron the raw edges of the hem to one side, then stitch along the raw edge to make it tidy and flat.
In the above photo, you can see that the line of stitching is barely noticeable, but it’s one more little detail that makes this simple skirt look really nice.
These skirts are so quick and easy to make that they’re honestly kind of addictive. I had to force myself to stop at two so that I could write this tutorial, but just between us, I’m probably about to pop back into my studio and make just a few more.
And then maybe some shirts to match. And maybe a little sweater. And if I’m making a sweater, I should probably make a hat to match!
P.S. Want to follow along with my craft projects, books I'm reading, road trips to weird old cemeteries, looming mid-life crisis, and other various adventures on the daily? Find me on my Craft Knife Facebook page!
I started with the basic T-shirt pattern from All Dolled Up, by Joan Hinds, which is an absolute classic, a super versatile pattern with both short- and long-sleeved versions. It's perfectly fitted to the waist of the modern American Girl doll, so much so that you need to be very precise about where you place the back fasteners--
--and you'd likely need to alter that part of the pattern if you were sewing for a wider doll.
-and for fussy cutting elements from existing T-shirts. This perfectly proportioned Hawaii graphic T-shirt--
--came from a shirt that once upon a time belonged to a small daughter!
I also liked transforming a once VERY well-loved horse print daughter's shirt--
--into one that looks just like it, but smaller:
A few of these shirts in, though, I figured out that if I altered the pattern a little bit, I could actually cut the pieces to utilize the existing hems of old T-shirts, AND I could also seam rip off and use their neck ribbing, which I think makes the shirts look very realistic, as well as being more eco-friendly:
I also realized that I only have to zigzag seams along the neck and waist, so the top-stitching looks much neater!
The vintage shirt that I cut this T-shirt from was very pilled, so I didn't give this piece to my niece. I love it, though--it reminds me of my 70s childhood!
The exact color match of the neck ribbing to the rest of the T-shirt is the main detail in making the doll T-shirt look realistic, and that's completely solved when you upcycle an old T-shirt:
It's interesting to me to contrast the first T-shirt I made, on the left, to one of the more recent ones:
I was also trying to upcycle an old jersey knit pillowcase, including its existing seam, for that shirt on the left, and that didn't do it any favors.
There really is real benefit it making 100 of the same thing--every 20th iteration, you figure out how to make it a little better or you get an idea of how to do it a little differently!
I cannot emphasize strongly enough how SATISFYING these little T-shirts are to make. From fussy cutting tiny pieces to precisely top-stitching tiny seams, I swear that I spent half my summer humming happily to myself, listening to the latest Mumford & Sons album over and over and over again, and sewing doll T-shirts.
We didn't do a big summer trip this year, so I had to do something to keep myself entertained, I guess!
P.S. Want to follow along with my craft projects, books I'm reading, dog-walking mishaps, encounters with Chainsaw Helicopters, and other various adventures on the daily? Find me on my Craft Knife Facebook page!
You can take the redneck out of the South (or rather, she can flee it on her own two feet, lol), but you CANNOT take the camouflage out of the redneck's wardrobe rotation!
Not out of her wardrobe rotation. Not out of her child's wardrobe rotation, since the camo print fabric that I used to sew these eensy American Girl doll camo capris actually came from a pair of my older daughter's old camo pants--after she outgrew them, I obviously tossed them into my fabric stash, because that was some nice quality fabric, not to mention CAMO!
And, it turns out, not even out of her niece's American Girl doll's wardrobe rotation, since that's where these adorable little camouflage ruffled capri pants are headed. Here's a pic of the outfit in progress modeled by my most helpful buddy, this American Girl doll that I found at Goodwill for $7.99:
The kids don't mind when I dig out their dolls and dress them up as my sewing models, but I know how precious those dolls are to them so I don't feel quite comfortable just keeping them out and about all the time while I'm working. My little Goodwill buddy has been an awesome solution, and is even collecting her own little wardrobe of... let's call them "second-quality" handmade garments, ahem.
The capri pants pattern comes from All Dolled Up, by Joan Hinds, which is hands-down my favorite 18-doll pattern book that I've used so far. Ruffled capris don't have quite the versatility of some of her other patterns (I have made about 5,000 of those T-shirts so far!), but I managed to put together a couple of different looks for my niece's birthday package.
The younger kid dressed this doll up in the layered T-shirt look for this photo, but the actual outfit that I sent my niece is the marbled purple T-shirt, sewn from an adult T-shirt, and the purple and black ruffled capris, sewn from a huge batik wall hanging that I found at Goodwill (I sewed another part of that giant batik into this witch hat!):
Actually, ALL of the components of this outfit, from the purple T-shirt to the batik wall hanging to the doll herself, came from Goodwill!
I paired the camouflage ruffled capris (with ruffles made from stash quilting cotton) with a T-shirt sewn from an old T-shirt of Mr. Craft Knife's that had also found its way into my fabric stash (mwa-ha-ha, because it was a really ugly shirt):
What I really need for this ruffled capris pattern is a shirt pattern to pair with it that can also be made from quilting cotton, not jersey knit. Then I could use the same fabric for the shirt and the ruffles, and the outfit would be so mitchy-matchy!
P.S. Want to follow along with my craft projects, books I'm reading, road trips to weird old cemeteries, looming mid-life crisis, and other various adventures on the daily? Find me on my Craft Knife Facebook page!
To be fair, 1) my own children egged me on in my impulse to keep the most adorable pair of American Girl doll pajamas that I sewed ostensibly for part of my niece's birthday present, and 2) I did sew my niece another pair of American Girl doll pajamas to make up for it.
Can you look at that above photo and guess which pair of pajamas I ended up keeping for our own American Girl doll collection?
This one!!!!!
Once upon a time, the big kid had the CUTEST pair of jammy pants that I made from this flannel dino fabric, and I also made endless other kid things from it, from crayon rolls Christmas stockings. When the big kid got more into horses than dinosaurs for a while, the little kid took up the mantle of lover of dinosaurs, and then you know a homeschooling mom can't let any kid interest alone so I got involved, too, and the culmination of all of this seems to mostly have been that when I showed around this brand-new pair of flannel dino pajamas that I'd just sewn for my niece's birthday box to each kid in turn, each kid in turn's eyes got very big and they each said, "AWWWWWWW!"
And then they both started saying stuff like, "Our cousin [Name Redacted] doesn't even like dinosaurs! She likes rainbow unicorns! We should probably keep the dinosaur pajamas so she doesn't have to look at them. Ooh, can you make a little robe to go with it?!? Can you make a little dino stuffie for her to snuggle?" And so on and so on.
Not that my arm had to be pulled very much, though--I think these particular pajamas are adorable and immediately coveted them, too!
What I'm actually going to do is dig through my fabric stash to see if I can muster up just enough of this dino flannel to make one more pair of American Girl doll pajamas, because I think I've found the only thing in our entire home that my kids would even possibly fight over after my death.
ANYWAY!
These adorable pajamas are the Monkey Pajamas pattern from All Dolled Up, by Joan Hinds. This book has so many classic patterns that I think are super versatile, including this one. You do need to figure out and add your own finishing bits, though, especially if you don't use a serger. I've got a lot of her patterns pretty well down pat by now, though, so I automatically top-stitch the seams, and figure out for myself what kind of fastening I want:
Tidily top-stitched shoulder seam!
The original pattern calls for the pajama top front/back to also be sewn from the secondary fabric, but I wasn't feeling it, at least for these pajamas. I think they look cute enough with a contrasting fabric just at the wrists and ankles:
Kids who want everything around them to look like it was dunked in magical rainbow unicorn vomit do sometimes get beyond that (case in point: my own kid!), so I didn't do every single piece of doll clothing for my niece in pinks and purples and sparkles. Sometimes you just want to throw on your comfiest pair of brown flannel pjs and kick back with a book in front of the fire!
Although these specific garments look VERY pajama-y, I think that both parts of the Monkey Pajamas pattern are actually quite versatile, especially as a basic top and bottom made from woven, not knit, fabrics. I need to dig through my stash to find some thin denim, which I think would be perfect to make doll jeans using this pattern, cuff and all. I'd probably omit the cuff on the top, though, if I was making anything other than a pajama top. I think it would work very well with novelty quilting cotton, though, particularly a small print that would look proportionate to the doll. Very Hawaiian shirt-esque!
Here's everything that I've sewn for my niece's American Girl doll so far:
P.S. Want to follow along with my craft projects, books I'm reading, dog-walking mishaps, encounters with Chainsaw Helicopters, and other various adventures on the daily? Find me on my Craft Knife Facebook page!
I've been so busy learning to sew brand-new types of doll garments from various pattern books and websites that I forgot all about the one doll garment that I've been sewing regularly ever since the pandemic...
Fortunately, a recent order (of this pretty red/green combo) reminded me--
--so while I was at my work table with the pattern in hand and cutting and sewing already, I also whipped up a mask to go with the American Girl doll wardrobe that I'm sewing for a niece's birthday later this summer:
I even found a scrap that would work with the green bias tape I was already using so that I didn't have to change my thread. It's a win for lazy sewists everywhere!
P.S. Want to follow along with my craft projects, books I'm reading, road trips to weird old cemeteries, looming mid-life crisis, and other various adventures on the daily? Find me on my Craft Knife Facebook page!
Doll Couture starts with a couple of assumptions that you have to understand in order to fully utilize this pattern book. The first, which Greenberg states overtly, is that the patterns and instructions are meant to be used with handkerchiefs, tea towels, doilies, and other small vintage home goods. And to this end, Greenberg includes ample tips, tricks, and instructions for how to incorporate these sometimes delicate, sometimes finicky fabrics, from fussy cutting tea towel graphics to sizing crocheted doilies for a doll’s overskirt. This is an almost impossibly niche sub-topic in sewing, but totally valid and relevant. I do sort of wonder if anyone has ever used this book as intended to sew anything for their doll from these types of vintage fabrics, but honestly, it’s fine if nobody has--information for information’s sake is worthwhile!
The assumption that I had more issues with is the assumption that the reader is already familiar with the many basic tropes and mechanics of sewing for a doll. I’m a fine sewist, but I’ve never sewn doll’s clothing before, and I was baffled by the instructions for my first project, a simple dress with a sleeveless bodice and gathered skirt. I feel like Greenberg might have suspected that there was something confusing in her instructions, because she included the specific advice to read the instructions multiple times until you understood them, but no amount of re-reading was going to help me understand that a doll’s dress is constructed flat, with fastenings all down the back, because Greenberg never actually explains that. Without any guidance to the contrary, I figured that doll dresses were constructed the same way human dresses are--a finished skirt in the round, and a bodice that fastens up the back. I was so confused, and did a lot of seam ripping and trying again, but eventually I figured it out and didn’t have that same trouble with any of the patterns again, but it feels like something that should have been explicitly stated or shown in a photo.
I didn’t try every pattern, but the romper also skipped a couple of steps, requiring me to figure out how to attach the ruffle on my own. And to make it extra confusing, that one IS a slip-on pattern, so I kept trying to over-complicate it in my head by wondering where the back fastenings would be and if I wasn’t supposed to be constructing it flat, etc.
Most of the book is a lookbook of sorts, with full-color photos of dolls wearing elaborately embellished garments sewn from those vintage handkerchiefs, tea towels, and doilies. There’s a key to show you which patterns were used in each garment, but it’s not comprehensive, as the garments in the photos clearly show a variety of sleeves, skirt lengths, and romper bib styles, for example, that are not in the patterns. I really wanted that alternative romper bib with more coverage, too!
I ended up sewing multiples of three patterns that I’m pretty happy with: the sleeveless dress, the romper, and a blouse with puffed sleeves. The sleeveless dress is pretty similar to other basic basic doll dress patterns that I’ve seen, but it comes together exceptionally neatly with finished seams and a lining, and it’s easy to see where to add top-stitching and additional lining components to make the dress look even nicer. The blouse and the romper are both unique, though, and the romper especially is not something I’ve seen reflected in any other 18” doll pattern book--everybody’s book has a blouse pattern, but this is the only pair of American Girl doll overalls! The book lacks a regular, non-romper pants pattern, though, which is a bummer.
I didn’t utilize any of the lookbook images as inspiration to add embellishments, but I am looking forward to digging through my stash of fancier fabric scraps to use with that sleeveless dress pattern--I think I could end up with a very cute little ballgown that way!
P.P.S. Want to follow along with my craft projects, books I'm reading, road trips to weird old cemeteries, looming mid-life crisis, and other various adventures on the daily? Find me on my Craft Knife Facebook page!
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)