Basic Dress
Patterns Instructions
Basic Dress with Full Skirt
STEP 1: BODICE As with all my dresses and shirts for dolls, I make the top or bodice with double fabric so it is fully lined front and back (no messing with facings or interfacings this way.)
Stitch the front pieces to the back pieces at the shoulders. All four pieces will be connected at the shoulders (front, back, front, back alternating) and then press the shoulder seams flat.
Next, bring the right sides of the fronts together. As you do this, the back pieces will naturally need to fold in half. The bodice opens in the back. Stitch all the way around the neck. Clip the curves.
Then turn the pieces right side out and press the bodice flat flat. STEP 2: SLEEVES Choose which sleeve you want. Puffed sleeve, butterfly cap sleeve, plain short sleeve or vintage style bubble sleeve. All of the sleeves need to be gathered at the top, including the plain sleeve. The plain sleeve doesn't need to be gathered much but you do need to draw some of the fullness in. No matter which sleeve you use, try to arrange most of the gathers near the top. The sleeve will look better that way. The butterfly sleeve is folded in half where the hem would be (it is a double sleeve.) You can add some rickrack or other trim to the sleeves. The puffed sleeve may look best with lace edging. Stitch elastic on the puffed sleeve. No elastic on the butterfly sleeve. Gather the top edge of the sleeves and attach to bodice armholes. The bubble sleeve needs bias edging where the hem would be. You can use self bias tape or you can use contrast bias tape from the fabric store. Sew the sleeves to the bodice and finish the edges of the seam. STEP 3 FINISH THE BODICE Stitch the side seams of the bodice. You will sew the side seam on the sleeve at the same time. Finish the seam edges. Sew velcro or snaps to the back opening. Or, you could make tiny buttonholes with buttons. Some people might prefer to add the velcro last, after the skirt is attached. The bodice is finished. STEP FOUR ASSEMBLE THE SKIRT Add lace and ribbon trims to the full skirt, if desired. Turn and stitch both ends of the skirt for a neat edge on both ends. Gather the top edge of the skirt and attach to bodice. Dress is Finished. With larger dolls, you may want to stitch the skirt closed part of the way, so the dress is STEP-IN style. For smaller dolls, we prefer to leave the back open because it's easier to put the dress on. The dress overlaps enough that it's still very modest and doesn't need to be stitched shut. However, with larger doll dresses you may want to stitch the skirt closed at least part way. STEP FOUR SKIRT VARIATION Contrast Border. Fold the contrast border in half lengthwise and press it. Stitch to the floral skirt piece lengthwise. Press. (Lace and ribbon trims may be added as desired along the way.) Follow the same instructions for the dress with full skirt, but do not add the border. Instead, fold and stitch the lower edge of the skirt with a narrow hem or add lace to edge it. NOTES: TRACE Your Pattern onto the Fabric. I like to trace the pattern onto the fabric with pencil, lightly, and cut on the pencil lines. (It's interesting that I saw the seamstresses at Ideal doing the same thing, on an old video.) Dolly clothes are so small that it's easier to cut out the pieces when they're traced, rather than try to cut around the paper pattern pieces. And with Baby Face, you don't want to accidentally make the pieces larger because even a little bit of extra fabric can affect how it fits the doll. Be sure to get the bodice pieces right up on that fold. It's very easy to cut the bodice pieces a little too wide if they're not ON the fold, and then the dress is likely to fit larger dolls rather than BF dolls. Baby Face has a very narrow chest and almost no shoulders so you don't want to cut the front and back bodices too wide. The sleeves look better too, if they're not too big or too long. Tracing the pieces helps you to avoid enlarging the pattern accidentally. NOTES: Adjust for thin fabrics. If your fabric is very thin, you may need to double the amount of fabric in the skirt. We tested our dress patterns using medium weight quilter's cotton fabrics. With thin fabrics, you will need approximately twice as much fabric in the skirt to get the appropriate fullness. NOTES: Seam widths. Seam width is approx. 3/16 inch (less than ¼ inch) for dresses less than size 14". For our larger size patterns, the seam width is ¼ inch. NOTES: Practice first. It is advisable to make a practice outfit first to see how the pattern works for you.
Diapers for Baby Face Dolls 1 - Unpadded Cloth Diaper with Velcro
2 - Vinyl Diaper with Velcro
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