Outfits for Dolly - and a New Body!

Here are just a couple of a series of dolls clothes I made recently. (The second has since been adjusted - as you can see it's too cosy a fit round her chest really.)

I must first say that I'm not really someone who is into making dolls clothes. It certainly isn't a pre-occupation, like making clothes for my little grand-daughters is. We aren't, on the whole, a very girly family, considering we have two daughters and three grand-daughters.

But one of my lovely grand-daughters, the middle one, Jane, who's had an operation recently,is currently going through a phase of loving her Dolly. Dolly gets carted around everywhere. Not only that, but Dolly carelessly lost her only outfit early on. It was taken off as part of the experimental phase, just because it would come off. (It probably needed a wash anyway, but somehow it disappeared). So, as Dolly had come naked on holiday with us, I thought it was time to make her a few quick outfits, easy on and off, super quick and easy to make. Otherwise, I feared, if I'd taken too long to make them,  the interest in Dolly might have waned by the time they were made. I've written up what I've done in case anyone else would like to make easy doll's clothes based on my very simple patterns. Dolly is a soft-bodied doll of about 15-16" tall, or about 40cm. However most of the patterns are very easily adjusted for different sizes. These are in increasing order of difficulty, but none are really difficult.

Dolly's Dungarees / Playsuit

One of the outfits I made for Dolly, my grand-daughter's beloved baby doll, was a pair of dungarees, similar to a pair of Jane's own dungarees. I had originally planned to make a short legged playsuit, as all my grand-daughters have been having playsuits for summer (you can read about them in these posts here and here.) However, we are nearing the end of summer as I write this, so I decided to make the legs of Dolly's a little longer for winter. But the pattern I devised will make either.

This will fit a doll approximately 15"-16" tall, about 38-40 cm.

You can find a free pdf pattern and detailed tutorial after the jump.

Red and Grey / White Doll's Dress and Matching Panties

More little clothes for Jane's Dolly. I've written up a tutorial and produced a free PDF pattern for this outfit.

This little dress comes with matching knickers / panties. Dolly is about 15-16" tall (38-40cm), but I think you could easily adjust it for a slightly smaller or larger doll. You can find more about how to make the outfit after the jump.

Top and Pants for Dolly

I've been busy making a few outfits for my grand-daughter's 15" doll. She's had to spend a bit of time recovering from an operation, not allowed to mix with other children until she's back to full strength. So dressing and undressing her Dolly and putting her to bed has helped fill in a few frustrating hours.

This outfit  comprises a little top or short dress, and a pair of knickers to match. I made a pattern, which is easy to copy, and I've written up how I made it up as a tutorial. It will fit a doll 15-16" - but it is quite forgiving and could easily be adapted. And they are ultra simple to make. To find out more - follow the jump!

Dolly's Holdall

My granddaughter's Dolly had proved useless at looking after her own clothes, they were always getting lost. So I made her a holdall to keep them in (and it would also be useful should she go on holiday).

If you'd like to know how I made it (or to make one yourself) I explain it after the jump. This is for roughly a 15-16 inch doll but can easily be adapted.

Dolly's New Body

Poor Dolly's body was looking a bit sorry. She has a solid (though quite soft) head, lower arms, and lower legs, and the rest of her is a stuffed cloth body. Originally she was wearing a nice little sleep suit. But it got taken off, and somehow had disappeared. Since Dolly had been sitting around naked for quite a while, her cloth body was getting quite grubby. The instructions said - do not wash, just sponge the surface. Well, that wouldn't have made a substantial difference appearance wise. (Why don't they make dolls and soft toys more easy to clean or wash effectively?) 

So - I made her a new body. This time, it's a removable, washable one. 

To find out more about it, carry on reading.

Layered Dresses Using Widi Creations Free Pattern and Tutorial

I found the pattern from Widi Creations for the Mela Dress while on a hunt for something else. So I must first thank Preethi for the idea and the pattern. Please note that in common with everyone who is kind enough to provide a free pattern, she would not want this to be used for commercial purposes.

Being a lazy sort, I originally thought I'd make her one tier version, but once I'd started, it seemed more fun to make the three tier versions. It helped that I had plenty of material, and toning satin bias binding for each of the fabrics, as I'd just been on a run to a new fabric store in town, buying things I liked on spec. So, three dresses made, one for each grand-daughter!


The black and white one (size 4T):

The grey and jade green one (size 3T widths but with the length cut down to 2T):

And the dark blue and dusky pink one (Size 3T):

I like these combinations, of a trim that picks out one of the colours in the fabric.

I'll tell you  more about where to find the free pattern, and how I made these dresses using it, after the jump.

Easy Doll's Outfit (to Match Tulip Dress)

I had some scraps of material left after making my grand-daughter a dress, and as she currently carries her dolly everywhere, I thought I'd make Dolly a dress, too. 

Back view:

Dolly's dress was so quick and easy to do, I thought I'd share how I made it. There are also matching knickers.