©2013 jessica hamilton, pillowcase ... · 3 pillowcase doll dress: a doll project tutorial ©2013...

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Pillowcase Doll Dress: A Doll Project Tutorial ©2013 Jessica Hamilton, www.dollproject.com

Pillowcase Doll Dress

Are you ready to make your own simple dolls’ dress? I will share with you my

easy methods to draft your own pattern for a pillowcase dress to fit any doll.

Okay, so this is not really a pillowcase, but you’ll see it is a lot like one! The

pattern starts with two rectangles of fabric. We will basically make a small

tube with a curtain-like top hem that allows a bit of ribbon to pass through.

The ribbon forms the tops of the straps and holds the dress in place. Full size

children’s dresses in this same fashion are commonly made with pillowcases.

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We’ll start with the basic dress shown below and as we go through the steps I

will explain to you the variations I made to create the slightly more

complicated dress you see above.

Supplies and Materials

Doll and/or doll measurements

Measuring tape

Pen and Paper

Fabric—cotton lawn is recommended—FQ or 1/2 yd measurement is

plenty for most doll scales

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Ruler

Cutting Mat and rotary cutter—not required, but recommended

Scissors

Sewing machine

Sewing Pins

Iron

Pliable ribbon such as silk – I am using ¾” width

Optional: fray check

Let’s begin by talking about the fabrics. A thin, tightly-woven fabric will work

best for this project. My favorite fabric to use is cotton lawn by Liberty of

London and other cotton lawn fabrics of comparable quality.

Unless your doll will wear a slip beneath her dress, I recommend light colors

as this dress is unlined and you don’t want darker pigments to stain the skin.

Also, prewashing the fabrics will help them drape better on the doll.

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Okay, now to draft the super simple pattern! Begin with the doll and a fabric

measuring tape. Place the end of the tape at the base of the doll’s neck and

then measure down her body to the length where you want the dress skirt to

end. In this case, 5inches hits right about Patsy’s knees, so that is a good length

for her.

To determine the pattern width, measure around the doll’s hips at the widest

point. You want your tape to look loose, like the tape on the right below.

Pretend the tape is the dress skirt and release excess length until the skirt is

as wide as you want it to be. Measure this length.

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I call this measurement the dress circumference. Patsy’s desired dress

circumference is 8.5.” We almost have our patterns! Now we just need to

divide the circumference for the two rectangle halves and then add the seams.

I sew with quarter inch seams and trim off excess fabric edges. It is important

that your seams be consistent when creating a pattern like this, so you’ll want

to decide your seam widths now. If you aren’t sure, ¼” is a good measurement

to go by for doll clothes

making.

So we know the desired

length is 5” and the total

dress circumference should

be 8.5.” Divide the dress

circumference by 2 to get the

pattern rectangle width, in

this case, 4.25.” (You like my messy left-handed writing?)

We can’t forget the seam allowances. For the dress length, the top and bottom

hems will have the raw edges folded inside to make a cleaner edge. This

folding takes a bit more fabric than the usual ¼” seam allowance. Add 1.25” to

the top and 1” to the bottom. So the 5” length becomes 7.25.” If your doll is

quite small, you will want to use smaller hems. For a 5” doll, I would begin

with ¾” to 1” at the top and ½” at the bottom. The top is still large because

this is where the final ribbon tie is encased. For the sides, add ½” to the width

(two ¼” seams).

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The original divided rectangle width was 4.25,” adding the ½” brings it to

4.75.” For simplicity I am rounding the width to an even 5.”

The rectangle height is simply the original 5” length, plus 2.25” for the top and

bottom hem allowances, for a total of 7.25.”

That’s it for the pattern! Now you cut out the rectangle. I cut a larger piece of

fabric and fold it in half, cutting my rectangles at the same time so that both

sides are identical. Below right: Here are my two 5” by 7.25” rectangles

stacked:

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Here is a first peek at the alternate dress methods. This style is pieced

together using two different fabrics—you could make as many strips and

fabric combinations as you’d like. Just make sure to add seam allowances to

the pieces you cut. Also, your resulting pieced rectangles should match the

height and width of the original pattern you created. A little seam ironing will

help keep you organized.

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I know this happy floral fabric print is super busy and makes it a bit difficult to

tell what is going on. I will be sure to tell you what you are seeing :). Below

both pattern rectangles are stacked and we are looking at the bottom hem

areas.

Turn and fold the fabric up to ¼ to ½” and iron it (bottom layer) and then fold

the fabric and iron it again so the raw edge is trapped inside (top layer). This

should knock about 1” off the height of the rectangle.

Stitch along the folded and pressed fabric to secure it. If you want, do two or

three rows of stitches—add some trim or decorative stitches if you’d like.

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For the arm holes, and to give the top of the dress a little shape, we are going

to cut the top corners with a slight angle. The full length of your cut should

equal about 1/3 of the current rectangle height. The width of the sliver you

cut should be about half the width of your doll’s upper arm. This corner cut

does not need to be exact—just give it a try. If it doesn’t work like you want,

change it when you make your next dress.

Fold and press the angles with your iron (by the way, I use a steam iron on a

medium setting and a large wood paint brush handle to hold down seams

while I press—so I don’t steam my fingers.)

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Fold the corners again so that the raw edges are trapped inside. Pin in place.

See how narrow the top has become? You want this section to be fairly

narrow. Also fold the top raw edge down a single time (¼”) and iron.

Fold, iron and pin both sides at the same time so that the two rectangles

match fairly closely. The top hem should still have the raw edge exposed.

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Stitch in a single row from one arm hole to the neck and down the other arm

hole. It is really hard to see the stitches for the floral print, so here they are for

the other dress pieces too. Below left: inside view, below right: outside view.

Okay, now we can finish the top hem so that the ribbon or tie can be strung

through. Fold the top down about ¾” to 1.” The width of the top hem should

be just a bit wider than the ribbon you are threading through, so for a smaller

doll, you don’t need as wide a hem.

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Iron, press and stitch the top hem so it becomes a little curtain type “rod

pocket” hem like you see below. Make sure to stitch close to the lower edge of

the hem so that your ribbon will have plenty of wiggle room.

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Now pin the right sides facing together.

Stitch along the sides stopping at the arm holes.

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Here is an easier to see view of the side stitches. Notice there is a straight

stitch, but I have also added a zigzag stitch along the side seams. The zigzag is

not required, but it will help prevent edge fraying. The brown fabric I am

working with here is very eager to unravel, so reinforcement was a must and

zigzags help if you don’t have a surger. You could also use Fray Check.

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Our tube is complete! If you open it up, here is what it looks like from the side.

We have a tube open on both ends with little angled arm holes.

You can thread the ribbon through while the dress is still inside out or you can

turn it and thread it. I do either. Begin with a longer length of ribbon—you can

always cut it shorter later.

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To run the ribbon through the fabric hem tunnels, I use a small dowel. I fold

the ribbon over the end and then push the dowel through. You could also use a

large-hole plastic needle or similar tool.

Below: A view of the untied strap side. See how the ribbon closes the arm hole

gap along the top? This ribbon is what will keep the dress on your doll :).

If you haven’t already, go ahead and turn the dress right side out, put it on the

doll, tie the bow and admire your handy work! And now you can adjust your

pattern as needed so the next dress will fit even better. Or create new patterns

for additional doll scales :).

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Here is a close up view of the top of the dress so you can see how the pieces

are threaded and tied:

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If you want the tie in the front or back center of the dress, you can create a

button hole in the center of the panel. You’ll want to complete this step after

the arm hole hemming on page 11, but before the final ribbon encasing fold

along the top of the dress. First fold the dress top down to the final top hem

height and pin in place. Use a fabric marker to indicate where you want the

ribbon to come out on either the front or back panels.

Use a buttonhole stitch or a bunch of zigzag stitches on top of themselves if

you can’t find your button hole presser foot. ;p Cut in the slit and Use some

Fray Check to reinforce the area. Then continue finishing the dress as normal.

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When you thread the ribbon

through, you can feed both

ends out the center hole.

Ta dah! Now we are ready

for warm weather fun! Or a

heavy sweater… Tip—I ironed her silk ribbon bow to make it flat.

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This is a Doll Project Tutorial from Jessica Hamilton

I send out free projects (mostly doll-related) on the first Friday of every

month. If you would like to join my free email newsletter list, you can sign up

at http://dollproject.com :].

Copyright and Usage

© 2013 Jessica Hamilton, dba Doll Project

All rights reserved. No part of this tutorial may be reproduced or transmitted in

any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying or otherwise

without prior written permission of Jessica Hamilton. All patterns are original

designs created by Jessica Hamilton.

Purchaser may sell the projects created using this tutorial without restriction as

long as it is the purchaser making the product (not a factory).

http://dollproject.com/

©2013 jessica hamilton, pillowcase ... · 3 pillowcase doll dress: a doll project tutorial ©2013...

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