Chiffon Bubble Skirt for 18-inch Doll

  {18-inch doll skirt week :: day 3}
Today it's a chiffon bubble skirt. These skirts are so light, floaty, and lovely!

 Supplies needed:

• 12 inches of 4 inch wide double layer chiffon ruffle with satin ribbon at $5.99 per yard, 12 inches will only cost $1.99
• a fine sewing machine needle, I used 70/10
• Velcro mini fasteners, 3/8 inch dots (self-adhesive circles), with a package of 56 costing $3.49, that's only $.06 each

 Instructions:

•  With right sides together and using a shorter stitch, sew a .25 inch seam, starting at 2 inches down from the top of the skirt and stopping 2 inches before the end on the other side, backstitching at the beginning and end. A 'U' shaped seam will be made so the seam allowances are inside the bubble skirt.

•  Attach the Velcro mini fasteners to the satin ribbon part at the back of the skirt

• Apply Fray Check to the raw edges of the satin ribbon and exposed raw edges of the chiffon to prevent fraying

 Total cost of one chiffon bubble skirt is $2.05

 Here is what it looks like with a bubble skirt layered on top of another bubble skirt.

Next up, day 4 of 18-inch doll skirt week.

Happy Mother's Day to all the mom's out there :)

Quick round-up of all my 18-inch doll creations:

• Popover dresses
• Reversible skirts
• Tea Party dresses
• Doll carrier
• Elastic-waist skirts
• Katie dress
• Newborn onesies to t-shirts and nightgowns
• No-sew tutu
• Petticoat

Petticoat for 18-inch Doll

  {18-inch doll skirt week :: day 2}

Today it's a petticoat, slip, or skirt made out of eyelet trim.

Supplies needed:

• 12 inches of 3.5 - 5 3/8 inch wide eyelet trim at $3.79-$5.49 per yard, 12 inches will only cost $1.26-$1.83

When I got home from the store I noticed that 2 of the pieces were 12 inches and 2 of the pieces were 13 inches. With doll clothes an inch can make a big difference, so I sewed them up a bit differently...

 For the two pieces that were 12 inches, starting at 2 inches from the top I sewed a .25 inch seam down to the bottom of the skirt (backstitching at start and end). I ironed the seam open, then topstitched around the opening.

 Then I attached Velcro mini fasteners, 3/8 inch dots (self-adhesive circles), with a package of 56 costing $3.49, that's only $.06 each.

 The other 2 pieces were 13 inches long, so for these first I ironed .25 inches to the wrong side.

I then topstitched them.

 Lastly, I sewed a wide Velcro (5/8 inched wide) strip down almost all of the length of the skirt.

See you later for day 3 of 18-inch doll skirt week :)

Quick round-up of all my 18-inch doll creations:

• Popover dresses
• Reversible skirts
• Tea Party dresses
• Doll carrier
• Elastic-waist skirts
• Katie dress
• Newborn onesies to t-shirts and nightgowns
• No-sew tutu

No-Sew Tutu for 18-inch Doll

 {18-inch doll skirt week :: day 1}

Welcome to a week of 18-inch doll skirts. For day 1 I have a no-sew tutu for you.

Supplies needed:

• 12 inches of 3.5 inch wide sparkle tulle trim with satin ribbon at $4.99 per yard, 12 inches will only cost $1.66

•  Velcro mini fasteners, 3/8 inch dots (self-adhesive circles), with a package of 56 costing $3.49, that's only $.06 each

 Instructions: 

• Attach Velcro mini fasteners to the stain ribbon part of the back of the tutu

•  Optional: Apply Fray Check to the raw edges of the satin ribbon to prevent fraying

 Total cost of one tutu: $1.72

 This is what the tutu looks like individually, the first photo on the top shows 3 tutus layered one on top of the other.

See you later for day 2 of 18-inch doll skirt week :)

Quick round-up of all my 18-inch doll creations:

• Popover doll dresses
• Reversible skirts
• Tea Party doll dresses
• Doll carrier
• Elastic-waist skirts
• Katie dress
• Newborn onesies to t-shirts and nightgowns

Newborn Onesies to 18-inch Doll Clothes

 This is a super quick instant gratification project taking newborn onesies and turning them into t-shirts and nightgowns for an 18-inch doll.

 Newborn onesies are sized 5 to 8 pounds. I bought all of these at a used clothing sale, at less than $1.50 each.

 You can easily find used newborn onesies in terrific shape with no stains because as we all know babies don't stay 5 to 8 pounds for very long, they don't even have time to wear them very long.

 For the t-shirt:

• Measure from the shoulders down 6.5 inches, I used a quilting ruler and a rotary cutter and cut a straight line across.

•  For the hem, iron .5 inch from the bottom, stitch at 3/8 inch with a twin needle.

 The twin needle I used was 4.0 for stretch fabric.

 I was happy to make several t-shirts as the doll already has lots of reversible and elastic waist skirts, so now she's got tops to go with them :)

 For the nightgown:

• I used the longer onesies and to maximize fabric I used a seam ripper to remove the ribbing at the hip area, then cut straight across with a rotary cutter as shown in the photo.

•  For the hem, iron .5 inch from the bottom, stitch at 3/8 inch with a twin needle.

 Everything just slips over the head, no closures to worry about.

So for about $1.50 you can make one of these with minimal effort, if you shop for 18-inch doll clothes you already know that $1.50 is a good deal.

Here's a quick round-up of what I've made for the doll so far:

• Popover doll dresses
• Reversible skirts
• Tea Party doll dresses
• Doll carrier
• Elastic waist skirts
• Katie dress

Katie 18-inch Doll Dress

 The Katie 18-inch doll dress is a cute little sleeveless dress with a 7 inch regular zipper in the back. Most doll clothes have Velcro, but Velcro can snag onto so many things like tights and other clothing. You would think that installing a zipper in doll clothing would be difficult, but it really wasn't.

 The fabric came from the leftovers of the Laura Ashley bridesmaid dress and the dress has the same silhouette as the re-engineered dress. I had just enough leftover piping (from the original dress) for piping at the waistline for this one.

If you're looking for a free dress pattern and tutorial for an 18-inch doll, I highly recommend this one. I will definitely be sewing more of these.

18-inch Doll Elastic-Waist Skirt

 I sewed up several lazy days skirts for an 18-inch doll. Would you like to sew some, too? It is a really quick and easy project.

Dots & Dashes Multi Poplin fabric from the Lisette collection matches her Pattern 8 dress

What you need:

• 22 inches by 7 inches of fabric
• 10.5 inches of 3/8 inch wide elastic
• 22 inches of 3/8 inch wide ribbon

Fold and press the skirt's top edge twice to the wrong side, first .5 inch and then .5 inch otherwise follow the remaining instructions for the Oliver+S lazy days skirt (free tutorial). I sewed a French seam for the side seam. Also I placed the ribbon at 3/8 inch above the skirt's raw edge.

For a fuller and longer skirt:

• 30 inches by 9 inches of fabric
• 10.5 inches of 3/8 inch wide elastic
• 30 inches 3/8 inch wide ribbon

Fold and press the skirt's top edge twice to the wrong side, first .5 inch and then .5 inch otherwise follow the remaining instructions for the Oliver+S lazy days skirt (free tutorial). I sewed a French seam for the side seam. Also I placed the ribbon at 3/8 inch above the skirt's raw edge.

PS If you liked this, you might also be interested in my other posts about 18-inch doll clothing/accessories:

• Popover Doll Dresses
• Reversible Skirts
• Tea Party Doll Dresses
• Doll Carrier

Two Tea Party Doll Dresses

 There is currently a Little Things to Sew: Cover to Cover Challenge going over at Bartacks and Singletrack until August 31st, 2014.

Sew one (or more) of the 21 projects from the book and add it to the Flickr group.

So far from the book, I've made a tutu, mittens, 4 art smocks (found here: 1, 2, 3 &4), and today I'm sharing my latest creation… 2 tea party doll dresses.

Project details
Pattern: Tea Party Doll Dress (difficulty level 2 out of 4 scissors) from the Little Things to Sew book
Size: 18-inch doll
Fabrics:
dress 1: pink/white/gray vintage floral (leftover fabric from a Pattern 8 dress and a popover sundress), DS quilt collection blue floral from JoAnn (leftover from a Holly Hobbie outfit)
dress 2: green/white/blue vintage floral (leftover fabric from an origami collar dress and a popover sundress), solid blue cotton
Notions: buttons, Velcro
Mods: I used Velcro for the closures instead of snaps, I would recommend using snaps as was suggested in the list of materials

Don't let the tiny size of this doll dress fool you, it takes just as much time to sew one of these up as it does a girl dress. If you're looking for a quicker and easier doll dress to make, try the Popover Sundress.

PS Looking for more clothes to sew for an 18-inch doll? How about a reversible skirt?