Last month, Oh Sew Kat! featured the Sunshine Dress Sewing Pattern all month long. As the Pattern Pick of the Month, it was on sale for the 1st five days and we posted lots of samples, ideas, and more all month long. Stay tuned to the newsletter to see when we offer a Pattern Pick of the Month so you can join in the fun.
Sew a Sunshine Doll Dress for your 18 inch doll like American Girl.
The Sunshine Dress sewing pattern is a simple to sew A Line dress with three variations for the front. Make it with a straight contrast, pretty princess seams, or leave the front as one solid piece (easier and quick to sew) and embellish with machine embroidery, iron on designs, or trims and appliques. The short sleeves are perfect for summer…or make a sleeveless shift with THIS TUTORIAL. The Sunshine Dress is available in 3 popular doll sizes.
Make a doll dress for your 18 inch doll with the easy to sew, Sunshine Dress Sewing Pattern
I bought a bundle of these ombre fabrics with metallic gold dots awhile back. The Sunshine Dress is the perfect canvas to give the light to dark a chance to shine. The turquoise color matches Saige’s eyes perfectly! The fabric is part of the Ombre Confetti Collection by Vanessa Christenson for Moda Fabrics.
Need an easy to sew pattern? Try the Oh Sew Kat! Sunshine Dress
See more ideas for the Sunshine Dress HERE, HERE, and HERE. Don’t forget to stop by the Inspiration Gallery! The Sunshine Dress is a simple dress that looks different every time you sew~ mix and match the front panels to create a dress as unique as your doll!
Oh Sew Kat! has a new sewing pattern for your 18 inch dolls! The Spring Shine Dress or Top sewing pattern is now available in my Etsy Shop. Whether as a dress or a top, the Spring Shine’s dress feminine bodice and pretty, flutter sleeves will be the perfect outfit for the fresh, warm weather. The faux placket is easily formed with a fold and the back closes with hook and loop tape. Make it twirl ready with a full skirt, or keep it short and simple. You can add pretty trim or lace to either side of the placket and tiny buttons or sparkles to create your own, unique Spring Shine Dress.
New Pattern Introductory Offer: Get the Spring Shine Dress Pattern for $3.99 through Friday, 19 July.
Click HERE. On Saturday, the price will go up to the regular price of $4.99.
Click here to purchase the Spring Shine Dress or Top 18 inch doll sewing pattern on Etsy.
Complete the look! Make the top and pair it up with the ruffled capri pants from the Boardwalk Boutique pattern, or a pair of Sandbox Shorts. Visit the Spring Shine INSPIRATION PAGE to see more cute dresses!
The Spring Shine Dress is an easy pattern for dolls that is fat quarter friendly.
Blaire’s bee outfit pairs the Spring Shine Top with the Boardwalk Boutique ruffled capri pants.
Make your doll a dress with lace and sparkles using the new Spring Shine Dress sewing pattern.
Find a selection of easy to sew doll clothes patterns, like the Spring Shine Dress, from Oh Sew Kat!
The flutter sleeves are fully lined, and provide the perfect accent to your design.
Please note: This tutorial includes affiliate links. See my policy HERE. This tutorial will also work with other e-cutter machines like Cameo and Scan n Cut (plus more), but it is written for the Cricut machine.
Make your doll a graphic tee shirt to fit your mood and your style.
I found this baseball graphic in the Cricut Design catalog. When I choose a design for a graphic tee for a doll, I look for bold designs with simple details. Fewer colors is a plus as well. If the letters are thin, they may be too hard to read or get messed up in weeding because it is such a small size.
SUPPLIES NEEDED: HEAT TRANSFER VINYL. You can find it on Amazon as well as from Cricut.
Tutorial: Set up your graphics on Design Space & Prepare Your Materials to Cut
Using Design Space, set up your design. For an 18″ doll, I try to keep my designs within a 3 x 2 inch rectangle as the shirts are not very big. Use a smaller area for smaller dolls to keep the graphics in proportion to their size.
Once your design is set up, you need to either reverse it so it’s now backwards, or use the “Mirror” button before cutting. Heat transfer vinyl comes on a “carrier sheet” and this carrier sheet holds your pieces of your design in place and together as you to put the HTV against the fabric. It will be sticky enough to hold your design in place while you press and will peel off after pressing.
Check your cut settings (heat transfer vinyl or iron on setting on your machine), cut your design, and weed off (pull off) the HTV that surrounds the design, so all that is left on the clear carrier sheet is the design pieces you actually want on your shirt. Be sure to get the little bits inside your round letters if you have any words in your design. If the design is multiple colors, cut each one and weed it individually. When you lay it on the shirt, sticky side down, it should now read correctly.
You will press your design from the bottom layer to the top layer, pressing each one individually. The bottom layer is often the biggest, and it will be closest to the shirt. Figure out your pressing order and line up your layers so you don’t make a mistake. For example, for the Captain America logo, I pressed the layers in this order: large red circle, large white circle, small red circle, navy blue circle, white star. Because these shirts are small, it’s easy to eyeball the placement, and I just used my regular iron. If you have a very intricate design, consider using registration marks to line everything up correctly. There are lots of videos on YouTube® on how to do this.
Fold your tee shirt in half to mark the center and press it with your finger. Do the same for the bottom layer of your design. Place the design, carrier sheet sticky side down, onto the shirt, cover with a teflon sheet, and press quickly. Remove the carrier sheet. The type of shirt and type of HTV will determine the temperature and timing for pressing. If you have a lot of layers, you may not want to press each layer for the full time as the layers will be pressed again with each layer. Give the last layer a good 10 seconds of press.
Working from the bottom layer to the top, continue to add each layer and press it in place. You can add multiple colors at one time, but only if the carrier sheets do not overlap. Use a teflon sheet over your design as you work. If you are using any kind of metallic, hologram, or glitter HTV, that layer must be the very top layer or it will not stay pressed in the long run.
Let your dolls speak for themselves with graphic tees made with HTV on a Cricut or Cameo machine.
This Captain America logo was created with simple shapes in Design Space. I just layered circles together with a star on top.
Use your Cricut Machine to make your own doll sized graphic tee shirts and outfits.
This snowflake was cut from glitter vinyl and is much more sparkly than the photo shows. I found the design in the Cricut catalog. I have a subscription to Cricut’s Access– so I can use any designs marked with the “a” whenever I want, instead of having to purchase designs individually. So far, I’ve always been able to find something that I could use for any project I have worked on. Once it was pressed, I added to it with blue crystals for even more of an effect. (Find them in the craft store scrapbook aisle.) Each one you create will be unique and special!
Heat Transfer Vinyl comes in a large selection of colors and finishes. Try a few in doll scale to add your own personal touch to doll fashions you make or you buy.
You can find premade doll tees on Amazon HERE and THIS SELECTION offers a nice variety of HTV to give you lots of options when you start out. (I prefer SISER Easyweed HTV over some others.
In addition to my cricut machines, I also own two Cameo machines. The results will be the same, no matter which machine you own or use. The Silhouette software works very much the same, and you need to mirror your HTV designs as well. Have fun creating a new doll wardrobe with your choice of fun graphics!
It’s Tester Tuesday! Today’s feature is the popular Backyard Bibs PDF sewing pattern by Oh Sew Kat! sized for 16 inch princess dolls like Animators’. These adorable outfits were sewn by the talented Chris Lambrechts. Her fashions use the Backyard Bibs and Playtime Peasant Top patterns by Oh Sew Kat! Both patterns are also available in other popular doll sizes in my Etsy Shop.
Tea anyone? Isn’t this outfit cute with contrasting waistband and straps, plus a cute bow accent!
The apple of my eye: Add a cute pocket to the front of the bibs. The pocket piece is included in the pattern!
Backyard Bibs is the perfect canvas to show off your own artwork- whether it’s painting, embroidery, applique, or heat transfer vinyl.
Or use the Backyard Bibs just to show off your favorite, cute fabrics. Rapunzel looks like she is ready to play this spring. She’s wearing a Popsicle Top under her shorts bibs.
Thank you to Chris for sharing her wonderful sewing talent with us. What style will you make your Backyard Bibs for Animators?
Here at Oh Sew Kat! Designs, you will find quick and easy sewing patterns to make an entire doll clothes wardrobe for your 18 inch dolls (like American Girl®) as well as other, smaller sized dolls, like Wellie Wishers and Bitty Baby®. PDF patterns are simple to use (shop and print at home!) and easy to store (computer files- save your pattern pieces for next time or toss them and print them again later). Read below to learn more about the pattern sites where Oh Sew Kat! patterns are sold.
Many of us have favorite sites we like to use and choose and collect reward points to buy (yes!) more patterns. I want you to be able to shop where you like to shop- so I offer my patterns on multiple selling platforms. Each platform is a little different, and all patterns are not available on all the sites. Click HERE to find the FREE Four Season Skirt pattern in 3 sizes.
Please note: Due to the variety of internet browsers, you should always download your PDF file first, and save it on your computer, before opening it and printing your pieces at actual size.
Where to buy Oh Sew Kat! PDF sewing patterns for dolls
You Can Make This, or YCMT, is a sewing lovers’ dream! This was the site where I first found my love of PDF digital sewing patterns. This site offers much, much more than doll clothes, with a large variety of handbags, kids’ clothes, craft projects, toys, and more from over 300 designers. They offer weekly newsletters, a place to feature the items you’ve made, and also take most forms of payment. You will need to establish an account, but your pattern files will always be available for you in your pattern library. You can also earn points for purchases and use them for future purchases as well.
Nicki is rocking the red in her cute, bandana dress. It sends such a fun, summer and country vibe! It was easy to sew with elastic at the neck and sleeves (no closures) and pulls on over her feet. I found this doll scale bandana fabric in both red and navy blue at Walmart.
Dress your 18 inch doll like a country singer with a bandana print peasant dress and belt.
This is a very simple pattern hack and will work for any size doll, just adjust the measurements to your preferred length. Start with the Playtime Peasant Top Sewing Pattern. It’s available HERE for 18 inch Dolls, and HERE for other popular doll sizes like Bitty Baby and Wellie Wisher, plus more.
Nicki Fleming looks just like a country music pop star in a bandana print Playtime Peasant Dress.
To make this cute dress for your 18 inch doll, simply add one inch to the hem of your Playtime Peasant Top bodice. Cut an additional piece of fabric 3 inches x 30 inches for the ruffle and press it the long way with wrong sides together.
Complete the entire pattern as directed until you get to the hem. You can add the ruffle before or after your sew the 2nd side seam, it’s up to you. Gather the ruffle and with right sides together, attach it to the hem of your dress. Top stitch from the right side of the dress, with the seam allowance towards the dress.
Cut 10 inches of FOLD OVER ELASTIC. Sew the ends together, and use this as a belt. (It also works as a headband!).
Make your 18 inch doll an easy country western peasant dress with the Playtime Peasant Dress Sewing Pattern.
Are your girls and your dolls into superheros? The Backyard Bibs is an easy pattern to alter to fit lots of fun themes. Today I’m sharing one with you… I often share sneak peeks on my facebook and instagram pages. Be sure to check them out and follow both so you don’t miss a thing. Enjoy these Captain America inspired photos.
Make your doll a Captain America dress with the easy Backyard Bibs sewing pattern.
No time to sew it now? Be sure to PIN these images so you can find them later!
Available in five popular doll sizes, the Backyard Bibs is quick to sew with four fun options (two skirts and two pants!).
Captain America themed dress for your 18 inch doll – made with the simple Backyard Bibs pattern by Oh Sew Kat!
I used red, white, and navy blue heat transfer vinyl to iron on the logo on the front of the dress, after cutting it out on my cricut machine. See more information in this POST. The white top under the bibs is made from the Playtime Peasant Top. Find it bundled with the Backyard Bibs HERE. You can use any of the 5 sizes of Backyard Bibs patterns to make fun outfits like this one!
This month, Kat’s Pattern Pick of the Month is the SUNSHINE DRESS. This pattern is available in three sizes (18 inch, 16 inch animators, and 14.5 Wellie Wishers) and as an a line short sleeve styled dress, it offers lots of options to sew it up in different ways for your dolls.
Easy Pattern Hacks for the Sunshine Dress Sewing Pattern by Oh Sew Kat!
Click on each link below to go right to the instructions for the Pattern Hacks.
Make historical fashion outfits for your BeForever Character dolls with Oh Sew Kat’s Sunshine Dress pattern.
Nanea’s muumuu dress was part of a four part series of blog posts in adapting Oh Sew Kat! patterns to make Hawaiian inspired fashions. Find the MuuMuu tutorial HERE and see more ideas for Nanea HERE, HERE, and HERE.
