Make a boutique style Valentine Skirt for your Doll with the Twinkle Twirl PDF Sewing Pattern
There’s plenty of time to make the dolls in your life a cute, sweet skirt to celebrate Valentine’s Day. Oh Sew Kat! pdf patterns are quick to download and you print the pages on your home computer so you can get started on your project right away!
This simple pattern helps you make a pull on skirt that is easy for little hands to dress their own dolls. Add ruffles, trims, or lace for lots of twirly goodness. Kendall probably needs a sweater with her skirt and Popsicle Top where we live.
This easy to sew twirl skirt will be the perfect gift for your doll loving girl this Valentine’s Day
Mix and match your pinks, reds, and whites with the Twinkle Twirl Boutique Style Twirl Skirt sewing pattern. Instructions and pattern pieces are included for 5 different doll sizes and there are lots of options to mix and match. Add a ruffle to the waistband, or the hem…use four panels for the skirt or 9! It’s your skirt that you can make your way! Try store bought trims and bias tapes to add to your one of a kind skirt.
The Twinkle Twirl Skirt from Oh Sew Kat! patterns is a quick skirt to make and comes with five sizes included!! Make one of three versions for your 18 inch doll like American Girl®, 16 inch dolls like A Girl for All Time® or Animators, 15 inch baby dolls and 14.5 inch dolls like Welliewishers™. Enjoy these beautiful skirts made by the Oh Sew Kat! testers!
Juliette (Somewhere in time, a Doll) made darling mix and match Twinkle Twirl Skirts and Popsicle Tops in black, white, and red prints. Each one is cuter than the last!
The Twinkle Twirl skirt will also fit the new 15 inch Ruby Red Fashion Friends dolls that have become so popular lately.
Don’t forget your cute, Animators’ dolls! The princess set loves to twirl and dance in ruffly skirts too! Michele’s Elena looks so sweet in her red and yellow outfit!
When my daughter was younger and her holiday gift list was long with dolls, outfits and accessories from the American Girl® store, our budget was not quite as big as she might have liked. Even back then, I knew a few crafting skills and tools would let me spend my budget on dolls and furniture, and I could save more than a few dollars by creating my own outfits for the dolls. Sometimes I did historical fashions- sometimes I matched my daughter’s own clothing, and sometimes I just did a DIY of my own version of something in the shop.
Create your own sparkly pink snowflake tee shirt and silver sparkle skirt outfit with a few craft supplies and fabric. This post contains affiliate links. That means when you click on a link, I may receive a very small compensation (at no cost to you, of course!) but all the products used were purchased by me for my own use. See my full policy and disclosure HERE and thank you from the bottom of my heart for helping to support my blog and Oh Sew Kat! pattern shop!
Here is the outfit I made- and I was able to personalize it a little bit as well.
The easiest way to create your own snowflake tee shirt is to purchase shirts that are already made. I found some short sleeve ones on Amazon. (I like to keep a bunch of solid tees on hand in a variety of colors, but didn’t have a long sleeve pink one today.) You can also make your own! I did one of each! See more winter themed outfits for dolls in the Winter Outfit Inspiration Gallery.
To make your own long sleeved tee shirt there are two options with Oh Sew Kat! patterns. Use the Simple Sweet Tee pattern and simply add some length to make the sleeves longer (with this pattern, you can also use sparkly fold over elastic at the neck and wrists for even more shine!), or use the turtleneck shirt pattern found in the Jumping Jack 3 in 1 bundle. Find both patterns HERE.
I make my graphic tee shirts with my Cricut® machine. I actually own three of them- the Cricut Maker, the Cricut Explore Air, and the Cricut Joy. You can use any one of the machines, or any other electronic cutter that you like. You can even use scissors!! Here is what you will need to decorate your own tee shirts:
Heat Transfer Vinyl(found in most craft and big box stores, or order from Cricut HERE. I am using Cricut Smart Iron On made specifically for the Cricut Joy machine, which allows me to cut without using a mat, which is great for small projects like doll tees. I used glossy holographic HTV for my tees.
Electronic Cutter (I am using the cute Cricut JOY. It’s perfect for doll size projects, Learn more HERE.)
Weeding Tools– Your seam ripper also works great for this!
Heat Press or Iron (I’m using the Cricut Mini heat press which is also perfect scale for doll projects. A regular iron will work just as well but if you find yourself doing a lot of HTV projects, you may want to invest in a press that runs a little hotter and is easier to set to a specific temp and time. Cricut makes 4 sizes! Find them at Cricut and Amazon.
Snow Cute Outfit Part 1: Pink Snowflake Tee Shirt
Tee Shirt Prep
If you are using a tee shirt you purchased or have already made, skip to the next step.
If you are making your own tee shirt, cut out all of your fabric pieces according to the pattern directions. I used the Jumping Jack 3 in 1 turtleneck (but made it with a lower neckband) or you can use the Simple Sweet Tee and lengthen the sleeves. You will want to add your snowflakes before you sew your shirt together. This means you can also decorate the sleeves if you like! (I decided to do this at the last minute. I used another doll shirt for a placement guide as I didn’t want the snowflakes going down the back of the doll’s arm where it would not be seen. Your design will be more to one side than down the center of the sleeve in this case.)
Create Your Snowflake Graphic and Cut it Out
Shortcut for Cricut Users: CLICK HERE to access my Design Space File. All of these snowflakes are available to use with Cricut Access. You can use any snowflakes you like.
I’m using Design Space from Cricut. If you are using a different software, refer to that site for instructions to create and cut a design. (You tube is also a great resource!)
Open Design Space and search for Snowflakes in the Design Space Catalog. For a small fee (less than $10 a month) you can have access to thousands of designs whenever you need them. It’s called Cricut Access and is well worth the investment if you do a lot of crafting projects. Read more about it HERE.). Choose a few designs you like and add them to your canvas/page. Because dolls have small shirts, keep designs simple. You can see the few I selected in photo 2. You can also choose two color designs and use hologram, gold, silver, white etc in lots of fun different ways.
Select your design and resize it to fit on the front of your doll’s tee shirt. I usually size it to around 2-3 inches for 18 inch dolls. Play with the angles and arrange them. Once you are happy with how it is arranged, draw a marquis (drag a square) around the design, and click ATTACH so the snowflakes will stay arranged exactly how you placed them. Kat’s Tip: Draw (add a cut line) a square/rectangle around your completed design and attach it when you are ready to cut. This will also cut lines around your design to help with weeding and to preserve your materials for the next project. (Photo 2)
Follow the screen prompts to cut your HTV. (Photo 1) Remember to place the shiny side down! If you have words or a one way design, don’t forget to hit mirror as you are cutting it backwards. I am using Cricut holographic Iron On vinyl. The front side is a silver rainbow, and the back is pink. Your material may look different. Save your scraps! Doll projects are great HTV scrap busting projects.
DIY Pink Snowflake Tee Shirt Tutorial for 18 inch Dolls
Press your Snowflakes onto the Tee Shirt
Once your design is cut out, use your weeding tool to remove all the negative space, so the only material left on the clear carrier sheet is what you actually want to show up on your tee shirt. (Photo 2) You can see from the photo above, that the square I cut around my design made it very easy to weed and to cut away from my unused material. I cut the design two times at once because, well, why make one when you can make two in the same amount of time?
Heat up your Heat Press or your Iron and following the heating guide for the material you are using, press the snowflake design to your tee shirt. I like to press mine on a press mat for the best results. I saved the link to the Cricut Heat Press Guide to the home screen of my phone for easy access. (Photo 3)
Tip: Crease the center front to show you where the center line of the tee is to help center your design.
Place your design (wrong/sticky side down). Press it in place, following the appropriate heat press guide.
Once the shirt front cools, you can assemble the shirt as directed if you are not using a premade shirt. (Photo 4)
The holographic HTV is stunning!! It even comes in different “shades of color”- I think this is the pink one. Fun!! These pictures do not do it justice. But add a little more sparkle if you like with crystals from the craft store. My favorite brand are Swarovski like this assortment on Amazon. The best part about making your own version of this pretty pink shirt, is you can easily make the design a little bigger- and make one for your girl to match!
I simply searched through my stash to find any silver sparkly material I already had on hand. You can often find it in the costume fabric section of craft stores- and enjoy great sales leading up to Halloween (Kat’s Tip: stock up on a yard or two of some basics colors each year and you won’t be overwhelmed, but still have enough to use for small doll projects.)
You can use a pattern (Four Season Skirt? Sixth Grade Skirt?), or you can simply make your own. Here is a simple way to make a gathered skirt.
Materials: 7 x 20-30 inch piece of fabric (depending on size of doll) and fold over elastic that matches for waistband (7-12 inches depending on your doll), and basic sewing supplies
You need two measurements for your doll. Waist and desired length from waistband to hem. For 18 inch dolls, I use a 10 inch waist, and 5 inches from waistband (top of) to hem as the finished length. If you have to hem your fabric, you will need to add an additional 1/4-1/2 inch (no matter the doll size) as well as 1/4 inch to attach the skirt to the waistband. (For a 14 inch doll I would use a 6 inch piece of elastic, and cut my skirt about 3 1/2 x 18-20 inches, depending on if it needs to be hemmed or not.)
You will cut the skirt piece longer (side to side) for a fuller skirt, and shorter for less fullness. I suggest a minimum of 1.5 times the waist measurement for a basic skirt. Most skirts are more along the lines of 2 or 2 1/2 times the waistband measurement. Keep in mind that thicker fabrics will have more bulk when gathered so you may want to reduce the length to keep the fullness down. It’s all a lot of trial and error and personal choice, of course.
Cut your shiny fabric skirt. For an 18 inch doll, I cut mine 30 inches long by 5 1/2 inches tall because of the drape and weight of the sequin dot fabric. The thinner your fabric, the longer you want to make your skirt so it will be more full. I would probably use more if the fabric was cotton or another stiff fabric. Many specialty fabrics do not fray, so you may be able to get away with just a serged edge/rolled hem or even none at all. It will depend on your fabric. If you need to hem one edge, do this now. Sew the short ends of the skirt together, with right sides together to make one big circle. Place a pin, piece of colored washi tape, or clip at the seam. Using the seam as your first mark, divide the skirt into four equal sections, marking each one with a pin, tape, or clip. I usually put the seam as one side, and extend the piece out to mark half way. Then line up the seam and the halfway pin, pulling the sides out to now show the 1/4th. You should have divided your hemmed skirt piece into four equal sections. (Photo 1)
Cut your elastic to fit the doll’s waistband – 1/2 inch. For an 18 inch doll, I cut mine at 10 inches. This gives me some overlap while still ensuring a snug (but not tight) fit. With right sides together, overlap the edges and sew the waistband together, making a circle. Like the skirt, divide the waistband into four equal sections and mark with a pin, tape, or clip. (Photo 1)
Run a row (or two) of gathering stitches along the top edge of the skirt.
With right side of the skirt to the wrong side of the waistband, pin the skirt top edge to the waistband, matching up the pins or clips and pulling up the gathering thread to fit. Ensure that the edge of the waistband fully covers the raw edge of the skirt. Stretch the waistband as you sew with a 1/4th seam allowance. Remove all pins, tape, and clips, and also the gathering thread. (Photo 2 and 3)
Easy peasy, right? You can easily make this skirt out of any fabric you have- knits, wovens, satins and more. It’s also a great way to make a simple tulle tutu! Increase your skirt length to make it longer, or width to make it more full. Add fun lace, hems, tulle, or layer fabrics together for even more different skirts. In fact, you can also use the free pattern: Four Season Skirt pattern. My silver fabric was so sheer- it wouldn’t work for a skirt (maybe a pretty overskirt! Will have to try that!) so I placed it on white fabric and sewed it up as one piece. It’s also quite sparkly and super easy to do as well!
DIY Simple Sparkle Skirt for Dolls like American Girl® and Our Generation®
Here comes Santa Claus, here comes Santa Claus…right down Santa Claus Lane. It’s time for festive and fun outfits you create for your dolls with easy PDF sewing patterns from Oh Sew Kat!
The Boardwalk Boutique looks like a summer pattern on its surface (and it is named for the beach!) with its ruffled capris and halter top. But if you let your mind wander… a few color changes and a long sleeve peasant top underneath, and you’ve got the perfect santa outfit for your doll. See this POST for more details, and also the elf and gingerbread versions too!
The Boardwalk Boutique pattern is also sized for the 15 inch baby dolls like Bitty Baby and Bitty Twins. There is a 16 inch size for Disney Animators’ dolls as well as the 14 inch size for Welliewishers™ and Glitter Girls® dolls. Find the Playtime Peasant Top pattern for all of them as well in my Etsy shop.
Your Doll with Love a Santa Apron this Holiday Season
Ruthie is ready for cookie making in her cute, holiday apron. I made it with the top from the Boardwalk Boutique pattern. Find the full tutorial for both this santa version and an elf apron HERE. Here’s a link to the pattern, which is available in five popular doll sizes. Ruthie is wearing her apron over a Jumping Jack turtleneck shirt and a Twinkle Twirl Skirt. All of these patterns are available in the OhSewKat etsy shop.
Make cute holiday outfits for your dolls with the Jumping Jack PDF Sewing Pattern
The Jumping Jack 3 in 1 PDF Pattern is the perfect canvas for “character” outfits. I simply used red, cotton fabric and gave the shirt a white neckband and cuffs. Add a black belt and a cute hat (sold by American Girl®) and Maryellen is an adorable santa!
Make an 18 inch Doll a cute Santa themed dress with Oh Sew Kat! patterns
The Jumping Jack jumper is fully reversible. Find the pattern HERE. I used this cute santa print from Doodlebug Designs on the other side for two holiday outfits in one! Another good idea is to put a Valentine fabric on the inside. See more ideas for the Jumping Jack pattern here, here, and HERE.
What fun outfits are you making for the dolls on your gift list this year? Click on the photos below for even more holiday sewing ideas.
The Twinkle Twirl Skirt from Oh Sew Kat! patterns is a quick skirt to make and comes with five sizes included!! Make one of three versions for your 18 inch doll like American Girl®, 16 inch dolls like A Girl for All Time® or Animators, 15 inch baby dolls and 14.5 inch dolls like Welliewishers™. Enjoy these beautiful skirts made by the Oh Sew Kat! testers!
Juliette (Somewhere in time, a Doll) made darling mix and match Twinkle Twirl Skirts and Popsicle Tops in black, white, and red prints. Each one is cuter than the last!
The Twinkle Twirl skirt will also fit the new 15 inch Ruby Red Fashion Friends dolls that have become so popular lately.
Don’t forget your cute, Animators’ dolls! The princess set loves to twirl and dance in ruffly skirts too! Jenny’s Rapunzel is ready to set off into the woods to play! Her shirt is made with the Oh Sew Kat! Simple Sweet Tee.
Make an 80s Style Care Bears nightgown for 18 inch Dolls like Courtney Moore
Use the Bloomer Buddies PDF sewing pattern to make a classic nightgown for your 1980’s Courtney Moore™ doll. I made my nightgown from soft, Care Bears® flannel fabric that I found at my local Joann’s store. When I went to college in 1986, I loved the Care Bears® too. My mom made me a nightgown just like this (but the background of the fabric was white.) The girls in the dorm did think I was a little weird. No worries, I’m sure I was. Ha ha!
DIY Doll clothes for Courtney the 80s doll with easy digital sewing patterns from OH Sew Kat!
Find the Bloomer Buddies sewing pattern in 3 doll sizes here.
Use the dress length pattern pieces and lengthen the sleeves about 3 1/2 inches to meet the wrist, like I did in THIS post and THIS one. Otherwise just follow the pattern directions. You could also make the top length, and add some cute pajama pants for a different look like in THIS POST!
I know we all are drawn to fun, novelty and holiday fabric packs, but when making doll clothes, it can be hard to choose a pattern to show them off. Twinkle Twirl Skirt to the rescue! This easy pattern was designed for the mix and match quilters’ fabric look- often referred to “boutique” style. When my daughter was young, she wore skirts like this every day of the week, adding fun striped socks and her UGG® boots or high top converse tennis shoes.
I made this cute skirt with 3 fabrics. The trick or treat fabrics are opposite each other, with the purple characters and green spiders in the middle. So I can turn it a different part of the skirt to the front for a different look!
Make an Eloise Inspired Outfit for your 18 inch Doll
The Sugar n Spice and Everything Nice patterns are mostly sold as one pattern or bundle. The 18 inch size was only created as one version, but both the 16 inch Animator and 14 inch Welliewisher™ sizes can be purchased as the Sugar n Spice dress pattern, the Everything Nice accessories pattern, or as the Sugar n Spice Everything Nice pattern bundle. Find them all in my Etsy Shop.
To make the black suspender skirt, an iconic look for Miss Eloise, I used the overskirt pattern, found in the Everything Nice accessories pattern. You might want to make it more full than the pattern calls for, but this basic, open back gathered skirt has a nice waistband. My fabric was 29 inches long, so that is what I used. I also took off 1 inch from the hem. Instead of a regular gathered skirt (which will still look very cute!) I pleated my fabric every 3/8th inch or so (I did not measure) and it fit perfectly to my waistband. If you choose to do this, I recommend cutting your skirt piece longer than you need and trimming to fit just in case.
18 inch doll sewing pattern for an Eloise inspired Suspender Skirt
Once you attach the skirt to the waistband, try it on your doll and mark or pin the strap placement. Pin the straps in place inside the skirt (front and back, being careful not to let them twist). On the front, sew a few stitches to secure the straps right in the center of the waistband. On the back, consider hiding your stitches in the hook and loop tape area or the topstitching. Sew the buttons to the front of the waistband where the straps meet the skirt, covering the stitches that attached the straps. For this outfit, I used 9.5 inches of black Fold over elastic for my straps. If using fabric, cut two pieces, 11 x 1.25 inches, folding in each long edge to the center and stitching in place.
I chose a Playtime Peasant Top for my Eloise costume because all the photos of her seem to have a baggy, almost untucked look to the front of her shirt. Even though it doesn’t have a collar, it still created the look I was after. You could easily add a collar to the bodice of the Sugar n Spice dress and make it into a blouse. You could also use the school blouse pattern from the Pleasant Company Molly’s Pretty Clothes patterns. You can find those at a site called AG Playthings. White knee socks and black mary jane style shoes can be found at American Girl®. See this POST for more doll shoe sources.
Add a bright read headband with this easy TUTORIAL and she’s ready for tea at the Plaza! Find Eloise stories on Ad: Amazon. See more pattern hacks and ideas for the Sugar n Spice dress HERE and HERE.
Before I publish a new pattern, I send it out to my amazing team of Oh Sew Kat! testers. I love to get their feedback and see what they come up with. Here are a few photos from some of the test outfits of the new Twinkle Twirl Skirt pattern. You can find it in my Etsy Shop with five sizes included in one pattern! Be sure to notice all the different tops you can use with this skirt. Patterns are all by Oh Sew Kat and found on etsy.
Twinkle Twirl Skirts for Dolls in 5 Sizes by OhSewKat.
Leah’s outfit, made by Michele, has a western flair. The sunny colors are perfect on her. Her top is made with just the bodice of the Spring Shine Dress pattern. Michele is very talented, no matter what doll size she is sewing for! All of her Twinkle Twirl Skirts are just darling!
Be inspired by the OhSewKat testers and the Twinkle Twirl Skirt Sewing Pattern.
Shh. Baby is sleeping! Magz not only stitched up an adorable Twinkle Twirl Skirt in the 15 inch baby size, but she sent over the cutest photographs! I love the pop of green with the black accents on this skirt. Her top is made with the Simple Sweet Tee Shirt pattern.
Kathy’s cute Twinkle Twirl Skirt has a primary colors school theme. Her Popsicle Top is reversible for two outfits in one! Kathy made her own bias tape to match the ruffle on her skirt. There are so many options for you to try!
Michele added a patriotic theme to her test outfits. Aren’t these darling? Willa has a Picnic Play top with her Twinkle Twirl Skirt with hem ruffle and Kendall is wearing a top made with just the bodice of the Spring Shine Dress with her simple patchwork skirt. These girls are ready for a hoe down! Visit the inspiration gallery to see more ideas with this simple to sew pattern.
Find the Twinkle Twirl Skirt Pattern (with 3 styles and 5 sizes in one pattern) in the OhSewKat Etsy Shop.
Do you use a serger when you sew your doll clothes? I’ve always felt that a serger is as essential as my sewing machine but I know everyone has a different view on this.
Try this easy Serger Setting Tip from Oh Sew Kat!
The Twinkle Twirl Skirt PDF sewing pattern offers many variations for adding different ruffles and hems. When making long and thin ruffles, the serger can be your best friend! You can use a rolled hem to finish the edge (in matching or contrasting colors) in just one step, compared to finishing, pressing, and hemming those little strips.
You can see that the thin, black ruffle at the bottom of Joss’ pink Twinkle Twirl skirt (above) is gathered just above the middle of the ruffle and is attached to the skirt on the outside. Both edges of the ruffle, as well as the pink hem, were finished with a rolled hem.
Use this Serger Settings Tip to Easily Change from an overlock to rolled hem stitch
Here’s a quick tip to make it super easy to switch back and forth between your 3/4 thread overlock stitch and a rolled hem. You will need two colors of some sort of sticker, washi tape, or vinyl scraps. Cut each color into 4-5 tiny triangles. And by tiny, I mean tiny. Maybe 1/4th inch long.
Most of us leave our serger set to a standard overlock stitch. I use a three thread since it creates a smaller stitch for doll clothes. Take one set of your colored triangles and use them to “point” to the current settings. My serger has two knobs, plus one letter dial. So I made a blue triangle point to each dial’s current setting.
Next, you will want to set up for a rolled hem.
The first place to look to make a rolled hem on your particular serger is in your owner’s manual or threading guide. This will tell you how to set your machine up and what dials and settings you will likely use. I also suggest heading over to YouTube to search for your specific brand-rolled hem.
Change all the settings to the rolled hem settings and test it on a scrap of fabric like the fabric that you use most often. Adjust the length and / or width until you are happy with the stitch. Now use a different color to mark these settings.
You might want to add an extra little sticker on a piece of tape on the inside of your machine as a key to remember which is which.
Once you finish your rolled hem, simple move all of your dials back to your 1st color (blue in my case), and test it on a scrap. The next time you need a rolled hem, you won’t need to look up the settings again, just turn all of your dials to your second color. You can add more colors if there are other stitches that you frequently use, such as a 4 thread, which on my serger, are green. For the most part, I just move back and forth between the 3 thread (blue) and a rolled hem (pink). I also used my label maker to remind me which dial is the width and which is the length.
Try Kat’s Quick Tip for Your Serger Settings
Easy peasy, right? I’m sure you will now find lots of way to reduce your sewing time plus add a fun accent to your doll clothes by adding a rolled hem.
