Using the Cricut Maker or Explore Machines to Embellish Doll Clothes

Use your cricut maker or cricut explore machine to make doll clothes sewing faster, easier and more precise. You can also use a Brother Scan n Cut machine.

This post includes affiliate links. Please read my POLICY here. I’ve been a cricut user since the very first “baby bug” machine came out. Cricut sure has come a long way since then! Don’t know what I’m referring to? Check out this LINK to see what a cricut machine is.

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Decorate your doll clothes with easy to cut pockets, appliques, or accessorize with purses and belts.

Included with the Design Space program are a lot of basic shapes that you can manipulate and cut for free. You can also weld shapes together or slice them apart. Save your files to use them again later. The sparkly pumpkin face on Kelly’s Boardwalk Boutique dress was part of a full pumpkin image. I simply told the cricut to only cut the face using the contour feature in Design Space. You can weld a square and a triangle together to make a pocket. I made the belt and buckle for the holiday apron with two rectangles, and did the same in these Santa and Elf outfits HERE. Iron on is much quick than embroidery!! The new cricut Maker cuts leather very nicely, which opens the door to fun accessories like purses and belts. See my HTV TUTORIAL HERE.

Find more HTV project ideas HERE and HERE.

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Try Infusible Ink and Create One of a Kind Doll Tee Shirts

Infusible ink is a fun new way to add permanent images to your doll clothes. I’ve got a full tutorial on what you need and how to do it HERE. There are so many colors and patterns of infusible ink transfer sheets to choose from, you will easily find the perfect pattern for your dolly girl. The butterfly image on Blaire’s tee was found in the Design Space Library. After I cut it out, I added the piece from the center to the sleeve. My 9×9 inch Easy Press makes this job quick and easy!!

If you are looking for unique images outside of your cutter machine’s library, check out DREAMING TREE and see what is new for you to create!

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Make Fun Accessories for Dolls on your Cricut, Cameo, Scan n Cut Machine

You will have more ideas than time to make them once you dive into your cutting machine and all it can do. Use faux glitter, felt, or faux leather to make cute accessories like belts, bows, straps and more!! See how I made a big cheer bow for Joss in THIS TUTORIAL. This bow (and many more!) can be found in Cricut’s Design Space Library. (Joss’ shirt was also made with HTV from a design in the Cricut library.)

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Make Cute Holiday Decorations for your Doll House with your Cricut or Cameo Machine

Use your cricut machine to make cute holiday banners in tiny doll sizes to decorate your doll’s party rooms and birthday celebrations. See how I made this adorable LOVE banner in THIS TUTORIAL.

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What other ways do you use your cricut machine to have fun with your dolls?

Too busy right now? Pin these images for later! What other ways can you use your Cricut machine to enhance your doll world? Need some basic LEARN HOW TO CRICUT tutorials? My favorites can be found HERE. Tell Megan you were sent by Oh Sew Kat!

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Playtime Peasant Top Long Nightgown Pattern Hack by OhSewKat!

Snuggle in and Snuggle up! Fall is on its way and your dolls need new, snuggly nightgowns! Use the simple to sew Playtime Peasant Top PDF Sewing Pattern and a few tweaks to make your perfect doll nightgown in six popular doll sizes.

Make Easy Nightgowns for Your American Girl Dolls

You can make your nightgowns look exactly as you choose. Make the dress shorter and the ruffle longer. Or make the dress long with a short ruffle or just lace at the hem The choice is yours. I made at least one nightgown in each size, so I offer the “starting points” for you. Use them to create your perfect, cozy nightgown for dolls.

This pattern hack requires the Playtime Peasant Top and Twirl Skirt Pattern. It’s available HERE in five popular doll sizes.

Directions for Playtime Peasant Top Nightgown with Ruffle (All Sizes)

• Cut 2 long sleeves according to the pattern.
• To give your gown more of a flair at the bottom, print a second bodice pattern piece. Fold it in half and tape it to the top, left corner of a new piece of paper.
• Trace the armhole and extend that side edge nearly to the bottom of the page.
• Measure your bodice addition (see below for exact measurement for your size doll) inches below the bottom hem of the pattern piece. Draw a new line, intersecting the side line and continuing on beyond it.
• Measure your width addition (see below for exact measurement for your size doll) from the side line, and make a dot. Connect the dot to the armhole as your new side edge. Cut out your new pattern piece and remove the original bodice piece. Mark the long edge as the center fold. Label your new piece and keep it for next time. Cut 2 of these new pieces, on the fold of fabric, one for the front and one for the back.
• Cut ruffle to measurements as desired, or listed below.
• For Ruffle: Zig zag or serge one long edge, press up 1/4th inch and hem. Gather the top (raw) long edge.
• Assemble the pattern per the instructions, adding the ruffle in place of a hem in Step 11. Optional: Topstitch the ruffle after attaching it.

You really can’t go wrong with how long you make your gown or your ruffle. Below you will find my “starting point” for each size doll. Feel free to experiment and have fun with your own Playtime Peasant Top Nightgown!

18″ American Girl Doll

• Mid Calf Length: Add 1 inch to bodice + 1 inch width
• Mid Calf Ruffle: 3 1/2 inches x WOF (36-44 inches)
• Full Length: Add 3 inches to bodice + 1 inch width
• Full Length Ruffle: 3 1/2 x WOF (36-44 inches)

15″ Bitty Baby or Bitty Twins Doll

• Add one inch plus one inch width to bodice
• Ruffle: 3 inches by 30 inches

16″ Animators’ Doll

• Both Lengths: Add 2 inches to bodice plus 1 inch width
• Mid Calf Ruffle: 2.5 x 24 inches
• Full Length Ruffle: 4.5 x 24 inches

14.5″ Welliewishers Doll

• Both Lengths: Add 3 inches plus 1 inch width
• Mid Calf Ruffle: 2.5 x 20 inches
• Full Length Ruffle: 3.25 x 20 inches

16″ A Girl for All Time Doll

• Both Lengths: Use pattern labelled Dress Length for bodice
• Mid Calf Ruffle: 3 x 24 inches
• Full Length Ruffle: 4.5 x 24 inches

8″ Caring for Baby Doll

• Add one inch to bodice front and back hem, and create the side lines about 1/th wider than the slant they are on.
• Ruffle: 1.25 by 14 inches

Use the Playtime Peasant Top PDF Sewing Pattern from Oh Sew Kat! To make a Holiday Nightgown

Find the PDF Sewing Pattern HERE. Change up your fabric for the perfect (and quick!) Holiday Nightgown for Dolls. I love the 70s vibe of this plaid fabric. It looks so great on Julie too. Find more ideas for Julie’s wardrobe HERE.

Easy to Sew Nightgowns for Dolls 8-18 inches

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Make it Monday: Easy UP Jumper for Back to School

Use the Easy UP! Jumper PDF Sewing Pattern for Cute Back to School outfits for Dolls

Maryellen is ready to hit the books in her Easy Up! Jumper and black turtleneck (made with the Jumping Jack pattern). This pull on style jumper can also be made reversible for two looks in one. Find the pattern HERE. See more ideas for this simple PDF Sewing Pattern here and here. It’s available in 3 doll sizes.

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Get Your Doll Ready for the fall with the Back to School PDF Sewing Pattern Bundle

Have you seen the Oh Sew Kat! Back to School Pattern Bundle? This value priced bundle is available only in my ETSY SHOP HERE. Your order will include four pdf pattern downloads- the Sixth Grade Skirt, the Playground Pants, the School Bell Blouse, and the School Dance Dress. Use these four patterns to make a complete mix and match wardrobe for your 18 inch (or 14.5 inch) doll! Find the quick links to all three bundles at the bottom of this post.

Back to School Sewing Patterns from Oh Sew Kat! for 18 inch Dolls

This one pattern bundle offers you two tops, one skirt, one pants, and a long sleeved dress.

Pair the School Bell Blouse with a corduroy Sixth Grade Skirt and tall boots for a great fall outfit. Click the pattern name to check out the Inspiration Gallery for more ideas, or click HERE to find the full gallery.

The School Bell Blouse has two options- an a-line version, or add a short, playful skirt. Here Shirley’s Kendall doll pairs her School Bell Blouse with the Playground Pants.

Your Welliewishers Doll will be ready for School in her DIY Doll Clothes from Oh Sew Kat! Patterns

This pattern bundle is available in 3 doll sizes: 18 inch dolls, 16 inch Animators’, and 14.5 inch WellieWishers. Rapunzel has the School Bell Blouse A line version with bright green Playground pants and a cute beret.

The Back to School Bundle also features the cute School Dance Dress. Use one fabric or many for a beautiful addition to your doll’s cool weather wardrobe options. See more School Dance Dresses HERE and HERE.

Make your own Back to School Doll Clothes with this PDF Pattern Bundle from Oh Sew Kat!

So what else can you do with these four patterns? Check out the Inspiration Gallery too!!

Try these hacks for the School Bell Blouse to make it a dress! Click on each photo to go right to the post!

Choose one of these hacks to add flair to your Sixth Grade Skirt.

You can make the School Bell Blouse and the School Dance Dress in a sleeveless version for even more options! No time now? Pin these links for later!

Quick Links to find the Bundles:

• Find the Back to School Bundle for 18 inch Dolls like American Girl/Our Generation HERE.
• Find the Back to School Bundle for 16 inch Dolls like Disney Animators’ HERE.
• Find the Back to School Bundle for 14/5 inch Dolls like Welliewishers, Glitter Girls, and Ruby Red Fashion Friends HERE.
• Add to your Doll’s Wardrobe options with the Four Season Skirt FREE pattern. Find it HERE.

Find many more individual and pattern bundles to make your own Doll Clothes at Oh Sew Kat!

Make a Custom Doll Tee with Infusible Ink

This post includes affiliate links. See my full disclosure policy HERE.

Looking for a new and unique way to customize your doll clothes? Have you tried Cricut’s infusible ink yet? Infusible ink is different than heat transfer vinyl (iron on) in that it sinks into the fabric instead of sticks to it. The result is a vibrant, permanent image. Cricut offers a wide variety of blanks that are made of the right fiber content for infusible ink. They don’t offer doll sized tees yet, so I wait for a sale, and purchase the largest size of tee shirt available. I cut out my tee and turtleneck shirts using the Simple Sweet Tee and the Jumping Jack PDF sewing pattern.

Infusible ink is sold in transfer sheets. You can use your electronic cutter to cut out designs, and then use a heat press to infuse the ink to your item. It comes in solid colors and patterns too. You can also buy infusible ink markers and draw your own designs! Infusible ink is fun for gift items, coffee mugs, and of course, custom doll tee shirts! See the whole range of blank items HERE.

Choose your design in the Cricut Design Space software. Look for single color, blocky images for the best results. If you are using patterned infusible ink, remember that your design will be very small, so pay attention to where the coloring is on your infusible ink sheet. I size my images for doll tees shirts to about two inches.

I used the slice tool to create the white negative space of the butterfly design into a circle for the front of the shirt, then I was careful not to tear the butterfly that gets weeded out and I put it on the sleeve of the shirt. Learn how to use the slice tool here. Two designs in one! Once you have finalized your design, cut it out with your Cricut machine. I used my Cricut Maker for this project, but any Cricut machine will work. Here’s a quick video to show you how to set it up to cut the ink transfer sheet.

Prep your tee shirt pieces for the ink transfer. You can’t use just any tee shirt for an infusible ink project, it needs to be a special blend of polyester to take the ink. Cricut products are designed specifically for this, but you may be able to find other sublimation blanks to use as well. Need help? Check Cricut’s short video. Here’s a link to Cricut’s video of how to press your design into your tee shirt. My new Easy Press 2 is the perfect size for doll projects! Once I determined my design placement, (color side down), I used the Heat Settings APP to tell me the temp and time for the heat press. Once the design cools, remove the clear carrier sheet and your tee shirt is ready to be sewn together!

Find the Simple Sweet Tee Shirt Pattern in the OhSewKat Etsy Shop- click here!

These tee shirts look great with the simple and quick to sew Sixth Grade Skirt, also available from Oh Sew Kat! Check out all the colors and patterns of Infusible Ink transfer sheets and markers by Cricut and create your own unique, one of a kind doll tee shirt.

New! Sewing Pattern for 8″ Caring for Baby Doll

Yep, you read that right. American Girl® has released a new toy/accessory set for their 18 inch dolls. It’s an 8 inch baby and high chair set, for the bigger girls to “babysit” for. She’s like a tiny (and I mean tiny!) version of the Bitty Baby doll we all know and love. Introducing – the Party Time Peasant Dress for 8 inch Baby Dolls!

Caring for Baby Doll Clothes Sewing Pattern

There are a few things that you will want to keep in mind when sewing for such tiny dolls. I learned many of them from my dear friend, Linda, over at Merry Manatees. The pieces and construction are very similar to the 18 inch dolls but on a much smaller scale. The good news is they take very little fabric!

Sewing for 8 inch Baby Dolls- Party Time Dress for Caring Baby

The Party Time Peasant Dress is a cute little dress with short or long sleeves (both are included in the pattern). You don’t have to fiddle with sleeve elastic unless you want to, and the hem and sleeves can use a rolled hem if you like. Have fun making tiny dresses with the newest OhSewKat PDF sewing pattern. Click HERE to get the pattern.

Boardwalk Boutique: Pattern Hack Round Up

Have you tried the Boardwalk Boutique doll clothes pattern? With this pattern you can learn to make a variety of breezy outfits for summer. Here are a few other ideas to try with your pattern- and don’t forget to visit the Boardwalk Boutique Inspiration Gallery to see how others have sewn it too!

The Boardwalk Boutique pattern is simple to sew with just a few pattern pieces and makes a cute doll outfit for summer- a long ruffled halter top and ruffled capris to match. This popular patterns comes in four dolls sizes in my SHOP.

Try these sewing variations with the Boardwalk Boutique PDF Sewing Pattern for Dolls

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How will you make the Boardwalk Boutique Pattern? Download and sew today!!

Oh Sew Kat! PDF Pattern Doll Sizes

What dolls are the Oh Sew Kat! patterns designed for and where can I buy them?

Oh Sew Kat! offers PDF Sewing patterns that are perfect for all ages and skill levels. The patterns are designed to be a great first project for a beginner sewist with clear photos and instructions for every single step.

There are currently 5 sizes of dolls that Oh Sew Kat! offers patterns for. They all have unique body shapes, so some patterns translate more easily to other sizes than others. Some doll sizes sell better than others- so if a certain size requires a fair amount of work, it may not be worth it based on sales trends. At Oh Sew Kat!, I try to stay focused on the most popular doll sizes (those made by American Girl®, 18 inch, 15 inch baby, and 14.5 inch) yet still offer a selection for a few less popular sizes (16 inch A Girl for All Time® and Disney Animators – which are different than Disney Toddler Dolls). Click on the photos to go directly to that size doll section of my Etsy Shop.

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Shop for 18 inch Doll Clothes Sewing Patterns

The most popular doll size on the market, by far, is the 18 inch vinyl play doll. You can find these dolls made by American Girl®, Our Generation, Pottery Barn, My Life (Walmart), and probably a few others. They are not posable (meaning their arms and legs stay straight and do not bend) and some have cloth bodies and some have vinyl or plastic bodies. I use the dolls from American Girl® as my models and design the patterns for them.

Shop for 14.5 inch Doll Clothes Sewing Patterns

A few years ago, American Girl® dropped the Bitty Twins™ line, and came out with the Welliewishers™. These 14.5 inch dolls are the perfect segway for younger girls who are moving past their baby dolls, but are not quite ready for the bigger, 18 inch dolls. The Welliewishers™ are sold by American Girl® to include stories, props, scenes, outfits, and tv shows or videos. Their eyes do not close. Their popularity has grown, and Our Generation came out with their own version, the Glitter Girls, who are the same size. I’ve also heard about dolls this size being available at Big Lots stores (Style Girls).

Shop for 15 inch Baby Doll Clothes Sewing Patterns

So many little girls just love to play mommy and are enthralled with all things baby doll. My models are the current Bitty Baby™ from American Girl®, as well as the retired Bitty Twins™, which are basically a Bitty Baby™ doll with hair and were available in different skin tones, as well as boys and girls. Bitty Baby has a fabric body and is wider and shorter than her 18 inch big sister, but sometimes she can wear the same clothes or use the same patterns with just a few minor adjustments.

Shop for 16 inch A Girl for All Time® Doll Clothes

I offer patterns for two very different 16 inch dolls. The first, A Girl for All Time Dolls,® are thin, with a plastic body, and moveable joints. Their eyes do not close. They are also referred to as BJD (ball jointed dolls). They are mostly historical characters, but they have a few modern sisters as well, such as my Bex doll, shown the green top below. My other AGAT doll is the 60s character, Sam. These dolls are new on the doll scene and can sometimes be hard to get a hold of.

Shop for Animators’ Doll Clothes Sewing Patterns

The second 16″ doll I make patterns for is the Disney Animator Doll. These dolls are available only at the Disney store or Disney online store. They are much less expensive- and hard plastic bodies with straight limbs and non closing eyes. These dolls are great for younger play dolls and come in most all the favorite characters, both boys and girls. My collection includes Rapunzel, Belle, Ariel, Elsa, Anna, and a few others. They are all the same brand of dolls, but some of them are a little taller than others. (Especially Anna, who is about an inch shorter than her big sister, Elsa.). Disney also offers a complete line of My First Princess and Disney Toddler dolls. I do not have any of them, but I am sure there are comparison charts on Google if you want to compare them. My patterns fit the Disney Animator line specifically, and also will fit a much older doll, called a Galoob doll. (Google it, they are funny!!)

So how do I decide if or when to resize a pattern for a different size doll? Well, I don’t really have one answer. Sometimes I make them all at the same time (Twinkle Twirl Skirt and Backyard Bibs for example). Sometimes I roll them out one at a time but all in a row (HalterAlls). Sometimes they don’t get resized- or sometimes I just haven’t gotten to it yet. Not all patterns will work for all dolls- for example, I’m not sure the Jumping Jack open sided jumper will fit properly and hang right over the Animators’ toddler bellies. And sometimes it just depends on the season or what I feel inspired to work on.

Find multi-size value pattern bundles HERE. Three very popular patterns that are available in most doll sizes are the Backyard Bibs, the Twinkle Twirl Skirt, and the Boardwalk Boutique.

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What size is your favorite doll to sew for?

Free Digital Sewing Pattern for 15″ Baby Dolls: Basic Baby Bloomers

Do you sew for 15″ baby dolls like Bitty Baby™ and Bitty Twins™ dolls made by American Girl®. Oh Sew Kat! has a large selection of patterns and value bundles designed specifically for this size doll. Find them HERE.

Free Baby Doll Bloomers Pattern from Oh Sew Kat!

When I released the Spring Shine Dress for 15″ baby dolls, I wrote the pattern to include the bloomers to go under the dress. As I created the most recent release, the Easy Up! Jumper, I took the time to turn the bloomers into its own stand alone pattern. This pattern is included when your purchase the Easy Up! Jumper as a second PDF download. Now, I want to offer this pattern to the subscribers of my email list for FREE!!!

If you are already a member of the Oh Sew Kat! Chat email list, you won’t be joined again but will be directed to your free pattern file. If you are not currently a member, you will be added to my list- don’t worry, I don’t spam you. I send out an inspiration email on the 1st of every month, and a mid month promo plus any new pattern releases.

Free Bloomers Pattern to Fit Bitty Baby and Bitty Twins

Thank you for not sharing the free patterns I offer. Pin the image above or share the link with your friends so they can come and get their free copy as well!

CLICK HERE TO GET YOUR FREE BABY BLOOMERS PATTERN!

Cut out your PDF doll clothes paper patterns with your cricut machine and Design Space software.

*This post has affiliate links. Read my full disclosure HERE.

Electronic cutters are gaining popularity not just with paper crafters, but for those that sew and craft for American Girl® and other dolls too. I have had a Cricut machine since they first entered the market and have owned just about every version at one time or other. I currently own three of them! I also have one Silhouette Cameo and recently sold an older one. I added the Brother Scan n Cut to my craft room in 2020. All three machines have a place in my craft room. Read on how you can use your Cricut Machine to cut out your paper pattern pieces in a snap!

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Use your Cricut Machine to Cut out Your Paper Pattern Pieces

What are some advantages to spending the time to load your PDF sewing pattern into the Cricut Design Space and cutting them with your Cricut Machine?

The truth of the matter is that you can do pretty much the same things on all the machines. Which one you choose will likely depend on the ease of the associated software, the content libraries available, price, and whether or not you want to cut fabric “straight off the bolt”. The Cricut Maker and the Cameo 4 are the only machines on the market that can cut fabric that has not been bonded or stiffened. I’m not a fan of that extra step, so it was worth it to me to get the Maker.

• Pattern pieces storage- with your pattern pieces just one cut away, there’s no need to hang on to the paper after you sew. When you want to use the pattern again, just open Design Space and cut a new set.
• Pattern pieces are cut with precision
• Save wear and tear on your hands and muscles
• If you own a Cricut Maker, you can easily cut the fabric pieces as well using the same file

Cut your paper pattern pieces with your Cricut Machine

When you purchase a PDF pattern from Oh Sew Kat! you will receive a digital PDF file. There are a few ways to get this pattern into your Design Space software for cutting. I outline how to use Adobe Illustrator in this POST. You can find a full tutorial on how to adjust your PDF patterns in Adobe and Design Space to cut your fabric pieces on the Cricut Maker HERE.

Here is another method if you don’t want to tangle with fancy and expensive software.

• Print out your pattern pieces as usual
• Using a scanner, scan the image into your computer as a JPEG (photo) file (if you have software that will do this, it’s easier to do it that way. Print and scan it if you don’t.)
• Open up the Design Space Software
• Start a new project
• On the left hand size, choose the UPLOAD button
• You will see your image and it will ask how complex it is. Choose the bottom choice, COMPLEX
• You may have to zoom out. Use the magic wand tool and touch it to the background. The entire background will likely disappear. (Shown by a gray and white checked pattern). Continue to zoom in and out, erasing anything but your pattern pieces and the one inch square.
• Click NEXT and choose CUT FILE. Give it a name and keywords to help you find it later
• Highlight the file you just imported and add it to your design canvas.
• In the top left corner of your grid, you can click the square to toggle between a blank canvas, one inch grid, or smaller grids. Choose the one inch grid.
• Zoom out and resize your piece (or pieces as one group if you have more than one piece) until your one inch square matches the one inch grid lines.
• Once it is correct, you highlight the group again, choose CONTOUR (bottom right) and turn off the one inch square if you don’t want it to cut.)
• Save your project
• Choose MAKE IT and load your paper or cardstock to cut your pattern pieces out. Please note: If you use this method for cutting the fabric pieces, you will have to duplicate pieces you need two of (ie sleeves) and create adjusted/full pieces for any pieces cut on the fold, as the machine can only cut one layer at time.

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Prepare your PDF Pattern to cut the pieces on a Circut Machine

See more ideas to use your cutting machine with your doll crafts HERE, HERE, and HERE. After cutting your smaller pattern pieces, you can use THIS tutorial to make a paper pattern piece for your gathered skirts.

Do you have a Brother ScanNCut machine? See this VIDEO TUTORIAL for quick and easy paper pattern cutting.