Back to School Sewing Patterns – School Bell Blouse

It’s so hard to believe it’s already August!! For most of us, that means back to school time! I’ve always loved the feel of back to school shopping- and who doesn’t love those aisles and aisles of school supplies that pop up in every store this time of year?  Be still my heart!

Your dolls will be ready for a great year with a few new outfits too!  Check back often to see more ideas for Back to School doll fashions that you can make yourself!

Today’s feature is the School Bell Blouse.  This pattern features two versions of a short top with long sleeves.  Pretty pleats on the sleeve give you a cute spot for a bow or button accent.  With or without the peplum, this trendy blouse is fun to make and cute for your doll to wear!

The quick and easy Sixth Grade Skirt is the perfect skirt to complete the outfit. 

School Bell Blouse by OhSewKat

Find the pattern for 18 inch dolls HERE and for 16 inch dolls HERE.  Coming soon for Wellie Wishers 😉

See more School Bell Blouse ideas in the Pattern Inspiration Gallery.

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Sewing Pattern Bundles from Oh Sew Kat!

Did you know that I offer selected Oh Sew Kat! patterns in a bundle discount?  If you are new to Oh Sew Kat! patterns (welcome!), my pattern bundles are a great way to start your collection.  These bundles are available exclusively in my Etsy Shop and are currently available for 18 inch dolls such as American Girl® dolls, Animators’ Dolls by Disney, and 14.5 inch dolls such as Wellie Wishers and Glitter Girls.

Click here to see all of the bundles available.  I currently offer bundles around four basic themes:  Basics, Summer, Holiday, and Back to School in a few doll sizes.  Leave a comment below and tell me what other types of bundles you would like to see!  It’s probably time for me to put together some more options!

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Sew Basic:  This 3 pattern bundle for the WellieWishers dolls offers the first three patterns I created for this size.  It includes two tops and two bottoms.  The reversible Popsicle Top, the easy to make Sixth Grade Skirt, and the most popular Boardwalk Boutique Halter and Capri (can also be made into a sundress!) patterns will give you lots of pieces to mix and match if you are just starting out sewing for this sized doll.

 

 

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Sounds of Summer Bundle:  This bundle offers the short and sassy fashions to keep your doll cool and stylish all summer long with four patterns to mix and match.  Pair the reversible Popsicle Top with the Sandbox Shorts or the ruffled capri pants from the Boardwalk Boutique pattern.  The Sunshine Dress has three variations and also looks cute without sleeves as seen in this tutorial.   The Halter Top in the Boardwalk Boutique makes a cute sundress too!

 

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Back to School Bundle: This bundle offers the long pants and the long sleeves basics your doll will need to head to school in the crisp, fall air with 4 popular patterns.  The Playground Pants, and Sixth Grade Skirt provide the basics to pair with pretty School Bell Blouses (two styles).  The School Dance dress has three variations for even more options to sew!

 

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Holiday Bundle:  This bundle offers 4 patterns.  I put these four patterns together to make an “essential” wardrobe for someone who wants to give a doll a basic wardrobe.  It includes pajamas, a dress, a skirt, a blouse, a halter top, and capri pants, all of which can be mixed and matched in to make so many different outfits.  See THIS POST for a trio of outfits I made that inspired this bundle.

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I’d love to hear what bundles you’d like to see in my Etsy Shop.  Maybe multiple sizes of the same pattern? Maybe bundles of tops and bottoms, or a set of three dress patterns?  Pattern bundles are offered in select sizes as described, and there are no substitutions of the selections.

Sixth Grade Skirt

The Sixth Grade Skirt was the pattern that started it all!  I had just finished a pattern making class, and a few friends and I were all working together to publish our first patterns.  We worked together and tested each others’ work, challenging ourselves to publish our first patterns! We all did it!  And the Sixth Grade Skirt was mine.

Because it was my first pattern, the learning curve was pretty steep. Who knew there was so much work in a pattern? I chose a simple design that my (at the time) 12 year old daughter could easily sew.  Thank you to all of you that have purchased this (and any that have come since!) pattern!

 

The Sixth Grade Skirt is a simple skirt to sew.  From cutting to finishing, you can easily complete it in under an hour.  With the overlap in back, it’s easy to fit for different sized dolls.  You can make it for summer, or winter, or anything in between!

Add pockets to your skirt with this easy tutorial!

Choose shiny fabrics and pretty trim to put in between the seams.  Here is the Sixth Grade Skirt for Hearts for Hearts Dolls.

This rainbow skirt was fun to make and is perfect for a hot summer day.  I turned my fabric when I cut the center panel for interest.

Maryellen is ready for the holidays in her red, corduroy Sixth Grade Skirt.  A perfect fall skirt to take your doll right into the holidays and on to Valentine’s Day!

This pink skirt was made with simple, pink cotton.  It easily works in summer and winter. Because dolls don’t get cold 😉

School Bell Blouse and Sixth Grade Skirt by Oh Sew Kat!

Rapunzel’s summery outfit was stitched by Jaci of JGooseandCO.  Mixing and matching prints make a perfect play outfit for Disney animator dolls.

Find the patterns here to stitch up your version today!  You can find all the sizes in my ETSY SHOP.  These patterns are also available on Craftsy, Pixie Faire, and You Can Make This.

Sixth Grade Skirt for 18 inch dolls

Sixth Grade Skirt for Animators

Sixth Grade Skirt for Bitty Baby

Sixth Grade Skirt for Wellie Wishers

Sixth Grade Skirt for Hearts for Hearts

Shirley of Doll Clothes by Shirley used the Sixth Grade Skirt with pretty embroidery and fold over elastic as the trim for her Wellie Wisher outfit.

 

 

Back to School Doll Clothes for Animator Dolls: School Bell Blouse by Oh Sew Kat!

Are your princess dolls ready to go back to school?  Stitch up a cute School Bell Blouse (also available for 18 inch dolls like American Girl).

Make it with a peplum, or a sweet, pleated neckline.  Pair your School Bell Blouse with the Playground Pants, Sandbox Shorts, or Sixth Grade Skirt patterns for a perfect fall outfit!

Make it a GREAT day!

~Kat

Style It Up! Color Combo to Try: Blue and Pink

It’s time to Style it Up! Open up your doll’s closet and dress her in a fresh, new color combination! Getting ready to sew? Try putting these fun colors together, either as complete items, or bright accents.

Dress your dolls in dreamy pinks and blues to move from a balmy spring to a sizzling summer!

Bright blue and hot pink make me think of the the tropics.  A bright combination in any pattern, your dolls will shine in these colors. I used one batik print as my focal point for these outfits.  (Grace is wearing a School Bell Blouse with the easy Sixth Grade Skirt.  Lanie has a Popsicle Top paired with Sandbox Shorts).  I love the added sparkles a few crystals can give!

How about just a splash of color?

You can even take each shade a little lighter!

Here the Boardwalk Boutique for Animators gives the princess dolls a soft and feminine look for spring and summer.

Find all the patterns for these outfits and  much more in my Etsy Shop and at http://www.youcanmakethis.com and on Pixie Faire.

What will your doll wear when you Style it Up?

Now Available – New PDF Sewing Pattern: School Bell Blouse for Animator Dolls

My School Bell Blouse has been released for the Disney Animator ® dolls. Check out these cute photos!!!  What princess doesn’t need a sweet and sassy top for the holidays?  Here are some of my sample and testers’ photos. More to come!!

Visit my etsy shop or www.pixiefaire.com to purchase your copy today! Coming soon to http://www.youcanmakethis.com too!

OhSewKat School Bell Blouse for Animators

OhSewKat School Bell Blouse for Animators

Shopping for a School Bell Blouse?

My daughter and I were out shopping today, and I found this in the junior’s section. How fun!! It’s my SCHOOL BELL BLOUSE out of a sheer fabric with pretty lace sleeves.  You can find this pattern on pixiefaire, you can make this and etsy. Do you have yours yet?  What did you make?

Diane from 18onMain created this beauty in checks and lace!

 

Happy Sewing!
~Kat

You can make your own mix and match doll wardrobe for just about $10

Are you looking for some holiday gifting ideas?  Is there a special girl with a doll in your life?  Here’s a way to put together a full mix and match wardrobe for about $10 in fabric.  Check out how I turned these three fat quarters (average price = $2-3 each depending where you shop!) into four quick mix and match doll clothes items for just about $10 total in an afternoon!

First, I spent an evening cutting out all of my pieces.  (I actually put together about five bags of outfits…you’ll see them all here on the blog as I go along!  But the pieces for this wardrobe, all went into just one bag.)

I cut one School Bell Blouse, one Sandbox Shorts, one Popsicle Top, and one Sixth Grade Skirt.  (Click on the links to purchase the PDF sewing patterns if you don’t already have them.) I chose the solids for the bottoms, and the prints for the top. The reversible Popsicle Top will be print on one side and pink on the other.  The top left part of the photo shows a pair of Playground Pants.  I cut them out, and added them to my bag, because I could use the turquoise thread and give me a fleeting feeling of multitasking. It was a test to try out the leg pieces as one complete piece (it’s cute!) but it doesn’t really match the other items in the set.  So after the cutting and bagging phase, I left it out of the photos below.

I sewed by color, so I started with the pink (so I could add the pockets before sewing together the blue shorts) and then moved to the blue. I wrote the patterns, so it’s safe to say I am pretty familiar with the sewing order. I highly suggest you read through each one (they don’t take long!) and get familiar with the basic construction before you begin. I always like to press more pieces and sew more pieces at one time, even if that means stitching something and putting it aside while I sew a few more, so I can press all at once.)

When I was done, I had this.  A four piece wardrobe to mix and match in lots of different ways!

Here are some more photos. Click on each one to view it in a larger window.  Visit my etsy shop at OH SEW KAT ETSY SHOP to purchase this collection, or the PDF sewing patterns to make it you own!

School Bell Blouse by OhSewKat

School Bell Blouse by Oh Sew kat!

School Bell Blouse by Oh Sew Kat!

Oh Sew Kat!

PDF sewing patterns for dolls Oh Sew Kat! popsicle Top and Sandbox Shorts

Posicle Top and Sixth Grade Skirt by Oh Sew kat!

Oh Sew Kat! Popsicle Top and Sandbox Shorts PDF Sewing patterns

School Bell Blouse and Popsicle Top by OhSewKat!

School Bell Blouse and Sixth Grade Skirt by Oh Sew Kat!

Weekend workbench- Sneak Peak!

What’s on my weekend workbench?  School Bells for my Princess Set!

I’m getting ready to send the School Bell Blouse pattern for the Animator doll to my testers.  I made this top with a Riley Blake/Doodlebug designs layer cake.  Each fabric has two 10 inch pieces- just enough to make one blouse!  (Be sure to layer the pieces right sides together, LOL. Ask me how I know that?)

Rapunzel loves her new blouse with her green playground pants.  Can’t you tell?

School Bell Blouse Tester Photos

I love to share the cute things my testers make with my patterns. Sometimes they have to struggle through a few parts…but their creativity always amazes me, and you, as the customer, end up with a better product!!

Here’s a few tops that Ashley made… she said her favorite part was the buttons!

Happy Sunday Sewing!
~Kat