Fall is around the corner! Are your dolls ready for some Halloween fun? I love to mix and match holiday fabrics and this Doodlebug Designs fabric is sew much fun to use!! See some other dresses I made with this fabric collection HERE and HERE. Also be sure to check out the Halloween Inspiration Gallery!
DIY Halloween Themed Doll Dresses for Dolls with Easy to Sew PDF Sewing Patterns from Oh Sew Kat!
I used the Party Time Peasant Dress – a holiday basic – and used this HACK to make it with long sleeves. I also used pre-made bias tape for the hem to add an extra fun accent. See THIS POST for more bias tape hems. When my daughter was young, she always wore funky socks and UGG boots with her skirts and dresses- so my dolls usually do too!
DIY American Girl Doll Clothes with Easy to Sew PDF Patterns from OH Sew Kat!
The Party Time Peasant Dress has an easy elastic neckline, optional elastic cuffs, and a simple gathered skirt. It’s the perfect pattern for beginners as well as sewists of all levels. It’s quick to sew and looks great in every fabric. See the Party Time Peasant Dress Inspiration Gallery HERE. Find the pattern in six doll sizes here and download and sew one today!
The Oh Sew Kat! Testers are top notch! Take a look at these darling mini dresses Kathy made.
Party Time Peasant Dress Pattern for 8 inch Baby Doll
8″ Caring for Baby Doll Dress Sewing Pattern
Have you met this tiny cutie? Look at the fun dresses Kathy made for her 8 inch baby doll as she tested the Party Time Peasant Dress Sewing Pattern. She’s a tiny thing, so it doesn’t take much fabric. This pattern is not for the standard baby doll (15 inch Bitty Baby Doll – you can find the pattern to fit here HERE.)
Use the Party Time Peasant Dress PDF Sewing Pattern for 8 inch baby dolls to make a darling “tiny dress” for your American Girl brand® Caring for Baby Doll. This pattern is easy to sew, just like for the bigger girls, but the pieces are tiny and a bit more fiddly. Find the pattern HERE.
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.
The Party Time Peasant Dress is super popular with sewists of all doll sizes. Find it in my Etsy Shop in 5 sizes: 18 inch for American Girl®, 14.5 Welliewishers™, 16 Animators’ and A Girl for All Time, and 15 inch baby dolls like Bitty Baby™.
The Party Time Peasant Dress is quick to sew and is perfect for St Patrick’s Day Dresses for Dolls in all Sizes.
When I’m not behind my sewing machine, you can usually find me in my craft room. I love paper crafting- I always have. Stamping, scrapbooking, decorating for parties, birthdays and holidays… I love to play with my papers and my toys. I have a box of banners I created for our family mantle for some occasions and holidays. I thought it would be such a cute idea to make a minature one for my 18 inch doll fireplace (aka Caroline’s Parlor). Use this little banner to decorate your doll’s Valentine’s Day party or just to spread the love!
Riley’s dress (below) was made using the Party Time Peasant Dress with my long sleeve pattern hack. Find more information and measurements HERE.
Easy Cricut Craft for Dolls: Make a Valentine’s Day Banner
*This post contains affiliate links. Read my policy HERE.
Decorations for dolls are very tiny. The way I made my banner is just one way to do it. If you prefer, you can cut your letters or the white, top layers of the banners from sticker paper. You can use sticker alphabets you purchase at the craft store. It’s up to you. It’s very simple to create a banner like this one, but if you like a shortcut, I’ve done the work for you, by giving you the link to my Cricut file. By clicking the link below, your cricut software should launch and you should see my banner pieces. Load your mats and cut them out.
This project file is designed for the Cricut® brand of electronic cutting machines. You can use any machine to make a banner like this, but the file will only work in Cricut Design space. The shape I used is available with the Cricut Access subscription. Learn more about that HERE. I cut this banner on my Cricut Explore, but you can use the Maker or the little JOY machine as well.
Supplies:
25-36 inches of twine or string (depends where you want to hang it)
Colored cardstock (I used Pretty in Pink, Real Red, Basic White and Basic Black cardstocks sold exclusively by Stampin’ Up! I’ve been a Stampin’ Up! demonstrator for 20 years.)
Basic White Glue (I love my TOMBOW ADHESIVE and always have!)
1/16th or 1/8th hole punch (optional- the cut file includes the tiny holes. If you find your machine is just making a mess with the tiny holes, use the CONTOUR tool in Design Space to edit them out and use a hole punch instead.)
Open the file in Design Space. (Save a copy to your own Design Space files),
Decide your color scheme. You can click on each layer to change it to a new color or to match one already used.
Click on each letter if you want to change the letters or the word. I used the basic CRICUT font.
Cut out all of your pieces and lay them out in the correct order.
Glue the pieces together. Add sparkles or sequins if you want!
String the banner pieces together (Depending on your string, you may need to enlarge the holes to make it easier to string the pieces together. I used a folded piece of wire to help me.)
OSK Pattern Hack: Party Time Peasant Dress with Long Sleeves
Look how sweet these 18 inch doll dresses are!! I made them from bright prints, using the Party Time Peasant Dress PDF pattern from Oh Sew Kat! This time, however, I made a slight modification to the pattern and made the dresses with long sleeves! Read on for more photos and details so you can try it too.
If you have the Playtime Peasant Top pattern, whether you purchased it with the Backyard Bibs bundle, or with the Playtime Twirl Skirt, you can use the long sleeve pattern piece included in it. If you don’t, it’s super simple to make your 18 inch doll a long sleeve Party Time Peasant Dress.
To make a long sleeve pattern piece, start by printing out a new sleeve piece. Cut it out, and position it near the top of a new piece of paper and tape it down. Use your ruler to extend each side line down 2 5/8th inch. Connect these lines across the bottom to make the new wrist hem cut line. You can add elastic to the cuffs or not, your choice! Cut out your new pattern piece and keep it with your pattern to make a long sleeved Party Time Peasant Dress. (Quick tip: I store my pdf pattern pieces in comic book sleeves like this AD: https://amzn.to/2GGGI2b on Amazon.)
The Party Time Peasant Dress is quick to sew and looks great in any fabric, making it hard to choose just one (or two, or three or more!)
The Party Time Peasant Dress pattern is available in 5 popular doll sizes in my Etsy Shop: Animators, Bitty Baby, Welliewishers, A Girl for All Time, and 18 inch dolls.
Festive dresses for your 18 inch dolls- made with the Party Time PDF sewing pattern from Oh Sew Kat!
Kelly’s red and pink dress (ABOVE) was made from the AD: Merry Christmas Moda Fat Quarter bundle from the Fat Quarter Shop. See more outfits made with these fun holiday prints HERE. I cut my skirt into panels- each one measured 5.5 inches by 8 inches. I used 5 of them for the skirt.
Easy to sew PDF patterns to DIY your own Doll Clothes
Visit the Party Time Peasant Dress Inspiration Gallery HERE and see more ideas for this cute, PDF pattern HERE and HERE. Looking for more holiday themed outfits? Click the photos below or visit the CHRISTMAS INSPIRATION GALLERY!
Are you on a tight budget when it comes to doll clothes for your 18 inch dolls like American Girl®? When my daughter was growing up, I know I sure was. The outfits at the store are super cute, but wow, do they add up quickly!!
My daughter really enjoyed planning her own doll outfits, and from this love and process, Oh Sew Kat! Patterns were born.
As you wander through Walmart for this or that, be sure to stop by the fabric & craft sections! You can find these darling packs of fabric (called Fat Quarter Packs, which means each piece in the pack measures 18×22 inches.) for just $3.97. You read that right! That is a full yard of fabric for under $4. PS. They also offer bundles with bunnies!! See the dresses I made HERE. Here are two outfits I made from just one of those packs…and I still have a whole lot left to go! That means at a MINIMUM, each dress was only $2. I still have almost the whole piece of the red polka dot (enough for another bib or easy up jumper– maybe some Playground Pants?) and a few scraps from the other three. That could mean 3 outfits total for just $4! Wow!!!
Yes, you do have to add the cost of the PDF sewing pattern- but at $4.99, or even $5.99, you can still consider the outfit less than $10. And the best part? You can use the pattern over and over again, reducing your cost each time you do! And without any bothersome tissue to lay out, cut out, fold up (only to rip each time you pin!), your print at home PDF patterns live safely inside your computer and your etsy (or other) accounts until the next time you need them!
The Party Time Peasant Dress is my absolute favorite for any holiday dress. I love the accents, the ease, and the full skirt! The top and waistband take inches of fabric. The problem with fat quarters is the skirt. Anything over 22 inches (remember, this was a fat quarter of fabric), has to be pieced. My answer to that seam was to offset it from the middle, and accent it with pretty bows! I also considered red heart buttons! I trimmed the hem with a gingham bias tape trim… easy and cute!!
The next pattern I turned to is the Backyard Bibs. This quick and easy overalls dress takes very little fabric, very little time, and looks adorable over the Playtime Peasant Top, which can also be used with other outfits. Cue the cute heart buttons for Kailey! Find these patterns in a special bundle value HERE. This pattern is also available for 14 inch dolls like Wellie Wishers!
So you see, making your own doll clothes really doesn’t have to cost too much because the fabric requirements (even for the 18 inch doll- smaller dolls require even less!) are so low. As long as you have a basic sewing machine, some basic tools, thread, pins, and maybe a few extras (see my favorite notions HERE), you too, can make a “SWEET” outfit for your doll this Valentine’s Day for very little money. See what I did there? 😉
Oh Sew Kat! 