Learn to Sew for Your Doll

A Beginner's Guide to Sewing for an 18" Doll

by Sherralyn St. Clair

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Learn to Sew for Your Doll - A Beginner's Guide to Sewing for an 18" Doll is a tutorial for new sewers.

If you would like to teach a special child how to sew, this book presents a series of skills in a learning sequence that takes the new seamstress from the first use of a sewing machine through making an attractive wardrobe for a doll. The book gives the student a place to start and then builds on the initial skills.

This book includes instructions and full size patterns for 18" doll clothes. Measurements are given in both US and metric units. Stitching bookmarks introduces machine sewing and zigzagging. Beginning fabric skills are taught with simple projects to sew bed clothes for a doll. While sewing a doll bed cover, pillow, and pillow case the student learns to recognize the right and wrong sides of fabric, and to find the straight of grain, cross grain and bias of fabric. Skills in tearing fabric and cutting along a pulled thread are taught.

After being introduced to these basics, the student then moves on to sew an attractive wardrobe for an 18" doll including a Sundress, A-line skirt, Shorts, Two-tiered skirt, Smock top, and Nightgown.

Skills taught include: pattern reading and cutting, machine stitching, finishing seams, gathering, sewing casings, topstitching, hemming, and attaching closures.

The book is available directly from the publisher Create Space or from Amazon.

Sew a Small Doll and Her Clothing

Full size patterns for 7.5" Florabunda and her outfits

by Sherralyn St. Clair

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Sew a Small Doll and Her Clothing is a collection of the patterns for the mid-sized Florabunda dolls (7.5 inch or 19 cm). The patterns are the same as those available for download on this web site. The instructions have been updated slightly to include more metric measurements and other minor updates.

The book includes full size patterns and detailed sewing instructions for the Florabunda cloth doll and her outfits. The outfits will fit Sherralyn's Dolls' Florabunda, Madam Alexander's Wendy, Vogue's, Modern and Vintage Ginny, as well as Lillian Vernon's doll. The Tools, Tips, and Techniques download from the web site is included as an appendix.

The wardrobe patterns include: Ballgown and Classic Dress; Nightgown, Smock top, and Two-tiered Skirt; Pants, Shorts, Skirt, and T-Shirt; A-line Dress, Jacket, and Bloomers as well as Shoes, slippers, sandals, sneakers, and boots

The book is available directly from the publisher Create Space or from Amazon.

Easy-to-Make Storybook Dolls

A "Novel" Approach to Cloth Dollmaking

by Sherralyn St. Clair, published by Dover Books.

Bring characters from favorite stories to life with creative stitchery! This unique guide to making 14 inch cloth dolls offers patterns for the eternal optimist, Pollyanna, as well as Dorothy from The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and Mary of The Secret Garden. The book also features patterns for clothes, pets, and accessories. Easy-to-follow instructions include 263 black-and-white illustrations, plus an eight-page color insert. Perfect for beginners, this manual will also appeal to more experienced dollmakers.

All three characters use the same basic doll body and accessories such as hats, shoes, and slips. Dorothy's wardrobe, based on descriptions of her clothing in Oz books, comprises six dresses and a nightgown. Mary's ensemble includes five dresses, a coat, and a housecoat; and Pollyanna's costumes consist of six dresses and a gown. Extras include Dorothy's green spectacles and Toto the terrier; a miniature copy of The Secret Garden, a bed cover, and a pillow for Mary; and Pollyanna's pets, Fluffy the cat and Buffy the dog.

Dorothy's Dresses

I used W. W. Denslow's original illustrations from the book The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum as inspiration for designing Dorothy and her wardrobe. To add a few more selections to Dorothy's wardrobe, I looked at illustrations from later Oz books. I developed patterns for five basic dress styles to imitate the clothing from the books.

Dorothy's checked dress

This shows the ribbon ties on the bonnet and the plain dress hem from the book

Dorothy's polka dot dress

Dorothy's Emerald City dress and Golden Cap

Dorothy with her green glasses

Dorothy's round collar dress and Eureka the cat

Dorothy's princess dress and crown

Dorothy's green gown

Dorothy's small polka dot dress

Mary's Dresses

I designed some of the clothing for Mary Lennox of Frances Hodgson Burnett's book The Secret Garden. based on the activities described in the book. Other garments that the she wore are mentioned in the novel. I had already created most of the patterns that I needed to design wardrobes for her, but I found that I needed to design her a winter coat and a housecoat, because these garments are mentioned in the story.

Mary's pinafore, dress and jump rope

Mary's housecoat and pink gown

Mary's yellow checked dress

Mary's red sailor dress

Mary's spring dress

Pollyanna's Dresses

For Pollyanna Whittier who we meet in Eleanor Porter's book Pollyanna I also designed dresses based on the activities described that book. To add even more fun to this collection I have paid attention to detail and included instructions for shoes, hats, belts, pets, books, and games.