I have written a first draft of instructions for making an eighteen inch (45 cm) Kitty doll. I like to sew a new doll while I am proof reading new instructions. I made my new doll with brown hair. I used the wig instructions that I had already written, but I gave my new doll two ponytails at first to see if I could adapt the basic wig to different hair styles.

Then I braided the yarn wig. Here she is wearing braids like my first Kitty doll. The dress and jacket were made from my new A-line dress pattern for eighteen inch dolls. Now I need to edit my new dress pattern.

my patterns, Pattern Making designing patterns, eighteen inch doll clothes patterns

Here is Kitty, my new 18 inch (45 cm) doll.

I am happy with the pattern. All I need to do is finish writing the instructions for sewing the doll and I can publish the pattern on line.

The doll can be made with lots of details such as fingers, toes, and ears.

I also think that this is an easy pattern to sew.  I am especially proud of how easy it is to sew the head together and join it to the body.

I hope that it will be available in a month or so, but things sometimes take longer than I plan.

my patterns, Pattern Making eighteen inch dolls

I am finally satisfied with my eighteen inch (45 cm) doll pattern. Here is the doll with a purchased wig.

Next week I will show you her picture with a yarn wig. I plan to sew at least one more doll soon to make sure that I have accurately drawn pattern pieces.

my patterns eighteen inch dolls

I’m still working on an eighteen inch (45 cm) doll pattern. Here is a doll with braids.

She is wearing another outfit from Learn to Sew for Your Doll. I have made more changes to my pattern since I sewed her. It always takes longer than I plan to design a new pattern.

my patterns, Pattern Making eighteen inch doll clothes patterns, eighteen inch dolls

Here is the doll I showed you last week. This week she has a yarn wig.

Today she is wearing the sundress from my book, Learn to Sew for your Doll. Seven and one half inch (19 cm) Florabunda is standing with her to show the eighteen inch (45 cm) doll’s larger size. I had to give my larger doll an ear transplant so that she could have a hair style that showed her ears. I had originally placed the ears too high on her head. I have redrafted the original pattern to show the new ear placement. The new draft also gives the doll shorter arms, a slimmer waist, and a shorter neck. I think that these slight changes will improve the doll’s appearance. In a week or two I will show you the doll constructed from the newly drafted pattern.

my patterns, Pattern Making designing patterns

I had a recent question from a reader about the feet/toes pattern that I was working on a month or so ago. If you are interested in cloth doll toes, I explain how to change a cloth doll foot pattern to add toes in an article for Soft Dolls and Animals! The magazine will publish my article in the January edition. (I think that it will be out in November.) The article also includes a pattern to add toes to their signature doll, Siggy.

I am using my new toe method in the eighteen inch (45 cm) doll pattern that I am working on now. Here is a picture of my work in progress.

The doll is wearing a purchased wig. I plan to give her a yarn wig before I start working on a new doll. The pattern will need a lot more tweaking before I can publish it. I put her ears too high on her head, poor thing. She also needs a shorter neck and a smaller waist. I am always surprised at how long it always takes to finish a doll pattern.

my patterns, Pattern Making designing patterns

I am currently working on a pattern for an eighteen inch (45 cm) cloth doll. I made a cloth doll pattern for my own use several years ago. I decided to revisit my pattern  and turn it into publishable pattern. I ended up making a lot of changes. I have now sewn four test dolls in muslin. This week I plan to sew a doll out of my favorite cotton broadcloth with colored in facial features and sewn fingers and toes. I’m making two small changes in the body pattern without making a practice copy of the doll body. I have adjusted the body front and back  to take a small amount of fabric from her tummy and hips.

Here are before and after patterns for the body back.

The horizontal double pointed arrows are the same length in each pattern. The pattern on the left is slightly wider than the newer pattern on the right.

A close up of the hip area of the patterns shows that the newer pattern is about half a grid box narrower than the older pattern.

One half of a grid box is about one eighth inch or 3 mm. In doll design, small measurements are important.

When I have finished a doll that I like, I will post her picture.

my patterns, Pattern Making eighteen inch dolls

A kit of basic sewing tools is a nice gift for many people. Anyone who wants or needs to learn a few sewing skills would appreciate the gift. Check my free download “Tips, Tools, and Techniques” (available on my patterns page) for tool suggestions.
If you are making a doll wardrobe for a special little girl’s Christmas, she might enjoy a sewing kit. She could try her hand at sewing for her doll after Christmas. The pillow, pillowcase, and cover from my “Doll Bed and Accessories” pattern are excellent patterns for beginners. Next she can make the simple sundress  from my free sundress pattern. It is also a good pattern fro beginners.
With a few tools and instructions you might give someone a lifetime of sewing pleasure.

Christmas Sewing, learning to sew, my patterns sewing for small dolls

We have just put my newest pattern, “Princess Ballgown and Classic Dress” on line. I have had a lot of fun designing this pattern. Here are two Madame Alexander dolls wearing the dresses.

If you would like to see other small dolls wearing the dresses, go to my pattern page and select the doll of your choice from the drop down window.

my patterns Madam Alexander doll clothes patterns

If you haven’t looked at my pattern page in a while, take a peek at Princess Irene’s picture. My husband has made the picture larger to fill the space.
I’m almost finished with my pattern for ballgowns and classic dresses. It should be available soon. I hope to soon post pictures of commercial dolls wearing the dresses.
I have an article in next issue of Soft Dolls and Animals! It is dated January 2012, but it should be out soon. I still have a lot of fun seeing my name in print. If you see this issue on the newsstand, take a minute to check out my article on page 43.

my patterns