I have finished Christmas dresses for my dolls. This morning I took them and their clothes to church to join other toys in the November toy drive. Here they are in their Christmas dresses.

Here are Florabunda and Kitty modeling Christmas dresses.

If you want to make doll dresses for a special Christmas gift, patterns in my book Learn to Sew for your Doll are quick and easy to sew. The necklines are gathered and the waists use elastic, so the clothing is easy to fit on a variety of eighteen inch (46 cm) dolls. Here are the other clothes that I made for my two dolls. 

The A-line dress pattern is the only pattern for eighteen inch (46 cm) not included in the Learn to Sew book. It is available for download purchase on my pattern page. The American Girl mini wears clothes made from my downloadable patterns for three small dolls. She wears Twinkle’s patterns.

Christmas Sewing American Girl mini clothes patterns, eighteen inch doll clothes patterns

I have finished red striped, flannel nightgowns for my Christmas dolls and Florabunda. I’m almost done with the Christmas dolls’ wardrobe. I’m only planning one more outfit, a Christmas skirt and top. Here are my eighteen inch (46 cm) doll and my American Girl mini in their gowns.

The eighteen inch nightgown pattern is in my book Learn to Sew for Your Doll. The mini’s nightgown comes from my Nightgown,Smock Top, and Two Tiered Skirt down-loadable pattern. The mini doll wears clothes made from Twinkle’s patterns.

When I make a cloth doll as a play doll, I like to include a flannel gown. I think that it adds to the tactile pleasure of the doll. Here are Florabunda and Kitty wearing flannel nightgowns.

The little cats that they are holding are part of a new easy to sew project that I am developing. I’ve made three sizes of cats. Here is Florabunda with the largest cat.

Christmas Sewing, My books, my patterns American Girl mini clothes patterns, eighteen inch doll clothes patterns

This past week I made sundresses for my Christmas dolls and Florabunda. The eighteen inch dress is in my book Learn to Sew for Your Doll. The small dress patterns are free on my pattern page. The American Girl mini wears Twinkle’s patterns.

Kitty is wearing the eighteen sundress and the red jacket I made earlier, and Florabunda is showing how well her new dress goes with her red jacket.

I plan to make a nightgown and a Christmas dress to finish off the dolls’ wardrobes.

Christmas Sewing, my patterns American Girl mini clothes patterns, eighteen inch doll clothes patterns

I am still having fun working on my Blue Santa Christmas dolls. My eighteen inch (46 cm) doll skirt and top are from my book, Learn to Sew for your Doll. My American Girl mini is wearing a top from my “Gown, Smock Top, and Two Tier Skirt” down-loadable pattern. The skirt comes from my “Pants, T-shirt, and Skirt” down-loadable pattern.

Here are Kitty and Florabunda. Kitty is wearing the larger skirt and top made from patterns in my Learn to Sew book. Florabunda’s patterns are found in the same down-loadable patterns as those for the American Girl mini and also my book Sew a Small Doll.

Christmas Sewing, My books, my patterns American Girl mini clothes patterns, eighteen inch doll clothes patterns

I like to dress a doll or two every year to donate to Blue Santa or similar groups. This year I decided to use my own patterns to dress an eighteen inch (46 cm) doll and an American Girl mini. I am going to donate the dolls as two separate gifts, but I am making them matching outfits for my own pleasure.

Last week I made dresses using my A-line patterns. I added the ruffles as an experiment. Instructions for ruffles at the hem are not included in my A-line patterns. I may blog about how to add ruffles at a later time. Here are the two Christmas dolls wearing their first outfits.

I am also making Florabunda matching clothes, so that I will have a record of the doll clothes that I am making this year. Here is Florabunda wearing her new dress. Kitty is modeling the larger Christmas dress, just for fun.

Christmas Sewing, my patterns American Girl mini clothes patterns, eighteen inch doll clothes patterns, sewing for small dolls

I am putting the final touches on my pattern for eighteen inch (46 cm) Kitty. I am also finishing a pattern for an eighteen inch doll’s A-line dress. I already have an A-line pattern available for my three small dolls. Here are Kitty and Florabunda wearing their matching A-line dresses.

I think that matching dresses for American Girl Dolls and American Girl Mini-dolls are a lot of fun to make. Here are Samantha and mini Samantha in matching A-line dresses.

American Girl Mini-dolls can wear clothes made from Twinkle’s patterns.

my patterns Accessories for American Girl Dolls, Accessories for eighteen inch dolls, American Girl mini clothes patterns, eighteen inch doll clothes patterns

I think that a small doll with a custom made wardrobe would be a wonderful Christmas present for a little girl. If you are considering purchasing a small doll and making it clothes, you should should spend some time deciding on the right doll.  The recent Ginny and Tiny Betsy McCall dolls that I have purchased have a warning on the box that says the dolls are unsuitable for children younger than 14 years. The only hazard that is listed on the box is a choking hazard, which is usually a danger for children 3 years old and younger. I am not certain why the dolls are not considered play dolls. They are hard plastic which means that the arms and legs are connected with rubber bands suitable for doll stringing. I am not sure if this construction technique is hazardous or not, but it might be traumatic. I have several hard plastic Ginny dolls from the 1990′s. One day not too long ago, I opened my doll cabinet to show my four year old neighbor a miniature tea set. The head of one of my Ginny dolls fell off and hit my shoe. I was afraid that my young friend was going to be upset, but she was too interested in the tea set to notice the tragedy. I quickly removed the victim and she is now awaiting repair with some of her sisters.
If the warnings about hard plastic dolls concern you, other options are available. You might make one of my small cloth dolls. The joining buttons and small arms and legs on my dolls are choking hazards for children who are still inclined to chew on their toys. I think that  my dolls would be suitable for most children over 3 or 4 years old.
The mail order company Lillian Vernon has a small vinyl doll that is suitable for children. The American Girl mini doll is made for ages 8 and up. I hope that you can find the right doll for that special little girl.A

Christmas Sewing American Girl mini clothes patterns, Vogue Ginny doll clothes patterns

I like to dress a few dolls for give away at Christmas. My daughter always loved stuffed animals more than dolls when she was a child, so for my own pleasure, I started giving dolls away at Christmas. There are always toy drives that welcome dolls and their wardrobes. Occasionally I donate dressed dolls to charity auctions or craft shows.
This year ordered a Littlest Pet Shop Blythe doll. I thought that I might dress her and then donate her as one of my Christmas dolls. I hadn’t realized how small she is. I still may make her some clothing, but I will need to use doll house doll clothes patterns. These dolls are well made and attractive. I think that the hair is well done, especially on such a small doll. I am not certain if more clothes will add to Blythe’s play value. (Blythe is a world traveling pet sitter.) If I do decide to dress this doll, I will show you the results.
If you have looked at the American Girl website lately, you may have noticed that they are offering three new mini dolls. One of them is Ivy. I had wondered why they hadn’t offered her before. Because they still have mini dolls for all the American Girl dolls, even those that they have retired, there is a mini doll for just about any girl’s coloring and facial features. Any of the dolls can be dressed as a girl of today using the Twinkle size of my patterns. Save the original costume for dress up day. These are exquisite little dolls. I will certainly dress one or two of them for Christmas projects. Any time that I see one of them, I want to sew her some more clothes.

Christmas Sewing, my patterns American Girl mini clothes patterns

My free pdf of quilt blocks now contains a second quilt block pattern. In addition to the mini Dutch Doll blocks (see my July 10 post), there is a pattern for a larger Dutch Doll  quilt block.

If you are interested in either of the quilts,  go to my patterns page. You can find the new download in the red box on the right that lists all the free downloads.
I used the Dutch Doll pattern to make a “Sweetheart Dutch Doll.” I think that the completed quilt is a good match for Tender Heart.

Smaller dolls can use the quilt and bed, too. My American Girl mini would fit the bed just fine.

Coming next week: A free download for a flower quilt block.

Coming in August: A chance to win a free pdf of your choice from my pattern selections.

doll quilts American Girl mini clothes patterns

I am amazed at the riches that the internet adds to our lives. It is so easy to find answers to questions and to make friends all over the world. The wonderful prospects for communication also have made me look carefully at things that I have always taken for granted, such as measurement systems.

My younger son is home from college for a few days. He mentioned to me that only the United States and one other country in the entire world had not gone on the metric system. In the US we really have a blend of measurements. Science and medicine use metrics. The doll joints and animal eyes that I use as well as silk embroidery ribbon are  labeled with millimeters. But it has always been convenient for me to use inches and fraction of inches when I am sewing.

Since we have been tracking the hits on this blog, I have noticed that a large portion of my readers live outside the US. I need to do something about all the inches and fraction of inches that I use in my patterns and sewing tips.

My goal is to add a conversion chart to my Tips, Tools, and Techniques free download. In the meantime here are a few measurements converted to metric.

 One fourth inch equals 6 millimeters. 

American Girl® mini, Twinkle, and Corelle’s®small doll are about 17 centimeters tall.

Vogue’s Modern Ginny®, Floribunda, and Madam Alexander’s Wendy® are about 19 centimeters tall.

Tender Heart and Effanbee’s ® Li’l Innocents® are about 21 centimeters tall.

my patterns, sewing tips American Girl mini clothes patterns, Madam Alexander doll clothes patterns, Vogue Ginny doll clothes patterns