How To Make Dolls’ Dresses

A great deal of folk get a real kick out of making dolls’ dresses and other clothes whether they be for their own dolls, a relative’s or for sale. However, as with each hobby or craft there are a few ground rules, a couple of dos and don’ts which will help you enjoy your new hobby straight from the beginning until you gain enough experience to create your own judgments. In this article we will explain the fundamentals of how to make dolls’ dresses.

The first thing to do to make creating dolls’ dresses easier is to think that you are making a new outfit for yourself. This is easier for you because you already know yourself and have learned from making mistakes in the past, but how well do you know the doll for whom you are going to be manufacturing clothes?

If you are making clothes for your own doll or for retail, this is not a difficulty but if you are manufacturing dresses for a friend’s doll, it would be a good idea to see her, hold her and get a feel for her before you buy any textiles.

You might prefer to get a pattern for a doll’s dress if this is your first one, but you can probably make it up as you go along, or be really professional and create a few sketches with notes first.

This is certainly very useful, because you can change the pattern in light of experience and create notes about problem regions. Who knows, once you have twenty of them you may be able to publish them.

The apparatus that you will require to facilitate manufacturing dolls’ dresses is basically the same as any tailor or seamstress would require. That is: a sewing machine, pins, needles, shears or a rotary cutter, glue, pinking scissors, thread, tracing paper, pencils and a marking chalk or pen.

You will almost certainly require other items too depending on what you intend , but they could include: ribbons, elastic, sequins and lace. Then you are ready to make your sewing machine for use. If you have not used it for a time, give it a quick service as instructed in the handbook that came with the sewing machine.

See your handbook if you do not know how to set up your machine to pin tuck otherwise look it up on the Net. It is a good notion with some textiles to spray the cloth with starch before you begin this stage.

After you have finished your doll’s dress or even before that stage, you should take into account whether the style calls for any lace, ribbons, embroidery or sequins. You can create or purchase tassels if they are called for.

You can get a great deal of fun out of manufacturing dolls’ dresses for yourself or a niece and the look on their face while they comprehend that you have taken the time to make something so special and unique just for them and their doll is reward enough.

Owen Jones, the writer of this article, writes on a variety of topics, but is now concerned with Silver Cross Dolls Prams. If you want to know more, please visit our website at Doll Prams.