- Home
- Sewing Tips
How To Sew Doll Clothes—Important Sewing Tips
Learning how to sew doll clothes is not too different from making regular people clothes. But there are some vital differences that will make sewing such small clothes much easier. Follow these sewing instructions carefully and your doll clothes will look fantastic!
Add your own sewing tip for doll clothes here. Read Tips from other sewers at the bottom of the page.
What You Need To Know About Sewing Tiny Clothes For Dolls:
Here are a few tips to help you learn how to sew better doll clothes. Generally, sewing doll clothes is not too different from sewing clothes for people, but there are a few things that you must do differently.
In particular, seams need to be smaller than people’s clothes, and there is always the problem of bulk. Fabric is much bulkier on a doll than on a person. Decreasing bulk has to be taken into consideration for not just seams, but also lining fabric.
Plus you may need to sew the garment together in a different order than you would for full scale clothing. Fabric needs to be considered carefully—again, avoiding bulk on a small doll, plus staying in small scale are paramount. Some fabrics are better for doll clothes than others.
And linings may look a bit garish compared to what you are used to—but there are some very important reasons you should take great care with the colour of both your lining and your thread! Click the Lining Fabric link to find out more.
I’ll go over each area you need to consider when sewing for dolls. If you follow these guidelines, your doll clothes should come out looking perfect and professional.
How To Sew Doll Clothes Tips
Sewing Darts in Doll Clothes
Special Sewing Instructions for Doll Clothes
Lining Fabric for Doll Clothes
Sewing Sleeves on Doll Clothes
Fashion Fabric for Doll Clothes
More practical tips on sewing doll clothes are found in the Sewing for Dolls Tutorials.
Do You Have a Good Sewing Tip for Making Doll Clothes?
Do you have a good tip for doll clothes sewing I haven't mentioned here? Share it with the rest of us. I'm sure we'd all like to know about your sewing tips! :-)
What Other Doll Sewers Have Said
Click below to see sewing tips from other doll sewers to this page...
Easy Stitching of Tiny Velcro Pieces
To make little pieces of Velcro behave themselves when stitching in place, start with a washable glue stick, like the ones kids use for school and art …
Use a sewing spider
When I sew doll clothes or other tiny items like parts for small stuffed toys or holiday ornaments, I like to borrow a technique from patchwork and sew …
Stop Machine from eating your fabric at the start
Use a tear-away stabilizer under the seam and extend it up past where you need to start to sew. When done, carefully tear away stabilizer on either side …
'fur' alternative
Look at bear making suppliers for fabrics for miniature bears. They are a tiny fur fabric in miniature, that should be in good proportion for doll coats, …
Gathering skirts--zig-zag over dental floss and pull. Be careful not to catch the floss in the stitches.
Place dental floss in center leaving 6" tail. Zig-zag over floss to make a row of gathering. Pull to size. Alternative to using 2 threads.
tacking stitches
when you sew on a machine you should do tacking stitches before hand to hold the material in place
Buying the Right Needle for your Sewing Machine
I recently bought the Schmetz Sharp Microtex 70/10 size. What a difference this needle makes for tiny sewing. No more fabric jams and slipped stitches. …
Easy facing around neck and other curved edges
I sew for the 10" Wee 3 Friends doll and always had a problem in finishing the tiny curved necklines. Most materials fray easily with only one layer finish, …
Use small Neodymium disc magnets instead of snaps, velcro or hooks
Sometimes I sew very small doll clothing-one of the small dolls I sew for is only 4" tall. Sewing snaps is a pain at best, hooks and eyes are too cumbersome, …
Use June Tailor Fray Block instead of Dritz Fray Check
After spending a lot of time sewing an item I needed to secure the thread ends. I used Dritz Fray Check (new from the store)only to have it turn white …
sewing is fun
It is so fun sewing for the first time
Sewing cuffs to gathered sleeves
When I sew a cuff to a gathered sleeve I gather the edge of the sleeve first and then make the cuff the same as if I was making a collar by sewing down …
Easy fastening for doll clothes
I find that snaps and hooks & eyes are not always easy for tiny hands to open & close (or for my fat fingers to hold). I use little strips of Velcro to …
Make more doll clothes in less time
By cutting out several outfits and then sewing them all at the same time, you can save time & thread. I call this "assembly line sewing". Pin the first …
I love sewing for the Barbie size dolls
Sewing miniature purses..
I will start by saying that I adore anything in miniature and when I see the FR purses and the delectable works of art from …
Substitutes for velvet and lame
Velvet is gorgeous but hard to sew AND creates a lot of bulk in dolls clothes. Consider using the microfiber fabric called (in many places) doeskin. …
Finishing seam edges
I finish many of the seams in my doll clothes by using my pinking shears to trim the seams. This doesn't work on every fabric, as some fabrics may fray …