This tutorial is for beginners. It's not very diffcult but it still takes a bit of time.
It can be adapted to fit pretty much any doll. This particular time, I am sewing for petite Blythe and Fidelia Firefly Faery. Enjoy!
Feel free to adjust lenght and width to your liking. The concept is the same: gather the fabric to fit the body of your dolly. :)
Click on the pictures to see them larger.
Two tiny dresses for your dollies. They are very basic and require minimum sewing skills. If you don't have a sewing machine, you could use a plain straight stitch and gathering stich.
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Petite Blythe and Firefly Faeries are very similar in size but not the same. Their measurements are written on the picture.
Draw on a piece of paper or on the fabric itself, a (15 cm X 6 cm) rectangle.
Mark the fold line as indicated in the picture. |
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| Add fray check to prevent fraying. Pin the fabric at the fold mark. |
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| Select a long stitch from your machine settings. I used a size 3. Pull enough thread from the top and bottom before you start sewing. Sew a straight line along the folded edge about 1/16 inch from the edge. Leave enough thread at the end, too. |
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| Using the same process, add a second straight parallel line about 1/4 of an inch from the edge. So you end up with two lines along the folded edge. These lines make the bust of the dress. |
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| Change your stitch lenght back to where you normally use it. I use a stitch lenght of 2. Add your lace or trim to the bottom side. |
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| You now have two pieces ready for decorations. You can paint, add flowers, buttons, more lace, whatever you want. ^___^ |
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Here comes the tricky part. It's not tricky but it's very important.
For the purposes of this tutorial, I will start in this order but you may do either right or left or bottom line then top line. Your choice.
*Left corner: Pass the end thread of the top line through the needle and make a couple of stitches through the fabric, add a securing knot, and cut the thread end. Add fray check. You don't want this to unravel. Repeat the process on the bottom line -left corner thread end.
See picture below. I am not very good at explaining. n_____n |
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This is the end result. You only have end threads on one side... the right side.
Now, get ready! |
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| Each line has two threads: top thread and bottom thread. Separate the two top threads from the bottom two threads. (I should have used two colors of thread so you can see it better but I didn't think about it at the time. >___<) |
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| Slowly start pulling on the two top threads together and at the same time. This will create gathers/pleats on the fabric. Don't pull too hard or you will break the thread and will have to start over. |
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| Keep gathering until the gathers are close together. Try it on your dolly for fitting around the bust and hips. |
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| When you are satisfied with the fit, secure the loose thread ends in the same manner you did before. |
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| You are almost done! :) |
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| Fold the dress in half and mark the middle with a pin. |
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| Get your ribbon and fold it in half. I used 1/16 width ribbon but you can use whatever size you want or even make a crochet chain with thread, etc. You get the idea. |
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| Pin the ribbon to the dress where you marked the half way mark. Add a couple of stitches to secure. |
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| At this point you could add snaps, velcro, hooks, or the like to the back for closure. For it's simplicity, I'm just going to close the back of the dress all the way. I leave enough room for the hips and booty to go through. :) Those FFs sure have a big butt. LOL |
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| Pin the back ends together and sew. |
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Turn it inside out and TA DAH! You are done!
You can still add decorations to the skirt if you want to at this point. It's never too late for glam or glitz! :)
I hope you find this simple tutorial helpful.
You may use this tutorial to make dresses for your dolls, for presents, or to sell, but please give me credit. That's all I ask for. Enjoy! |
