American Girl Doll Bubble Dress Tutorial AG024

18inchdollclothesz.com has a great tutorial on how to make the bubble skirt; however, I wanted to make a dress.  I started out by using Samantha’s Party Dress Bodice front and back and her neckband.  I taped the front and back together at the shoulder seams to make one piece.

I wanted a short, puffy sleeve so I used Kirsten’s Apron DressSleeve and used a sheer fabric.   Serge and hem the bottom of the sleeve.  Run two rows of gathering between notches at the top of the sleeve.

Stretch and zig zag over a 5” piece of 1/8” elastic about ¾” from the hem.

Gather sleeve to fit armholes on the bodice.  Serge or pink to clean finish.

Add neckband.  Serge or pink to clean finish.  Top-stitch towards neckband. 

Sew side seams.  Serge or pink to clean finish.  Set aside.

The skirt is cut from satin.  It is 13” long x 26” wide.  With right sides together, fold the longest side of the fabric in half and press.

Sew a casing at the bottom of the fabric by stitching ¼” seam from the edge of the folded part.

Feed 16” of 1/8” elastic through the casing using a safety pin.  This is how it looks after feeding the casing with the elastic. Pull the elastic and adjust accordingly. This is still with the wrong side of the fabric facing you.

Now, open the fabric wide.

With wrong sides together, fold the fabric in half. You are hiding the casing and the fabric is now on its right side.  Chalk or pin mark into quarters.

Gather the fabric until it is the same width as the bodice.

With right sides together, sew the bodice and skirt together with ¼” seam. Serge waist to clean finish and topstitch towards the bodice.

Serge center back seam.  Attach ribbon at side seams.  Add a button to the center.  Sew back closed about 3-1/2” from hem.  Add velcro.

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