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.

Click "Like" on American Girl Doll Creations by Carole Facebook page to receive updates when new items are introduced AND sign up to my Blog so you won’t miss any of my AG tutorial posts!  Ordering info is also on my Facebook page – if you don’t see this item there, just ask me about it.

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.

Click "Like" on American Girl Doll Creations by Carole Facebook page to receive updates when new items are introduced AND sign up to my Blog so you won’t miss any of my AG tutorial posts!  Ordering info is also on my Facebook page – if you don’t see this item there, just ask me about it.

American Girl Doll Glitter and Satin Dress Tutorial AG019

Newberry is SEARS brand of the 18” doll.  Zoe is one of their Holiday Edition Dolls for 2014 and has come to live with us.  The AG doll clothes fit her just fine.

I had this pretty glitter fabric so went on a hunt for a pattern.  I was excited to see this Simple Ruffle Dress that was free just for signing up to Doll Tag Clothing website.  I had a lot of trouble getting this bodice to fit.  I tried using both cotton and a knit. Neither fit right at all until I added ½” on to the length of the front and back, cut the armholes bigger as they were so tight and added ¼” on to the center back seam, therefore, added ¼” on the center back seam of the skirt also.  I also rounded the neck rather than squaring it as she did – just to make it easier for me.

I cut one bodice front and two bodice backs because I was using a knit.  Hemmed the neck and armholes then sewed the side seams.

Ran a gathering stitch at the skirt waist and hemmed the skirt ½”.

Pinned the bodice to the skirt front with right sides together.

Sew and press seam towards bodice and topstitch.

Attach about 15” of 5/8” wide ribbon to one back seam and insert a ribbon slide.  We will deal with the other end of the ribbon later.

Sew back seam closed about 4.5” from the bottom with ½” seam allowance.  Put the dress on the doll and pin the other end of ribbon fairly tight.

Add Velcro closure.

Put back on the doll and pin the ribbon at the underarms then stitch to hold.

Sew 3 buttons down the front.

A very pretty party dress for the 18” dolls!

Click "Like" on American Girl DollCreations by Carole Facebook page to receive updates when new items are introduced AND sign up to my Blog so you won’t miss any of my doll clothing tutorials!  Ordering info for this outfit can also be found on my FB page if you are interested.

Newberry is SEARS brand of the 18” doll.  Zoe is one of their Holiday Edition Dolls for 2014 and has come to live with us.  The AG doll clothes fit her just fine.

I had this pretty glitter fabric so went on a hunt for a pattern.  I was excited to see this Simple Ruffle Dress that was free just for signing up to Doll Tag Clothing website.  I had a lot of trouble getting this bodice to fit.  I tried using both cotton and a knit. Neither fit right at all until I added ½” on to the length of the front and back, cut the armholes bigger as they were so tight and added ¼” on to the center back seam, therefore, added ¼” on the center back seam of the skirt also.  I also rounded the neck rather than squaring it as she did – just to make it easier for me.

I cut one bodice front and two bodice backs because I was using a knit.  Hemmed the neck and armholes then sewed the side seams.

Ran a gathering stitch at the skirt waist and hemmed the skirt ½”.

Pinned the bodice to the skirt front with right sides together.

Sew and press seam towards bodice and topstitch.

Attach about 15” of 5/8” wide ribbon to one back seam and insert a ribbon slide.  We will deal with the other end of the ribbon later.

Sew back seam closed about 4.5” from the bottom with ½” seam allowance.  Put the dress on the doll and pin the other end of ribbon fairly tight.

Add Velcro closure.

Put back on the doll and pin the ribbon at the underarms then stitch to hold.

Sew 3 buttons down the front.

A very pretty party dress for the 18” dolls!

Click "Like" on American Girl DollCreations by Carole Facebook page to receive updates when new items are introduced AND sign up to my Blog so you won’t miss any of my doll clothing tutorials!  Ordering info for this outfit can also be found on my FB page if you are interested.