Cloth Dinosaur Book

Dinosaurs

            I was shopping at JoAnn Fabrics the other day an found a flannel fabric with colorful dinosaurs.  This would be perfect for soft cloth  dinosaur books for my wonderful young grandsons.  3/4 of a yard was all that I purchased.

             Please excuse the picture of the fabric being oriented vertically instead of horizontally.  But  I'm sure you can see how cute and colorful these dinosaurs are.

         Bright orange stegasaurus, lime green triserratops,  sky blue brontosaurus, along with grey and tan T-rex are all there roaming around cactus plants.  You can almost hear these dinosaurs ROAR!

           The different dinosaurs were cute apart and laid out on the base navy blue material. I just did a rough cutting to begin with. The two blue dinos will eventually be on the last page of the book.  The orange dino will be on the cover of the book.

     As for the three dinos in the following picture , these will be located in the inside of the finished book.  This picture shows the continuation of the blue fabric.  It is one long piece of blue material.

        Next, the dinos were sewn with a zig zag stitch to the blue base fabric.  The excess is trimmed close to the stitches. If you look closely, you can see a fold next to the blue dinosaur on the right. There is also a fold in the blue fabric to the right of the Orange dino.  This is where the book will be folded when finished.

       I love the way these three are following each other.
No fierce, fighting  in this book!  Only friendly reptiles on parade.

       This is what the completed cover looks like.  The oval at the top is a flap with Velcro.  The flap closes the book securely.

         Look who is hiding in a secret pocket!  There is a set of dinosaurs that match all the dinos in the book.   Each dinosaur is backed with a matching colored felt.  The flap helps all these friends stay safe.

       Can your little one match the colorful dinosaurs?

      All the dinosaurs can roam around or get together with their new friends.  Children can use the soft cloth dinosaurs  in their imaginative and creative play.

       Make a cloth book for a young child in your life. It is very easy and fun. Just take a walk down the fabric aisles at JoAnn Fabrics.  I' m sure you will find some design that you like.

 Happy Sewing!

Beti

Baby Boy Doll Clothes

Baby Boy
Doll Clothes 

          Dolls and doll clothes are so important in the development of young children. Dressing yourself and a doll or stuffed animal are wonderful activities to develop self reliance. Every child needs fine motor activities.  Little boys and girls enjoy this type of activity so very much.

          My son-in-law gave me an old pair of  pants in the camouflage pattern. I thought it would be fun if the dolls has pants or shorts made from this fabric. I guess you could call these long shorts or short pants.

         The shorts have a pocket on one side. I thought it would add a little extra.  Little Boys and girls love  pockets.  It is a perfect size to place a special trinket for your dolls.  I made these with a waist band instead of elastic.  The aterial was somewhat heavy. If you are using light weight or knit fabric an elastic waist would work as well.

        The  T-shirt has a neckline made from a strip of the T-shirt material.  I like this technique because I get a nice clean neckline.  I used the T-shirt material for neckline trim even when the shirt is made from a woven material.  Velcro was sewn to the back seam edges. It makes it very easy for the young child to dress their dolls.

           As you can see the T-shirt has a long length.  It can be tucked into the pants or shorts. You can make it shorter if that is what you need.

           These are the patterns used for the shirts and shirt. The patterns  are on a  one inch grid and can easily used in woven or stretchy material.  The length of the shorts pattern is 5 1/4 inches as you can see on the grid. This measurement can be made longer if you want full length pants.

         The shirt with sleeves are made in one piece.  This makes it so easy! The length of the shirt can be made shorter or made longer to make a dress or nightgown. The pattern is very easy to adjust if necessary.

              
             Both the shirt and shirt were made from scraps of material I had in my scrap box.  So, you can see that the amount of fabric need is minimal.

       I do hope you can use these patterns and ideas for the doll clothes that you are making.

  Happy Sewing!  

Beti          

Michigan State Doll T-shirt

Michigan State

Go Green!

            A child needs their favorite doll to wear clothes to cheer on their favorite school.  So I worked on this T-shirt for our Michigan State fan.  This top will fit her American Girl doll as well as a 12 or 14 inch baby doll.

           I had an old dark green T-shirt, so I figured it would be a good color.  Luckily, that shirt had printing on the front as well as the back.  With a little bit of trimming the word "STATE" was saved for this shirt.  The word "STATE" was ready to be zig zagged on to the front of the T-shirt.

 

      Not bad for an old green  T-shirt  folded up in my closet.   I do hope my little Michigan State fan will dress her doll in this shirt on game day.

Happy Sewing!

Beti

Baby Doll Pajamas

Baby Doll Pajamas

            JoAnn Fabrics is a store that I love. I haven't been to JoAnn's in a long, long, Long, LONG time. So this week I had the chance to go. Of course I was looking for elastic, that they didn't have. I was not surprised because everyone is making face masks these days. 

        While browsing around the store I saw this darling flannel monkey print. It was so cute.  I only wanted a half a yard to make doll clothes. It was the end of the bolt so the store cutting clerk, a very pleasant young woman, said I could have the rest of the yardage for half price.  Well, it was on he clearance rack, so I got more than a yard for 88 cents! Today was my lucky day!

         So this is the soft, flannel material made into a pajama outfit. It fits a Cabbage Patch doll that my granddaughter plays with.  That's what grandmas do, we make doll clothes for our grandchildren.

          What child could resist getting into bed with this doll wearing these cute cozy flannel pajamas? 

          Here in Michigan there is a store Meijer. Meijer is where I primarily go to do my grocery shopping. Along with groceries, Meijer carries, clothing, Health and Beauty, lawn and garden, shoes, toys, etc. You get the picture. They also have an art and crafts section as well and sewing notions. So, I went to see if they carried elastic by any chance.  Yes indeed! See, today was my lucky day!

       In the sewing notions aisle Ialso found a plaid flannel "Fat Quarter" for 1$.  The red, white and blue plaid flannel would be perfect for another set of baby doll pajamas. My other granddaughter got twin baby dolls for her birthday. This would be a great pajama set for the boy doll.  A placket with three buttons was added to the front of the shirt, but it has Velcro underneath for ease of dressing the dolls. I have to say I didn't match the plaid very well. 😕 Oops! I don't think the baby doll will complain.

                   This is a Strawberry Shortcake doll from back in the 80's. She is a good model for the baby doll clothes that I'm making. She is about 14 inches tall. So outfits can be shortened for a 12 inch baby doll.

              I had enough of the flannel monkey print material to make another pajama set! Two pajamas for 88 cents! It can't get any better than that! This top is designed with a kimono front closure.

               And here is Strawberry Shortcake wearing a second set of soft and cozy flannel PJ's.  This outfit is smaller than the other pajamas that for the Cabbage Patch doll.

              Here is another flannel "Fat Quarter" that I found at Meijer. It has this dainty pattern of red and green on a cream background. It would be perfect for a night gown for a baby doll. I know it looks like a shirt in this picture, but you can see how long it is on the doll.

    ***   This is a little tip when making doll clothes. ***

       If you look at the neckline, a white edging was added.  I cut a strip of cloth for an old T-shirt and used it as bias tape because it is stretchy.  It finished off the neckline very well I think. 

          This little red bow adds a sweet touch to this simple night gown.

*****

          Here is the pattern for the pajama pants for the 12 or 14 inch baby doll. I looked at many patterns on Pinterest and came up with these. It is on a 1 inch grid if you wish to use the pattern yourself. You can make the pant legs longer or shorter for the size of the doll you are fitting.

           The pants are laid out on the fold so the are very easy to make. The front and back seams are sewn together first. Then the waist is folded over and elastic is sewn into the waistline. Next, fold the hems and stitch. Finally, sew the leg inseam to finish the pajama pants.

               Here is the pattern I came up with, for the pajama top. As you can see, the front was widened and slanted to make the kimono top.  The back is placed on the fold. After cutting the pattern pieces, see the shoulder seams first. Then finish the neckline with bias tape. The next step is to hem the sleeves. After the sleeves are hemmed, see the sleeves and side seams together. Finally, finish the front and bottom edges. Velcro is great to close the pajama top. Buttons can be added for decoration but not necessary.

If you want the front to be straight instead of the kimono top, just cut the front out as you did the back , but do not lay out on the fold. You might want to add an inch to the center front to have enough material to fold over and finish the front center edges.

                   The same pattern used for the top is used for the night gown. This time the front is placed on the fold and the opening would be in the back.   I cut the neckline about 3/4 of an inch  lower in the front than in the back. 

              As you can see, I used the same pattern and adapt it when necessary to make each outfit a little different.  I am not a pattern designed by any means, but I do enjoy making things for my grandchildren. 

            My grandfather was a tailor so my mother and all my aunts and cousins as well as myself learned to sew at a very early age. I guess sewing is in my blood.

         Please visit my other posts featuring my handmade doll clothes.   I hope you enjoy sewing as much as I do. Feel free to leave a comment.  I would enjoy your thoughts.

Beti

Shorts and Halter Top

Shorts and Halter Top

           Everyone has old T-shirts in our closets, drawers, and on shelves.  these shirts can be favorites that are well worn.  They also can be only worn once and then stuffed to the back and not worn very often.  

            When making doll clothes I usually don't like to  to spend a lot of money for material.  When shopping I go to the remnant section first. One great buy was on the remnant rack and the sign said 50% off.    Then to the sale section, looking for the 70 or 80% off at JoAnn's.  They usually have a a nice selection, but you have to do a lot of searching.   

          I usually look through my material bin for pieces that are big enough to make a doll outfit.  Then came to my eye, the old T-shirts that were not being worn anymore.  There was a very pale lavender T-shirt with long sleeves. I know it looks  like it is light pale blue in the picture.  This halter and shorts outfit was one result of that shirt. 

                 Actually, from this one long sleeve T-shirt I made a baby doll sleeper, a long sleeve shirt for an American Girl Doll, and this halter and shorts set. There is some material left over, but I haven't decided what can be made from that scrap.   Scraps of material are so very useful in making doll clothes. You can view the sleeper and long sleeve shirt on previous posts. 

            I love the color of this T-shirt.  It is a raspberry heather color. Every year my husband and I go to the "Woodward  Dream Cruise".  We live near Detroit, the Motor City.  In August, Woodward Ave. becomes a mecca for old and classic cars. The auto makers give away t-shirts as souvenirs.  This was one of those shirts.

           

               The halter top started its life planning to be a doll skirt, but the base fabric scrap I had was a little too small for a skirt.  Once the ruffles were sewn on, and was fitted on the doll, I realized that it was WAY TOO short for a skirt. What was I going to do with these ruffles? 
 The light bulb turned on and the this halter was born. Two straps were sewn and added to the halter top and it was done. 

               These shorts were cut from the sleeves of the T-shirt.   This T-shirt that I used also was made into two other outfits.  I try to used as much of the fabric as I can.  The neck ribbing from a T-Shirt makes great bias tape to trim the sleeves on a sleeveless top or the neckline. 

             I these simple shorts and tops made from T-shirts will inspire you in making doll clothes in the future. My clothes are nothing fancy, but they will be played with for years to come. And the outfits will have a story behind them.

                 I would enjoy reading any comments you have about this post.  Feel fell to leave a comment.

          Happy Sewing! 

Beti

Shorts for American Girl Doll

  
     Shorts 
     from a
     T-shirt 

                      A pair of shorts is always a great piece of clothing to add to your doll's wardrobe.   A pink T-shirt was an interesting piece of fabric that I had in my stash.  I had used the shirt for several other pieces of doll clothes,that you can see in previous post,  but the sleeves were left over. There was just enough fabric to make a pair of shorts for an American Girl Doll.

              

             This is the pattern used to make the shorts. The shorts are a little roomy in the legs.  The young child would find these easy to put on and take off of their doll.  The pattern is on a 1 inch grid.  As you can see on the pattern, these shorts fit an American Girl Doll.

           As seen in the picture below, the shorts are laid out on the finished edge of the sleeve. This layout make the sewing very easy with just the front and back seams,  the waistline with elastic, and the inseam. 

              This pattern will also fit a Cabbage Patch doll comfortably.

                Here are the shorts with a little ruffled halter top also made from the same T-shirt material. The T-shirt material is so very soft and very easy to work with.  It doesn't wrinkle and very forgiving for young children to play with.

                       The shorts pattern will also fit a 14 inch Strawberry Shortcake baby doll.  The shorts are slightly more roomy fit on this doll.  The pattern could be made smaller to fir this size doll. 

                       I do hope that this idea and pattern are helpful for you and your doll clothing. Please leave my a comment if you have the time and any ideas you might like to share.

             Happy Sewing!

Doll T-Shirt

Doll  T-Shirt
       Remember these Old Navy shirts with the sparkles?  This one has been around for a long time.  It looked like a good piece that could be turned into doll clothes.

      I used the sleeves for a baby doll sleeper.  You can see it on a prior post for baby doll sleepers. The sleepers were made from recycled shirts made from different jersey knit materials.


      The pattern piece for the short front was positioned on top of the "Old Navy" logo.  Luckily, it fit perfectly!

                  Recycling is always a great idea.  To use an old shirt or other piece of clothing when making doll clothes is a win win situation.  You can clean out your closets and make something for a child that will have a story to go along with it. That piece of clothing can be passed down from one child to another through doll clothes.

       Keep Sewing and making happy memories for lots of people.  Enjoy your day!

Beti

Halter and Pajama Pants

Halter and 

Pajama Pants

                  Dolls always need pajama pants.  So, I have been looking through my stash of material to make pajama pants for baby dolls and American Girl dolls.  I found an old pair of cotton pajama pants. Needless to say, they had seen a better day.  But the cotton material was perfect for doll clothes.  It was nice and soft, not sitff like new store bought material.  

             The navy blue with small white stars would be changed into doll pajama pants in no time.  The pattern has no side seam so the construction is so very simple.

             These pajama pants needed a summer halter top to complete the outfit.  I decided to make the halter reversible.  It just so happened that the inside waist band of the original pajama pants was constructed from  this tiny red check material.  And to put the icing on the cake, there was a strip of seam binding that said "OLD NAVY".  This would be so darling on the reverse side of the halter. I had to spend some time with my seam ripper to deconstruct the waist band, but I think it was worth the time. There was a drawstring at the waist on the original pants that I used for the straps.  "Waist" not , want not when making doll clothes.

                 In this picture you can see that an elastic waist was used on the pajama pants.

                   The pajama pants and halter top fit the American Girl doll.  I had to roll up the pant legs in order to fit on this  14 inch baby doll. The halter top has a Velcro  closure in the back for a good fit. 

       
          Can you believe that I had plenty of material left over to make a gathered skirt to add to the outfit.  Now our little doll friends can go from pajamas to a skirt and halter top ready for a garden party or a 4th of July parade and picnic.

                    I'm glad to see that those old pajama pants will have many more years of wear for many years to come.

Happy sewing!

Beti

Baby doll sleepers

   Baby Doll Sleepers

            I had a request for a sleeper for a 10 or 14 inch baby doll from my granddaughters.  So I had to get to work. An Old long sleeve T-shirt would be  the perfect material for an experimental design.  The pattern was laid out on the long sleeves of the T-Shirt.  If you look at the legs of the sleeper, you can see the band that would have been the end of the sleeve.  The stretch of the fabric is very forgiving, so a young child can dress and undress the doll with no problem.

           A little applique was stitched on the front along with Velcro closures along the center front. 

                 This sleeper was made from the same pattern.  The legs were lengthened and rounded at the bottom to make an enclosed foot.  A zipper was added instead of Velcro. 

                 An old soccer jersey was used for this sleeper.    The pattern was positioned on the shirt front to make use of the team emblem,
 "Ladywood Blazers".  The back of the sleeper was positioned in the fabric in order to make use of the player number.  There is a #2 on the back of the sleeper.  This just makes the doll clothes a little more special for the child as well as the parent who wore the jersey years before in school.

             This sleeper was made from a cute flannel print that includes mermaids, fish, starfish, octopus, and lots of bubbles.  It is very soft and cozy for a child to snuggle up with their doll at bedtime.

         Around the neck there is a small stand up neckline.  This was made from a 1 1/2 inch wide strip of material cut for an old white T-shirt.  The T-shirt material makes great bias tape for necklines and arm holes on doll clothes. It is very forgiving when sewing on a curve.  Velcro closure pieces were sewn on the front opening to make dressing a baby doll easy form a young child.
       

                      The legs of the sleeper can be left long or shortened depending on  the height of the doll.

             This sleeper was made sleeveless for a slightly different look.   The same white T-shirt material was used to trim the neck and sleeve openings. The T-shirt material is very easy to work with and adaptable to the curved edges. To finish the design, a little white heart button was sewn just below the white neck band.

   
           A slightly different style has more of a scoop neckline with no side seams. Instead of cutting two front and two back pattern pieces, the pattern pieces were laid out with the side seam on the fold.  The opening is in the back with a Velcro closure.

           As you can see the pattern will fit a Cabbage Patch doll but you might need to enlarged slightly in the body and leg width and length . The Cabbage Patch dolls have chubbier legs and arms than a regular baby doll.

                 Here is the pattern I came up with for the sleeper. I used a 1 inch grid to show the size of the pattern pieces.  The first picture has the legs extended and rounded to make an enclosed footed sleeper.   I used the same pattern for the front and the back of the sleeper with a few changes.

 1. The front neckline is lower than the back neckline. 
 2. The center front seam is extended about 1/2 inch front the center back seam       to allow for the front closure.        
 3. The pattern can be altered at the leg bottom  to have an enclosed foot               or open leg bottom.

             The sleeve is quite standard and  can be shorten or lengthened to desired length.

               I hope my simple patterns can be followed, and you can make some cute sleepers and other outfits for some little baby dolls.  My hope is to make some children very happy in their play.

           Please feel free to send me a comment. I would enjoy hearing from you.
Beti