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Do you fancy manufacturing a doll’s dress for your own doll or a friends? Or how about some other articles of clothing like a trouser suit, pyjamas or a night shirt?

If you have never done it before, it is not that difficult to create a decent job of making dolls’ clothing, but you will have to take measurements, just as in real life.

It is a good idea to know the full length of the doll, but there are no garments that actually cover from head to toe unless you are designing a ghost’s fancy dress costume for the doll. Be careful with the chest measurement as well.

You cannot estimate it because dolls, both male and female, tend to have larger chests than proportion would imply that they should be. Just look at Barbie and Ken, they could probably hold their breath for ten minutes!

Similarly, the inside leg measurements tend to be overstated and the waist way undersized. This is why it is so essential to measure the doll or if the dolls’ clothing is to be a surprise, measure one like it. From waist to the hem is enough for a skirt or from neck to the hemline for a dress.

If you are manufacturing trousers, you will need the inside leg and the outside leg to the waist band or hips, depending on the style. Then you will also require the waist or the hip measurement and the combined thigh measurement for skirts and dresses or individual thigh dimensions for trousers or slacks.

If you are measuring for a top or the top of a dress, you will need the measurements from the sternum to the centre of the armpit and from there to the centre of the other armpit.

In numerous ways, measuring a doll for clothing is equivalent to measuring humans, but on the other hand, the dimensions can have a great deal more tolerance because seams do not come under stress from movement with dolls. It is quite easy to just use common sense whilst measuring dolls for clothing, but practice will make perfect.

One of the best habits that you can get into is making notes and making sketches. After you have become proficient enough at manufacturing dolls’ clothing, you might be able to sell your produce and maybe even sell your pattern book as well, if they are all your original ideas.

Tailoring or dressmaking for dolls can be great fun and children will certainly appreciate a new, unique costume for their doll, but then you will see that for yourself the first time you present your little niece, nephew or friend with one of your latest creations.

Owen Jones, the writer of this article, writes on a number of subjects, but is now concerned with Silver Cross Dolls Prams. If you would like to know more, please go over to our website at Doll Prams.

A great deal of folk get a real thrill out of making dolls’ dresses and other clothes whether they be for their own dolls, a relative’s or for sale. However, as with each hobby or craft there are a few ground rules, a few dos and don’ts which will help you enjoy your new hobby straight from the start until you gain enough experience to create your own judgments. In this piece we will explain the basics of how to create dolls’ dresses.

The first thing to do to make making dolls’ dresses easier is to think that you are making a new outfit for yourself. This is easier for you because you already know yourself and have improved from making mistakes in the past, but how well do you know the doll for whom you are going to be making clothes?

If you are making clothes for your own doll or for retail, this is not a difficulty but if you are manufacturing dresses for a friend’s doll, it would be a wise idea to see her, hold her and get a feel for her before you purchase any textiles.

You might prefer to get a pattern for a doll’s dress if this is your first one, but you can probably make it up as you go along, or be really professional and create a few sketches with notes first.

This is certainly very useful, because you can change the pattern in light of experience and create notes about problem regions. Who knows, once you have twenty of them you may be able to publish them.

The apparatus that you will require to facilitate manufacturing dolls’ dresses is basically the same as any tailor or seamstress would require. That is: a sewing machine, pins, needles, shears or a rotary cutter, glue, pinking scissors, thread, tracing paper, pencils and a marking chalk or pen.

You will almost certainly require other things too depending on what you intend making, but they could include: ribbons, elastic, sequins and lace. Then you are ready to prepare your sewing machine for use. If you have not used it for a while, give it a quick service as described in the instruction manual that came with the sewing machine.

See your handbook if you do not know how to set up your machine to pin tuck otherwise look it up on the Internet. It is a good notion with some textiles to spray the fabric with starch before you start this stage.

After you have finished your doll’s dress or even before that stage, you should take into account whether the style calls for any lace, ribbons, embroidery or sequins. You can create or purchase tassels if they are called for.

You can get a lot of fun out of making dolls’ dresses for yourself or a niece and the look on their face whilst they realize that you have taken the time to make something so special and unique only for them and their doll is reward enough.

Owen Jones, the author of this article, writes on a variety of topics, but is now involved with Silver Cross Dolls Prams. If you want to know more, please go over to our website at Doll Prams.