Please help me make a dress for this doll

[sophi4ka]

Hello,

I am stuck. Here is what I already made. I used pipe cleaners as the body frame and wrapped some wool around the whole body. I needle felted the wool a bit to make it more firm. I also added skin tone knit fabric for hands and feet.

So now I want to sew a body around the wool. I am totally "engineering challenged" and my attempts to create a pattern for the body that will fit just right resulted in two outfits that were too small and not fitting. Now here is my last pattern. I haven't tried it yet, but it seems kind of wrong to me. I don't want to sew it for the third time an outfit that will not fit.

I am planning to use simple white woven fabric for the body. It will serve as the first layer of the doll's outfit. I will sew a skirt on top of it, so the upper part of the white outfit will "become" a shirt and the bottom - pants.

Can someone please suggest me how does a pattern for the body outfit for my doll suppose to look like and how do I measure it?

Thank you so much

Sophie

[lach]

I don't think that will work. The cut up under the arms goes too far, I think.

I would probably break it up into 6 pieces: left arm, right arm, torso front and back, left leg, right leg. The arms and legs basically just tubes. I would do the arms first, sewing a side seam and then right sides together at the wrist. Pull the arms up. Then repeat for the legs.

Then sew the torso side seams, and put it on the doll. Folding the edges under, slip stitch around the neck, arm holes, and leg tops.

[sophi4ka]

Thanks mama!

I would want to sew it from one piece of fabric though, I mean one for the back and one for the front. This is how the dolls I see in a stores usually have their bodysuit sewn. Any idea what the pattern for that would look like?

[Think of Winter]

That is one beautiful face and head!

I can't quite picture how you want it to look. Do you have a doll in mind that you're modeling it after? I think if you're set on a very simple pattern, it may look more like pjs than an outfit, since it won't have the shaping that a shirt and pants really need.

I think using a knit might be easier, since you won't see every wrinkle. A jersey, velour, or terry would give it a softer feel, too, and you can stretch it around a little. She could have leggings and a t-shirt with a skirt over it, and you could use scraps of old socks or t-shirts.

Just an idea. I'm sure it's going to be lovely. Post pics when she's done.