Basic elastic waistband with and without separate casing NO PATTERN NEEDED
I made this for Den of Angels but thought I’d post it here too. Apologies for having a lot before the tutorial but I’m operating under the assumption that those who are reading this are beginners (which is awesome!!!) This works best for most size dolls, I haven’t yet tried it out for tiny ones but I believe it would work well. You MAY have to switch the ¼” elastic out for elastic thread though, and the casing for the elastic will be VERY tiny. Having a separate casing is a more intermediate skill so if you aren’t confident doing that, that is okay. Also dolls will be referenced in cm, everything else is in inches because I’m one of those backwards Americans haha. Also I apologize for some basic multiplication.
~About ½ yard Fabric, maybe more if you’re doing a doll that is over 50cm/want a long long length. That being said, it is better to have too much fabric than too little because you can always trim but you can’t add more
~1 package ¼” elastic (you can use elastic thread if you’re making it for a tiny one AND you’re good at sewing)
~Matching thread (or contrasting thread if you’re feeling spicy)
~Chalk/pen/pencil/something to mark the dimensions of your skirt
~Decorative ribbon lace for if you want a cute trim at the hem of the skirt
~A sheer/lace second fabric if you want a cute overlay (the easiest way I’ve found to do this is to have the casing as a separate piece, but basically you just lay it on top of the main fabric)
~Grain is the lengthwise direction that the fabric goes, aka the width that you choose rather than the set length. Generally pattern pieces are laid out on-grain but can be put on the bias/cross grain for added stretch/drapability.
~Seam allowance is the length of “extra” fabric that ends up being between where you are stitching (stitching line) and the end of where you cut between the 2 or more pieces of fabric that you are sewing together. For this project I am using ½” seam allowance. You can use smaller seam allowance for tiny dolls but I highly do not recommend going under ¼” seam allowance.
~Hem allowance is the length of “extra” fabric at the bottom of the garment, it can be the same as seam allowance but it is generally more. For this project I am using ½” hem allowance
~Case/casing is a “tube” sewn in the fabric so that you can pull a drawstring/elastic through to cinch a garment. It is calculated by doubling your width of elastic/drawstring since it folds over itself
~The right side of fabric is the side where the design/feature sticks out the best aka what you want to be seen when it is finished. MOST seams are sewn right sides together, but there are some seams where both wrong sides are sewn together first (French seam), etc.
~The wrong side of fabric is the side where the design/feature isn’t as prominent, or what is on the “inside” of the finished garment.
~It is not the end of the world if you don’t have an iron and ironing board, it’s just that your seams will look more professional if you iron after every step, I know it’s tedious but it’ll pay off in the end, I promise.
~Also you don’t always have to wash your fabric before making clothes for your doll but if you are worried about the color bleeding onto your doll it is okay, just pay attention to the care instructions on the bolt when purchasing at a store (I don’t know about other places but if you buy it at JoAnn’s you can also see care instructions for your fabric when purchasing online)
~A fair amount of fabrics have the same pattern on both sides, in which case you choose which side you want to be the “right side” and which you want to be the “wrong side.” Alternatively, you may like the “wrong side” of the fabric you chose better than the “right side and want to use it as the right side, which is completely fine! YOU are in charge of the garment, and flipping it around can lead to it being a cool design feature.
~I’m using my 42.5cm Kid Delf (named Valentine/the blue haired gal in this pic) as example, but will mention any differences for sizing up/down when applicable
1.) Measure the waist of your doll, this is where the top of the skirt will start. You take that measurement and use this equation: [waist] x [preferred level of floof] = [width of fabric you are going to cut]. Valentine’s waist is 5 ¼”, but I wanted a bit more floof so I rounded up my calculations to 6, so since she is MSD size we take 6” x 3 = 18”. So the skirt will be 18” wide BEFORE seam allowance (You can use whatever seam allowance you want, I’m using ½” for safety. You can always trim it later) For larger dolls I recommend 4x or even 5x the width of the waist so that it doesn’t look flat, and either 2x or 2.5x for dolls under 20cm.
2.) Measure the length of your doll, from their waist until where you want your skirt to end. I made a knee length skirt, so for Valentine this was 6” BEFORE seam allowance/hem allowance/casing.
3.) Take your width measurement and add in seam allowance on either side. For Valentine it’s 18” + [½” x 2] = 19”. This will be the width of the fabric you will cut.
4.) take your length measurement and add your seam allowance for the top of skirt. For Valentine that is 6” + ½” seam allowance = 6 1/2”. Add hem allowance. For valentine it is 6 1/2” + ½” = 7”.
For casing INCLUDED/1 piece skirt
5.) Add ½” to top for seam casing. 7” + ½” = 7 ½”. This will be the total length of the skirt including casing, seam allowance, and hem allowance.
6.) Mark then cut a rectangle using the dimensions in step 3 through 5 INCLUDING the seam/hem allowance. 7 ½” x 19”.
6.) On the top fold over 1” of fabric wrong sides together and press. This will become the seam casing. Stitch ½” seam allowance all the way down. Press. Trim excess seam allowance if desired.
For SEPARATE casing/2 piece skirt
7.) Mark then cut a rectangle using the dimensions in steps 3 and 4 (7” by 19”), this will be the main body of the skirt. (if you wanted a second layer then this is where you would cut the same length x width in the second layer and just place it on top of the first layer. You can baste stitch them together at the top)
8.) Mark then cut a rectangle that’s 1 ½” x [result of step 3 plus 1”], this will be the casing. For Valentine it’s 1 ½” x 20”. I added the extra inch in case the case ends up being too short for the body.
9.) Fold the rectangle from step 8 in half length-wise (like a hot dog) wrong sides together and press. Stitch ¼” in from the fold.
10.) Use pins (or thread) to mark ½” in from the top of the main part of the skirt, and pin case to the marked part of the skirt, matching it on the line with right sides together.
11.) Stitch over the stitching line you made for the casing. Press. Trim excess seam allowance if desired.
Continue as follows for all views
12.) Fold up ¼” from the bottom with wrong sides together and press. You can stitch it if you feel like it, otherwise fold up another ¼” from the bottom with wrong sides together and press. With wrong side up, stitch close to the fold that has the top of the fabric. Press.
13.) Cut a piece of elastic the length of your waist plus ½”. I didn’t add the full seam allowance because we want the elastic to be a little more snug.
14.) Take your elastic and safety pin and thread the open end of the safety pin through a good chunk of the end of the elastic, making sure that if you tug on it the safety pin won’t rip out. Carefully slide the elastic + safety pin through the casing, stopping when the end of the elastic that doesn’t have the safety pin is flush with the end of the fabric hole that you put the safety pin in. Thoroughly stitch through the elastic and fabric so that the elastic is firmly in place and won’t stretch. Continue sliding the safety pin + elastic through the casing until you reach the other side, and pin through the elastic and fabric so that they are flush before taking out the safety pin and stitching the elastic into place like step 13.
15.) with right sides together, pin the sides of the skirt together while matching stitching lines, and stitch with ½” seam allowance. Press so that both sides of the seam allowance are open.
Tadaaa, you now have a beautiful skirt!
(Valentine’s top and skirt made by me, Glace’s skirt made by me)
