Sewing in multiple scales (all tiny)

I didn’t do a lot of sewing this past winter, but something that is becoming a recurring theme has been sewing for dolls.

Now, my sewing practice began, technically, with sewing Barbie clothes when I was about 10. But when Tyo and Syo were little I didn’t feel much of an urge to sew for any of their dolls. While they did play with Barbies (and Bratz, at that time), the clothes the dolls came with were pretty awesome, and it didn’t seem necessary to mess around with tiny seam allowances when I didn’t have anything like the range of materials and teeny notions the doll companies had access to.

But, well, in the intervening fifteen or so years, things have changed. I won’t go so far as to say there aren’t ANY good doll clothes being made any more, but the proportion has definitely dropped relative to what I would have called dollar store crap in the past. And the nice ones certainly haven’t been on the dolls anyone has bought for the twins recently.

So, for better or worse, the urge to create some small (to very small) clothes has been building.

It started slow and not terribly impressively, a few years ago I guess. Quick things, mostly rectangles. A dress for baby Moana.

A better outfit for Mirabel than the travesty she came in.

Nothing too hard, not really any worse than the odd bit of baby sewing I have attempted in the past. 1/4” seam allowances work well, and the dolls’ child-shaped bodies make for pretty easy drafting of basic pattern shapes.

Some quick petticoats and house dresses for the twins’ much-abused porcelain dolls. These never really captured anyone’s imagination, mine or the twins.

We mustn’t forget about the baby-doll clothes. These are from an early 1970s pattern, and have gotten a lot of use despite their simplicity. The twins were pretty disappointed I couldn’t supply the exact doll from the pattern cover, however.

Then a natural progression into the 18” dolls. I modified the ragdoll pattern to make the raglan sleeve blouse… and the coat (which is even lined)

The skirt, obviously, more rectangles. I originally made all the tiers the same height, but the result was a bit long and I liked the proportions better when I added some pintucks to the upper tiers.

I love how the lightweight cotton, narrow stripe and tiny lace work out at this scale. The trickiest part of the doll sewing has been allowing myself to dive into the details, setting aside time to make a nicely-finished garment.

I made a bunch of the 18” doll clothes last fall, but then last Christmas, I located a haul of store bought ones in a lot at the second-hand store, so the urgency faded. (I will say, the 18” doll clothes are doing slightly better than the Barbie-sized ones in terms of quality. Slightly.)

I did tackle this teeny tiny dress for this Chelsea-sized doll (Barbie’s littlest sister, if you aren’t a connoisseur of such things), since her original garment barely deserved that name. Though, I will say sewing at this scale is a whole other level of challenging, and other than the hems I constructed this one entirely by hand. I am disproportionately pleased with how it turned out, however, in particular with how I found the use for the tiny scrap of tiny lace at the hem, and the tiny flower motif for the front of the sash. It’s basically a pinafore, without even side-seams, anchored to the ribbon that forms the sash and holds the whole thing in place.

And I thought that that was the tiniest sewing I would ever try, until the twins came home from a birthday party recently with some Fashion Polly Pockets. Most of their clothes are made of rubber, but apparently they needed shirts. These are nothing to write home about, as I was definitely pushing the limits of miniaturization, but they made the twins extremely happy.

And then, the twins and I were watching a recent Dollightful video on YouTube and she mentioned that all her patterns have been revamped with multiple sizes to fit the various generations of Monster High doll bodies. Her patterns, like all her doll customizations, are adorable, and far more complex than the pieces I’ve been showing off from last fall.

And the twins just happen to have a couple of second-hand Monster High and Ever After High (which have the same bodies, at least originally) dolls from the thrift store, who don’t particularly fit the regular Barbie clothes.

But, this post is already getting REALLY long… so I think this next bit is going to get its own post as I try to up my doll-sewing game without totally succumbing to the madness.

Wish me luck!