This is an easy method to attach lace and ribbon at the lower sleeve edge of your dressy and fancy doll clothes. Many colors of lace and ribbon are available to choose from. Lay out some combinations to see how they work together before making your final choice.

The photo below shows my 18 inch Gotz doll, Emily, modeling this very pretty dress with the sleeve edges finished like in this tutorial.

For a view of Emily in this dress click here.

Technique for sewing the sleeve edge with lace and ribbon

Before sewing sleeve underarm seam together sew on the ribbon and lace at the lower edge.

- Turn lower edge of short sleeve up one quarter inch to finished side of sleeve and baste in place.

- Gather lower sleeve edge to width needed so doll's hand can still slip through the opening.

- Baste lace over gathered seam with lace extended down from dress as in photo.

- Sew ribbon over lace seam as in photo. I like to hand sew the ribbon on to the sleeve so I can work around the design on the ribbon.

- Sew together underarm seam and continue with the bodice and dress construction.

I prefer to use satin ribbons because on small doll clothes I think the satin makes the dress looked fancier. But the choice is yours.

Consider trims for doll dresses after choosing the fabric for the bodice, sleeves and skirt. You can create the look of a blouse and skirt when making a dress just by using a plain fabric for the bodice and a patterned material for the skirt.

Have fun creating beautiful doll clothes!

Index of Special Doll Making Techniques
Index of Doll Costumes
Fancy Dresses for American Girl and Similar Dolls

Article and photo by Susan Kramer