When working with little items such as doll costumes it is important that the gathers are evenly spaced.
Here's my technique
- Use material twice the width of the waistline.
- Sew 2 rows of basting stitches - one just above AND one just below the seam line.
- Pull the threads to the waist measurements and arrange the gathered space evenly.
- Then join skirt to bodice between the two gathered rows.
- Now carefully snip out the line of gathers below the waist seam and pull out the loose threads.
Voila! An evenly spaced gathered seam with a professional look!
(In the photo above notice a row of top stitching along lower edge of bodice to help underlying gathered seam lay flat.)
Index of Special Doll Making Techniques
Charity Note:
I'd like to suggest that if you spend time making doll clothes, anyway, that you collect a few dolls from friends and neighbors and sew a wardrobe or a complete outfit for each doll. Then donate the doll in the completed outfit to a charity that distributes used dolls and toys to kids that otherwise would not have any. When I was a little girl, nothing brightened up my face more than my mother making me a new outfit for my doll.
Other sources to find used dolls to fix up and dress up are yard and garage sales. And lots of churches have annual rummage sales of used clothing and toys, including dolls. In fact, used clothing can be cut up to make a dress or pants and shirt for a doll. Also, save the trims off old clothes headed for the ragbag - they can dress up an outfit nicely!
Whenever you have a spare moment rummage through all the old clothes in your closet and those of your family members. The clothes that are not quite good enough to be used by someone else as they are, are just the clothes I'm talking about to be cut up for doll clothes.
Article by Susan Kramer
