Okay, here we go! You’ll need:
- fat quarter of fabric
- 25-30 inches of ribbon
- basic sewing supplies
Once together you have a full “u” that is the arm hole of the dress. Finish it as you choose. You can turn it under and hem it. I just serged it because I’m lazy. You could also trim it out in bias tape. You could even just leave it – it’s a doll dress, so it won’t get too much wear/frayiness.
After the arm holes are complete, fold the top down 1/4 in and then again about 1 inch. This is creating a casing for your ribbon. Do this to both sides.
Then sew along the bottom folded edge:
As mentioned, this is a great project for girls! I did the curved arm hole area, but she did the straight sewing:
Now, take your ribbon and feed it through one casing, then continuously through the other casing, as shown. A safety pin on the end of the ribbon will help you shimmy it through:
Here it is, all finished:
Slip it on the doll and then cinch up the ribbon and gather the dress around the neck:
That’s it! You can do this!
With the scraps from your fat quarter, you can cut some stars and applique them on a shirt so you can have a coordinating doll/girl outfit. If you need tips on how to do simple applique, I posted that today on my blog.
Hope to see you over at Sugar Bee Crafts!!
I’ve got some great projects to make from a Fat Quarter of Fabric, including no-sew braided headbands, ruffled keychain fobs, and rolled flower necklaces:
Nice dress Mandy!
Mandy,
This is so cute….I need to make more American Girl Doll clothes instead of buying them…they are so pricey! Awesome tutorial!
Oh, so simple! LOVE IT! Now, I need my MIL’s surger!
So stinkin’ cute Mandy! Love to see your daughter behind the machine! Can’t wait to sew with my daughter 🙂 Great job!!!!
My daughters are so into the American Girl dolls right now and this is so perfect for them!!! Thanks so much Mandy!