The dress shown in the image above is one of the most fundamental “ball gown” or “wedding dress” patterns in my collection. It can be used for pioneer clothes, medieval garb, Renaissance dresses, and even as a shift (undergarment) beneath pinafores, as is shown in the image below:

The doll pictured in both photos above is the one I’ve chosen to play Juliet’s nurse in my stop-motion video production of Romeo and Juliet. I’ve been working, behind the scenes, to update some of these older patterns — the ones I made when I first started this blog. So far, I’ve re-done the patterns for the dress she wears under the pinafore, including its basic skirt, bodice, and sleeves.

Here are those patterns for you to download, along with the new/updated tutorial that shows you how to make this basic ball gown:

• Pattern for basic ball gown SKIRT
• Pattern for basic ball gown BODICE and sleeves
• Tutorial showing HOW TO MAKE THE BASIC BALL GOWN

In that video, it shows you how to make the most basic ball gown, but it also offers several ways to embellish a ball gown using notions like ric-rack, lace, tulle, and ruffles. It might surprise you to learn that the exact same pattern was used to make the dress shown below:

 

Additional Information:

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If this is not quite what you’re looking for, my Gallery Page is the easiest way to search through all of my patterns to find what you want. Each image on the Gallery Page takes you to links for patterns and tutorials.

Need help printing my patterns? This link offers a tutorial showing you how to download and print my FREE patterns using Google Docs. (For the older print-a-pattern tutorial, which uses Microsoft Word, click here.)

Please note: you must enlarge my patterns to fit a full-sized piece of American computer paper (8.5 x 11 inches or 216 x 279 mm) without margins, before printing. These designs use a scant 1/4 inch seam (4 mm to be exact).

If you’re wondering why I make patterns and videos without charging a fee, please visit the “Chelly’s Books” page, and that should explain my general motivations. My patterns are now available through “Creative Commons Attribution.” This means that I created my patterns (and therefore I own rights to them), but I’m willing to share them with everyone who will tell people about my website.

Here are some helpful ways to tell the world about my patterns:

• You can pin them on Pinterest.
• You can like them on Facebook.
• You can tweet about them.
• Use any other form of social media that appeals to you!

Are you new to sewing? I’ve got a playlist of tutorials for the beginning sewists on my YouTube channel. It includes video tutorials showing you how to do a basic straight stitch when sewing by hand, how to use the whipstitch to hem a garment, how to sew on snaps, and even how to design your own doll clothes patterns, for those who are new to design and alterations.

In case you haven’t heard, I have actually designed some commercial patterns for Lammily LLC. They have some new dolls in their line, including a new male doll, so you might want to visit the Lammily website to see what they’ve got going on.