Scroll down to the second set of bullets for the free PDF sewing patterns.
I posted the dress tutorial just yesterday, and the tee shirt tutorial back in July. Today I’m giving you patterns and links to the tutorials, so you can make both the tee shirt and the AG doll dress with straps.
But like most of my free patterns, it will fit more than just the American Girl dolls. See the list below for some ideas about which dolls can wear this outfit.
For the tee shirt, you’ll want to use some jersey fabrics. I actually used one of my old tee shirts that didn’t fit me anymore and recycled jersey fabric that I bought on Etsy to make my doll’s tee shirt especially earth friendly.
To make this dress, you’ll need to have cotton fabric, two 5/8 inch (16 mm) buttons, and Dritz size 3/0 snaps. (See this blog post for reasons why I recommend Dritz snaps.)
Truthfully, various 18 inch dolls will each fit this pattern slightly differently, and if you wait until the end of your project to measure the straps and mark them for buttons and button holes, I think you’ll be a lot happier with the end product.
If need be, you can always cut the straps to fit your doll the way you want them to, in the final stages. Just remember that you’ll need a half inch seam allowance at the end of each strap, to allow room for making a finished edge to the straps.
If your sewing machine doesn’t have a buttonhole maker, you may want to purchase a button hole attachment for your sewing machine. To cut your button holes, you can use a Clover button hole cutter, but I simply use my seam ripper (AKA unpicker) to get that job done the old-fashioned way.
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Today’s free printable PDF doll clothes sewing patterns will fit the following dolls:
- 18-inch dolls like American Girl dolls
- 18-inch dolls like the Adora Amazing Girls dolls
- 18-inch dolls like the Our Generation Journey Girls
- 18-inch dolls like the “My Life As” Dolls
- 18-inch dolls like City Girls from the New York Doll Collection
- 18-inch dolls like Madame Alexander 45 to 46 cm dolls
And here are the patterns and tutorial videos you’re looking for:
- Free PDF sewing patterns for a dress with straps plus a T-shirt to fit 18 inch dolls
- Tutorial for making doll dress
- Tutorial for making the T-shirt
- How to do a whipstitch
- How to sew snaps on fabric
- How to do a backstitch
- How to gather fabric
- How to do a baste stitch
Remember that you can show your appreciation for my free sewing patterns and tutorials by sharing them on Pinterest, Twitter, and other social media platforms. As it says at the end of my tutorial videos, it actually helps me out a lot if you share them!

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*ChellyWood.com earns money by linking to Amazon, eBay, Michaels, Etsy, and other online affiliate programs. Links provided above may be affiliate links. For a full list of my affiliate programs, and to understand how cookies are used to help this website earn money, please see my “Privacy Policy” page.
To honor the trademark rights of the doll companies mentioned in this blog post, I am including links to their websites here. Please feel free to visit their website and consider purchasing one or more of the dolls mentioned.
American Girl dolls are products offered by American Girl LLC, which holds the registered trademark for them (™). Please visit their website to learn more about their company and its trademarked toys.
Adora Amazing Girls are products offered by Charisma Brands, LLC, which holds the registered trademark for them (™). Please visit their website to learn more about their company and its trademarked toys.
Our Generation Journey Girls are products offered by Geoffrey, LLC (affiliated with Tru Kids Brands and Toys R Us), which holds the registered trademark for them (™). Please visit their website to learn more about their company and its trademarked toys.
“My Life As” dolls are products offered by Walmart, which (although I couldn’t find it specifically listed in US trademarks) probably holds the registered trademark for them (™). Please visit their website to learn more about their company and its trademarked toys.
City Girls are products offered by The New York Doll Collection, Inc, which holds the registered trademark for them (™). Please visit their website to learn more about their company and its trademarked toys.
Madame Alexander 45 to 46 cm dolls were products that were once offered by the Madame Alexander Doll Company, LLC, which holds the registered trademark for them (™). Be advised that at the time of this blog post, they no longer (to my knowledge) offer dolls in that size range; however you can visit their website to learn more about their company and the trademarked toys they are currently offering.