The ensemble shown at the top of this page was part of a doll clothes gift I made for a friend’s little girl, Navy. What a cool name this little girl has, don’t you think? Navy? I love it! That’s even a color of fabric!
Okay, so when I gave her this gift, consisting of all these handmade doll clothes, how did I package them? That’s what today’s blog post will address.
And you, my faithful followers, how do you package your handmade doll clothes for mailing/shipping? Let’s share our techniques, tips, and tricks, shall we?
Different sizes of dolls will have different sizes of doll clothes, obviously, so I try to keep a stash of different sizes and shapes of boxes for mailing my doll clothes and dolls.
The boxes that bank checks come in, are great for small dolls’ clothes, especially if we’re talking about single items or single sets of doll clothes. Electronics boxes can be useful for large quantities of small doll clothes or for an outfit of medium-sized doll clothes. And shoe boxes are the best for large dolls’ clothes, I’ve found.
So I keep a smattering of all of these box sizes in the linen closet, at the end of our hallway. If you don’t have a lot of room in your house or apartment, though, you can break your boxes down to flatten them for storage, and then put them back together with box tape at a later time, when they are needed.
I also like to place a sheet of folded and slightly crumpled tissue paper inside my box, resting the doll clothes somewhere in the middle of the tissue paper.
If I’ve created a mix-and-match ensemble, like I did for little Navy, then I like to lay out the doll clothes in such a way, that Navy will be able to imagine certain items of clothing that go together nicely. Take this raglan-sleeved pink shirt, paired with this jumper-style dress, for example:
By placing the shirt under the jumper before I lay this item in the box, it lets Navy know that this dress and this top will look nice together.
That doesn’t mean she can’t mix and match in a totally different way, like this skirt with the same top, for example:
But by laying the garments in the box strategically, she can easily see that the burgundy tank top actually goes quite well with the burgundy floral long skirt, while the pink top looks especially nice with the jumper:
I’d like to know what little tips and tricks you can share with all of us about how you box your handmade doll clothes. Feel free to leave tips and pointers in the comments!
And in case you haven’t been following my recent series of blog posts, and you’re wondering where to find patterns to make the outfits that were part of Navy’s doll clothes gift, I actually gathered patterns together from these three vintage patterns among my personal collection:
- Simplicity Tressy doll clothes pattern 5731
- Simplicity Barbie doll clothes pattern 7928
- Simplicity Barbie doll clothes pattern 8281
Most of the commercial patterns I display and talk about here on ChellyWood.com are also available for sale on eBay. However, if you’ve never purchased a pattern on eBay before, it’s a good idea to read the article I wrote called, “Tips for Buying Used Doll Clothes Patterns on eBay.” It will save you time, money, and will likely prevent buyer’s remorse.
And by the way, if you use the links I’ve provided to make your eBay purchase, this website will receive a small commission, which helps fund the ChellyWood.com website, so I can continue to provide you with all the free patterns and tutorial videos offered here.
In case you haven’t heard, my Creative Spark class, “How to Alter Doll Clothes Patterns” is now live on the Creative Spark platform. You can sign up any time you want!
And don’t panic if it seems like too much to take on right now — sometimes our lives get really busy. I get that. But for any class on Creative Spark, you don’t have to sign up any time soon. Just sign up when you’re ready.
If you’re interested in taking my paid course, you will pay a one-time fee, and there’s no specific time limit to access your course. You can just take your time and learn at the pace that suits you.
To read more about my free sewing patterns and tutorials, please visit the “Helpful Tips” page.
Disclaimer/Credit/Affiliate Marketing Link:
*ChellyWood.com earns money by linking to JoAnn Fabrics, Amazon, eBay, 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.
Chelly Wood and the ChellyWood.com website are not affiliated with the pattern company or companies mentioned in this blog post, but Chelly finds inspiration in the doll clothes designed by these pattern companies. To purchase patterns from Simplicity, McCall’s, Butterick, Vogue, or other pattern companies shown and discussed in this blog post, please click on the links provided here. These links below the “Disclaimer” section do not help raise money for this free pattern website; they are only offered to give credit to the company that made these patterns.
You could also include some photos of one or two alternate combinations, with a note saying “See what other combinations you can make, yourself.”
What a clever idea! Thank you for sharing it!
I save all the cereal boxes, and other similar boxes, flattened, and turn them inside out for reuse. I seal the edges with hot glue and add a strip of packaging tape for extra security. These thin cardboard boxes are the perfect size for most all the doll clothing I ship (AG size mostly) and are lightweight, saving on shipping cost
Yes, it seems like I’ve had things shipped to me in a similar fashion. Great idea! Thank you for adding it here in the comments!
Hi Chelly hope you are well. As you know I sell new and used Barbie stuff on eBay. When I mail out clothes I also use tissue paper between items lay flat and then after I have finished I place bubble wrap around it and slide into a padded bubble mailer. This keeps the postage down and if I send hanger or shoes I double bubble them. So far so good no damage. Have a great day. And thank you for these wonderful posts.
We can all learn a thing or two about packaging tiny things from you in particular, Dodi!
In case the rest of you don’t know, Dodi sells doll miniatures, collectibles, and doll shoes. In fact, the doll shoes my Chelly Doll wears are almost always a pair I bought from Dodi’s store, Barbie1959Pink!
You are such a sweety.
I just started selling Barbie items on Mercari and am wondering if the cereal box idea is a safe option for unopened boxed Barbie fashions. I worry about boxes getting crushed during shipping.