Turning inspiration into the real thing: doll overalls! #DollClothesPatterns #SewingProjects

In the photo, the Chelly Wood doll (a Spin Master Liv doll that has been re-designed to look like the real doll clothing designer, Chelly Wood) holds up the butterick 6508 Cabbage Patch Kids doll clothes sewing pattern. Three outfits are pictured on the front. One doll wears a long sleeved shirt with regular trousers. Another doll wears a long sleeved shirt with overalls. A third doll wears a long sleeved shirt with an overalls skirt.
Please visit ChellyWood.com for free printable PDF sewing patterns and tutorial videos for making doll clothes to fit dolls of many shapes and all different sizes.

Back in march, I did a blog post about these cute Cabbage Patch doll overalls, and how I was itching to design some overalls for one of my dolls.

At the time, I wasn’t sure which doll to make my overall pattern for. I’d been sewing doll clothes for Elsa and Anna, because at Christmas, my niece had asked me to make some extra doll clothes for her mini Elsa and mini Anna dolls.

But holy cow! Those mini Disney dolls are teeny-tiny!

The child Ana and child Elsa dolls are in their original packaging along with the dolls that look like their parents from the Disney movie, Frozen.
Please visit ChellyWood.com for free printable PDF sewing patterns and tutorial videos for making doll clothes to fit dolls of many shapes and all different sizes.

Fast forward to last June. My class called “How to Alter Doll Clothes Patterns” was underway and people had started to sign up, so the Creative Spark company asked me to start making another course.

I had asked you, my followers, to vote on what types of clothing patterns you’d like me to feature in my next Creative Spark class, and most of you wanted me to teach “How to Design Your Own Pants Patterns from Scratch.”

Both online and in stores, overalls were making a come-back, so as I built my new Creative Spark course, I decided it would be a good idea to start with the fundamentals of pants pattern design but eventually lead up to teaching how to design your own overall pants patterns.

We're seeing the back of Cabbage Patch doll clothes pattern 6508 from Butterick. Here we can see the items you can sew in sketch form, including an overalls skirt, a pair of overall pants, a pair of elastic waist pants with pockets, and two different styles of long sleeved shirts. There are additional instructions for notions and types of recommended fabrics on the back of this Butterick 6508 doll clothes sewing pattern.
Please visit ChellyWood.com for free printable PDF sewing patterns and tutorial videos for making doll clothes to fit dolls of many shapes and all different sizes.

Before teaching a course, I like to refresh my memory about something that may present challenges, so I used this this old Butterick 6508 Cabbage Patch Doll clothes pattern, to gather ideas. I could see that they had used elastic with a casing at the back with crisscrossed straps that flipped around to the front.

I liked that design better than some of the fashion doll patterns I had for overalls. My Simplicity 7737 pattern, for example, had a coveralls pattern, but it used a raglan sleeve, which wasn’t very adaptable (views 3 and 7).

Here we see the Chelly Wood doll (really a Spin Master Liv doll that has been repainted and had its wig dyed to look like the doll clothing designer, Chelly Wood) holding up the vintage doll clothes pattern, Simplicity 7737. On the cover art for this pattern, we see dolls wearing sporty shorts outfits, full-body coveralls, evening attire, and traditional Kenyan clothing.
Please visit ChellyWood.com for free printable PDF sewing patterns and tutorial videos for making doll clothes to fit dolls of many shapes and all different sizes.

I also thought about using a baby doll — perhaps Baby Alive? — because I had lots of examples of overalls patterns that I could use for inspiration. Take for example this Simplicity 5730 pattern, which just uses a front flap with crisscrossed straps (view 3):

In this close-up image of Simplicity doll clothes pattern 5730 from 1964, we see a Betsy Wetsy doll modeling a wardrobe in five different views. The colors of the wardrobe are white, pink, and green, with pink as the primary color in all outfits. View 1 shows a dress with puff sleeves and lace trim. view 2 shows a jacket and bonnet. View 3 shows a summer dress and secondarily, a pair of baby doll overalls. View 4 shows a nightgown. View 5 shows a bunting with a jacket and a little hat that ties with strings.
Please visit ChellyWood.com for free printable PDF sewing patterns and tutorial videos for making doll clothes to fit dolls of many shapes and all different sizes.

In the end, I sort of brushed over my Simplicity 5730 baby doll clothes pattern and combined those concepts with what I saw in the Butterick 6508 Cabbage Patch Doll clothes pattern, to come up with my own prototype for a little 8″ Ginny doll:

Please visit ChellyWood.com for free printable PDF sewing patterns and tutorial videos for making doll clothes to fit dolls of many shapes and all different sizes.

Unlike the Simplicity 5730 baby doll clothes pattern and the Butterick 6508 Cabbage Patch Doll clothes pattern, my overalls pattern gathers in the front. But like these two patterns, I gave them an elastic waist in back.

This made the Ginny doll’s tummy fit into the front without a bulge, which I liked a lot.

In this photo, a Vogue Ginny doll (8 inches tall) with dark brown hair that has bangs (fringes), models a pair of denim overalls with a pink short-sleeved cotton shirt. The overalls have elastic in back and the straps cross in back. There's also a slight gap at the doll's hip, allowing extra room for her little tummy and bottom. She wears tiny blue shoes. She stands in a room with a purple wall and white floor. The Chelly Wood dot com logo appears in one corner.
Please visit ChellyWood.com for free printable PDF sewing patterns and tutorial videos for making doll clothes to fit dolls of many shapes and all different sizes.

My vintage Vogue Ginny doll overalls will be part of a wardrobe ensemble that I’m giving to my husband’s cousin’s children for Christmas this year.

Here we see a full wardrobe to be worn by a Vogue Ginny doll. Left to right, the top row includes one pink short-sleeved shirt with tiny white polka dots; one white cotton shirt with yellow stripes and multi-colored flowers (also short-sleeved), one pink felt sleeveless shirt, one white cotton pinafore style dress with multicolored bright flowers, and a pair of overalls made of denim fabric; the bottom row, left to right: one white cotton purse with yellow stripes and multicolored flowers, one pink skirt with tiny white polka dots, one pair of white trousers with an elastic waist, one pair of pink shorts, one pair of blue shorts, and a pair of yellow bloomers or panties. This is an entire ensemble wardrobe made for the Ginny doll by Chelly Wood, as a gift for her husband's cousin's children. The ChellyWood.com logo appears in a corner.
Please visit ChellyWood.com for free printable PDF sewing patterns and tutorial videos for making doll clothes to fit dolls of many shapes and all different sizes.

But this overalls pattern for my Ginny doll was a fantastic prototype, preparing me for what I wanted to create with my course on the Creative Spark Online Learning Platform.

I ended up creating the final pattern for overalls, using my Velvet doll, who is often in the spotlight, in the “How to Design Your Own Doll Pants Patterns” class on Creative Spark. The final draft pattern will incorporate a flap that closes the pants at the hip.

My “How to Design Your Own Doll Pants” class is not yet ready to upload to the Creative Spark online learning website, but I’m wrapping up the last of the course right now — at the start of October. So if you check the website in November, you’ll probably be able to sign up by then.

In my class on Creative Spark, you’ll learn how to design your own pants in all of the following ways:

  • Pants or jeans with an elastic waist
  • Fitted pants or jeans with a fly
  • Pants or jeans with a high waistline
  • Leggings
  • Overalls

And it won’t matter what size doll you are sewing for — the techniques I teach in my class will apply to any doll — fashion dolls, baby dolls, soft-bodied dolls, 18 inch dolls — literally ANY doll will work.

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.

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.

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