Please scroll down to the second set of bullets for the free printable PDF sewing patterns and links to any additional relevant tutorial videos.
This week we’re sewing a pretty red plaid dress for vintage Sunshine Family “mom” dolls. The mom doll had a name: Steffie, but I think a lot of people don’t know that — even some collectors.
The African American version of this family of dolls was called the Happy Family dolls, while the Caucasian version was called the Sunshine Family dolls.
There was also a Native American doll called the “Indian Maiden,” which is a rarer version of this doll with long brown hair.
If you’d like to read more about the Sunshine Family dolls, when they were produced, and what the different dolls’ names were, DollReference.com has a nice post about them. Click here to see it.
To make today’s strappy little dress for your Sunshine Family Steffie (the doll pictured above) or Hattie (the African American mom doll), the Indian Maiden, or even the grandma dolls, which came with both families, you’ll need some cotton fabric, some 1/8 inch (3 mm) matching Offray ribbon, and a few size 1/4 Dritz snaps.
I chose red and green plaid fabric because this blog post is being published during the holiday season, and if you want to make your doll’s dress out of holiday fabric too, this link will help you find some small print holiday fabrics.
This dress pattern was first designed for the Rainbow High 10 inch dolls, so don’t be surprised if you see an image of one of these dolls on the free printable PDF sewing pattern for making today’s dress.
Today’s free patterns will fit the following dolls:
- Disney fairy 9 inch dolls (like the little Tinkerbell dolls)
- vintage Sunshine Family adult female dolls
- Disney’s 10 inch Moana dolls
- Ideal’s vintage Pepper dolls
- Rainbow High 10 and a half inch dolls
Here’s the free printable PDF doll clothes sewing pattern for making today’s doll clothes:
- Free printable PDF sewing pattern for a short strappy dress
- Tutorial video showing how to make the dress (at the top of this page)
- Tutorial video showing how to do a whipstitch
- Tutorial video showing how to sew snaps on fabric
- How to gather fabric
If you’re new to sewing, you may also enjoy these tutorial videos:
- How to use a needle threader
- How to do a basic straight stitch
- How to choose fabric
- How to tie a knot using a needle and thread
- How to press seams open, using a hot iron
- How to use selvage
- How to attach ribbon to doll clothes
- Tips on sewing with lace
For more of my free tutorials, be sure to subscribe to my YouTube channel, ChellyWood1.
Is this pattern close to what you were looking for, but maybe you’re wishing the pattern was slightly different? If so, my Creative Spark class, “How to Alter Doll Clothes Patterns” may be just what you need to make these patterns into the pattern you see in your imagination.
For any class on Creative Spark, you don’t have to follow a schedule. Just sign up when you’re ready.
It’s a one-time fee for the course, and there’s no specific time limit to finish your course. You can just take your time and learn at the pace that suits you. So go check out my paid courses on Creative Spark, using this link.
As always, feel free to pin, like, or tweet about my free patterns and tutorials. Here’s an image you’re welcome to share on social media:
Disclaimer/Credit/Affiliate Marketing Link:
*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 and action figure 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.
Vintage Sunshine Family dolls are products offered by Mattel, which holds the registered trademark for them (™). Please visit the Mattel Toys website to learn more about their company and its trademarked toys.
Disney Princess, Moana, and Disney fairy dolls are products offered by the Disney corporation, which holds the trademark for them (™). Please visit the Disney Toys website to learn more about their company and its trademarked toys.
Rainbow High dolls are products offered by MGA Entertainment, which holds the trademark for them (™). Please visit the Project MC Squared website or the Rainbow High website to learn more about their company and its trademarked toys.