11-inch doll clothes patterns, Barbie Patterns, Daily Patterns, Vintage Francie, Whole Costumes for Dolls

Sew a strappy business dress for Francie with a faux bias cuff bodice and matching purse #SummerActivities #DollClothesPatterns

A vintage Francie doll stands in a room with a wooden floor and a light purple wall. She models a purple pinstriped business-ish dress with straps. She carries a purse. The bodice of her purple dress is trimmed in white bias tape.
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.

For your free patterns and tutorial videos, please scroll down to the second set of bullets.

We’ve seen today’s free pattern on ChellyWood.com in the past, but the older version of this pattern used a ribbon for the strap, and I’ve never posted it for Francie before. Here’s the earlier version on my Queens of Africa doll:

This image shows a Queens of Africa doll wearing a pretty handmade dress made of thin pink material decorated with polka dots and flowers on pink and white striped fabric. The dress has a short, straight skirt and a summery bodice with straps made of ribbon. The watermark says, "ChellyWood.com: Free doll clothes patterns and tutorials." The Queens of Africa dolls have a body shape similar to a Barbie-sized doll. She stands 11 inches high and has dark chocolate complexion. Her hair is quite curly. To purchase a Queens of Africa doll, go to https://queensofafricadolls.com/ In this particular image, the doll seems to stand tall, like she's proud of her African heritage. Her chocolate complexion contrasts the pink and white stripes in a lovely way.
Please visit ChellyWood.com for free, printable sewing patterns for making this Valentine’s day dress and other doll clothes to fit dolls of many shapes and all different sizes.

In today’s rendition of the pattern, I’ve included a strap pattern, so you can make the straps that match your dress’s polyeter bodice and skirt.

The tutorial for making the dress will only show you how to make this dress with a ribbon strap, so to create the polyester straps, I recommend that you go to this tutorial for making my longer sundress, and forward the video to timestamp 1:30 to see how to make your straps.

A vintage Francie doll wears a purple dress with white bias tape trim around the bodice edge. The purple straps of her dress are made of the same purple pinstriped fabric as the main part of the dress, as is the purse she holds out. This purse's strap is made of similarly-colored purple satin ribbon, but the dress and the purse's rectangular holding area have a silver pinstripe running through the purple fabric, while the ribbon strap of the purse does not.
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.

You’ll see that my Francie also carries a purse or bag… I used 1/4 inch satin ribbon for the purse’s strap, so you should be able to follow the guidelines in this tutorial video to make a purse like mine.

However, you’ll notice that my purse is a little wider across than the one in this tutorial video. You can always experiement with different cuts of fabric to come up with one like mine.

And my purse has a black Dritz snap holding it together, as you’ll see in View 4 below:

This image shows four photos on a turquoise blue background fabric. The photo in figure 1 shows a doll dress laid flat on the surface of a table or wooden platform. The doll dress is beside a handmade doll's purse, also laying flat on a table or other wooden surface. We can see a single strip of three-quarters inch Velcro running from the top of the dress's bodice to the hem on the right side of the dress. In figure 2, this photo shows an identical dress next to an identical purse, but a woman's fingers have turned the right side (i.e. inside) of the dress, so you can see the opposite piece of Velcro running from the top edge of the bodice to the bottom of the hem on the finished side of the dress, on the left. In Figure 3, we see a close-up image of folded bias tape which has been sewn to the top edge of the strappy sun dress, in order to form a faux "collar" at the top of the dress. With the camera zoomed in on the bias tape here, we can almost tell where the bias tape has been stitched to the cusp of the bodice hem above the doll's bust. The dress is purple, the bias tape is white, and the straps of the dress are purple. This makes it easy to see that the bias tape has been cut and folded into collar-like or cuff-like pieces along the bodice's top hemline area. The two pieces of this decorative "collar" don't quite come together at the center, top of the bodice. However, with the camera zoomed in to the faux bias cuff bodice or contrasting faux collar band, we can now see tiny white stitches holding this band or cuff in place. In Figure 4, the lower right photo, a woman's fingers hold open a purple doll purse to show that there are tiny black snaps that have been sewn at the center of the purse to snap the purse's opening shut.
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 don’t know what to call that little bias tape trim that I placed along the edge of the bodice. It reminds me of this McCall’s 7599 dress (for people), which has a contrasting band and contrasting straps. This McCall’s 7599 pattern isn’t one I own, but I understand that it’s a modern variation on a dress style that was popular in the 1950’s.

I did a little research to see what different dress makers and fashion experts call this decorative band. I found it’s quite popular in wedding dresses and bridesmaid dresses these days. Some websites call it a “turnback cuff” and others call it a “contrasting faux collar band,” especially if it has that little break in it, like what we refer to as the collar’s space (between the points).

In this close-up image, you can see that I’ve sewn the band across the top and at the space area, but I haven’t sewn it to the dress’s bodice along the bottom of the bias tape. I wanted it to be sort of like a collar or a fold of fabric. But I suppose you could sew it to the bodice along the bottom of the bias tape too.

In this close-up image of the bias tape that trims Francie's purple dress, we can really see the stitch marks along the top of the bias tape and the area where the two strips of bias tape meet in the center of the bodice.
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.

The top part of the back is the opening of the 1/4 inch double-fold bias tape. This allows the bottom part of the bias tape to have a very defined folded edge.

If you wanted a band that matches your dress, you could always make your own bias tape from the same fabric. But personally, I like the contrasting look of the white bias tape on the purple garment.

Now today’s free pattern was made to fit Barbie, and as you may already know, Francie’s measurements are different from Barbie’s. She’s a little slimmer, especially in the bust area.

So I created a full Velcro closure, from the top of the garment to the bottom of the garment, at the back.

This close-up image of the dress from the back shows how the sew-on 3/4 inch wide Velcro has been attached to the dress's bodice and skirt on both the right (inside the dress along the closure) and the left (outside the dress along the closure).
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.

Other than that, sew the garment exactly like you would for Barbie or Queens of Africa dolls, but when it’s time to add snaps, just add 3/4 inch wide sew-on Velcro instead.

This draws the back of the straps together, too, so they’re not too long for your Francie doll. I really like how this looks on the doll, at the back. The dress is just as beautiful from the back view as it is from the front:

A vintage Francie doll shows the back of her purple pinstriped dress. The straps come together in a V-shape above the rim of the bodice. This bodice rim is trimmed in white bias tape. The skirt has tiny gathers, but is more of a mini-skirt/pencil skirt than a typically gathered full 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.

The purple pinstriped polyester fabric that I used for this dress was part of my purple “scrap pack” that I bought from Fabscrap. If you’d like to learn about the amazing opportunity to purchase fabric scraps at a reduced rate and help save the earth from textile waste, click here to see my video or click here to learn more about Fabscrap from this charity’s founders.

And no, I’m not getting paid to make that plug for Fabscrap. I just believe in their cause!

To make this pretty business-style sundress and bag, you’ll need some 3/4 inch Velcro, polyester fabric, 1/4 inch double-fold bias tape, and one size 4/0 Dritz snap.

Today’s patterns will fit these dolls:

Here are your free, printable PDF sewing patterns and tutorial videos for making the outfit shown at the top of this page:

Adding a band at the top of your doll’s dress is considered an “alteration,” and in case you haven’t heard, my Creative Spark class, “How to Alter Doll Clothes Patterns” is available on the Creative Spark platform. This class will teach you how to make alterations to the doll clothes patterns you already own.

For any class on Creative Spark, there is no subscription. Instead, you pay one price for easy access to all 40+ videos in that class series, which you can keep going back to, for as long as you like.

The image shows a soft doll laying on a cutting mat. Beside her is a pen and pencil, a pair of handmade doll shorts, and a pair of handmade doll pants. A woman's right hand points to a pants pattern which is laying on top of a shorts pattern, as if she is somehow comparing the two paper doll clothes patterns: the shorts pattern and the pants pattern. Beside the woman's right hand is a ruler with imperial and metric measurements. The words to the left of this image say, "Chelly's Class: How to Alter Doll Clothes Patterns" and beneath the photo is the following URL: https://creativespark.ctpub.com/
Visit CreativeSpark.CTpub.com or ChellyWood.com to learn more about Chelly Wood’s class entitled, “How to Alter Doll Clothes Patterns.”

There’s no specific time limit to your courses. You can just take your time and learn at the pace that suits you.

I also have a class on “How to Design Doll Pants Patterns from Scratch” on the Creative spark platform as well.

The image shows an 18 inch doll next to an 8 inch doll, to demonstrate that Chelly's "How to Design Doll Pants Patterns" course is for dolls of any shape or size. In one photo, both dolls wear a tee shirt with leggings. In the other image, both dolls wear a T-shirt under a pair of green polka dot overalls (green with tiny white polka dots). The text says, "How to Design Your Own Doll Pants Course Only nineteen dollars and ninety-nine cents! There are two bonuses mentioned on the advertisement as well: Chelly's re-sizing formula and a complementary pattern for 18 inch doll overalls.
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 this class, I’ll teach you how to design your own leggings, trousers, jeans with a fly front, and even overalls!

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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.

Queens of Africa dolls are products offered by the Slice by Cake company, which holds the trademark for them (™). They were designed by Taofick Okoya. Please visit the Queens of Africa website to learn more about their company and its trademarked toys, books, and fashions.

Momoko dolls are products offered by Petworks, which holds the trademark for them (™). Please visit the Momoko Dolls website to learn more about their company and its trademarked toys.

Barbie, MTM Barbie, Francie, and Vintage Barbie 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.

Liv dolls were products designed and distributed by the Spin Master company, which still makes dolls and toys today (although the Liv dolls are no longer in production at the time of this blog post). The Spin Master company held the trademark for the Liv Dolls (™). Please visit the Spin Master Toys and Games website to learn more about their company and its trademarked toys and games. Please be aware that the Chelly Wood animated doll is a Spin Master Liv doll that has been re-painted and had its wig colored to appear to look like the real doll clothing designer, Chelly Wood. This was done as a creative project by Chelly’s daughters, and the Spin Master Toys and Games company was not involved in the doll’s makeover in any way.

Disney Princess 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.

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