Yesterday I posted a brand new pattern and tutorial video, showing you how to make a beautiful, 1960’s style, pink satin dress, which will fit Judy Littlechap. But did you happen to see the list of dolls which will fit in this lovely dress?
Let’s have a look at that list again:
Yesterday’s free dress pattern will fit these dolls:
- Lammily First Edition dolls (from Lammily LLC)
- Vintage Judy Littlechap 13 inch dolls (from Remco)
- 13 inch My First Barbie dolls (from Mattel)
- 15 1/2-inch dolls like many of the Tonner fashion dolls (a very snug fit — maybe use stretchy fabric)
- 15 1/2-inch dolls like the Little Miss Matched dolls (also from Tonner)
- 15 1/2-inch dolls like the Clea Bella dolls
- 16-inch dolls like the Alexandra Fairchild Ford dolls
- 17-inch dolls like the Dreamtopia Endless Hair Kingdom Barbie
At the top of this list is the Lammily First Edition doll. A while back, I actually showed a photo of her wearing a slightly different dress, which used yesterday’s free pattern. Here’s that image:
For that dress, I used yellow felt for the bodice and a cotton/polyester blend fabric for the skirt. It fits Lammily a little longer than it does Judy Littlechap, with the hem landing at about Lammily‘s calf length. But the bust and waist fit Lammily‘s body perfectly!
And in my list above, I also mentioned the new 13 inch My First Barbie, who is a very close match to Judy Littlechap, as you will see in the image below:
The swimsuit that My First Barbie wears in the image above is one I’ve designed for Judy Littlechap, and that pattern will eventually be posted here on ChellyWood.com as well.
The pink satin dress fits 13 inch My First Barbie quite nicely, as you can see in the image below, and I’ve been getting requests for patterns that will fit the new My First Barbie, via my contact page, ever since Mattel announced that My First Barbie would be coming out in stores.
So I’m excited to design more outfits that will fit both Judy Littlechap and My First Barbie dolls! Just look how pretty that pink satin dress looks on My first Barbie:
She’s such a close match to Judy Littlechap, that even the pink satin shoes fit My First Barbie! Wowzers!
Okay, now you’re going to want to know more about the satin remnants I’m offering for sale in my store, because that pink satin is sooooo pretty on these dolls!
So let’s have a look at the remnants in detail…
In the image above, you see pink satin remnant 1A.
Where did it come from? All of these remnants were gifts, given to me by a novice sewist, who had high hopes of making herself an A-line skirt with this fabric.
Now for those of us who have been sewing a while, you know that satin isn’t cheap. At Joann Fabrics, it runs $8.00 to $20.00 per yard. You can buy it on sale a little cheaper, at $5.00 to $14.00 per yard, depending upon the quality of fabric.
When I’ve bought satin for doll clothes in the past, I’ve winced at the price, knowing that I’m buying a yard, but only going to use about a square foot of the stuff.
As you can see, in the image above, with each photo of the fabric remnants, I’ve laid out the Judy Littlechap dress pattern beside it, plus I have my centimeter-blocked cutting mat beside it and my 18 inch ruler, to help you estimate the dimensions of the fabric remnants.
These are, as you can see in the photos, irregular pieces, because as I’ve said, the woman who gave them to me had been attempting to make herself an A-line skirt with the satin.
These were donated, knowing that I have to have income, in order to cover the costs for running my free doll clothes pattern website and YouTube channel. If you purchase any or all of these satin fabric remnants, the funds will go toward covering the costs of digital storage (so I can keep adding new patterns to my website) and the fees required to continue making my tutorial videos (videography costs).
The woman who donated these pink satin fabric remnants actually attempted to sew remnant 3C, so I took photos that try to show this fact.
I also have photos that show how some of these pieces have been marked, using a fabric marker or fabric pencil (see image below):
Other pieces have snags.
One of the things that makes satin challenging is the snag factor. When you seam rip (pull apart) your seams or baste stitches, you run the risk of snagging the satin.
And you can see that there are a few snags in these satin remnants in the photo below:
But as I’ve said, you don’t need to use all the satin, to make a single dress for a doll.
In fact, you really don’t need much satin at all! In the image below, you can see how big the Judy Littlechap dress pattern is, as compared to my centimeter cutting mat and 18 inch ruler:
I’ll also include 18 inches of pink nylon ribbon, wrapped around your fabric remnants. That way, if you want to use a ribbon to make your bow in front, rather than sewing the bow from the fabric itself, you will have that option.
I believe the ribbon is about 5 mm wide — a bit more than a quarter of an inch — but the spool that the pink ribbon came on doesn’t give any specs. (I wish it did, so I could be 100% sure it’s nylon satin — but in all honesty, I’m just guessing about the ribbon.)
I’m excited to offer these fabric remnants at a cost of $4.99 plus shipping. If you buy all of them, you would only have to pay the shipping fee once, which would be a steal!
I’ve compared my price to JoAnn’s Fabrics (which require you to buy a 2 yard minimum online) and Etsy’s prices, and I think, even with my shipping fee of $7.99, it’s a fair price.
I’m selling the fabric as-is, with full disclosure about the snags and pencil/marker marks, with pictures to indicate what I mean.
If you buy remnants on Etsy or eBay, people aren’t always open about this. I’ve bought fabric remnants on eBay, only to discover that the fabric smelled like my grandma’s attic. Ugh! You gotta just cut your losses and throw that junk away!
These pink satin fabric remnants were purchased only two years ago, have not been in storage for very long, and frankly, the fabric itself is of a very nice quality, despite the occasional marks and snags.
If you’re a collector of the Littlechap dolls, you know that dolls which have clothes with them are certainly worth more than nude dolls.
Making a pink satin dress, in a 1963 style, which looks a lot like the one pictured on the Littlechap dolls’ brochure, can increase the value of your dolls by as much as $15.00, or even more.
And if you can make multiple dresses, you can easily sell them online for $30 or more, not including the doll. (Of course you should disclose that you made the dress, and it’s not an original, to avoid misleading buyers.)
So a bit of satin remnant, at $4.99 plus shipping, is a very good investment. You could list the dresses you make on eBay as one that fits any of the dolls I’ve mentioned in this blog post. For each of the dolls shown below, as well as the new 13 inch My First Barbie, there are very few doll clothes currently available for sale online.
So consider supporting this website with a purchase of a pink satin remnant or two or three. Click on the shop button at the top of my page, on the home page, or right here, to see what’s available in my store.
As I’ve said, these are sold as-is, on a first come, first serve basis. Thanks for reading this blog post and considering it!
And thanks to the person who donated this fabric to my website! You are a gem!
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Have you been browsing through my doll clothes patterns, but wishing a certain 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 mind’s eye.
I also have a class called “Design Your Own Doll Pants Patterns from Scratch.” In this class, which costs only $19.99, you will learn how to create your own pants patterns, including leggings, fly-front jeans, elastic-waist pants, and overalls.
With 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!
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To read more about my free sewing patterns and tutorials, please visit the “Helpful Tips” page.
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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.