Scroll down to the second set of bullets for the free PDF sewing patterns.
This week turned into an accidental runway show featuring Our Generation dolls as the stars! My little model rocked my handmade shorts and a charming Paris-themed halter top, complete with dainty neck ties. Fashion week, eat your heart out!
If you’re here for the free patterns, don’t worry. That’s coming right up!
But before we dive into this project, I need to make my required disclaimer statement: As an Amazon affiliate, I earn from qualifying purchases. To learn more about how affiliate marketing works on my website, please go to the Privacy Policy page. Thank you!
I found this Paris-themed fabric at JoAnn’s before they went out of business, but you can find similar fabric on Etsy. This link may help.
But you don’t have to use Paris-themed fabric. I’ve made this same outfit out of many different types of fabric!
So all you really need to make today’s halter top and shorts is cotton fabric, some 1/4 inch bias tape or ribbon (for the straps that tie at the back–but you can also make your straps from the cotton fabric you’re using), some elastic for the waistband of the shorts, and some snaps.
*Today’s free printable PDF doll clothes sewing patterns will fit the following dolls:
- 18-inch dolls like American Girl dolls
- 18-inch dolls like the Adora Amazing Girls dolls
- 18-inch dolls like the Journey Girls dolls
- 18-inch dolls like the Our Generation dolls
- 18-inch dolls like the “My Life As” Dolls
- 18-inch dolls like City Girls from the New York Doll Collection
- 18-inch dolls like Madame Alexander 45 to 46 cm (similar body type to American Girl) dolls
- 18-inch dolls like the BFC Ink dolls
- 18-inch dolls like vintage Crissy
- 12-inch Baby Alive dolls*
- 13-inch Disney Princess Toddler dolls*
- 14-inch Hearts for Hearts Girls*
- 14 and a half-inch Wellie Wishers* from American Girl doll company*
- 15 and a half-inch vintage Velvet dolls from the Crissy family of dolls
And here are the patterns and tutorial videos you’re looking for:
- Pattern for 18″ doll summer top and shorts (a PDF for American printers)
- Pattern for 18″ doll summer top and shorts (A4 printer paper PDF)
- Tutorial video for making the doll’s halter top
- Tutorial video for making the doll’s shorts
- How to do a whipstitch
- How to sew snaps on fabric
- How to do a backstitch
- How to pull elastic through a casing
- How to use a needle threader
- How to do a basic straight stitch
- How to use bias tape
- 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 sew rickrack
- How to use selvage
- How to attach ribbon to doll clothes
For more of my free tutorials, be sure to subscribe to my YouTube channel, ChellyWood1.
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For anyone who would like to expand their dolls’ wardrobes, you should really check out my “How to Alter Doll Clothes Patterns” course and my “Design Your Own Doll Pants Patterns from Scratch” classes on the Creative Spark online learning platform. Here’s my bio page on their website, where you can learn more.
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.
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Disclaimer/Credit/Affiliate Marketing Link:
*Please note: when you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include Amazon, Etsy, and the eBay Partner Network. As an Amazon affiliate, I earn from qualifying purchases. To learn more about how my website uses affiliate marketing, please visit the website’s Privacy Policy page.
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.
American Girl dolls are products offered by American Girl LLC, which holds the registered trademark for them (™). Please visit their website to learn more about their company and its trademarked toys.
Adora Amazing Girls are products offered by Charisma Brands, LLC, which holds the registered trademark for them (™). Please visit their website to learn more about their company and its trademarked toys.
Our Generation dolls are made by Battat (AKA Maison Battat Company), and they hold the registered trademark for them. Please visit their website to learn more about the Our Generation dolls.
Journey Girls dolls are made by Lotus Onda, but I believe their trademark is owned by Tru Kids Brands. (Someone please correct me if I’m wrong. I had trouble finding the origin of these dolls!) As I understand it, in the past, they have been distributed by Just Play LLC in the United States, but I’m unable to find the Journey Girls brand name on their website at this time. So distribution may have changed for these dolls. The Journey Girls dolls may have other companies involved in their trademark rights and/or distribution in other countries outside the US.
“My Life As” dolls are products offered by Walmart, which (although I couldn’t find it specifically listed in US trademarks) probably holds the registered trademark for them (™). Please visit their website to learn more about their company and its trademarked toys.
City Girls are products offered by The New York Doll Collection, Inc, which holds the registered trademark for them (™). Please visit their website to learn more about their company and its trademarked toys.
Madame Alexander 45 to 46 cm dolls were products that were once offered by the Madame Alexander Doll Company, LLC, which holds the registered trademark for them (™). Be advised that at the time of this blog post, they no longer (to my knowledge) offer dolls in that size range; however you can visit their website to learn more about their company and the trademarked toys they are currently offering.
BFC Ink dolls are products that were once offered by MGA Entertainment, Inc., which held the registered trademark for them (™), but those dolls are no longer produced, and as of this blog post date, the US Trademark Office has listed the trademark as “Cancelled.” However MGA Entertainment, Inc. still produces toys, and you can visit their website to learn more about their company and its trademarked toys.
Vintage Crissy Dolls are products that were once offered by Ideal Toys, Inc., but according to DollReference.com, they were “acquired by the CBS Toy Company in 1982, which eventually merged with Mattel in 1992.”1 Today Mattel holds the registered trademark for them (™). As far as I know, though, these dolls have not been produced since the 1970’s. However, you can always visit the Mattel website to learn more about their company and its trademarked toys.
Footnote 1: “Ideal Dolls 1970s.” Doll Reference, 28 August 2022, https://dollreference.com/ideal_toy_dolls1970s.html