We’ve all had it happen. You’re thinking, “A fat quarter should be enough to make this little doll dress. Right?” You get home, start pinning the pattern pieces onto the fabric, and then… “Oh crap.”

That fat quarter isn’t quite long enough for the skirt’s ruffle (or whatever piece still needs pinning). What can you do?

Before I go on, 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!

When it’s a ruffle pattern piece, the solution is simple enough. Cut it in two or three segments, sew these together end-to-end, and then follow the directions for making the ruffle from there on out.

But what about when it’s a bodice piece, which is the case with my Halloween Barbie dress from the vintage Barbie pattern Advance 2896?

One solution is to cut any “inside” pieces (like a lining, a side-seam pocket, or a facing), using a different fabric. When you do this, it’s usually best to choose an interior fabric that nicely coordinates with the outer fabric.

In the image above, I created my bodice lining using a mottled-appearance orange cotton fabric for the lining of my Halloween-themed dress, which matched some of the outer fabric’s printed Halloween candies. The reason you see two bodices there is because the orange one is a lining; the black bodice is the outer fabric.

The two longest strips of fabric are lying one on top of the other because I’m going to sew them together where the arrow is pointing, creating one long strip for the ruffle piece, as you’ll see in the image below, which has now been gathered and attached along the bottom of Barbie’s Halloween dress.

Before I end today’s short blog post, I want to mention that the doll you’re seeing in my Advance 2896 View 5 dress is actually a modern TALL Barbie, so interestingly, I can fit my tall Barbie into this pattern just fine.

Although as we all know, most tall Barbies are typically a little smaller in the bust than a vintage Barbie. (If you’re not sure what I’m talking about, maybe go back to visit this blog post, which talks about the differences between Barbies of different eras.)

Now it’s your turn. When you’ve found yourself in a pickle because you don’t quite have enough fabric to finish cutting out a garment, what are some additional solutions to the problem — some answers I didn’t mention above?

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, my website will receive a small commission, which helps fund the ChellyWood.com site, so I can continue to provide you with all the free patterns and tutorial videos offered here.

For more of my free tutorials, be sure to subscribe to my YouTube channel, ChellyWood1.

If you would like to make a donation to this free doll clothes pattern website, please click here. There’s also a “Donate” button in the main menu.

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 C&T Publishing website. Here’s my bio page on their site, where you can learn more.

For any class on the C&T Publishing website, 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 the C&T Pub site, using this link.

As always, feel free to share my images on social media to help spread the word about my free patterns.

To read more about my free sewing patterns and tutorials, please visit the “Helpful Tips” page.

Disclaimer/Credit/Affiliate Marketing Link:

*Please note: when you click on links to various merchants on the ChellyWood.com 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.

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.