I’ve recently done a few blog posts on this McCall’s 2970 doll clothes sewing pattern, including posts about the tiny underpants patterns it comes with and various tiny dolls and toys that can wear this itty bitty pattern.
To read my previous blog posts, including the one that details the difficulties associated with the View B dress, please click here.
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When I cut out my dress, I used an adorable geometric-themed vintage fabric that had been in my mother-in-law’s collection since the 1970’s. It’s probably older than that though, since it may have been her mother’s fabric from the 1930’s or 1940’s.
There wasn’t much of it — only a swatch — but it was just enough to make a little dress for a 6 inch Topper Dawn miniature doll.
If you look carefully at Figure A above, you’ll notice that the sleeve is strangely positioned on the pattern from McCall’s 2970 (View B). I talked about this in a previous blog post, which you can find here.
Once I figured out the logistics of this pattern, though, I was able to sandwich my pink lace between the lining sleeve and the outer sleeve, as you’ll see in Figures B and C above.
The key to sewing the front seam on the bodice was simple enough: I just needed to pay close attention to the bodice’s notches (Figure C).
There are lots of different ways to attach lace to a dress. As I’ve said, I sandwiched my lace in-between the layers of sleeve, but as you can see in Figure D above, I also added lace to a single-fold hem along the very bottom of the dress.
In hind sight, I think this dress would have fit better if I’d added the lace to the bottom of the dress along a double-fold hem. If you scroll down a bit, you’ll see that the dress is a just a wee bit long on my Dawn doll.
In Figure E above, I’m showing you that I had originally planned to just make the dress’s collar without a lace edge. That’s why I sewed the lining to the outer bodice along the neckline, making a clean edge there.
But eventually I decided to go ahead and add the lace, just as the original McCall’s 2970 pattern calls for. And generally speaking, I like how it turned out (see images below). What are your thoughts?
If I make this dress again, I think I’m going to use a simpler fabric, like a solid or maybe a gingham check.
The geometric vintage fabric was fun to work with, but looking at these photos of my Topper Dawn doll in the finished dress from View B of McCall’s 2970, I think the dress’s geometric patterns are just a tad bit too busy.
Questions: Do you sew for tiny dolls? And if so, what fabrics do you recommend for tiny dolls?
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Dear Chelly, thanks for your blog post on sewing clothes for 6- inch small dolls such as Dawn. The beautiful brunette that you have is Dawn’s friend Angie. Just wanted to let you know.
Sincerely,
Trisha
I wondered which of Dawn’s friends she was, but I was never able to figure it out. So thank you for this helpful information!
😀
I love this vintage fabric!
I need to make something for those poor tinies.
They have never done anything for the poor male friends.
I cannot understand why they proposed very often a cape with or without hood.
Was such a common garment?
M
In the 1970’s there was sort of a niche interest in medieval things. It was during the 1970’s that my friends and classmates began playing D&D (Dungeons and Dragons), and for that group of people, the idea of a medieval cape or cloak was very popular. I didn’t know anybody who owned one when I was in middle school though, other than kids who had a Darth Vader Halloween costume.
However I was a D&D player in college. I was also very poor in college and needed a new coat one winter. When I found a bunch of green wool in a box at a second-hand store, I bought it and made myself a beautiful medieval cape. I was the only student on my college campus with a medieval cape. People loved it! Friends hired me to make one for them. I still have my medieval cape. My daughters wore it when they were in plays in high school.