Dolly's Darling Dungarees Take II

18" Doll Darling Dungaree Romper

Are you ready for another great use for our FREE dolly pattern?  Look what we made for big sister!  You can find your pattern here

This is how we did it.

First print your pattern pieces from Dolly’s Darling Dungarees pattern.  Our 18” model is taller and slimmer than our 15” model, so we need to adjust the pattern.   After your pattern pieces are printed out, fold out 1” from both the front and the back pieces.  The pattern comes on a 1” grid, so that makes it pretty easy.

 

Be sure and tape the fold down.  Then, count 6” down from the top of the back piece and draw a line.  Line up the front piece with the back and continue the line across.  You would think that I could easily have a nice straight line on my graph paper (or not).   It is going to look like this:

At this point, you can trim ¾” off the top of your pattern.  I forgot to do this before I cut it out--oops! So I did it after. 

Now sew the 2 fronts together and the 2 backs together.  Be sure to press those seams in one direction.   You can now roll hem the tops of the front and backs of the romper if desired.  Then sew ONE side seam of the romper.  

Transfer the line you made onto the front of your romper.  This will be your first row of shirring.

Being the lazy girl I am, I just lined up the bottoms of the front and back pattern pieces and made black dots with my Frixion pen where the lines ended. Then I used my ruler and drew a line straight across to connect the 2.  If you think your dolly will be wearing her romper in cold temperatures, use chalk or a disappearing ink pen to do your marking.  Sometimes the marks from Frixion pens come back when they get cold.

Now set your sewing machine up for shirring.  The line you drew is your first row.  Then using the edge of your pressure foot for the guide, sew one row of shirring above the first row and one below the first row.  You will have 3 rows total.  Be sure you tied off your elastic thread securely. Give the elastic a shot of seam and watch shirring magic happen as it shrinks up. 

 

(Alternately, if you hate shirring (or if your sewing machine does) Run a strip of bias tape along the center line, sewing it at both the top and bottom edges of the tape.  Using a piece of ¼” elastic, cut a piece of elastic about 11 inches and thread it through the casing, being sure to secure both ends.  You may want to check with your model and make sure 11 inches is tight enough. )

Now sew up the other side seam of your romper.

To finish the legs of the romper, press up ¼” inch and then ¼” again.  Or, you can do what I did and serge the edge and fold it up ½”. Topstitch the hem in place.

At this point you can finish the romper the same way you did the baby doll dungarees.

18" Doll Darling Dungaree Romper

 Great job!  I am sure your dolly looks "mah-vel-ous!"

Thanks for stopping by! Feedback and comments are ALWAYS appreciated!

~April

The Birth of a Doll Pattern

When my little girl was about 2-1/2, we decided she needed a sibling.  Her brother was born that November.  Santa Claus brought her a Bitty Baby that year in hopes it would help make the transition to Big Sister a little easier.  Well, for whatever reason, Bitty (my daughter came up with a REALLY clever name) never really accumulated a large wardrobe—the only thing her “Grandma” ever made her was a lavender leotard and dance skirt that matched her mommy’s.  Fast forward a couple of years and an 18” doll joined our family.  The new doll took all of my daughter’s time and attention and she was constantly begging for new doll clothes for her.  Bitty was all but forgotten, except when baby nieces or cousins came to play.  Then a few weeks ago, my daughter asked me why I had never made Bitty any clothes.  Being pretty sure that “Gee, you had a baby brother and I didn’t have any free time” sounded kind of lame, I decided to remedy that situation, and thus Dolly’s Darling Dungarees were born.  I hope your little girl loves them as much as mine does. (the link to download this free pattern at the end of the post)     

Watch our blog as we will be showing you some other cute modifications for Dolly's Darling Dungarees! (get your matching infant Darling Dungarees here)  

Thanks for dropping by ~ April

Dolly's Darling Dungarees

 Dolly's Darling Dungarees

Did you make it and love it? Leave us some ♥