Dolly Fairy Tale Dress Pattern with Chickadee Jess

Hi all.  I’m Jessica from Chickadee Jess. I’m so very excited to be guest posting at Nap Time Crafters today.  Amy’s patterns and tutorials are top of the line and her kids are darling and funny too!

Recently, I made the Fairy Tale Dress for Evangeline.  The dress turned out beautifully and I’m so pleased to say Ev and the dress were featured as Oliver+S’s photo of the day. Read past posts on the dress here and here.

When Amy from Nap Time Crafters called for bloggers to participate in her Dressing Up Dolly series, I jumped at the chance!  I knew Ev would love a Fairy Tale Dress for her Bitty Baby.  I got to work drafting up a pattern with similar details to the Oliver+S Dress. It has petal sleeves, straight bodice, peter pan collar, full skirt and ties in the back. The best part is that this dress will fit your 15″ Bitty Baby or 18″ American Girl Doll.

Supplies:
Bodice, sleeve and collar  pattern pieces
22″x22″ fabric square for bodice, sleeve and collar pieces
6.5″x30″ (bitty baby) or 9″x30″ (american girl) fabric for skirt
28 inches of 1/2″-3/4″  Ribbon for ties
10″ single fold bias tape
6 inches of 1/2″ velcro

Print the pattern pieces from here.  Make sure the scaling on your printer is at 100% so the sizing of the pieces in accurate. The bodice, collar and sleeve pieces are the same size for both the Bitty Baby and the American Girl sizes.

Cut 4 collar pieces, 1 front on fold, 2 back pieces and 2 sleeve pieces.  Cut a rectangle 30″x6.5″ for the Bitty Baby or 30×9″ for the American Girl Doll. Below I’ve put a suggested pattern layout.

First, we will construct the bodice. Finish the edges of the back bodice.*

Prepare your ribbon by cutting it in two equal pieces and trimming one end of each piece diagonally. Seal the ends of the ribbon by running it through a candle flame or lighter.  Pin the ribbon 3/8″ from the bottom of the back bodice at the side seams.

*Regarding seam finishes: Usually, I use a serger but when sewing doll clothing using a narrow zig-zag is easier and just as effective.  It’s important to finish seams so your little one can enjoy playing with the clothing and there won’t be any raveling.

Sew bodice front to back at shoulders and sides catching the ribbon in the side seams. Finish the seams.

On to the sleeves. Sew a basting stitch 1/4″ from the bottom of the sleeve.  Pull up the gathers very slightly. This will help you turn the hem up along the curves.  Press.

Prepare your collar next. Sew the long outside edges, right sides together.

Trim the seam and clip the corners and edges.

Pin your collar to the neck edge matching the front edges of the collar to the notch in the center neck. Stitch with a 1/4″ seam. The collar edges will not meet in the back.

Press the collar down and sew the collar down at the back edges. This will help the collar lay down.  On a people-sized garment you’d tack this down by hand but the machine stitching will be much more durable.

Run two rows of gathering across the long edge of the rectangle 1/4″ and 1/2″ from the edge. Pull up the gathering stitches and pin to the bodice edge, right sides together. Match the opening edges carefully.  Adjust the gathers to fit.  Sew with a 1/4″ seam and finish the seam.

Using 1/2″ velcro, sew the hook side to the right side of the dress.

Sew carefully because this will show on the outside of the dress.

Thanks again to Amy from Nap Time Crafters for the Feature!  Make sure to check back for other Dressing up Dolly posts!

Please note: I’m not affiliated with Oliver+S in any way, just a huge admirer of their patterns. Please go here to the Oliver+S website to see (and possibly purchase) the Fairy Tale Dress Pattern.