Because 18-inch dolls deserve really great sewing patterns, too!
One of the MANY joys of having a five-year-old niece is that I have been sewing her a whole wardrobe of clothes for her 18-inch doll bestie. Sewing doll clothes is a little more painstaking and fiddly than I usually prefer (everything is so SMALL!), but the results are so cute that I can barely stand it. So many tiny bloomers and rompers and dresses and bonnets and accessories! So many fun prints and patterns! So many completed garments that I would LOVE to have in my size, if only fitting clothes for a middle-aged perimenopausal adult wasn’t far more difficult than fitting clothes for an 18-inch doll, sigh.
While I love online tutorials just as much as (and probably more than!) the next person, I have the softest of spots for published patterns. The luxury of not having to print and tape together a pattern is glorious! Even better if it’s a paper pattern or in a book, and a paper pattern accompanied by a book is the best of all!
Below are my favorite published pattern books for 18-inch dolls, including my niece’s American Girl doll bestie. These books focus on everything from historical recreation outfits to sewing with vintage fabrics to matching patterns for dolls and their kids. Most even have paper patterns that go with them–ah, the luxury! So sit down and have yourself a nice, long flip through these books, because there is definitely something you’re going to want to sew here!
Doll Couture, by Marsha Greenberg
Fair warning: This book isn’t for the beginning sewist, at least not before you’ve sewn several other 18-inch doll garments and have a feel for how doll clothing construction generally goes. It often omits steps obvious to those who are familiar with sewing for dolls, leaving newbies baffled because they don’t already know, for instance, that doll dresses often fully open up in the back, or how to gather (doll clothes LOVE to be gathered!). I had some very confusing moments with this book, but it was never anything that a seam ripper couldn’t handle, and now I’m especially obsessed with this particular romper pattern:
The book’s true intent is to demonstrate how to use small-scale vintage textiles, in particular handkerchiefs and doilies, to construct doll clothes, and to that purpose the book is filled with inspirational depictions of the author’s own creations. It’s eye candy that will have you happily sorting through all your vintage stash pieces!
Heritage Doll Clothes, by Joan Hinds
You’ll have to dig out your old CD-ROM for this set of patterns, but these doll-sized recreations of historical American fashions are worth it! I especially love the Colonial Everyday Dress with its tiny mob cap and even tinier shawl, but the true treasures in this book are the foundational garments and the accessories. These are the only published patterns I’ve ever seen for a doll-sized hoop skirt and pannier! If you’re looking for accessories that have a little more versatility, there are several kinds of little jackets, hats, and purses, but my main obsessions are the prairie apron and bonnet, and the bloomers. Bloomers make for very kid-friendly undies that can go under most 18-inch doll dresses.
Me & My 18″ Doll, by Erin Hentzel
Because what kid doesn’t want to match her doll? There are several simple outfits for kids and their dolls here, each with fully illustrated step-by-step instructions, so even a beginning sewist should be able to find their way. The kids’ sizing is pretty limited, ranging only from size 6 to size 12, but you can play with the sizing for a couple of items, such as the Summer Breeze Sundress and the Patchwork and Linen Pinafore. Honestly, though, I am the most enchanted by the two quilts in the book. Both the Emma’s Garden Quilt and the Pinwheels in the Garden Quilt have instructions for two different block sizes, so that the dimensions will look correct at kid-size and at 18-inch doll-size!
Nicky Epstein Crochet for Dolls, by Nicky Epstein
It’s kind of a sucker’s game to think that because the outfits are tiny, they won’t take much time to crochet, because all the details do add some intensity to the process. But the results are sooo cute! I love the little hats and cardigans the most, because I’m basic and I like traditional crocheted items, and I think that mixing and matching a little crocheted hat or cardigan with a sewn outfit is adorable. But I also think the Budding Beauty dress looks just like a granny square in the cutest way!
P.S. Do you have a favorite pattern book for 18-inch dolls? Let us know about it in the Comments!
