Tutorial and free 18 inch doll printable shirt pattern that is so simple even kids can sew it! Fits American Girl Dolls and other 18 inch dolls. My girls even put these shirts on their Bitty Babies! Do you love to sew? Does your kid love to sew? Check out these sewing tutorials for all ages.
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My girls adore the American Girl dolls Mike’s mom and grandma gave them for Christmas a few years back. The dress them and un-dress them. This summer we channeled that love into this super-simple sewing project. I designed an 18 inch doll shirt that can be sewn using any knit fabric in only three seams! This means that even beginners can easily sew this shirt!
You can also accessorize this shirt with our free 18 inch doll bag pattern.
18 Inch Doll Shirt Pattern
What You'll Find on This Page
If your child is sewing this shirt and it is their first time using a sewing machine, go over these sewing machine safety rules before you start.
Materials
- Sewing machine. Here are a few beginner machines that should work pretty well:
- Singer 1304
- Brother Sewing 17 Stitch Sewing Machine
- Janome Arctic Crystal – this is the sewing machine all three of my daughters use.
- Knit fabric
- Sewing Shears (option, but cutting fabric is so much easier with these!
- Thread
How to Sew an 18 Inch Doll Shirt
Step 1: Download the doll shirt pattern
This pattern is a free pdf download. Click on the image below to download.
Step 2: Cut Out Your Shirt
Use the pattern to cut out out your shirt. Make sure you place the pattern piece on the fabric so that it stretches sideways, not lengthwise!
Step 3: Sew Your Shirt
Stitch along the dashed lines in the pattern. We used a 1/2 inch seam allowance. Make sure you use a zig zag stitch, because that stretches better! You can add a rolled hem at the collar, bottom of the shirt, and sleeve ends; we skipped this step.
Step 4: Try Your Shirt on Your Doll
Congratulations, your shirt is finished! Find your doll, put on the shirt, and enjoy a new adventure together!
I would love to see photos if you use our free 18 inch doll shirt printable pattern to sew clothes for your own dolls! Please share on my Facebook page or tag me on Instagram.
MaryAnne is a craft loving educator, musician, photographer, and writer who lives in Silicon Valley with her husband Mike and their four children.
Your sewing projects are great! You are inspiring me to invest in a sewing machine.
It’s a great investment! Emma sewed herself a dress this morning! Which reminds me that I really need to write up that tutorial.
Princess is slowly learning how to sew doll clothes, but hasn’t decided to invent her own patterns yet, which really rather surprises me.
This is awesome. My 10 year old might try it out! Thanks for sharing the pattern!