Looking for free patterns to make doll clothes? This easy to sew doll jacket and skirt can be worn by 18-inch dolls like the American Girl dolls as well as the smaller Bitty Baby line. They are so easy to make that a child can sew them!
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Dressing and undressing dolls is one of the highlights of this kind of pretend play for many children. This summer, my eight-year-old decided she was ready to start sewing her own doll clothes. She picked out a couple of fat quarters at a quilt shop and designed this cute outfit for her Bitty Baby doll. We turned Lily’s design into a pattern for anyone else who would like to make this easy to sew doll jacket and skirt.
Easy to Sew Doll Jacket and Skirt Pattern
What You'll Find on This Page
This outfit is super simple! My eight-year-old was able to sew it together with a little bit of help. You can download the pattern here.
Doll Clothes Materials
- Fabric. We used two fat quarters and had some fabric left over. I do recommend quilting cotton
for this project since it is easy to work with. - Sewing machine, although you could hand stitch if you need to.
- Thread.
- Scissors.
- 1/2″ elastic.
How to Sew Lily’s Doll Clothes Outfit
When you download the pattern, you’ll notice that there are no pattern pieces for the skirt. This is because the skirt is a simple 8-inch by 20 inch rectangle.
Sewing the skirt
- Start by sewing the short ends of the rectangle together, right sides together, to create a tube.
- Hem one of the remaining ends of the skirt.
- Fold over 3/4″ of the other end of the skirt and stitch, leaving an opening to insert the elastic.
- Thread the elastic through the opening, then stitch the ends of the elastic together.
- Sew the opening shut.
Your skirt is finished!
Sewing the shirt
- With right sides together, stitch the left and right sides of the jacket front onto the corresponding sides of the jacket back.
- Hem the armholes.
- Hem the neckline.
- One more hem, this time along the bottom of the shirt.
Lily chose to stop here, but you could add a button or a bit of velcro if you want your jacket to stay shut on its own.
More Doll Clothes to Sew
Are you looking for more easy doll clothes that you can make with your child or that your child can make on their own? Check out these simple doll clothes outfits we’ve made:
- 18-inch doll shirt pattern – also fits Bitty Baby dolls.
- How to turn cast-off tops into doll clothes.
- Easy-sew doll bag.
Etsy is a great place to look for patterns also – they have ready-made doll clothes as well as doll clothes patterns for sale.
Cut and Sew doll clothes are becoming increasingly popular, as a quick and simple option that can look quite fancy thanks to pre-printed details.
Do you have a favorite DIY doll outfit tutorial or pattern to share? Let us know in the comments, or share a link on my Facebook page! We’d love to see photos if you use this pattern and tutorial to make your own easy to sew doll jacket and skirt set. Tag us on instagram with your pictures!
MaryAnne is a craft loving educator, musician, photographer, and writer who lives in Silicon Valley with her husband Mike and their four children.
I have a new doll that has been sitting on the shelf quite bare for a while now, not good in this cold weather. So this is a very timely tutorial :-) Thanks for sharing.
Amalia
xo
Hooray! I would love to see photos if you use this post to make some clothes for the doll.
That’s so cute. I’d like one in my size! :)
I think I have the fabric she used for the shirt, which greatly amuses me.
Great job on the outfit!
this blog is really very helpful and will help me sew clothes for my daughter’s doll