My daughter got an American Girl Doll knock-off for Christmas (because there is no way I’m spending $100 for a doll! No way!). Her doll is from Toys R Us. It’s a Journey Girl Doll, and I actually think she is prettier than the AG Dolls.
This was by far the best gift of Christmas. My daughter told me, “Mom! It’s like a present for you and for me!” Ha! We are having fun together. Making little doll clothes is a blast. And it’s a great way to use up all the little pieces of fabric that are overflowing in my craft room.
So here’s what I’ve been up to…
Because every girl needs the basics, I started with a t-shirt and jeans.
I finished off the outfit with a little t-shirt flower headband. The headband has a little velcro circle on it so I can change out the flower to match other outfits.
I also made a denim skirt. It was the easiest thing ever! I just cut the bottom off a pair of kid jeans that had holes in the knees and added elastic at the top. Isn’t it cute?
The last thing for today is this little floral skirt:
It’s just a long rectangle of fabric sewn together with elastic at the waist. Oh, and a few little pleats. And the glasses? They are from Michael’s. For $2 (with a coupon) we just couldn’t resist them!
I plan to make several more t-shirts to mix-and-match with the denim items. And accessories. Lots of accessories.
More DIY doll clothes:
Swimsuit
Pajamas
Versatile Knit Dress FREE Pattern
Doll Beanie From A Sock
Pierce Your AG Doll’s Ears
If you your daughter has a doll, check out my Pinterest Board for more great DIY ideas.
Comments & Reviews
I don't know if you are interested in buying any patterns, but just in case, Ellie Inspired has all her 18" doll pdf patterns on sale for $1 right now until Jan. 6. https://www.etsy.com/shop/EllieInspiredClothes?ref=ks_wide
I was just thinking about making some doll clothes for my daughters doll! Thanks for sharing these!
OK this line in your post made me giggle.( The headband has a little velcro circle on it so I can change out the flower to match other outfits.) Because you said.. I can change them out ..instead of your daughter.. lol YUP your obsessed, but your having fun and making memories with your daughter.. priceless..
Bah ha ha!
Thanks for sharing all of this! I just made a shirt for my girl's doll and now I'm going to make a denim skirt! So cute!
You are very welcome! I'm glad you made something!
I started with a pair of winter pj's for a friend's child's doll… just one pair, it's cold out. Then I discovered a couple of free patterns online for dresses, and of course the skinny jeans were sooooo cute, I had to buy that pattern. (HAD to…) It's impossible to sew if you can't try things on to be sure they fit, ya know? But there was a beautiful used Heidi Ott doll on E-bay and I won the auction, for only $15! She's not for me, no,no,no! I'll just use her to try things on, then I can always sell her on E-bay… just as soon as I finish "up cycling" some lovely items I saw in the thrift store — I could just see them made into doll clothes… okay, maybe it was 4 or 6 thrift stores. Did I mention the sad, dirty, tangle-haired 18 inch doll I saw there? I couldn't abandon them there, could I? Them? Well, just a couple, or five… or so. Sooooo– be careful — soon you could find yourself learning how to replace doll hair that's been styled by a 10 year old with sharp scissors. I'm not going to keep the dolls though — heavens no. But I am kind of glad they don't reproduce — exactly. And thank you very much for the pattern–somewhere here I have just the thing to make the maxidress. Love your stuff on Pinterest 🙂
Oh my goodness. Your comment gave me a good laugh! I know EXACTLY what you mean! I have even looked at how much doll wigs cost because I want to replace my daughter's doll's wig when it gets old and yucky. Once you start, it's easy to get obsessive!
I found several doll wigs at my wholesaler. Not buying from them anymore, as I surrendered my sales license. Still, they got these wigs really cheap and sold them really cheap. I made “chemo dolls” by gluing clear velcro on the heads of a few dolls with impossible hair. I picked up most of my dolls at $2.00 and a couple AG dolls for $15.00 or so. All had tangled hair, some that could be detangled one strand at a time using a knitting needle.
We bought Dana (Journey Girls) for our granddaughter for Christmas and I'm starting to make clothes for her. Since many AG doll patterns are bigger (about 1"+ through the chest), I know I need to make some alterations. How have you handled the size difference?
That is a GREAT question! There is definitely a size difference between AG and Journey Girls. I have altered some patterns and left some as they were, depending on how much I cared about the fit. The tricky part is that they are basically the same height, so you really just want skinnier clothing. The easiest way is to use wider seam allowances down the sides of shirts/dresses and then trim off the excess material. I taper the seam so that it starts at the normal 1/4 inch at the sleeve opening, then gradually gets wider until it's 1/2 inch or more all the way to the bottom edge of the shirt/dress. Tapering helps the sleeve to look and fit correctly. Does that help?
And by the way, I LOVE that you are making clothes for your granddaughter. You must be an awesome grandma!
So where do you find the pattern for this outfit?
There are text links throughout the article…they say something like, "the t-shirt pattern is HERE." Click on the word HERE and it will take you to the patterns.
Ok my granddaughter is getting an Our Generation doll for christmas, so guess what's in this grandma's near future. I love to sew and I am glad that my granddaughter is wanting to learn. This should be an experience.
What fun! I hope you make many happy memories together!
I only just joined your obsession group after "rescuing" a Journey Girl..Callie and an Our Generation…Pia, from our local thrift store. Pias hair, the grow version took 4 hours of work to detangle but is now beautiful. I've learned Mr Clean magic eraser removes ink from their faces too. I agree with you that Journey Girls are much prettier😊. I have been rescuing Barbies for about a year but the 18"dolls are much easier to sew for. There are many little girls out there wh appreciate receiving my reborn dolls. I am loving this sewing adventure and your repurposing of old clothes is a marvelous idea. I look forward to your next ideas.
Welcome to the club, Marie! I'm so glad you're having fun with it!
I love American Girl Doll clothes!
Thanks for these