One of the best things about sewing doll clothes is that you can make some really cute clothes with a tiny bit of fabric. The problem arises when we are wanting a long piece to use for a skirt or the skirt of a dress and unfortunately a fat quarter or that perfect piece of fabric you have is just not long enough without joining two pieces together.
The most common thing people do in this situation is to join the fabric in the centre. The problem is that this means we have a join at the centre front of the dress or skirt and depending on the print on the fabric, it can look quite unsightly.
‘Sew’ how do we avoid this?
Easy! We simply make two seams instead of one and this way we end up with two side seams. Someone looking from the front, would not know you have joined your fabric. Let me show you how it’s done. I’ll be using my Pinafore Dress Skirt pattern.
1. If your skirt pattern piece tells you to place it on the fold, lay it on a single layer of fabric and add ½ ” (12mm) to one end. This gives you ¼” (6mm) seam allowance for each side seam. Cut and place to the side. If you pattern piece is the complete length of your skirt piece, fold it in half and then add your seam allowance as above.
2. Now, fold this pattern piece in half. Double your piece of fabric if it is big enough (or do this step twice), lay the pattern on top and add ¼” (6mm) seam allowance to one end. This will give you what you need for the side seam.
3. Sew the short pieces to both ends of the longer piece.
4. Ta da! You now have a piece long enough for your skirt without a centre front seam.
Hope you find this tip helpful and you can now use all those cute fat quarters to make some pretty little dresses for your dolls.
Happy sewing
Rosie
Happy sewing
Very good tip. Also if your fabric is wide enough for the width but too short for the length, you can add another complement fabric to the bottom or top to take care of the length. Maybe add rick rack or lace to the horizontal seam to help hide it.
That’s an awesome tip Marcy. Thanks so much for sharing that one!
Awesome advice, thank you
My pleasure Julia. 🙂
This is such a good idea. Makes a person wonder why they didn’t think of it years ago too. HAHAHHA…..good thing your brain works better than mine!! THANKS!!!! 🙂
My pleasure Michele. And don’t worry, I have those thoughts too when I learn something so simple that I can’t believe I didn’t think of myself years ago. 🙂
Thank you for this tip !
Granny Sandy
My pleasure Granny Sandy. Hope it helps you one day. 🙂
Wow! That is a great tips. I’m gonna have to try that in the near future. Thanks Rosie.
My pleasure Nancy. Let me know how it works for you. 🙂
I will when I get some other outfits out of the way. Got too many outfits I want to make including your pattern for a wedding gown. Been looking for a doll sized tiara that doesn’t cost a fortune>
I have 4 granddaughters. I have doll clothes patterns. If I run into this issue I will certainly use your helpful hint. I’m saving it onto my favorites page. Thanks so much.
My pleasure Karen. Enjoy sewing for your granddaughters. 🙂
Thanks Rosie 🌹 This also works well if you want to intentionally add another color or pattern to a skirt as an accent. The accent color can also be used for the two back pieces that are folded to make the top and lining as in the Summer dress. 👍
Another great tip, thanks Pat. 🙂
If my fabric isn’t wide enough to make one solid cut, I cut one strip half the total width required and then cut another strip but cut it in half. This gives you one long strip and two shorter strips; works great to use the long strip on the front and attach a shorter strip on each end for the left and right back portions. I match my seams up with the side seams on the top of the garment. Hope this makes sense. It’s hard to put it into words but simple to cut and sew.
Hi Sandra, that’s exactly what I show in my blog only I also add the seam allowances to the pieces. Glad to hear you use this method too. 🙂