Getting Started With My First Doll Pattern

I really loved the felt doll pattern that I posted last week and thought that would be my first attempt at making a doll. However, I ran across this simple free doll pattern that seemed a little more fitting for my first go at making a baby doll.

It's a cotton doll - not a felt one, and it's MUCH larger than the felt doll pattern, but I liked the little girl doll pattern and thought it would be perfect for my niece for christmas. I would also get a chance to test out my sewing skills along the way.

So, to start my first doll I made my first trip to Walmart. Here's what I bought:

1. Polyfil -stuffing for the doll - only $2.97

 

2. Cotton Fabric (even though the pattern suggest I start with a thicker material I really liked the pattern selection they had in cotton so I went with it. 

I picked up six - 18"x21" cotton fabrics - see pictures below. ONLY $1 each

1. a pink pattern
2. a purple pattern
3. a yellow fabric
4. a purple fabric
5. and two skin color fabrics for the face and arms.

3. I also picked up a small sewing starter kit. To be honest I had no clue what I needed for thread or needle sizes, so I figured a starter kit would get me going and I could buy other pieces as I needed them for other dolls. The starter kit costs - just under $8

4. Thick brown yarn for the hair - $3

Altogether for this doll I spent $20 and prayed I purchased everything I needed to accomplish my very first doll :)

When I got home I printed out the free doll pattern (page 1 & page 2) that I found over at MakeBabyStuff.com. I then traced it onto the fabric. Once my son saw me starting the doll he was hooked :) He wanted to make a doll for his new baby sister (due in March). This was awesome! Now I have a partner to learn along with me.

Here's our progress so far:

1. Traced the pattern onto the fabric.

2. Cut out the pattern

Pattern pieces after cut out...

Finally - we sewed the head onto the body/dress of the doll.

Side Note: I may not have mentioned this before, but I have never sewed before in my life.. so I needed a quick tutorial to get me started. Here are the two sites that have helped me most...

• Learning to tie a knot at the end of your thread - special thanks to Heather Bailey and her picture tutorial here
• Also learned to blanket stitch from this very basic, but very easy to follow Youtube Video

I'll update our progress once we get moving on the next steps.