Doll Sewing Series #3: Raglan Top and Jeans Pattern

by Claire February 21, 2021

written by Claire February 21, 2021

Every doll has to have a pair of jeans in her closet, so why not try out this awesome pattern for jeans and a raglan sleeve top? The ‘Doll Sewing Series’ of blog posts includes reviews of my favourite doll sewing patterns; to help you sew gorgeous outfits for your dolls. This is #3 in the Doll Sewing Series – to see what you’ve missed check out #2 Skirt, Top and Hoodie Pattern and #1 Doll Wardrobe Pattern.

Today’s pattern is from the Doll’s Closet Seasons Book, which I purchased from the lovely Pomadours Craft Cafe store on Etsy. It contains doll sewing patterns for each season with full patterns for 20, 22 and 27 cm dolls.

Fabric

I love upcycling clothes to make doll outfits. Instead of throwing away worn out items of clothing, I will cut them up and keep the fabric for projects. So my old jeans have now been seriously downsized! For doll jeans, avoid thick heavy denim and use a light weight denim. The doll sewing pattern includes instructions for distressing the jeans, which I may try next time and it makes them look very realistic. The raglan top is made from a girl’s Snoopy vest top which I found in the H&M sales. This meant there was no need to add an image, but adding images is easily done with iron on transfers. I also used black jersey for the sleeves and neckline. The pompom hat was another upcycle – an old sock – which worked perfectly.

Sewing The Outfit

Raglan Sleeve Top

All of the doll sewing patterns in the book include full instructions with clear images for each step. This makes it easy to work out what to do even if, like me, you can’t read the Japanese instructions. The Google translate app does it’s best but sometimes the results are clearly unrelated to sewing instructions! I used hand sewing to make this outfit, as I find it easier than using a sewing machine at this scale. It’s important to transfer all of the pattern markings to your fabric particularly around the neckline. Pinning the fabric is also essential when adding the neckline. Some stages required glue but can be done without it, although it is helpful when attaching the looped side of the hook and loop tape. Even with some glue, mine came out uneven. The hook and loop tape I use has very small hooks and loops, but the hook side is very stiff and difficult to sew through.

I’ve never added an image to fabric before but it’s definitely worth the effort. I used Avery Fabric Transfers A5 size. Avery have their own online design software which you can use. This makes it easy to add images to make up your design. It automatically reverses the images so when they are transferred to the fabric they are the right way round. I’m going to make a pink sleeved version of the Raglan Top with my logo on!

Jeans

The jeans took a lot of time to make, as there is a lot of detailed topstitching to do, but it all adds to their authenticity. I had issues with some of the seams not lining up correctly – any small error when cutting out your fabric gets amplified at this scale. I love the pocket details on the jeans – great for posing your doll with hands in pockets.

The jeans don’t sit on the natural waistline but more on the doll’s hips, as you can see in the photos. The snap closure is at the back of the jeans so it doesn’t show up. I haven’t ordered any tiny brass fake buttons yet, but I’m planning to add one at the front. The small details help with the realism. You’ll need to decide how you will be styling the jeans – as they came out fairly loose fitting, I decided to add a turn up.