Matching dresses a cute idea for young girl, doll
Dear Julia: My granddaughter has a doll that she loves. She takes it everywhere with her. She knows I sew and would like for me to make her and her doll matching dresses. It’s an 18-inch doll. Can you find me a pattern for the doll and my granddaughter? Carolyn
Hi Carolyn: What a cute idea! My mom made my daughter matching pajama sets for her and her doll when she was younger. She’s 14 now, so she’s long since outgrown the PJs — and the idea of wearing a matching outfit with a doll.
There are quite a few options out there that combine the doll’s and girl’s dresses in one pattern. I selected this one, McCall’s 7588, because you will get more use out of it. It comes with a matching dress pattern for your granddaughter and her doll, and a pattern for pullon shorts and a top.
The dress has buttons down the front with a gathered skirt. It’s sleeveless and has a Peter Pan collar. And there’s an opportunity to personalize the dress with contrasting but complementary fabric for the patch pockets and the collar. A ruffled hem also can be added to the hemline of the skirt and the top of the pockets for further embellishment.
Hi Readers: I’ve been asked by a few readers about interfacing versus stabilizer. First, let’s take a look at interfacing. This type of application is generally meant to be permanent. It is attached to the “wrong” side of your fabric to give it extra body and strength. Interfacings come in different weights: light, medium and heavy. Choose one that is the same weight as your fabric or slightly lighter.
You’ll also need to select between knit, woven and non-woven. A woven interfacing must be cut the same way as the grain of the fabric, while nonwoven interfacing has no grain and can be used with many different types of fabrics. Knit interfacing is suitable for fabrics that have some stretch to them.
The final differentiation between interfacings is sew-in and fusible. Fusible interfacing can be adhered to your fabric with an iron. Be sure to test a small area first to make sure the glue in the interfacing won’t damage the fabric. Sew-in interfacing is pinned to the fabric and stitched closer to the edge of your fabric so that the stitching is within the seam allowance. You also could take a shortcut and just pin the interfacing together with both layers of fabric and make one stitch line.
Next week I’ll dive into stabilizers.
Send questions to Julia Cameron, c/o King Features, 628 Virginia Drive, Orlando, FL 32803, or SewSimpleColumn@ gmail.com.