Crafting for Dolls: Straw Hats to Half Bonnets

This post may contain affiliate links, please check out my disclosures page for more info.  Thanks!

Later than planned, but here is the last project on my craft list.  Finally.

Some time ago, I found a package of small bonnet style straw hats at Bookman’s.  They were only 50 cents!

I bought them thinking I could make pretty bonnets for my ball jointed dolls, until I tried them on them.  They were too small, even for my smallest dolls!

What do you do with too small doll straw hats?

You make half bonnets.

Years ago, I came across a tutorial for taking a child size straw hat and turning it into a half bonnet.  Surprisingly I still remembered it, so I thought “why not try that for a doll?”

So I made three ball jointed doll sized half bonnets.  They came out so cute!

They are trimmed on the outside with flowers and bows with ribbons for tying.

On the inside, I added ruffled lace to frame the doll’s face.  And it’s a great way to use up lace scraps.

See, doesn’t it look so pretty on Yuna?

Not that they don’t also look lovely on Hikaru here, I mostly intended to make the bonnets for her anyway.

If you are interested in making some of these half bonnets for your dolls, I whipped up a quick tutorial on my doll blog.

Here’s the updated list:

• Dress makeover
• Doll undies
• Cameo and Hearts
• Blouse makeover
• Phone case
• Outfit
• Mother’s Day
• Costume fix
• Jammies
• Bonnet

Ten down and out.  Finally finished this list! 

So now to start up on the next one.  I will have it posted by Sunday.  Look forward to it!

Give it a try:

• Straw Hat - Round Top - Natural - 8 inches
• 6" Round Top Straw Hat | Hobby Lobby | 28771
• Wrights Double Fold Bias Tape- 1/4'' x 4yds | Jo-Ann
• Victoria Lynn™ Ribbon Roses Bunch, Red

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Sewing for Dolls: Faux Button Down Tank and Half Circle Skirt for Bjds

This post may contain affiliate links, please check out my disclosures page for more info.  Thanks!

I said this post was going to be “a little” late, then it ended up being super late.  I finished the project then got distracted by a few things, but that’s for another post.

Anyway, I got another ball jointed doll several months ago from a Black Friday sale, and I hadn’t gotten around to actually making some clothes for her, until now.

Using a few scraps of fabric and such, I whipped up this cute outfit.  A white button down tank top, a floral skirt, a hair clip and a pearl necklace with bracelet.  It’s perfect for a nice Spring/Summer day.

The skirt is a half circle skirt made based on this tutorial for a little girl’s skirt.  I used scraps of fabric leftover from this dress I made years ago.

The tank top is made from a cut up t-shirt, t-shirts are the best for doll clothes and other fun crafts!

It opens on the back with Velcro, it only looks like it buttons in front.  Those “buttons” are actually flat back pearls glued in place with Aleene’s Jewel-it.

Both the top and and skirt look so pretty on my doll (her name is Misako and she is a 1/4 scale doll).

And like most of the clothes I’ve been making for my bjds, I made patterns and a tutorial for these pieces here on my doll blog.  Check it out if you have dolls about this size, or if you just want to know how I made the fake button front on that tank top.

Now for the accessories.  I whipped up this hair clip in less than 10 minutes.  It’s just a scrap of pretty lace that I gathered to size and glued on to a barrette.  Then I added some pearls.

The barrette is a little larger than 1/2 an inch (about 1 cm.), I bought it as SAS.  There are about the right sized to make large-ish hair clips for dolls.

It does looks nice in my doll’s hair.  Makes me want to make tons more of them, but that will be for another day.

Throw in the pearl necklace and bracelet (which were just made by stringing faux pearls on elastic) and the outfit is complete and adorable.

Here’s the updated list:

• Dress makeover
• Doll undies
• Cameo and Hearts
• Blouse makeover
• Phone case
• Outfit
• Mother’s Day
• Costume fix
• Jammies
• Bonnet

Eight down, just two more to go.  The next one will be up in a couple of days.  Look forward to it!

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Sewing for Dolls: Socks and Lingerie? Plus Tutorial Links

My latest craft project is doll clothes, so why did it take so long to post?  You will see shortly.

First I made several pairs of tights and socks, several more pairs to be exact.  I made some before out of old tights (see From Socks to Doll Sweaters), but I’ve gotten more ball jointed dolls since then.  Meaning more itty bitty feet to cover.

No complaints though, doll socks and stuff are fun to make and so cute.  Look at these adorable thigh high socks I made for my newest doll (her name is Misako).

And I made this pair of crew length socks for my only boy ball jointed doll (the last thing I made for him was these cute t-shirts).

And finally I made two pairs of tights, a pair for my newer doll and a smaller pair for this one (her name is Momoko).  I used a cute lacey pair of tights that had dots all over them.  I found them at 99 Cents Only Store.

The best part is that this time I managed to make some printable patterns for all theses socks and tights.  They are sized for msd (1/4 scale) and yosd (1/6 scale) ball jointed dolls, and are included with this tutorial posted on my doll blog.

Now for the more interesting part of this project. 

Doll Lingerie

As expensive as ball jointed dolls can be, sometimes they don’t even come with underwear.  So you either have to buy them separately or make them yourself. 

Naturally I went with making them.  And if I’m going to sew doll sized undies, then I’m going to make them cute!

I made these two sets from t-shirt scraps, lace, ribbon and a bit of elastic.  They were actually pretty easy to put together.

To make these underwear sets, I first did a bit of “research” mostly to figure out how to make a doll sized bra.  I found several cute doll tutorials (mostly videos), including these:

• How to Make a Monster High Doll Bra – This video does as it says, it shows how to make an itty bitty bra for a Monster High doll with lace and ribbon and such.
• How to Make a Miniature Doll Bra for Monster High Dolls – Same as above, are you noticing a pattern?
• How to Make doll panties - Victoria's Secret inspired Doll Lingerie – The matching underpants for the above tutorial, also more Monster High.
• How to: Cute Doll Underwear - DIY Bralette & Lace Underwear for BJD / Barbie – This is underwear set made from stretchy lace.  Depending on the lace you use, you could make this for almost any sized doll.

This one was the first set made.  I use thin lace for the band and the straps of the bra and used the same lace on the matching underpants.  It’s simple and cute.

For the second undie set, I used thin ribbon for the bra straps instead of lace.  Then I made little bows for the front of the bra and underpants.  For the other set I threaded the elastic through the waist, but with this one I stitched decorative elastic on to the fabric.

Because they were so cute and fun to make, I made a tutorial for MSD (1/4 Scale) ball jointed doll sized underwear and bras on my doll blog, feel free to check it out if you or someone you know has dolls around this size (or if you just want to laugh at my doll’s crazy antics).

Here’s the updated list:

• Dress makeover
• Doll undies
• Cameo and Hearts
• Blouse makeover
• Phone case
• Outfit
• Mother’s Day
• Costume fix
• Jammies
• Bonnet

Four down, six more to go.  I should have the next project up in about a week, but first there may be a little surprise.  Look forward to it!

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Sewing for Dolls: Two Super Cute Doll Outfits

This post may contain affiliate links, please check out my disclosures page for more info.  Thanks!

The next project on my list is…

Doll clothes!

Yeah, you kind of saw that coming right?

I’ve had these two cute little ball jointed dolls for over a year now, so I wanted to make special little outfits for them.

The main pieces are a pink skirt and puffy shorts, both with suspender style straps.  There is a tutorial for them here on my doll blog, so check it out if you have a 1/6 scale ball jointed doll to sew for.

The skirt is for this doll (Yuna).  It was fairly simple to make, just gathered with a waistband and trimmed with lace on the hem.  The pink color and the straps make it all so adorable.

The shorts (for Sakura) were a little trickier.  Pants and shorts in general tend to be tricky for me in general.  Add on the fact that I had to draft the pattern myself and that these are teeny tiny, and you can imagine how it went.

Anyway, like the skirt, these short have the same suspender straps making them super cute.  As if the “puffiness” didn’t already make them cute enough.

Now for the shirts, I made them out of a vintage handkerchief.  The scalloped hem at the bottom is actually the scallop edge of the handkerchief.  It made them quicker to sew and pretty too.

For ease of use, I added a Velcro closure to the back.  So much easier to put a shirt on any doll if you don’t have to try to yank it over their head.

The neckline is trimmed with lace with ribbon threaded through.  The ribbon nicely gathers the neckline both to look pretty and to adjust the fit.  It’s actually something I’ve seen in some of the store-bought shirts I own.

And since the straps on the skirt and shorts are removable (thanks to the power of snaps), we can easily show off these pretty doll shirts. 

By the way, there is a tutorial for these shirts too.  Feel free to check it out and make some cute tops.

In addition to the clothes, I whipped up a couple of accessories.

For Yuna, it this pretty bow headband made with lace.  It matches the outfit nicely.  Feel free to check out my video tutorial for doll headbands to make your own.  That tutorial is for any size doll by the way.

For Sakura, I made this simple cute felt bag.  I just used a scrap of pink felt and a small bit of ribbon for the bow.  It’s made the same way as the bags in my easy felt doll bag tutorial.

That’s it for the doll clothes, at least for today.

Here’s the updated list:

• Baby
• Blue dress
• Tiny outfits
• T-shirts
• Halloween
• Pink dress
• More T-shirts

Three down,  four more to go.  The next one should hopefully be ready in a week.  Look forward to it!

Give it a try:

• Dritz® Sew-On Snaps Nickel-Asst Size 1/0 2/0 4/0
• VELCRO® Brand 0.63'' x 30'' Soft &Flexible Sew-On Tape
• 9" x 12" Basic Felt by Creatology™

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Pink Lace for…A Doll?

At long last, the last project on my craft list.  And it’s more doll clothes, plus more of that pink lace fabric.

As you can see, I used the fabric leftover from my Easter dress (see Pink Lace for Easter) to make a doll size version along with accessories.  An underskirt to give the dress a boost, a matching purse and head band, and a necklace.

And it looks adorable on her.  I’ve had this ball jointed doll for two years, so I wanted to make her a special new outfit (check out the doll blog to see her reaction).

I used the same technique for the bodice as for my doll dress tutorial (see Doll Dresses for All, With a Tutorial), and instead of a row of ribbon roses along the neck I made three little roses.  One at each of the straps on top of a ribbon bow and a larger rose on the ribbon sash.

On my dress I used a nice wide ribbon for the sash, but for this one the narrower ribbon I had left worked just fine.

I made the matching headband using jewelry wire just like in my doll headband tutorial (see Doll Head Bands with a Tutorial).

The same with the little purse, it’s similar as the simple purse in my doll bag tutorial (see 5 a Week: Cute Felt Bags for Dolls with a Tutorial) only with fabric instead of felt.  I glued on the some faux pearl beads to make the look of a clasp.  It really uses Velcro to close.

The cameo necklace actually came from my mom.  It was perfect for dolls because of the small size of the cameo and the thinness of the chain, I just needed to shorten it.

The underskirt was made as a separate piece so dress can be worn with or without it for different looks.  It can also be used as an actual skirt with another top.  Three separate looks from a couple of pieces.  Man, this is one well dressed doll.

Here’s the updated list:

• Dress
• Accessories
• Jeans
• Baby
• Little dress

Five down and out, finally!

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Jeans for Dolls and a Wrap

Finally finished the next project on my list, doll clothes.  Yes, I know, more doll clothes.

It’s officially been a year since I got Usagi (a ball jointed doll), so I decided to make her a special outfit.

I made a wrap style top, a simple necklace and a pair of jeans.

The jeans were a challenge.  Pants in general are a challenge for me and I had to draft the pattern for these as well as figure out how to sew them.  It was all for the best, they came out well and I even created a printable pattern for them.

I posted a full tutorial for jeans for MSD sized ball jointed dolls on my doll blog.  Feel free to check it out if you have a doll this size or know someone who does.

The top was actually inspired by this tutorial for a cute doll dress.  Of course that one was designed for a different type and size of doll, so I had to draft my own pattern.  If you wish you can download it here on my doll blog. 

The necklace is made from tiny beads I got from SAS (see A Quick and Pink Craft Haul).  I just strung them and used a regular clasp and crimp beads.  Super quick and easy.

All together is makes for a super cute and stylish little doll outfit.

Here’s the updated list:

• Dress
• Accessories
• Jeans
• Baby
• Little dress

Four down, just one more to go.

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Doll Head Bands with a Tutorial

This post may contain affiliate links, please check out my disclosures page for more info.  Thanks!

It may have took forever, but I finally finished a project on my craft list.  Just a little something I whipped up for my dolls.

Doll sized head bands!

I made several little bitty head bands for my ball jointed dolls (check the doll blog to see their reaction).  It’s been something I’ve been dying to try but couldn’t for one silly reason.  I couldn’t find doll-sized blank head bands to cover. 

Then I realized I could use something else as the base, jewelry wire.  It’s easy to find and works great, as you will see.

This first head band is made of faux pearls strung on to the wire.  I have a similar head band which is how I got the idea.

The next one is made of lace wrapped around the wire.  I added a little bitty lace rosette to decorate.  It probably would look cute with a tiny flower or button in the center of the rosette, but for now this will do.

For my smaller ball jointed doll, Sakura, I made these sweet ribbon head bands.

I just wrapped the wire with ribbon and added a simple bow.

For this doll, Usagi, it’s the same thing but with a slightly less simple bow.

And this headband is wrapped with both lace and ribbon.  The lace is over the pink ribbon, so you can see a hint of pink color through the lace.  Looks cute enough to try on a human sized head band.

Since these head bands were so cute and easy to make, I made a video tutorial.

All you need are:

• Scissors
• Ruler or tape measure
• Lace, ribbon or beads
• Jewelry wire (try this or this one.)
• Wire cutters
• Glue gun

And of course a doll.

Wait, there’s more.  In honor of Halloween I made a few more doll sized head bands.

I made cat ear head bands!

They are easily made of felt and jewelry wire.  Don’t they look adorable on the dolls.

And I also made a second video tutorial for these, so everyone’s dolls can dress up for Halloween.

Enjoy!

Here’s the updated list:

• Pink dress
• Accessories
• Socks
• Headbands
• T-shirts
• Tank Top

One down, five more to go.  The next one will be up soon.  Look forward to it!

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