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17 inch Cloth Doll Pattern — dollproject.com 1
This pattern makes a 17 inch (43 cm) doll. The pattern is designed to perfectly compliment the scale of the doll face panels available in my DollProject shop.
If you prefer not to use the illustrated faces, you can create your own doll face to work with this pattern. For more tips and techniques you can use to make this doll visit dollproject.com/faces.
17 inch (43 cm)
Cloth Doll Pattern www.dollproject.com
17 inch Cloth Doll Pattern — dollproject.com 2
Tools you’ll need• Scissors• Needles• Fabric marker or pencil• Sewing pins• Sewing machine
(recommended, but you can also hand-sew)
Materials• Printed pattern (pages 19-20)• Skin-colored thread for hand and machine sewing• 7 x 4 inch (18 x 11 cm) piece of smooth white blanket batting• Yarn or similar fiber for hair• Poly-fil stuffing• Assorted fabrics for body, head, arms, legs—quilting cottons, silks, muslin etc.
See pattern pieces for scaling. The whole doll fits on a quarter-yard of fabric, but an assortment of fabrics is recommended
Optional• Turning tools for thin arm and leg tubes• 7 x 4 inch (18 x 11 cm) piece of stiff fabric like buckram or aida cloth• Open-toe sewing foot (for sewing machine—helps you see stitch lines)• Assorted costume-colored threads• 12 x 8 inch (30 x 20 cm) piece of Felt, ultra suede or other fray resistant fabric
for dress• Small amount of soft vinyl, ultrasuede or felt for shoes• Buttons, trim and small ornaments for costume
Materials & supplies
Copyright and usage: This free pattern and tutorial was created by Jessica Hamilton. You can make and sell dolls using the pattern, tutorial and printed faces. Questions? Email [email protected].
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Making the head1. Use a layer of batting behind the face and the back of the head. For the back of the head, start with a fabric square the size of the face.
3. Stitch along the traced line to adhere the face layer to the batting layer. Also stitch the back of the head layers together—this time you can sew around the perimeter.
4. Pin the layers together, right sides in.
5. The batting will be the outside layer on the top and bottom.
2. Pin the layers together and trace the face shape onto the fabric (using a disappearing ink fabric marker here).
Tip: use thread that matches the skin tone. In this tutorial I am using a white thread on the tan fabric to make it easier for you to see the stitches. Normally I would use a matching thread :).
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Head part 26. Mark the top of the head openings and a chin center guide. To sew the head parts together, use the stitch lines as a guide. Stitch over or just on the inside of your previous stitches.
7. Optional: If the stitch lines are difficult for you to see, trace the stitch placement right onto the batting layer.
8. Once the stitching is complete, cut around the face leaving about 1/8 of an inch all the way around. Make small cuts or notches all the way around the stitches—careful not to snip your stitches!
9. Turn the face right side out. Press lightly with an iron. Optional: double up the insert layers (pattern piece B) and stuff them into the head between the layers of batting. It helps to curl the insert so it fits into the hole at the top, then uncurl it once it is in place between the layers.
10. Stuff the head using small bits of fiber fill—shape and stuff the areas in front and behind the center insert. Stuff firmly to reduce wrinkles.
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Legs1. Fold fabric with the right sides facing. Trace the pattern pieces twice (to make a total of four). Pin the two layers together for each leg.
2. Cut the two legs apart. Stitch along the trace lines leaving the tops of the legs open. Backstitch along the top sides to reinforce the opening.
3. Cut the legs out leaving 1/8 to 1/4 seam. Snip every 1/4 inch along the seam toward the stitch line—leave a few fabric threads uncut so the stitching remains intact.
4. To turn the piece, use a long pair of forceps, turning tools, or a drinking straw to turn the tube. I use the forceps by feeding them into the leg, grabbing the toe and pulling it back through the sides.
5. Leave a few inches along the top unturned. This makes the legs easier to stuff—shorten the cuff edge as you stuff each leg until there is about 1.5 inches unstuffed. You’ll use about half this extra fabric to turn the raw edge back into the tube—the rest you will feed into the torso when you are sewing the legs on.
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Legs with shoes1. Trace pattern onto double layers like step 1 on the previous page. This time, only sew along the straight front edge. Iron the seams flat.
2. Cut out shoe pieces and buckles (each from the same fabrics or different fabrics)
3. Pin shoe uppers to the bottoms of the legs.
4. Use pattern piece to guide where to sew the buckles and any buttons
5. Stitch the buckles and buttons into place. Repin the leg with the right sides facing. Follow steps 2-5 from previous page.
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Arms and hands1. Fold fabric with the right sides in. Trace two upper arm pattern pieces (D) onto the fabric.
2. Stitch along the trace lines, leaving one end open. Cut away the excess fabric. Turn the tubes and press with an iron.
3. Fold fabric with the right sides in. Trace two upper arm pattern pieces (G) onto the fabric.
4. Stitch along the trace lines, leaving the wrist ends open. Cut out the hands leaving a narrow seam. Make small slits or notches along the curves to make turning the hands easier.
5. Turn the hands leaving a short cuff unturned (to make stuffing easier). Iron the hands so the seams are flat (don’t iron the folded part).
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Torso1. Double a layer of fabric and trace the torso pattern. Mark where the arm holes will be.
3. Now the upper arms will be sewn inside of the body so that they are attached when we turn it. For these steps, leave the torso unturned.
2. Stitch along the trace lines—skip over the arm hole areas for now. See below—there are separate lines of stitching in three areas. Each stitch line has backstitching reinforcement. Trim away excess fabric and clip the curves.
4. Place the arms inside the torso fabric and pull the corners through on either side. Point the upper arms downward as far as your stitch openings allow (unless you want the doll’s arms to be in another pose aside from downward). Pin the arms in place.
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Torso part 25. Here is a peek inside the torso so you can see more of the arm placement. Sew the arm hole areas of the torso along the trace lines.
7. To reinforce the neck area, use a small piece of straw or dowel. First pack a little stuffing into the very top of the neck (I have cuffed the fabric to make stuffing easier). Then add the neck reinforcement right along the center of the neck and stuff firmly around it so it stays in place.
8. Stuff until about an inch (3cm) remains at the bottom and then fold the raw edge in and pin. Leave the arms unstuffed for now.
6. Turn the torso right side out—now the arms should be nicely installed! Press the seams with an iron.
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Stuffing and assembly1. Iron the foot areas of the legs. 4. Remove one pin from the torso and stuff the
top of the leg in. Pin the torso with the leg inside.
2. Stuff the foot and leg, rolling up the cuff as you get further.
3. When there is about an inch remaining at the top, turn the raw edge in and pin the leg closed. If you want the leg to turn a certain way on the doll, use the pin to flatten the top of the leg in the direction you want. Once you pin both legs, stitch the ends closed to make them easier to work with and remove the pins.
5. Use a pin to fold the upper arms out of the way. Sew the leg to the body.
6. Here are both legs inserted and stitched.
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Stuffing and assembly part 27. Cut a small X into the back lower half of the head. Use your finger to wiggle some of the stuffing out of the way for the neck.
10. Stuff the upper arms and hands leaving about an inch of space to fold the raw edges in.
8. Slide the neck firmly into the hole. Make sure you check the front side to adjust the neck length and head tilt.
9. Stitch the neck to the head. Strong is better than pretty back here—you want the neck and head firmly attached. The area will be covered by hair, so it’s okay if stitches show.
11. Slide the hands into the upper arm tubes and stitch them together. Stitch the top of the head closed.
12. Now we are ready for hair and costume!
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1. One sheet of felt (standard size) makes a complete dress. 3. Cut out dress pieces. Make
additional embellishments using simple shapes. These assorted
shapes are made from patterned felt with button embellishments.
4. Lay out the embellishments to determine your dress design. I like to hand sew the designs using whip and blanket stitching. Because the dress is made with two identical pieces, I lay out the design on one side and pull each piece over to stitch on the other (use the first side as a guide).
2. Fold fabric in half and pin pattern piece.
Dress
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Dress part 28. Stitch along the sides with a 1/8 to 1/4 inch seam. Trim the side and shoulder seam edges.
9. Turn the dress and it’s finished! When you dress the doll, it is easiest to feed her legs through the neck hole and pull the body through.
7. Fold the sides back together (wrong side out) and pin along the edges. Use the paper pattern piece to guide where your next stitches will go. I mark these with pins along the top edge (see pins).
6. Pull the two sides apart so the shoulders are flat. Press the seams down and add stitches to flatten them.
5. Pin along the shoulders and stitch with a 1/4 inch seam.
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More dress design ideas Cut simple circles and rectangles to make a variety of looks.
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Hair1. Lay out yarn fibers in a straight line. Machine stitch along the center to form a part while connecting the fibers.
4. Style the hair.
2. Hand sew the hair onto the head along the part stitch line. I like to work front to back.
3. Continue down the back of the head—add or remove additional hair fibers as needed for coverage.
5. All done!
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Printed faces available at dollproject.etsy.com
These are printed in full color on high thread count cotton poplin. Ready to cut and sew into your project! Each set comes with 9 different faces.
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1 inch (2.54 cm)
Optional: Face insert Cut 2 from stiff fabric
Dress Optional: Cut 1 on fold
A
F
BG
Optional: Shoe Cut 2
For black pattern lines marked “stitch line” you will need to add any seam allowance you prefer.
Pattern from dollproject.com
Stitch Line
Buckle piece placement
Stitch Line
Stitch Line
Stitch Line
Cut Line
Cut Line
Cut Line
Stitc
h Li
ne
Face/Head Cut 2—one face, one flesh or hair color (back of head)
Optional: Cut 1 from blanket batting
Leave open
Leave open
Leave open
Leave openLeav
e op
en
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Torso Cut 2
Leg Cut 4
Upper Arm Cut 2
Fold Line Leave open
Leave open
Leave open
Leave open
Leave open
Leav
e op
en
Hand Cut 4
1 inch (2.54 cm)
D
C
E
G
Stitch Line
Stitch LineStitc
h Lin
e
Stitch Line
Stitch LineStitch Line
Stitch Line
17” cloth doll pattern from dollproject.com
