Hints for Making Lovely Doll Clothes

Everyone loves a beautifully dressed doll. And it's always exciting to find new patterns to sew for your dolls. I've been sewing for dolls for quite a long time, and would like to offer a few tips for the doll seamstress.
One of the most important things in sewing for dolls is SCALE! We have all seen dolls dressed in outfits consisting of a large print, embellished with huge lace and large ribbon. That would be the equivalent of us dressing in an outfit with flowers a foot wide, trimmed with lace about 8" wide and gigantic bows. Not a real pretty picture.
When you choose a fabric for your dress or outfit, take a good look at the print of the fabric. It is small enough for the size of your doll? Imagine using the same fabric for your own outfit in an equal scale. Smaller is always better. Small prints, small stripes, etc. You get the idea.
Now move on to trims. Lace is always lovely on a doll dress, but don't overdo it. Using a wide frilly lace can totally overwhelm a dress and make it look like a homemade horror. We are looking to make a lovely HANDMADE dress. We need to pair our pretty small scale prints and stripes with small scale lace. 1/4" to 1/2" is more than wide enough to trim a dress.
Now for ribbon. Again, think small. You would not put a 5" wide bow on the front of your own dress, would you? Your doll doesn't look her best with huge bows adorning the front of her dress, either. Look for small ribbon, 1/8" to 1/4". Pure silk ribbon is always the best. It is silky and soft, and drapes beautifully, as opposed to the stiff satin ribbon.
As for buttons, always use tiny ones. Again, think SCALE. The same goes for trims such as rickrack and piping. Use baby rickrack and small piping. You might have to get tiny cording and make your own piping, but it's well worth the extra effort.
Finally, choose your fabrics wisely. You can carefully construct a lovely little full skirted dress, with small lace and tiny ribbon trim, but if the fabric is so stiff that the little skirt sticks straight out....not good. Choose soft fabrics that drape well. And while you are sewing, press, press, press with your iron. Youcan use a spray fabric stabilizer to make your darts, seams, and clipped and turned areas lay flat.
Your doll can have a lovely handmade wardrobe in perfect proportion for her. Just think SMALL!