Heirloom Doll Pattern CORRECTED 12/21/12 Day Dreams 2012

Inspired by upcycling my wedding dress and other special

pieces of fabric, I made my first Heirloom Doll around 1995

from my Grandmother’s special pillow case. This is my origi-

nal doll pattern that was originally made to have 5/8” seam

allowances. You may want to scale it back to 1/4” allowance

since most have a way to finish seams these days. The pictures

are of the first doll I made; yellowed, old and in need of repair

after 17 years of environmental influences.

You can use one entire pillow case with no waste to make this

doll or other special upcycled fabric. Be creative and have

fun! Wishing you success & inspiration today and always,

Sher

Directions: Head, arm, leg & body seams are all 5/8”; Dress and Cap 1/4” unless noted.

1. Body: Cut out pattern pieces, then arrange and cut out from fabric you have selected.

2. Stitch all pieces together (wrong sides together) , clip curves, turn right side out, noting the following:

Head: Stitch around and leave entire bottom open. Hand turn under about 1/8” and pin or baste in place.

Body: Stitch around, leaving a section of bottom open.

Hand/Legs: Stitch down sides, around curves and leave tops of hands and legs open.

3. Using polyfill, stuff all pieces firmly but do not overstuff. Leave 1/4 of the arms unfilled. Machine stitch bottom of

body and tops of hand/legs closed.

4. Attach head to body with whip stitch (hand sew) by carefully fitting neck area over top of body (between shoulders).

5. Whip stitch bottom closed, add legs to bottom of body, carefully centering each leg with each body section.

6. Set doll aside for now. We move to the dress and bonnet. Sleeves: Make a gathering stitch at top of sleeve be-

tween dots closest to seam. Make a small hem at bottom of sleeves (1/8”). Set sleeves aside.

7. Bodice: Stitch shoulder seams of bodice only 3/4” seam (rt sides together) to each of the back bodice pieces. With

right sides together, pin sleeve and adjust gathers in sleeves to fit bodice. Stitch sleeve to bodice. Right sides to-

gether, stitch underarm seam of sleeve and side seam of bodice.

Continue to next page 2 Day Dreams 2012 All Rights Reserved

What Will You Need?

Pillow Case (Standard) or Other Upcycled Fabric/Apparel, etc.

Matching Thread & Hand Sewing Needle

Polyfill (small amount)

Ribbons

Embellishments (buttons, flowers, jewelry, etc.)

Pattern pieces (attached)

8. Dress/Skirt: This is cut from the remaining pillow case or fabric you are using. Leave the back of the skirt open

as the bodice is. You can have the skirt as long or short as you prefer. For appearance sake, it does look better

when the length is passed the ends of the legs. Sew a gathering stitch (twice) end to end on the top of the skirt. Place

right sides together of skirt and bodice; adjust gathers of skirt to fit bodice from side to side. Stitch in place. Make a

small hem at bottom of skirt (1/8”) if the skirt is not finished with edging or other embellishments. Turn under neck

of dress a scant 1/8” or less and stitch in place.

9. Finishing Dress: Finish the raw edges of the back of the bodice and dress (now together) with overlock or hem-

ming under 1/8”. Place dress over body of doll and bring sides in back together to overlap slightly. Whip stitch top

of bodice only closed. Work hands into ends of sleeves (I find pulling from inside the sleeve helps), they will be tight.

Whip stitch hand to sleeve hem once in place. Embellish with flower, bows, etc., or leave plain.

1o. Bonnet: On bonnet finish the bottom edge of larger circle with 1/8” hem. Sew 2 gathering lines between dots. Set

aside. With wrong sides together of brim, stitch around the curved edge, side to side. Turn under straight edge 1/8” and

press in place. Slide bonnet (gathered top) into straight edge of brim and adjust gathers to fit into brim. Beginning at

one corner of brim on gathered side, stitch across gathers, around front of brim and back to corner. It will appear to be

top stitched. Hand stitch a ribbon length to each side of bonnet on bottom corner. On back of bonnet, between dots

gather and stitch in place at bottom.

12. Final: You may want to place a face on your doll, but I leave mine plain. Add embellishments to your liking—

flowers, ribbons, buttons, special pieces of fabric or jewelry. This is your Heirloom to be treasured and passed down for

years to come. Make the pieces you add tell a story generations to come.

Day Dreams 2012 All Rights Reserved

Heirloom Doll Pattern Day Dreams 2012

Steps 3,4,5 What dress should look like when complete (inside). Far right

shows back and overlap. Steps 6-9.

Hands secured with gather

and ribbon Front of Bonnet w/Brim Delicate embroidery of the

original pillow case.

Leave bottom open to stuff

All pattern pieces are actual size. Print on 8.5 x 11 paper.

5/8” Seams

Turn under 1/8” - 1/4” to fit over neck.

Option: Cut front and back on fold

*If you cut 4 w/no fold, sew 1/8”

seam in center. This is done to

save space when cutting pattern.

Shoulder

Dashed line is optional cutting line

for hand. Fill either only 3/4 full.

5/8” seams

5/8” seams

5/8” seams

See last page for corrected

body piece.

Turn under and press 1/8” approx and slide over gathered top of bonnet.

For a fuller bonnet extend cutting lines by 1”.

1/8” seams

1/8” Hem at bottom

Cut 1 on Fold (Front)

Cut 2 Not on Fold (Back)

Sleeve Cut 2

Enlarge 2” for puffier sleeve

Bodice Front/Back

1/4” seams

1/4” seams

If you enlarge sleeve for

puffier look, be sure to

adjust armhole on bod-

ice.

Sleeves can be made

longer/wider.