- 1). Place the doll on a piece of paper that is larger than the doll. Use a pencil to trace the outline of the doll body onto the paper. Set the doll to the side. Think about the style of clothing you want for the doll. It is a good idea to have a bin of fabric scraps to help inspire your pattern.
- 2). Tape down your doll drawing on the worktable. Tape a piece of tracing paper over the drawing. Sketch a shirt, dress, tunic, coat, robe or other simple shape over the arms and neck area. Add pants, shorts or other lower body coverings. Move your tracing paper around to create several drawings until you have a design you like.
- 3). Break the design down into simple elements. A shirt may need two sleeves and maybe a collar along with the basic shirt shape. A skirt may be one piece. A dress is often A shaped and may have sleeves. Pants may be two tube shapes open and joined at the top. Use a new sheet of tracing paper and draw each piece. Add half the depth or thickness of the doll to your seams. Make a simple pattern and cut it out with scissors. Fit the pattern on the doll and trim the pattern to fit exactly. Label each pattern piece. Repeat for each fabric piece.
- 4). Pin your pattern to your fabric scraps and cut out your pieces. Fray the non-seam edges by pulling threads away from the edge to give a roughness to the look. Paint the frayed edge with No Fray when the edges look the way you want. Allow the No Fray to dry for 20 minutes.
- 5). Turn the fabric face sides together and sew the seams. Press the seams open with your fingers. It is a good idea to use mismatched threads. You want the seams to hold up well but to look uneven. After the seams are sewn, turn the piece right-side out and do overstitching along the areas where you want primitive stitching. This is a simple running stitch.
- 6). Add buttons, old keys, safety pins, small ribbons, beads for buttons or X stitches for buttons and other decorations. Layer fabrics. Stain white fabrics in tea or coffee to look worn. Make primitive gathers at the neck, arms, wrists and pant legs to create shaping or bloomer-style looks.
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