Activity #502: Tutorial: An Easy Baby Doll Dress

My daughter loves to take the clothes off her baby doll, but mostly the task is too difficult for her. I wanted to make a dress she could take off by herself, and I came up with an easy pattern to share.

This baby doll dress (or robe) takes just a few minutes to sew. I used felt so that I wouldn’t have to finish any edges because I am super lazy that way. This a simple pattern and project. Here are the materials:

First make a template to trace. Use a card stock so that you can reuse it again and again. A panel from a discarded cereal box or gift box will do the trick. Draw this shape.

It should look like this in relation to the baby doll for whom you are sewing.

Now cut the dress template out of two pieces of felt.

Next, cut one piece down the center. This will be the front of the dress.

Pin the front of the dress to the back of the dress.

Sew the shoulders and the side seams and turn inside out. You are now ready to attach the ribbon.

There are more clever ways to do this, but I am committed to keeping this tutorial for beginner sewers, so this is the most straightforward way.

Pin the ribbon to the back of the dress in the center.

Sew a box shape to secure the ribbon to the dress.

Now you have a complete dress. Place baby doll’s arms through the arm holes and tie ribbon in the front. Show your child how to pull the ends of the bow to untie the ribbon. For a doll-adverse child, you could make this in navy and grey or black and call it a superhero costume or pirate shirt.