Author Archives: sdarby

Wishful thinking or procrastination?

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Time to sew? I wish I had time for sewing and I suppose I do I just have chosen to not sew in a while. There are a are a variety of reasons such as the garage is a mess, the floor is very cold, my suplies are a disaster zone but all of those are excuses and can easily be fixed. I’m now working on building a new routine to do writing each day with one site per day as a goal. A secondary goal would be to get ahead writing and free up time further but first lets get daily down. I have time set aside to work on some ideas for a couple dolls and just need to sit still long enough with the right computer to do them. I also need to just go clean and complete some long term projects to fix the issues I have with not wanting to be out in the cold garage. Someone want to poke way me to get moving towards my goals?

Who are the popular dolls?

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So, curiosity gets me here… who are the popular dolls? Barbie, Bratz, Monster High, Gene, Kitty & Tiny Kitty come to mind. Tiny Betsy, Betsy and American Girls too but what about baby dolls? I have several nekkid baby dolls my now 13 yr old doesn’t want and am contemplating 2 roads… dress them and sell patterns for them or donate them locally. In particular two are Zaph Baby Borns, one a soft body and one a hard body, drink & wet doll. I love dolls and have a hard time parting with them for any reason but I guess my teen has decided to “grow up”. So who are your favorite dolls?

Pattern Drafting Crash Course – Terms of Use

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More information included in the full books!  The terms of usage for my tutorial. Please leave all copyright information in place and do not sell this Pattern Drafting Crash Course. If you want to link to it please go ahead but also let me know so I may link back. Any and all patterns you make using this information are yours and you may sell them just not my “How To Do It”. Please if you do sell the patterns made from this or any of my books, place a small note somewhere that you used my Pattern Drafting Crash Course or my books Pattern Making for Dolls and Pattern Drafting For Miniatures and list my URL or e-mail. This is a very small thing to do for me and otherwise I give the Pattern Drafting Crash Course freely with no expectations that you will buy the books or anything from me. Please feel free to drop me a line telling me what you used the Pattern Drafting Crash Course for or if you used it to make a pattern and sold it. I like to hear about your success!

Pattern Drafting Crash Course for a Child Doll

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This tutorial  was originally created in 2000-2001 and tested on my daughter at about a year old (she’s 13 now). I have also used this tutorial to draft for a doll as small as 1/2″ tall of course using magnifying glasses and a very sharp pencil! This is a preview of the techniques used in Pattern Making for Dolls and Pattern Drafting For Miniatures which were originally sold as hard copy books, moved to CD and finally are now available only in PDF as an instant download. Included in this tutorial series are all the items that will be needed for all the pattern drafts and even some of the items that will be needed for the stylization in following sections of the full book. Please feel free to draft patterns and critique anything you find that doesn’t work quite right for you. Please also remember the full book covers ladies clothing and babies clothing too along with stylization and construction tips and techniques. If you pass this on to anyone else please remember to give me credit and point them to my website or contact information. Feel free to contact me with any questions you have regarding my technique. … Continue reading →

Pattern Drafting Crash Course – Glossary Terms

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Glossary of Terms Abdomen- area between the waist and hips around the belly button area Abdomen arc- 1/4 of the total circumference of the fattest part Apex- the doll’s nipple if she has one or the tip of her breast Arc- 1/4 of complete circumference measurement Banana dart- a dart that looks like a straight up and down banana Basic block- your pattern that you drafted from your measurements it has no design to it Bias grain- the diagonal of the fabric and your grain line is lined up with it for a different drape Blend- making separate lines look like 1 continuous one Bust- chest level on a child or man or the breasts of a lady doll Bust arc- the distance from the flat ribs below the bust to the apex Bust bridge- distance between apexes Cap ease – difference between cap and armhole measurement Cap- height distance from biceps to cap at center Center back- center of the back usually where there would be a spine Center front -center of the front of a doll where there would normally be a breast bone Circumference- distance around somewhere Cloth body- the body is made of cloth and is very soft and huggable. Composition body- the body I made of a plastic … Continue reading →

Pattern Drafting Crash Course – Measuring Your Miniature Dolls

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Pattern Drafting Crash Course – Measuring Your Miniature Dolls Since most dolls are evenly made on both sides, the measurements are taken on the half or in the case of an arc the quarter. The exception is circumference measurements, which are all the way around the body. It is advisable that you mark somehow, either with scotch tape on the body and a pencil mark or however you are comfortable, the center front and back along with where your doll’s bust, waist and hip fall. Deciding this before you start measuring will make a big difference in how your patterns will turn out and how accurate they will be. For scale and 1/2 scale miniatures use metrics, as a millimeter is more accurate than rounding to the nearest fraction. When working with dolls this tiny it is imperative that your measurements be accurate. Please note that after 9 years  this tutorial has been updated to reflect several minor errors that were made during the original writing. Measurement Chart This is a master list of all the measurements needed for all dolls. Copy the entire list and fill in the ones you need for whatever doll you are going to be currently using. Following … Continue reading →

My favorite sites

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This begins the series of posts on favorite sites and resources for anything doll related. Some miniature doll resources and other for various other dolls or sewing supplies. Today’s favorite sites are Fabric Depot and Britex Fabrics. Fabric Depot is based in Portland, Oregon and boasts a wonderful acre of fabric, notions and craft supplies. To go into the store you should start when the doors open as you can be there for literally hours the first time. They have a variety of fabrics including tiny prints and natural fiber fabric suitable for doll clothes and miniatures projects. Their online site is a wonderful place to just sit and browse for hours and find many favorite fabrics that may not be available in your local fabric stores. Their staff has always been helpful both in person and via online or phone ordering and their prices are just right… perfect for spending just “a little too much but oh my it was on sale”! Britex Fabrics is located in the heart of downtown San Francisco and boasts 4 floors of fabric, notions and trims. The fabrics are very high quality and you can again spend hours just looking. The last time I was in Britex … Continue reading →

Pattern Drafting Crash Course – Pants Child

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Waist To Ankle (Inseam) Waist Arc Crotch Depth Hip Depth Outseam 1) Side seam- pants length. Square out at top & bottom to both sides 2) Side hip depth- measure down and square out to both sides 3) Crotch depth- measure down from top crotch depth and square out to both sides 4) Waist to knee- square out to both sides 5) Center back- formula: waist arc + dart intake (see Miniature Draft Chart) + ease (see Miniature Draft Chart) 6) Back hip arc- from center back towards side seam 7) Back hip depth- from hip line measure up and mark 8 ) Crotch bisect- at crotch level bisect (45° angle) and mark out according to Miniature Draft Chart) 9) Crotch curve- using your French curve draw a curve from the mid-point to the crotch line touching the tip of the bisect 10) ) Hip- Draw in hip line with French curve 11) Center front- formula: waist arc + dart intake (see Miniature Draft Chart) + ease (see Miniature Draft Chart) 12) front hip arc- from center front towards side seam 13) Back hip depth- from hip line measure up and mark 14) Crotch bisect- at crotch level bisect (45° … Continue reading →