How-to: Hoodie Dress for Dolls

Hey guys! Welcome to your next how-to miniature clothes project!

Aki enjoying her curvy body in this hoodie dress

I have always loved a hoodie because I'm a shy person (really?), and hiding is my top talent haha!

Kidding aside, I had been wanting to make hoodies for a long time, but hoodie dresses were something exciting because I haven't yet owned one.

So here's a Youtube video playlist that I compiled for you to see how I made the piece. 

Check out the videos here...

My model in this sewing demo is my doll Aki, which is in a Curvy Made to Move Barbie body. You may be making this piece for a different doll body type, but you can still use this process I have compiled. Just make sure you have the right pattern for your doll. If you are interested, this curvy hoodie dress pattern is available at my Etsy shop, atelierniSHASHA.

And for you dollings who like the good-old printable sewing instructions version, here you go. I've compiled the steps and photos for you. Print it out or save it as a PDF for later use. Have fun making this hoodie dress for your doll!

Tools and Materials

Knit/stretch fabric

Sewing thread

Basting thread (different color)

Handsewing needles or sewing machine

dressmaker's pins

fabric scrissors

seam ripper

soft cord for hoodie string (I just used untangled embroidery thread)

beads

needle to insert the string through the hoodie casing/hem fold

ruler

measuring tape

sewing pattern

fabric marker or pencil

model doll

Step 1

Trace your patterns on the wrong side of your stretch/knit fabric. You'll need a front panel, a back panel, two sleeve pieces, two hood pieces, and a pocket.

NOTE:

As you can see in the next photos, the back panel is one whole piece with a cut-out on the upper center part. The "darting" or cutting off of the fabric at the curvy's upper middle back part was to make sure the dress fits them well on the upper part/torso. 

Please note that for Made to Move ORIGINAL doll Pattern, the center back is cut straight and not having the upper dented part like this for curvy. 

Please trace two back panels, left and right, then join them together later to make a whole piece as your back panel. 

Thank you and love lots - shasha

Step 2

Cut out your fabric pieces, making sure you allotted the seam allowance you are comfortable working in. I like to add 5-6mm or a quarter of an inch to my sewing patterns as my seam allowance.

Let's start sewing!

Step 3

Take your front and back panels, and join them together at their shoulder seams.

Step 4

Close up the center back seam.

Step 5

Cut slits along the curvy parts of your armscye or armhole, as well as those curvy edges of your sleeves.

Step 6

Pin-baste your sleeve fabric pattern to the assembled piece, starting at the shoulder tip at the middle part, and then at the underarm points at the sides. Continue to pin-baste the middle parts.

Step 7

Once your sleeve seams are temporarily secured by your pins, you can start sewing.

Step 8

Once both sleeve seams are sewn, continue with hemming your sleeves.

Step 9

Once both your sleeves are hemmed, continue with sewing the side seams of the dress.

Step 10

Once both side seams are sewn, hem your dress. Pin-baste first if necessary.

Step 11

Once the dress hem is done, let's take the hood pieces and join them together at their back seam. Pin-baste first if you needed to.

Step 12

Once the hood is now one whole piece, hem to close the edges. 

Step 12

Once your hood piece is hemmed, cut slits along its seam allowance, which attaches to the neckline of the garment. 

Step 4

Cut slits along the neckline as well as the side seam allowance since they are curved lines. Trim off the excess fabric.

Step 15

Once the inside of your garment is free of extra seam allowance that may cause bulk and bunching, flip to its right side.

Step 16

Attach your hood piece around the neckline. I would suggest to temporarily pin-baste starting at the center back point, then to the two front points, then the shoulder points.

If you don't like hand sewing with pins snagging your threads, I recommend to stitch-baste using a contrasting colored thread.

Step 17

Stitch the neckline to attach your hood piece permanently.

Step 18

Once the hood is fixed on the neckline, topstitch to reinforce the seam. I like to stitch-baste first before doing the actual topstitching.

Step 19

Hem the edges of your front pocket then sew in your front pocket piece. 

Step 20

Take your cord or string and take the length you need.

To insert the cord into the hood hem fold, I used a curved upholstery needle. Since our hood now is almost circular, either we use something like this or a very small safety pin to bring our string in and out of the casing.

Step 21

Since we are using a knit fabric, you don't need to cut into the weave. Just dig your needle in to find a small hole to get into. This way, you don't worry about fraying.

Step 22

Once your needle is able to come out from the other side of the hood, pull your string and seal the ends with knots and beads. Your hoodie dress is done!

Take your model doll and check your garment for fit, bulk, etc.

Now your doll is ready for a photoshoot or diorama scene!

Thank you so much for checking out my products and tutorials, dolling!

I hope to see you on my next one!

xoxo,

shasha