Ruffles look great on 18-inch dolls.
Ruffles are popular trims for 18-inch doll clothing. Often these dolls are designed to appear older than a toddler, so the clothing styles that look good on them can range from the very cute and frilly baby doll style to more sophisticated, older style clothing. Making ruffles is fairly simple, and you can sew them by hand or by machine.
Instructions
Sew Ruffles By Hand
1. Select a soft fabric ribbon with sealed edges. A 1/4- to 1/2-inch ribbon should be the standard size range for an 18-inch-tall doll. Some clothing styles will use very tiny or very large ruffles as part of the design, but how you craft the ruffle will remain the same.
2. Measure the length of ruffles that you need on the doll dress. Measure and cut your ribbon to 2 1/2 times that length. Thread a needle. Bring the two ends of thread together and knot the end, trimming off excess thread. Baste stitch 1/8 inch from the top edge of the ribbon. Bring the needle up from the bottom and down from the top every 1/8-inch.
3. Pull the ribbon gently as you sew to make it gather. When you reach the end of the ribbon, adjust the length of the gathered and ruffled ribbon to the length you require. Tack and knot the thread at the end of the ruffle. Spread the ruffle evenly along its length for best appearance.
Sew Ruffles By Sewing Machine
4. Cut your fabric 2 1/2 times the length you need. Use a nonfray, soft fabric for best ruffling results. Cut the width of the fabric at 3/4 inch or smaller.
5. Set your sewing machine to zigzag stitch at its widest setting. Pin your cord to the end of the fabric, 1/4 inch from the top edge. Zigzag stitch over the cord along the length of the fabric.
6. Pull the fabric into a ruffle along the length of the cord. Stitch your cord securely at both ends once you have adjusted your ruffle to its correct finished length. You will often need to adjust your gathers to spread them evenly when you sew the ruffle to the garment.
Tags: along length, clothing styles, fabric inch, from edge, inch from, inch from edge, soft fabric