Making American Girl Doll Clothes is easy with this free sewing pattern. It is an easy doll dress to sew and can be made in less than an hour.

Making doll clothes can be a great beginner sewing project! Doll clothing doesn’t take much fabric so it’s easy to handle while building your sewing skills.

If you are looking for more easy ways to learn to sew be sure to check out my practice sewing sheets. They are a great way to become familiar with the sewing machine. Then you are ready to sew this doll dress.

18 inch Doll Clothes Pattern

This dress is perfect for 18″ American Girl dolls, or any 18-inch doll. Doll dress patterns don’t use much fabric, so they are a great way to use up leftover fabric. They’re also great for dressing up teddy bears! 

If you have baby dolls you might also like this doll diaper pattern. It too is a free printable sewing pattern.

Easy american girl doll dress to sew

American Girl Doll Clothes Dress Supplies

  • Free American Girl Style Pattern for Doll Dress Download and print pattern
  • 2 – 8 1/2″ X 11″  pieces of cotton fabric (make sure to pre-wash the fabric before cutting)
  • 24 inches of 1/4″ ribbon
  • safety pin
  • marking pen
  • sewing machine or needle and thread
  • scissors
  • straight pins
  • tape measure
  • seam ripper (let’s hope not)

How to Make a Doll Dress Easy!

We are ready to get started on our easy doll dress! You won’t believe how quickly this dress goes together.  It is just like a pillowcase dress.

NOTE: Do not cut the pattern, use the complete outside of the edge of the 8 1/2″ X 11″ piece of paper to cut out the fabric. Mark dots onto fabric.

doll dress cutting instrucitons

With right sides together sew together side seams, from dot to bottom on each side. The open area creates the armhole.

doll dress sewing instructions

Press open seams. Next, sew close to the edge of the top side opening. Start at the top, go down around the bottom (just below where the side seam started at the dot)  and back up. Repeat this on the other side of the dress.

american girl doll dress pressing instructions

Turn top down 3/4″ and press. Do this on each side of the top of the dress.

doll dress casing

Sew across the top on each side 1/2″ in from the fold, creating a pocket for the ribbon to slip through. Repeat on the other side.

doll dress stitiching

Place a small safety pin on a ribbon and slide it through the pocket.

ribbon neck for doll dress

Start on the far right front then through the back. If the pin gets stuck in the side seams open up the pocket with a pencil and try again.

ribbon through pocket

Turn the bottom of the dress under a 1/4″ to 1/2″, press and edge stitch all the way around. Put the dress on and tie a bow.

doll dress hem

Tips on how to make a dress:

  • If you prefer finished seams, serge or zig-zag around the outside edge of pattern pieces before beginning.
  • If you feel this dress will be washed at some point be sure to prewash the fabric.
  • I am a fan of the disappearing marker to make markings on the fabric.

There you go, a simple doll dress pattern that you or your child can easily make!

American Girl Doll Clothes to make

Hope this American Girl doll clothes pattern helps you whip up a bunch of doll clothes!

My Favorite Sewing Tools

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More Free Patterns & Tutorials

I am always on the hunt for easy doll clothes patterns–sewing doll clothes is so much cheaper than the real thing…. plus it is fun! Here are some more fun DIY crafts.


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Comments

  1. Thanks for much for this cute and EASY dress! I am in the process of making some American Doll clothes for my granddaughters’ birthdays in September.

  2. Thanks so much for this sweet pattern — I can’t wait to make these for my grown DD’s American Girl dolls!!! Actually made a similar one with a free Liberty Jane pattern, but this is even simpler. I’m anxious to make it up and see how the two compare! Love how you ran the ribbon through and tied one shoulder bow; I used two ribbons on LJ pattern and tied two bows — works either way, depending on look you want! Having great fun learning to use different stitches on my new sewing machine with free doll patterns — TFS!!! :`)

  3. I’d love to try this but I can’t get the download button to work! Thanks for the great idea!

  4. Love the pillowcase dress b ut was unable to download the pattern./Hugs

  5. Thank you for the instructions, my nieces will be so happy once I get around to making them this little dress. Can you tell me what doll is in the picture, my daughter now wants an American Girl doll without “teeth” and I’m not sure if the pictured doll is an our generation from Target or one she saw in A.C.Moore. Thanks!

  6. Very quick and easy! I made 2 dresses from one fat quarter. One for my daughter’s doll and one for a friend’s. I overlock stitched around each 8.5 x 11 prior to sewing them together to prevent raveling. I also reinforced under the arms as I was sewing by back stitching a time or two at the ‘dot’ on the pattern before continuing back up the arm hole. Love the pattern. Thanks for sharing!

    The fabric you used for your tutorial is too cute!

  7. this is adoreable and I can just enlarge the pattern to make a matching dress for my neice!!

  8. Love this little dress. Maybe someday I will have granddaughters!
    Thank you for sharing.

  9. Thanks! We have a fundraiser in Feb and I’ve got a lot of FQs. I’m starting right now!

  10. Thank you so much for the step by step instructions and photos. My daughters have been begging me to make there dolls a dress. Now I can yay!!!!

  11. Thanks for this pattern for the doll dress. I am sure with help ,my granddaughters will be able to make new dress for their dolls. Matching pillowcases dresses are in the future.

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