Anyone else not a big fan of velcro? Velcro really does serve a purpose for dolly patterns and does make it much much easier for younger girls to change their doll clothes on their own. And I don’t know about anyone else, but my daughter’s dolls seem to have a lot of events that require a ton of different outfits throughout the day. My daughter is 8 and is pretty good at changing her doll clothes on her own, and this mama really is not a fan of sewing velcro so I have a quick tutorial on how to remove the velcro from most of the dolly patterns.
First thing we are going to do is modify our back piece. It doesn’t matter what pattern or what size doll you are sewing for, it is the same method for all of the patterns. We need to remove 3/4″ from the center back as shown here. I use my huge quilting ruler and just draw a line right down the back. I don’t actually cut that piece off I just fold it right on the line, that way I don’t have to reprint the pattern if I want to add velcro on the next one I make.
Now you are going to cut out all your pieces and your back will now be cut with your new piece on the fold. Your neckband also needs to be changed, you need to remove 1.25″ from your neckband width. Again, this does not matter what size doll you are sewing for 1.25 inchs comes off the neckband width no matter what size.
Now we are going to sew or serge just one of the shoulder seams.
Next up is the neckband. You are going to want to find the center and the quarter points on the shirt or dress and the neckband and then match them.
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Now sew your neckband on and then sew you shoulder seam together, remember if you are using a serger to either tack that serger tail down or thread it back through the shoulder seam.
From here you are going to construct as per the pattern, skipping the velcro part of course. So you will add your sleeves and then sew your side seams. This method will work with Mya, Kourtney and Charlotte but only without the collar piece. It will also work with Vivienne and Ella and Sommer as well but the necklines are done with binding versus a traditional neckband. Daphne will also work without velcro you will take the same .75 off the back bodice and skirt and then shorten your elastic just a bit. Now you can also use this method on Ainsley but only on the bodice and you CAN NOT use this method if you are adding the sash and the Ainsley skirt! The only reason to put no velcro on Ainsley is if you want to mash our Brooklyn or Riley pattern with the Ainsley bodice as shown here. Again. do not use this method on Ainsley if you are wanting the waistband and sash. It will not work and you will not be able to get it on your dolly.
Nina is another great one to use this hack on and makes it an even faster sew! Construction is just a tad different. You will adjust your back piece as shown above, as well as adjusting your neckband. You are going to sew your raglan sleeves to your front bodice and then just attach the back bodice to one of the sleeves. Now you are ready to attach your neckband as shown above. Sew your last raglan sleeve to your back piece and carry on sewing as normal!
Here are a few photo’s of some finished dolly outfits without velcro. Remember, as fast as these are without velcro they are not as easy to take on and off dolly, even my 8 year old asked why I didn’t put velcro on these. Honestly, she prefers having velcro on her doll clothes, but when you are in a rush or don’t have velcro, or you really really want to mash that Ainsley bodice with the Riley skirt, this method is great!
Matching Doll Pajamas says
Thank you for the cute patterns. Really good articles.Lot of information.
Colleen says
Of course! So glad you found them helpful! 🙂