Diana’s Patch - Doll Blog - Sewing Patterns and Doll Supplies

(This is actually a post I wrote in 2014 but somehow it got deleted. Luckily, I was able to find it again on an old external hard drive.) Converting patterns are fairly easy. Most of the patterns available to purchase today are for American Girl Dolls and similar 18” dolls. Cabbage Patch Kids are a little shorter and chubbier. Since OK factory ‘Kids are the chubbiest, I like to use them for my models. That way, the outfits are sure to fit. First, I like to copy all my patterns with a copier/printer so that I can put away the originals in a safe place. Plus, this way I can write on the copies without it messing up the originals. For this tutorial, I’m going to use Simplicity 7091 A (Dorothy dress from the Wizard of Oz). The pattern says it’s for 18” dolls. First I cut out the copies of the patterns. Then I pin the two bodice pieces together at the marked seams (shoulder and side). Then I placed the pieces on the CPK doll to see how much I need to add to the pattern. Bodice Front As you...

Courtney Moore was American Girl Historical Doll in 2020.  Her era was the 1980s, which is my childhood.  I bought my very first AG doll, Nicki Hoffman , just last year.  I had seen Courtney, but didn't really like how she looked.  I'm not a fan of the Classic face mold, and I didn't like the curly hair because I figured it would be difficult to manage (which it is.)  But after seeing all Courtney's 80s collection, I went ahead and bought her.  Just a side note, I only buy stuff at sale prices, with coupons, and reward points.  So I never pay full price for anything, especially not something expensive such as American Girl dolls, even if it is for my business.  And I never buy anything without selling something else first.  I’ve always felt guilty buying for myself. Anyway, AG had a major sale last year with Courtney's collection.  Most of it was 50% off, so I bought most of it.  Some items had been discontinued, so I had to find th...

As I've been working on custom orders for Kimono outfits, I decided to update my pattern. Available on Etsy . I added instructions for the Fan and Hair Accessories, as well as rewrote the instructions to be more clear, and did some minor adjustments to the pattern pieces. Overall, I'm very happy with how it turned out. Now I can continue making the rest of the outfits and will be sharing them as well.

Create a sweet Strawberry Shortcake-inspired outfit for your favorite 18-inch doll with this detailed pattern.   The pattern includes tights, bloomers, dress, and hat.    The hat brim and crown is lined with interfacing to keep the shape, and then stuffed to give it fullness, with a cute little strawberry on top.     The dress has a faux apron with sleeve ruffles, complete with the iconic green squares and stitched red X’s.   The bloomers are trimmed with eyelet lace.    Dolls are wearing store-bought shoes. Pattern and Outfit available on etsy , or contact me on Diana's Patch facebook page.

TM91 Makeover! I love how she turned out! I gave her freckles, blush, shadowed her nose and eyes, and added lines on her lips to make them look more real. I also added subtle brown lashes. I made her a new outfit, switched her wig with TM117 and added two pigtails in front. Her gray dress really makes her gray eyes pop! I customized her straight out of the box, so she is in new condition. She will come with her box, book, original undies, dress, and boots. Available on ebay .

 I splurged and bought Courtney’s bedroom set. It was on sale for 20% off, making it $180.  I don’t remember it being on sale that low in the past. When I checked out with PayPal, I received an offer for their credit card with a $50 credit, which makes the bedroom set $130. I’m also going to be getting 380 rewards for my order (I also purchased her walkman for 20% off, as well as one of her shirts).  With that, I’ll be getting about $20 back, making it $110. Most of the accessories that come with the set I will be selling individually on ebay , hopefully making $110 back.  This is the only way I could splurge on this.  My main draw for getting this set was the phone. Rarely do people sell the phone individually and if they do, it goes for over $50.  Then I was browsing eBay (a dangerous past time, I know) and I saw a super cute bedding set with the Care Bear theme. It inspired me to make my own, along with Strawberry Shortcake, Hello Kitty, and Barbie! ...

I recently created a Peaches and Cream outfit and tested it on various dolls. Unlike my previous experiment with American Girl and Our Generation dolls, where I found their clothing to be interchangeable, this outfit revealed some interesting sizing differences. As it turns out, American Girl dolls come in slightly varying sizes! My Blaire doll is the smallest, followed by Courtney, and my CYO doll is the largest. Meanwhile, the Our Generation dolls are noticeably smaller. The Peaches and Cream outfit, designed to fit snugly, highlighted these subtle size differences. As soon as I found this out, I sized it to fit my CYO, the largest of the dolls. You can always take in an outfit to make it fit, or use pins to tighten it, but it's much more difficult to loosen it up to fit a larger doll. This is why it's so important to try it on the doll often, to make adjustments if needed. Courtney CYO OG Ellory OG Clara Courtney CYO OG Ellory OG Clara This has led me to a realization: u...