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How to Sew an 18″ Doll Skirt – Easy Tutorial

This easy doll skirt sewing tutorial is perfect for beginners. It’s a step-by-step tutorial with lots of photos that will teach you how to sew a doll skirt for an 18″ doll. It’s a very quick and simple project that utilizes elastic to make the waist. Use this project as sewing practice and get a cute doll skirt when you’re finished too! Make it today or pin it for later!

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Two 18" dolls dressed in coordinating elastic waist skirts.

New to sewing? Practicing your new sewing skills on a small scale is the perfect way to gain confidence and use minimal materials.

I love making doll clothes for practice. It’s fun and you have sweet doll clothes when you are finished! This skirt tutorial is a great place to start if you want to learn how to use elastic or create an elastic waist skirt.

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My daughter and I have so much fun crafting and creating for her dolls. If you have a doll enthusiast in your life, start sewing! These tiny garments are a lot of fun, and it’s a great way to practice without using yards and yards of expensive fabric for full-size garments.

I actually like to make more complicated patterns when I sew for dolls so I can learn something new, but sometimes simple projects are fun too! I wrote this tutorial for those who are very new to sewing and looking to find a few good starter projects to try.

A handmade skirt sewn with sage and cream fabric displayed on an 18" doll.

Sewing for dolls is a great way to use fabric scraps or test new ideas. The small scale means projects are done quickly too. I personally have learned probably 90% of my sewing skills from sewing for dolls.

I’ve learned things like how to properly set in sleeves, why you should always make two lines of gathering stitches, how to line a bodice, and more. And the best part is I get to make cute doll clothes (put to good use by my daughter) and de-stash fabric scraps.

A handmade skirt sewn with lavender and white fabric displayed on an 18" doll.

A Quick Overview of This Skirt Sewing Project

This skirt uses basic sewing supplies (sewing machine, thread, pins, etc.) and cotton woven fabric. I’ve included a list of variations to try if you would like to experiment or make things a little fancier.

Important: This tutorial is designed to fit 18″ dolls (such as American Dolls and Our Generation Dolls). These dolls generally have a waist measurement around 10.5″-11″. You should measure the waist of your doll before beginning. That said, elastic is very forgiving and you should get a great fit with many (if not all!) 18″ dolls available on the market today.

Supplies to Gather

Basic Sewing Supplies: A sewing machine, iron and ironing board, ruler, pins, good scissors, pinking shears (optional), thread, etc.

Fabric: We’ll use woven fabric here. Quilting cottons or light apparel cottons are perfect. Linen, lawn, Swiss dot fabrics, gingham, seersucker and similar would all work nicely. Silky fabrics (provided you are comfortable sewing with them) are fun too.

Cut fabric into one rectangle: 26”x8.75” OR cut two pieces of fabric each 13.25″x8.75” (starting with two pieces is great for using up scraps).

1/4″ wide elastic: cut a piece of ¼” wide elastic to 9”.

Get the free printable! I’m working on publishing a free printable of this pattern. I’ll have it available shortly, but if you need it sooner, just leave me a comment and I’ll get back to you asap!

How to Sew An Elastic Waist Skirt for an 18″ Doll

Note: I’ve used contrasting thread for the photos below so you could clearly see the stitching. For your skirt, you will want to use thread that matches your fabric as closely as possible.
Also: Pardon the wrinkled fabric. I did the process photos during naptime and was rushing along!

Cut Fabric

Cut a rectangle of woven fabric in the following dimensions: 26”x8.75”. Alternatively, if you are working with fabric scraps, cut two pieces 13.25”x8.75” (the only real difference is starting off with one or two seams, which changes where the back of the skirt should be).

Materials for a doll skirt: fabric and elastic.

Seam the Fabric

One piece of fabric: Fold fabric together with right sides together and stitch the short side with a ¼” seam allowance. Finish seams as desired (see note below). Press seam open. The back of the skirt is where the seam is.

How to finish seams: finish raw edges with a serger, pinking shears, or with a small zig zag stitch on a standard machine. I’ve also included notes at the end for making the skirt with French seams if desired.

Seaming a doll skirt on one side of a long rectangle and pressing the seam.

If using two pieces of fabric: align fabric rectangles with right sides facing and stitch ¼” seams on each short edge. Finish seams as desired (see notes above). Press seams open. This variation of the skirt will have the seams at the sides.

Seaming a doll skirt on both sides of the rectangles of fabric.

Create an Elastic Casing

Note: If your fabric has a directional top/bottom pattern, be sure to arrange fabric correctly before you begin to sew the hem and casing.

Fold the top of the skirt down ¼” and press. Fold down ½” and press again. Sometimes I do this by eye, but that said, it’s important to get the measurements right so that the elastic slides through easily!

Folding down the top edges of a doll skirt to make a hem and elastic casing.

Stitch the casing closed close to the lower folded edge, being sure to leave a 2” opening ON THE BACK of the skirt.

Stitching the elastic casing and hem on a doll skirt.

Hem the Skirt

Fold the bottom edge of the skirt ¼” and another ½” up (pressing or not, pending your preference!). Stitch the hem with a short neat stitch on your machine or an invisible hem stitch.

Thread Elastic Through

Secure a safety pin to the end of the 9″ of elastic. Begin to thread the elastic through the casing opening.

Using a safety pin to thread elastic through an elastic casing.

I like to secure the other end of the elastic with a sewing clip at the end of the skirt. A few pins or a safety pin works too. If you accidentally pull the elastic all the way through you will have to start again. Be careful not to twist the elastic.

Continue to move the safety pin and attached elastic through the casing, scrunching the fabric as you go. Eventually, the pin will pop out the other side.

Threading elastic through a casing.

Join Elastic

Once the end is through the casing, the elastic is ready to connect.

Overlap the elastic ends ½”, pin edges, and stitch in the middle (I use a zig zag stitch). Careful not to sew over the pins! Remove pins and stitch the edges of elastic too to make a smoother join.

Pinning the ends of elastic together and sewing to connect them.

Finish the Skirt

Pin or clip fabric opening and pull flat as you stitch it closed.

Finishing the elastic casing with a seam after adding the elastic.

And that’s it!

Two finished handmade elastic waist doll skirts, one pink and one floral.
Two finished hand sewn elastic waist doll skirts for 18" dolls.

Variations on the Skirt

There are so many variations you could do with this basic skirt. Here’s a few ideas:

  • Trim the hem with lace
  • Stitch on decorative ribbon
  • Add a few pin tucks before sewing the skirt together
  • Add patch pockets
  • Layer tulle or other sheer fabric onto the woven fabric (I treat the fabric as one in this case)
  • Swap your machine needle to a ball-point and make a skirt from knit fabric instead of woven
  • Lengthen or shorten the skirt (have your doll handy for adjustments)
  • Add a hand-embroidered design or motif to the skirt
An 18" doll wearing a pink elastic waist skirt.

How to Adjust the Skirt for French Seams

French seams are awesome. They are a somewhat mind-boggling way to make totally enclosed seams in the inside of your project. The technique works best with lightweight fabrics to reduce bulk.

If you’ve never done French Seams before, let this be the perfect project to introduce you (also try my Drawstring Bag with French Seams). Sew one skirt as written, and then sew another using my complete tutorial on French Seams to get beautiful interior seams.

You can opt for a 5/8″ seam allowance or a 1/2″ seam allowance to make French seams. Read my full tutorial on how to make French Seams if you’ve never tried it before.

Though French seams will take a bit more fabric, you can still sew the skirt as written and it will just be slightly smaller. The elastic is what determines the size of this skirt so you are just losing the tiniest amount of volume. If you prefer, cut your rectangle a bit wider to accommodate French seams.

If you are using French seams and wanting a 1/2″ seam allowance, add 1/2″ to the width measurement of the rectangle. If you are using French seams with a 1/2″ seam allowance and using two pieces of fabric (two seams), then add 1/2″ to the width measurement of each rectangle.

Note that the French seams do add a little extra bulk. Don’t use them if you are using a thick fabric. Quilting weight cottons (or similar) or anything lighter weight should be fine.

Two dolls wearing elastic waist skirts, one floral and one pink.

More Easy Sewing Tutorials to Try

Craft with me! If you try this tutorial, tag me on Instagram or use the hashtag #BellewoodCottageCrafts. Watch my videos on YouTube and follow along on Pinterest for more ideas like this one!

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An 18" doll wearing a green and cream skirt with the words, "How to Sew a Doll Skirt (Easy!)"

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